I agree about the one-episode love interest thing. It seems like they keep doing that this season. It's like they are trying to replace Olitz with one-episode romances that either don't seem believable or are between characters we don't really care about.

Agreed. I was wondering about that too. The other thing that is equally ridiculous this season is the idea that Democratic electors would vote for Mellie if Cyrus goes to jail. Electors are usually staunch party loyalists. If for some reason the president-elect and vice-president-elect were unable to serve, the…

I thought of that but I am glad they didn't go that route. Fitz wouldn't do something like that.

That's what I thought at first, but I do think they made it somewhat more interesting by making him the actual killer instead of the guy who ordered it done and the surprising reasons they did it.

Olivia didn't know. We don't know for sure yet that Mellie doesn't know anything about this shadow government. I think it would be really interesting if they tie this all back to Olivia and Mellie getting Rowan released from prison in season 5. I never understood why Olivia was arrested but Mellie was never connected…

Don't even get me started on this topic. I am so furious at the media for legitimizing attempts by Trump (who cheated on wife #1 and wife #2) to make Bill's affairs legitimate campaign issues against Hillary. I hope they delve more into why Mellie lost and make that one of the reasons (although arguably in Mellie's…

The one thing I liked about last night's episode is that it showed a little bit of the old Olivia and made me realize that she has not gone as far to the dark side as we were initially led to believe. They still have not explained why she wanted to win clean before the election but is so desperate afterwards, but I…

Probably because the Fitz and Liv storyline was a little more interesting with Fitz being a Republican, since Republican voters/elected officials tend to be more concerned about "family values" and more hostile to interracial relationships.

The way the election went down in the season premiere was seriously traumatizing. And to think I started watching Scandal to escape reality.

I disagree. If you go back and watch earlier seasons, it's clear that Olivia was truly in love with Fitz. But after so many years of having to stand on the sidelines and give him up over and over, and knowing that loving him was wrong and believing she could never fully have him, she had to transition overnight to…

I agree with your general point about them being clueless about political reality, but I actually find it somewhat believable that California could have been a swing state in this election. As Democratic as the state is, I don't think it's completely implausible that a Republican woman who mounted a filibuster on…

I agree that the bathtub scene was cathartic, but not for the reasons you suggest. It was cathartic because Mellie's "spiteful and petty" comment captured the strange urge I had after the election to vandalize a car with a Trump sticker (I didn't) and the way I lashed out at a friend who voted third-party in…

I disagree that it has always been about power for Liv. Her love for Fitz was real, and in earlier seasons she was clearly driven by that love and by a strong moral compass and belief in justice. It was only in the second half of season 5 that she really started getting power hungry and hard to root for. I think maybe…

I don't like what they have done to Olivia's character since 509, but last night gave me hope that she is starting to see the light and realize that she made a mistake giving up on love. Her speech to Quinn makes me think she is starting to regret ending things with Fitz, although I think that he is more to blame than…

Not me! I love Audrey. Her being back is one of the best things about this season. I love her father too.

I was fooled by it too. Actually, I was surprised by a lot of things last night, which was refreshing, because normally I am annoyingly good at predicting what will happen next. Even though I knew Cheng would make an appearance this season, I was surprised by the way he appeared and the role he played. I was also…

I think she was saying that the VP would be at Andrews Air Force Base to meet them when they got back to Washington. I don't think there was any significance to that beyond showing that Heller couldn't remember that they had already arranged for the VP to be there.

Someone else said the comic showed Jack doing some pretty dark stuff. What's the deal with the girlfriend in the comic? Is she still in his life when it ends?

Agreed. Which is why I think they won't repeat that storyline with Kate. I did notice Jack gave her kind of a look and lingered for a moment when he shook her hand, but I think that was more out of professional respect than anything. She's probably not much older than his daughter.

I agree, and kind of a waste. If they ever wanted to do a spinoff with Kate Jordan would have been a great character for it…he is to her what Chloe is to Jack.