“Scandal” is coming to an end with its seventh season in 2018, and that’s good news.
When the ‘political drama’ premiered in 2012, I didn’t immediately join the Gladiator bandwagon until 2014, when I spent an entire weekend binge-watching Olivia Pope, President Fitzgerald Grant III and the whole White House shenanigans.
At the risk of sounding like a hopeless romantic, there were also those heated moments between Fitz and Olivia that made me like the show.
I know… despite the love triangle, side chick and adultery-ish, I was hooked. I had just found a dramatic, soapy and fresh series for my cherished weekends.
As exaggerated as Fitz and Olivia’s love scenes were, I loved them. They reminded me of those mills and boons characters from my secondary school days.
But, they weren’t my favourite characters. I found a favourite in Mellie. For her strength and sacrifices, I considered her the real MVP.
Mellie is a representation of the double standards women face in the society when it comes to extra-marital affairs – You know the whole it’s okay for a man to cheat but it’s forbidden for a woman to do so.
For a character that was verbally, mentally and emotionally abused both by her husband and her father-in-law, I held my breath for seasons waiting for her to get a happy ending for putting up with an openly cheating husband and mistress.
Despite the above paragraphs, “Scandal” isn’t a romantic series. It is a political drama series that revolves around Olivia Pope’s crisis management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates, and its staff, as well as the political happenings in the White House.
After four seasons, “Scandal” morphed from a political thriller to hogwash. It felt like Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the show, was serving us the same meal every week.
Olivia went from a strong character who fixed things to an indecisive one who couldn’t even fix her love life. It became more about a woman who seemed to relish being a side chick.
In episode 2 of season five, when Pope finally came clean about being Fitz’s mistress, I was excited and couldn’t wait to see how Rhimes would approach the story now that their longtime secret was public.
Well, Shonda approached it by giving viewers few happy episodes before taking them back to where they all started – a breakup, an abortion and Pope being uncertain about what and who she wants [Fitz or Jake Ballard].
“Scandal” is supposed to be a show about gladiators fixing problems, but with Abby becoming Fitz’s Chief of Staff in season 5 and Olivia recently named Mellie’s Chief of Staff in season 6, the concept of “Scandal” is gone [a big reason why it should end already].
The creators were obsessed with Olivia and Fitz, then Papa Pope and then B613. And with all these fixations, “Scandal” lost its plot and became a weekly merry-go-round.
As a once avid fan of the political drama, letting it end instead of forcefully squeezing unnecessary juice out of it is a great decision.
Imagine “Scandal” making it to a 13th season like “Grey’s Anatomy” (shudders at the thought).
Mellie is president-elect, Jake will be fine, and there’s the possibility of a happy ending for Olivia and Fitz – “Scandal” is at a good place now.
It is perfectly okay for it to officially come to an end.
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