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| Photo: ABC |
After the emotional powerhouse that was
“The Lawn Chair,” this week's “The Testimony of Diego Munoz,”
was a welcome palette cleanser. Although this hour didn't skimp on
the emo quotient, but it did so within the framework of Scandal's
fictional universe, jumping back into the proceedings after last
week's bottle episode and going about the business of moving the
seasonal arcs forward.
First up is Susan Ross' confirmation
for vice president. As we've seen--and as she herself has
acknowledged--Susan is not a natural born politician, so Abby has
been vetting her for her public debut. She manages to get through a
rudimentary press conference with flying colors; at least until she
freezes up and unleashes a laugh so cringe-worthy I can't really
describe it--on second thought, yes I can. It is the sound of someone
losing their shit. Before you
can whip up a “Susan Ross Be Like...” meme, the clip goes viral,
causing Abby and Cyrus to bring in the black magician, a.k.a. Leo
Bergen, who whips her to shape.
Susan
proves a quick study, yukking it up on Jimmy Kimmel about
her Howard Dean tribute, then turning serious for a in-depth
interview where she plays to the wing nut base by towing the party
line on gay marriage and naming-checking the Bible. Everything's
smooth sailing, at least until the relentless Bergen weighs her down
until she quits. Olivia manages her to talk her into enduring the
vetting process in a way that doesn't involve selling her soul, and
the Fitz administration and possibly the Mellie presidency are back
on track. While Susan's is the most transparent, the basic arc of all
the stories in “The Testimony of Diego Munoz” is watching
characters reject labels foisted on them--whether by others,
themselves, or both--to stake out a more honest path.
It's certainly the
journey Huck (whose real name is in the episode) goes on. After his
wife Kim goes to David Rosen's office with the stack of B6:13 files
he left her with--you know, to explain his penchant for talking in
whispers and his general shell-of-a-man demeanor--he meets up with
Jake and David for a pow wow. Jake, trigger happy lark that he is,
suggests taking out this Diego Munoz, at until Huck reveals he is
Diego. After some intense whispering and staring down, Huck agrees to
lie in his testimony, knowing it will likely end his relationship
with Kim and Javi but ultimately save their lives.
But when the time
comes, Huck, flashing back to his happy pre-torture life with Kim (a
sly move on the show's part, making it unclear whether this was
inspiring him to tell to the actual truth or double down on the lie)
goes left, and gives a soul-scraping speech detailing all the ways he
kept some semblance of sanity while in the hole. He knows he's put
himself and everyone he loves in danger, but the genuine smile that
lingers on his face after he drops Kim off at home suggests at least
part of him feels it was worth it. Whether inspired or haunted
(probably both) by Huck's confession, David tells Jake he's moving
forward with Kim's complaint and exposing B6:13, shaking off Jake's
notion that they are the bad guys he plans to take down. Not sure if
Joe Morton's got any more guest spots this season, but if Eli gets a
whiff of this tea, there's going to be some literal rolling of heads.
The
person who seems to be having the most trouble moving forward is
Olivia Pope. After pulling herself together enough to deal with
Clarence Parker and the contentious, racially-motivated police
shooting of his son Brandon, she's been reduced to chugging wine
while squatting on the floor of her apartment, which is framed to
appear large and sparse, a metaphorical prison where a wine-soaked
couch seat reminds her of the moment her life was shattered.
Aside
from getting Susan Ross together, Olivia also gives Fitz some tough
love council when the senate threatens to kill her nomination,
explaining his haphazard handling of the war in Angola was a mockery
of democracy. He forgets Cy and Abby exists for a moment and goes for
his trademark close contact, telling her she knows why he did what he
did. She falters for a second, but gets her bearings and tells him to
go to the senate and beg for forgiveness, which he does with positive
results.
In the
end though, neither helping Susan or Fitz pulls Olivia back from the
brink, but helping Rose (Marla Gibbs) find Lois. After dispensing
some legal advice to Rose so she could fend off an aggressive
landlord from taking over her friend's (and who Liv later correctly
guesses is her girlfriend) apartment, Olivia promises to help her
find out what happened. Of course, both we the audience and she know
all too well what really happened to Lois--it's partly to blame for
her current fragile state--and on some level Rose knows her partner
is gone. However, after Quinn and Huck locate her body, and Lois asks
how she passed, Liv reaches for a lie. Flashing back to her
sun-kissed days as Julia, she tells Rose Lois had an aneurysm, a
quick death with no pain. Like being out in the sun.
Giving
Rose closure allows Olivia to begin to move on herself. She puts the
wine-stained seat in a trash bag outside her place, fixes herself a
glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn, a steely look of resolve on her
face. Our girl's finding her way back.
Other
Thoughts:
--Liv's
traumatized state also gives her and Abby a chance to reconnect, even
though ol' girl did come with the ulterior motive of asking Liv to
pull her out of the fire and save Sarah's VP nomination. Though
despite her more self-serving reasons, Abby does have a point about
Sarah being an actual good person and therefore a necessary antidote
in this toxic environment.
--As with Marcus
and Olivia's confrontation over the status of the latter's “black
card,” her and Rose's short but meaningful exchange about the
difficulties of being black and gay in the not-too-distant past, as
well as Rose's backstory and being in a same-sex relationship late in
life were spot on.
---Sarah being
asked what her favorite book is? Shades of '08 Sarah Palin anyone?
--Oh
No You Didn't Moment: Cyrus throwing shade at Abby dating Leo. People
in arranged marriage to prostitute houses shouldn't throw stones hon.
At least Abby actually likes the
man she's with.
--Quinn and Charlie hook up
occasionally, particularly when someone's been drinking. Guess you
gotta get it how you live and all that, but the two of them together
still makes me go ew.
--Apparently,
one of David Rosen's thankless tasks is fielding inquiries from
crazies, like a guy who believes the moon is a hologram or that
aliens run the treasury.
--Huck and Quinn practically spring to
life when Olivia first enters the office. FYI: if Huck is treating
you with kid gloves, you got problems.
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