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Thursday 15 November 2012

Scandal 1.4 "Enemy of the State" Review

This is where Scandal heats up and there's  flying everywhere.  Quinn (Katie Lowes) wakes up to banging on the door, as Olivia (Kerry Washington) answers her door to Stephen (Henry Ian Cusick) with a bottle of Shiraz so she can drown her sorrows.  He's the first person from the firm that she confides in about Amanda (Liza Weil)  being pregnant.  Probably the first person (that we know of) who sees her breakdown and drink wine, before she's called by Quinn.  There's an army at the office and it's General Benicio Flores (Jose Zuniga) a client who needs help cos his wife's been kidnapped.  Yeah Olivia helps a dictator this episode or at least it seems that way until the end.  A ruthless, enemy of the US, in this way he could be seen as the reference point in the title of this episode.  However as events progress there are other enemies closer to home revealed.  Not least the President himself.

A witness at the restaurant tells them he saw a van in the alley in the back and after checking the place out Abby (Darby Stanchfield) and Stephen find there was no room for a van to fit into the alley.  The waitress recalls seeing the boy had a games console which Huck (Guillermo Diaz) uses to trace their location.  That being the Woman's Shelter at a church.  Thus Olivia had David (Joshua Malina) send out a bunch of police cars when turns out Mrs Carolina Flores (Valerie Cruz) wasn't really kidnapped at all, but wants to leave her husband.  The usual story of him being good when she married him, wanting to do much for his country but he changed.  She no longer loves him.

Abby puts her up in a hotel for the night before she tells Olivia she found them, but Stephan does the opposite, he tells Olivia where she is as next morning she's gone.  Olivia has her brought to the office so she can reunite with her husband.  Cue Abby losing her temper and reminding her of Charles, how he abused her, threw her out and Olivia kneed him with a tyre iron.  She'd follow Olivia over a cliff and reminds her of her white hat which she no longer wears and also how she was a gladiator once and should do the right thing.

Elsewhere Olivia pays a call on Cyrus at his home on a Sunday and his husband, which was a revelation, doesn't let her in at first.  She tells Cyrus about Amanda being pregnant and wants $10 million outright.  He tells her they're no longer friends and doesn't want her coming round anymore.  Leading him to declare a war on Olivia Pope and Associates.  Taking a group of Whitehouse workers, swearing them to secrecy and then ordering them to dish the dirt on every one of Olivia's associates.  Billy (Matt Letscher) is surprised at this and talks to Olivia about it.  She doesn't tell him what is happening but instead she calls Cyrus and tells him they're talking with Diane Sawyer.  Being an ABC show, she'd be the news reporter they'd turn to.

Olivia takes note of Abby's words and she helps Carolina find asylum, only they're too slow and Benicio arrives in time.  he'll agree to her leaving but only without his children.  Olivia later convinces him with a long speech about how his wife would become not the mother of his children but the face of his opposition as she would write and talk about oppression of women.  He finally gives in, though you wonder why such a powerful man would throw in the towel so easily.

In comparison to the President.  He's not happy with the speech being written for him but Cyrus thinks of him as a bit of a wimp as he lays down the scenario of what would happen to him if his indiscretion was revealed to he public.  How he'd be impeached, return to Santa Barbara, get paid for writing his memoirs, but they wouldn't focus on his work rather the sordid secret.  Then one day he'd blow his brains out.  He gives a speech about the free world and how dictators will not win.  Before finally coming to his senses and telling Cyrus he took on this job to make a difference, to do good and that's what he wants to do, which is music to Cyrus's ears.  Who has some new found respect for him as he calls him Mr President.  That the problem isn't Amanda but Olivia.  Ooh, could call him a 'man scorned' there, as he makes this personal by going after Olivia.

Also Mellie (Bellamy Taylor) doesn't want him to step down when he asks her what would happen if this all ended? Clearly she's ambitious and as Cyrus mentions she has her own money too.  Which makes you wonder who is beind the kidnapping of Amanda.  Yes she's drugged and taken from her apartment, but is it cos of what she knows, or a result of the call she made saying she can't do this anymore and wants out.  Of course there are an abundance of suspects in this.  The short man as Olivia referred to Sanders Black (Leland Orser) Mellie, even Cyrus.

Quinn meets up with Gideon (Bredan Hines) again and they're meant to be on a date.  He doesn't want any info from her cos he has a source.  Now who could this source be? Amanda or someone else.  Harrison (Columbus Short) spots the two together and he warns Quinn off Gideon.  They don't talk to the press, nor socialize with them.  Ahh who would keep their hands off Gideon.  He looks through news footage and pauses the video on the President sharing a moment with Amanda and she has this look on her face which is enough to give away their 'affair.'  Yeah it was that obvious, surprised no one noticed it before.  Quinn however shows some defiance, continuing to see Gideon and calling it a 'date.'  Not only that but she kisses Gideon, much to the chagrin of many!!  Yet she has lied to him as well, so where will that take us.  Nah couldn't picture someone like Gideon going for someone like Quinn unless there's something more to it.

Well he looks like he's bagged a winner there then?!

So who is Gideon's mysterious source and could this source be behind the kidnapping?  Whilst Amanda is being taken, Olivia takes a vote on whether they want to continue with Amanda's case.  All voting in favour, even Abby: "over the edge of a cliff."  Which is just where some may end up in this show.

What was interesting was how we got the lowdown on Olivia's associates from Cyrus and his team.  As he turns up with some printed 'dirt' on her and her associates; laying down his declaration of war!  That has actually come from the President himself.  Well Olivia has an enemy in him now so let's hope she forgets the crying and composes herself to take him on.

Okay there were some reveals about the associates which makes them look like they were in need of rescuing by Olivia as she banded them together to start up her firm.  Stephen was a lawyer who suffered a nervous breakdown after a high profile case.  Harrison evaded charges for insider dealing after Olivia represented him pro bono.  Huck is some sort of a former CIA operative and the CIA warned off Cyrus's team from investigating him.  Most of his history being subject to redaction.  Abby was the victim of domestic abuse.  Which is why she was so vocal in wanting to help Carolina.  Quinn remains a mystery as she didn't exist before 2008.

Seems with so much going on in and out of the Whitehouse itself, there's no need for a case of the week, which just seems to distract from the real story of interest.  Also we didn't get anymore input as to why the Pres said Amanda couldn't be having his baby, which makes it seem she made all this up together with the mystery caller.  Also liked the bit where Cyrus told Olivia there's more dirt where that came from and he didn't want to print it out cos that'd mean killing more trees.

Harrison to Quinn: "...we don't lie to reporters."  Seems Quinn must be good at lying if she never existed until recently and has gotten away with it thus far.  One of the best episodes of the show in season 1 thus far.
Cyrus: "You want to know whether the President wore protection with Amanda Tanner.  I don't know, that's your department.  Did he wear one with you?"  Wow didn't expect that from him, then there's a lot you didn't expect from Cyrus, a Republican with a husband for starters.  Then how quickly he turned on Olivia even resorting to dirty tactics.

What did Gideon unearth in that photo he took, other than the President and Amanda?


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