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| Photo Credit: ABC |
“This is what I do. You call me. I
save your life. Now you know what I'm about.” “It's always the
right time to do the right thing.” Olivia says these two things to
Marcus Walker, the neighborhood activist turned mayoral candidate who
told her her black card wouldn't be validated when she came to deal
with the racially-motivated shooting of Brandon Parker back in “The
Lawn Chair.”
The first quote comes while Olivia and
her crew are in the midst of handling Marcus' problem—said problem
being he hid in the closet while a trio of masked men murdered the
mayor's wife. And why was he in the closet at the mayor's house?
Because he was having an affair with her. Mmmhmm, yeah. The
scene gives Olivia a chance to get a small dig at Marcus for his
initial impression of her, but her words also have an extra
layer of tension to them. If you recall, Eli paid a visit to Olivia's
apartment, asking/threatening her to make the B6:13 investigation go
away, and, hitting her where she lives by saying he knows that in the
end, her loyalty isn't to her friends or associates, but to the
republic, and she will analyze all outcomes and make a decision based
on that fact.
What Kerry Washington does so well is
put a big question mark on what that decision will be until the very
end of the hour. She accomplishes this in subtle ways, like her
wavering “Sure” during a meeting with David Rosen about the B6:13
case, or the way her whole body tenses up at the mention of Operation
Remington. Olivia's internal battle—between doing what is right and
doing what is easy or will further your own personal ambition—spreads
over “I'm Just A Bill,” and comes up in the episode's other story
lines.
Brandon Parker's death comes back into
the proceedings via a bill in his name designed to keep checks on
police department practices. The administration gets the votes the
usual Scandal way, through
blackmail, double-dealing and general chicanery, but after a female
politician gets pregnant, the deciding vote comes down to Susan Ross.
However, Ross is no pushover, and as we can tell from David
Rosen squeamish faces, is bewilderingly intelligent, as she tears
apart the bill, pointing out its uselessness line by line. What is
she thinking? There's no time actually read the
legislation you need to pass to maintain political power!
One by one, Cyrus, Mellie and
eventually Fitz try not to, as Cyrus callously put it, “feed the
pigeon,” convince her to squash her very valid concerns and simply
vote yes for the bill. What they don't realize—well, eventually
Fitz does—is Susan is not motivated by a desire to put her feet up
in the Oval Office, but to enact policies that actually
work and effect people's lives.
Once she stands up to Fitz, he rolls up his sleeves and works to make
the bill worth something, and placates an exasperated Cyrus by making
Mellie's senate run announcement the main story.
Marcus' arc is the most transparent
exploration of the “what's right vs. what's easy” dilemma. As
Olivia begins to work her fixer mojo, cleaning up the aforementioned
crime scene of al evidence and reading corrupt cops—who are not
fans of Marcus post-Brandon—for filth when they try to take him in
with no cause, Marcus really starts to get what Olivia, and
subsequently he, will be about if he continues to go down this road.
“Your career or justice. You can't
have both,” she tells him. Marcus takes door number two, spilling
the tea about his affair and the mayor's role in his wife's
murder—turns out he had a connected hitman do the job and tried to
frame Marcus via threatening e-mails—before exiting stage left.
We've watched Olivia attempt have her
own version of both for four seasons now, with often devastating
results. When Russell wants to end things after his being unknowingly
sedated by Papa Pope (which Olivia masterfully tries to play off as
them drinking too much a ruse that Russell sees through), she is
equal parts vulnerable potential girlfriend and sex kitten.
“My life is very complicated,”
Olivia tells him, delivering the understatement of the century. But
as she explains, turning on the charm, when she's Alex, the fake name
she gave him the night they met, things are simple. And she needs
things to be simple. As much as I'm in favor of Liv getting some, the
role playing is just another way of compartmentalizing her life and
avoiding her inner demons and traumas.
It's what's bubbling just beneath the
surface in her speech to Marcus after he tells the truth, and resigns
himself to believing his political career is now dead in the water.
But, as she explains, being “done” is not deciding to do the
right thing, no matter how much it may hurt; being done is taking the
easy way out, choosing to lie and compromise your integrity and then
rationalizing the reasons why until you become someone you don't
recognize.
No doubt Olivia sees her declaration to
Eli that she'll see the B6:13 case through—and won't take him on as
a client—as a giant step in reclaiming her identity. And it is, as
she's willing to sacrifice both Fitz, the man she's spent so energy
and put out so many fires for, and her own reputation in order to
have the republic function as it should, in the name of justice.
Shocking to her (but not that shocking when you really think about
it) is Eli's reaction. He does not wring his hands or launch into
some diatribe about family and betrayal; instead he expresses
admiration his daughter is finally standing in her own truth, even
that truth involves destroying him and everything he's dedicated his
life to building.
He's also thrilled—and to me this is
what truly excites him—Olivia has finally become a worthy
adversary, one not motivated by devotion to a person but to uphold an
ideal. As Eli says, they are two sides of the same coin. Olivia only
shows her naivete when she asks that Papa Pope spill no blood. Or
maybe she's not being naïve, but speaking as a daughter and not
all-powerful D.C. fixer.
Either way, it's a foolish request.
Because make no mistake. There will be blood.
Other Thoughts:
--The blood already starts coming when
Jake gets attacked by a masked intruder at OPA's offices, later
revealed to be Russell, who's working for Eli. Damn, Papa Pope has a
long end game. And dammit I bet Olivia is wishing she had Edison's
number
--I really have to commend the show for
not treating Olivia's PTSD like a headache she can sleep off. When
Jake brings up Operation Remington, also known as the B6:13 mission
involving Fitz shooting down a plane full of civilians—which for
years Olivia included her mother Maya—the way Olivia's hand shakes
as she walks down the hall as if she's in a cloud, her mind flashing
back to memories of her torture camp, is crushing.
--LOL Moment: The resigned look of “girl go on,” on Olivia's face as she watches Mellie
announce her senate run.
--”Why is his name Mickey? Oh, Oh,
Oh.”
--If you didn't know the title of the episode was based on a classic School House Rock song, shame on you. And watch it HERE.
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