Scandal 7×06 Review: “Vampires and Bloodsuckers”

“Runaway bride” is not even close to describing this week’s episode of Scandal. Quinn went missing on her wedding day and her dear friends spent the entire hour trying to locate her. Well… for the most part, anyway. Olivia, along with Jake, continued their downward spiral with the power trip of running B613. In fact, they could’ve potentially ruined any chance of finding their friend. It’s become tiring to want to root for Olivia and have her put aside the B613 hat, even for one episode. Nothing is going to change for the time being – it keeps getting worse for her.

Quinn discovering that Olivia was involved with the plane bombing is an interesting twist. I was afraid that Yasmeen’s death was going to be swept under the table as a one-episode plot point. It fits with Quinn’s character development that she would search for a reason as to why it happened. However, it didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t tell someone. I mean, she did call Spencer about the news story, but why not Charlie? Or Huck? Or even Abby? Quinn is a resourceful person who plans ahead. Her going to confront Olivia and not tell someone else, especially without doing research to confirm it, was too convenient for the dramatic plot.

ABC/Mitch Haaseth

Furthermore, the entire plot by Olivia to frame Glackland for the kidnapping, murders and explosion made no sense. Seriously! Olivia was steering the wheel at the edge of her seat. Firstly, Quinn knew about the bombing and once she was found, she would tell everyone the truth. Secondly, Glackland had steady alibis during many of the key moments, like President Rashad’s assassination attempt and Quinn’s kidnapping. And thirdly, his supposed reason for killing President Rashad was a stretch at best.  It’s almost as if the plot was trying to force a character into being the scapegoat after the fact when it wasn’t planned ahead.

I’ve been hard on Olivia these last few episodes. Her character development has steered her far away from the white hat into becoming the power-hungry leader of B613. However, a scrambling Olivia is just as bad. The character is an organized person who can pull people into line and get the mission done – that person wasn’t here this week. Her only saving grace was the fact she showed remorse for Quinn’s kidnapping. Sure, she had no involvement in the actual kidnapping, but her framing Glackland and trying to steal the recorded footage distracted the team from finding the real culprit. And that was really dangerous.

ABC/Mitch Haaseth

Poor Glackland. Sure, he’s not the best character, but he didn’t deserve the treatment by Olivia and Charlie. Whenever the B613 agents interrogate and torture their targets, it reminds me a lot of Dexter. The scene setup, the plastic wrap and the cold sterilized room were almost inspired by the TV series.

After being freed by Huck, will Glackland mention his torture to anyone? This isn’t a light matter that he can ignore. The casual hookup of the Vice-President was kidnapped and beaten with a bag of oranges – he will suffer from some type of trauma. From the tender moment they shared together, this tragedy will pull Glackland and Cyrus together. However, I could see this trauma being the reason why they break up for the time being. Being around Charlie (and Olivia and Jake, when it’s revealed) will cause waves for their friendship.

Mellie made the smart decision to go with the peace treaty. If she had let her anger control her decisions, it could’ve been a bloodbath. I understand why she was angry and needed revenge – President Rashad died in her country and they were close. However, she needed to think of others more so than her own feelings. Mellie’s story and character development continues to be one of the strongest plot points for Scandal season seven. And, after the contrast to Olivia’s current storyline, this positivity is sorely needed.

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