Trigger Warning(s): Flashback of Rape Scene
In an episode which really makes it seem like Mellie is no longer going to be this force to be reckoned with, but more so shown as a victim, a lot goes on. James is trying to betray Cyrus, without getting killed; Jake is still getting accustomed to B613 and seemingly his transition has only just started; and meanwhile you have all this White House drama that even Harrison's friend Adnan Salif plans to get into.
Topic 1: I Just Wanted to be Loved (Mellie & Andrew; Olivia & Fitz)
Seemingly the pattern for the rest of the season will be Pope & Associates dealing with various issues in the campaign and fixing them. Be it Olivia screwing the president in last episode, or this episode dealing with Mellie's attempted suicide, spoken on later. Either way, a pattern seems to be forming and I welcome it. For though it doesn't match what we saw in earlier seasons where each incident revealed a bit of Olivia, at least, in this episode's case, the incident did reveal Mellie.
You see, after Fitz's dad raped Mellie, it created a void. One in which Mellie, while dealing with her emotional trauma, didn't want to be touched by Fitz and would shy away from him like his touch was a knife. Making me wonder if this was what got Fitz slowly straying toward Olivia. Anyway, post-rape Mellie wasn't this hardened woman many have come to dislike, she then was still soft and vulnerable, and though she made the tough decision to keep the rape a secret from most, Andrew caught her at a moment in which death seemed a better fight than life. In this moment, the two formed a bond. One in which, at one time, made Andrew think he had found an angel who had just fallen and who has now risen. But, said angel can't be his for she monitors another. But, with this angel's work ignored, and Andrew admiring Mellie as Fitz admires Olivia, it seems Mellie may do as her husband for the hot and cold nature of Fitz has stabbed her too many times, and now it seems all she wants is to heal.
But, while Mellie fights against becoming like the woman she hates most, things are not all daisies and roses for Liv and Fitz. As Rowan noted, Fitz is a boy. One which is upset that his favorite toy isn't still like the way it was when he first got it. For, once again, Liv decides to assert herself and remind Fitz she isn't a thing, one in which he owns and controls, she is a person with her own dreams, aspirations, and is not something won like some bloody princess in medieval times. And I don't know about you, but Liv's speech to me sounded like a broken record. She is a mistress treated better than the wife, feels some guilt over being addicted to Fitz, and yet speaks to him as if she has some possibility to change him. And let's be real: Fitz isn't changing for not one person because his power, his insecurities, and his jealousy, are what fuels him. And at the center of everything is Liv. She was part of what gave him power, she seems to be the cause of many insecurities, and damn if Jake doesn't have him jealous.
Topic 2: Underestimated (Jake/ Quinn; James/ Cyrus/ David)
Speaking of Jake, seemingly everyone now recognizes him as command, as Rowan lurks in the shadows. I say this because he now has his own informant in Fitz's secret service (Thomas), and has access to all that is going on in the world. He is now the protector of the Republic, but with Rowan still alive and well, there is the constant question of how good can Jake really be? His agents are still working for outside entities and, of all people, Quinn ends up being sent by Charlie to watch Rowan, and because Quinn is more a tech than stalker, Liv catches her.
This isn't a happy reunion though, Quinn still feels slighted by Huck licking her like a piece of meat, and Huck's explanation is simply, despite Liv's kindness, he isn't domesticated, just simply a loyal monster. One which wants his master to be happy, and assumed Quinn was a gift, and that being that he is not really capable of loving something, hence the face lick.
But, going back to Charlie, the reason why he hands the Rowan assignment off to Quinn is because Cyrus has a task for him. One in which he orders a hit on Publius, James, who wishes to expand the circle of who knows the truth about Daniel Douglass. Which, naturally, wasn't something Cyrus wanted so he ordered a hit which, do to James freaking out and David being his rock, David decided to be Publius for James and ends up getting kidnapped. Albeit by Abby and Huck who kept him from being killed, but either way Daniel's murder is on the verge of becoming public.
Topic 3: Allow me to reintroduce myself (Adnan Salif)
Leaving Adnan, who has a suitcase full of money and a proposal for Harrison. Question is though: where is the money from & what is Harrison's role? Well, said money seems to be the way Fitz won't need Horris as a donor, but though he is cutting one bad seed out, he seemingly is finding himself with an even worse one in the process. You see, the person floating the cash for whatever Adnan's operation is Maya Pope. Leaving us to wonder, what is her plan, does it involve a crazed Rowan, and will Olivia end up part of the fallout?
In an episode which really makes it seem like Mellie is no longer going to be this force to be reckoned with, but more so shown as a victim, a lot goes on. James is trying to betray Cyrus, without getting killed; Jake is still getting accustomed to B613 and seemingly his transition has only just started; and meanwhile you have all this White House drama that even Harrison's friend Adnan Salif plans to get into.
Topic 1: I Just Wanted to be Loved (Mellie & Andrew; Olivia & Fitz)
Seemingly the pattern for the rest of the season will be Pope & Associates dealing with various issues in the campaign and fixing them. Be it Olivia screwing the president in last episode, or this episode dealing with Mellie's attempted suicide, spoken on later. Either way, a pattern seems to be forming and I welcome it. For though it doesn't match what we saw in earlier seasons where each incident revealed a bit of Olivia, at least, in this episode's case, the incident did reveal Mellie.
You see, after Fitz's dad raped Mellie, it created a void. One in which Mellie, while dealing with her emotional trauma, didn't want to be touched by Fitz and would shy away from him like his touch was a knife. Making me wonder if this was what got Fitz slowly straying toward Olivia. Anyway, post-rape Mellie wasn't this hardened woman many have come to dislike, she then was still soft and vulnerable, and though she made the tough decision to keep the rape a secret from most, Andrew caught her at a moment in which death seemed a better fight than life. In this moment, the two formed a bond. One in which, at one time, made Andrew think he had found an angel who had just fallen and who has now risen. But, said angel can't be his for she monitors another. But, with this angel's work ignored, and Andrew admiring Mellie as Fitz admires Olivia, it seems Mellie may do as her husband for the hot and cold nature of Fitz has stabbed her too many times, and now it seems all she wants is to heal.
But, while Mellie fights against becoming like the woman she hates most, things are not all daisies and roses for Liv and Fitz. As Rowan noted, Fitz is a boy. One which is upset that his favorite toy isn't still like the way it was when he first got it. For, once again, Liv decides to assert herself and remind Fitz she isn't a thing, one in which he owns and controls, she is a person with her own dreams, aspirations, and is not something won like some bloody princess in medieval times. And I don't know about you, but Liv's speech to me sounded like a broken record. She is a mistress treated better than the wife, feels some guilt over being addicted to Fitz, and yet speaks to him as if she has some possibility to change him. And let's be real: Fitz isn't changing for not one person because his power, his insecurities, and his jealousy, are what fuels him. And at the center of everything is Liv. She was part of what gave him power, she seems to be the cause of many insecurities, and damn if Jake doesn't have him jealous.
Topic 2: Underestimated (Jake/ Quinn; James/ Cyrus/ David)
Speaking of Jake, seemingly everyone now recognizes him as command, as Rowan lurks in the shadows. I say this because he now has his own informant in Fitz's secret service (Thomas), and has access to all that is going on in the world. He is now the protector of the Republic, but with Rowan still alive and well, there is the constant question of how good can Jake really be? His agents are still working for outside entities and, of all people, Quinn ends up being sent by Charlie to watch Rowan, and because Quinn is more a tech than stalker, Liv catches her.
This isn't a happy reunion though, Quinn still feels slighted by Huck licking her like a piece of meat, and Huck's explanation is simply, despite Liv's kindness, he isn't domesticated, just simply a loyal monster. One which wants his master to be happy, and assumed Quinn was a gift, and that being that he is not really capable of loving something, hence the face lick.
But, going back to Charlie, the reason why he hands the Rowan assignment off to Quinn is because Cyrus has a task for him. One in which he orders a hit on Publius, James, who wishes to expand the circle of who knows the truth about Daniel Douglass. Which, naturally, wasn't something Cyrus wanted so he ordered a hit which, do to James freaking out and David being his rock, David decided to be Publius for James and ends up getting kidnapped. Albeit by Abby and Huck who kept him from being killed, but either way Daniel's murder is on the verge of becoming public.
Topic 3: Allow me to reintroduce myself (Adnan Salif)
Leaving Adnan, who has a suitcase full of money and a proposal for Harrison. Question is though: where is the money from & what is Harrison's role? Well, said money seems to be the way Fitz won't need Horris as a donor, but though he is cutting one bad seed out, he seemingly is finding himself with an even worse one in the process. You see, the person floating the cash for whatever Adnan's operation is Maya Pope. Leaving us to wonder, what is her plan, does it involve a crazed Rowan, and will Olivia end up part of the fallout?
