SCANDAL 2x7, 2x8, 2x9 & 2x10 Reaction! | Kerry Washington | Shonda Rhimes
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Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Harold Pierce's erratic behavior threatens his company's IPO, prompting his son to seek legal guardianship.
- ❖President Grant is shot at his birthday gala, leading to a scramble for power by Vice President Sally Langston.
- ❖Mellie Grant forges the President's signature on a reinstatement letter to prevent Sally Langston from taking power.
- ❖Quinn Perkins uncovers details about her own kidnapping, including the use of M99 and a private plane linked to a Supreme Court Justice.
- ❖Huck is identified as the President's shooter, though he was set up by his girlfriend, Becky (Kate), who is the actual assassin.
- ❖Becky (Kate) murders the family Huck secretly watched, a devastating act of betrayal.
- ❖Cyrus Beene manipulates his husband, James, by offering to adopt a baby, effectively halting James's investigation into election fraud.
- ❖President Grant miraculously wakes up, saving Mellie and Cyrus from legal repercussions for their actions.
- ❖Huck is captured, tortured under the Patriot Act, and later released after Becky (Kate) is apprehended.
Insights
1Harold Pierce's IPO Crisis and Guardianship Battle
Harold Pierce, the eccentric face of a multi-billion dollar business, begins acting erratically, jeopardizing his company's IPO. His son, Skip, seeks Olivia Pope's help to declare his father legally incompetent and prevent him from ruining his legacy, even resorting to extreme measures like cutting off his communication and considering sedatives.
Skip Pierce seeks Olivia's help to manage his father's erratic behavior before the IPO, stating, 'The Harold Pierce we know would expect us to do nothing less. So, how do we keep him ruining his legacy?' They discuss getting a court to appoint Skip as a legal guardian. []
2President Grant's Assassination Attempt and Power Vacuum
President Fitzgerald Grant is shot multiple times at his 50th birthday gala, leaving him in critical condition. This immediately triggers a power struggle, with Vice President Sally Langston attempting to leverage the situation to become acting president by lobbying cabinet members for signatures.
News reports confirm President Grant was wounded at his birthday gala and taken to James Madison Hospital. The hosts react to the severity of the shooting, noting, 'He got hit in the head.' []
3Mellie Grant's Forgery and Political Maneuvering
To prevent Vice President Sally Langston from seizing power while President Grant is unconscious, First Lady Mellie Grant forges the President's signature on a letter of reinstatement. This audacious act buys time and maintains the illusion of presidential stability, despite its illegality.
Mellie admits to Cyrus, 'I did' forge the President's signature on the letter of reinstatement. Cyrus confirms, 'That's completely illegal. Forging the president's signature on a letter of reinstatement when he's not even conscious is…' []
4Quinn Perkins' Investigation into Her Past
Quinn, using a hypothetical scenario, extracts information from Huck about sedatives (M99) and methods for transporting an unconscious person. She later connects this to a private plane registered to Supreme Court Justice Verna, realizing she is investigating her own kidnapping and the circumstances that led her to Olivia Pope.
Quinn asks Huck hypothetically about using drugs like Etorphine (M99) to incapacitate someone for 10 hours and how to transport them discreetly. She later reveals, 'It was registered to Verna, the work, the Supreme Court Justice?' []
5Huck's Framing and Becky's Betrayal
Huck is identified as the President's shooter based on eyewitness accounts and security footage. However, it is revealed that his girlfriend, Becky (Kate), a fellow former operative, set him up. She is the actual assassin, manipulating Huck's trust and love to execute her mission, culminating in the brutal murder of a family Huck secretly watched, purely to hurt him.
A news report shows a sketch of the suspect, and the hosts exclaim, 'That looks like Huck.' Later, Abby discovers Becky's suspicious financial activity and lack of phone calls, leading to the revelation, 'It's her. She set it up.' Becky confesses to Huck, 'I could have killed you, made it look like you shot the president and then yourself, but I didn't.' []
6Cyrus Beene's Manipulation and Adoption Plot
Cyrus Beene, facing the potential collapse of the presidency and his career, manipulates his husband, James, by offering to adopt a baby. This emotional leverage is designed to distract James from his investigation into election rigging in Defiance County, which could expose the President's past misconduct.
Cyrus presents James with a baby, saying, 'So, there's a baby girl in County General, and if you say yes in 1 week, she could be our daughter.' This happens after James's investigation into Defiance County voting machines. []
Bottom Line
The show frequently uses 'partial information' as a powerful manipulation tactic, leaving characters (and viewers) desperate for the full truth, which often proves more damaging than complete ignorance.
This narrative device creates constant tension and drives character actions, as seen when Olivia tells her boyfriend she dated 'one guy' who was 'powerful' but refuses to elaborate, immediately making him suspicious.
In real-world communication, withholding partial information can be more destabilizing than a direct lie or full disclosure, making it a potent tool for psychological manipulation in various contexts.
The humanization of spies and assassins, showing them capable of love and emotional vulnerability, adds a complex layer to characters typically portrayed as cold-blooded killers.
This challenges traditional archetypes, making characters like Huck and Becky more relatable and their actions, even horrific ones, understandable within their emotional frameworks.
Storytellers can create deeper, more compelling narratives by exploring the emotional lives and moral compromises of characters in high-stakes, morally ambiguous professions, moving beyond one-dimensional portrayals.
Political power struggles are often less about ideology and more about personal ambition, loyalty, and the ruthless exploitation of vulnerabilities.
The show depicts a 'dark layer of DC' where 'real politics happen' through blackmail, forgery, and assassination, highlighting that public perception is meticulously managed while true power operates in the shadows.
Understanding this dynamic is critical for analyzing political systems, as official narratives often mask the underlying personal agendas and power plays that truly shape events.
Key Concepts
Manchurian Candidate
The hosts use this concept to describe Huck's potential state after being identified as the shooter. It refers to a person brainwashed or programmed to be an assassin, activated by specific triggers, similar to the Winter Soldier in Captain America comics.
Notable Moments
Huck is revealed as the President's shooter, shocking the hosts and setting up a major twist.
This moment initially implicates a core member of Olivia's team in a high-profile crime, creating immense suspense and leading to the subsequent reveal of Becky's betrayal.
Becky (Kate) brutally murders the family Huck secretly watched, including a child, to punish him for his perceived betrayal.
This act is a profound emotional blow to Huck, destroying his only source of 'normalcy' and demonstrating the extreme, personal cruelty of the show's antagonists. It solidifies Becky as a truly ruthless character.
President Grant wakes up from his coma just as Mellie and Cyrus face imminent exposure for forging his signature.
This 'miracle' saves several characters from severe legal and political repercussions, highlighting the show's dramatic timing and the high stakes involved in their desperate cover-up.
Quotes
"It's not often you get a character like Olivia Pope who who's like in massively manipulative, but also massively empathetic."
"Some men are not meant to be happy. They're meant to be great."
"Honesty isn't a strategy, Olivia. Saying honesty isn't a strategy is a strategy."
"You own me. You control me. I belong to you."
"The man you're torturing in the Pentagon isn't the person who shot President Grant, but he knows who did and he can help Sally find her."
"I am a woman. And because we let that snake Hollis play in our garden for so long, we..."
"You killed three world leaders. You made them look like heart attacks, but still three. I shoot one a few times and you're suddenly better than me?"
Q&A
Recent Questions
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