I wholly agree with your downsizing comment - it's just too bloated. I still really enjoy the show, and I don't hate Jackson and April (although they aren't high up my fave characters list, by any means), so this was an enjoyable episode even though I'm not generally a fan of bottle episodes - a fact I blame The…

I see.

I thought the main cast were paid regardless of whether they are in the episode?

"Oh boy! Crazy Morgan! …only to culminate in kicking a bucket."

….que?

After last week's slightly weaker episode, this one was terrific - a well deserved A. My overwhelming take-away from watching this week's was how funny it was. I'm sure that was significantly helped by the reappearance of the wonderful Elsbeth, but damn, so many funny moments.

My issue with Jake is his utter lack of presence and any kind of character - not how he looks.

Liv was carrying the Idiot Ball for the entirety of this episode.

I thought the same. I mean, basic common sense, if you have to set a bomb for a 10 second detonation, you get the fuck outta there, as quick as you can.

"Can Scott Foley please take some acting lessons? He is so very bland
that I don't believe him as a super scary operative like Huck and
Charlie."

The problem is that the consensus (on here, at least) is that the weakest element of Scandal is the B613, and by extension Papa Pope (who's only other character trait beyond being generally evil and manipulative is his love of monologues) and Jake Ballard (who is the most boring and flat super spy/killer ever…

It's like really bad fan fiction. Like as if the show was cancelled before we got to the B613 rubbish and some demented fan with a penchant for James Bond thought these two worlds would work well together.

Haha, accurate.

"NONE of the characters accept[sic] for Stephanie, Owen and Arizona are remotely likeable this year."

Agreed. Seems kind of a pointless distinction to have made.

I love Grey's, but jeez, E.R. was so much better.

Agreed. This meandering season is all the more frustrating to watch after the excellent previous one.

"Going out on a limb here to predict that Karev and Riggs’ fighting over
the surgery is foreshadowing them fighting over Meredith."

Thank fuck for that!

Hmm, perhaps. Either way, it ends with Holden killing the scientist, so…