Scandal Round Table: "Mama Said Knock You Out"

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The Grant kids are in the (White) House!

Scandal Season 3 Episode 15 brought the family drama to a new level.

Join TV Fanatic Staffers Christine Orlando, Jim Garner, Miranda Wicker, Leigh Raines and Emily from ABC Scandal Fans to discuss the latest in DC.

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What was your favorite scene or quote of "Mama Said Knock You Out?"

Christine: Olivia chastising Andrew after she first suspected their tryst. She'd just been screwing around with Fitz in the Oval Office (there are cameras in there, right?) and now she's telling Andrew that he's going to ruin the campaign. Talk about a hypocrite. I was actually yelling at my TV. 

Jim: I loved Andrew looking at Olivia and just saying "glass houses." He's right, of all the people that should say something about having an affair, it's NOT the person who just had sex in the oval office.

Emily: Fitz running interference while Cyrus is trying to take Jake's head off! Would have loved to see Cyrus get a good shot in!

Miranda: I loved the Jake-Fitz encounter because I love it any time someone challenges Fitz. But my absolute favorite scene was the First Family dinner. It was so delightfully awkward and uncomfortable!

Leigh: Glass houses was hands down the best comment. I was also in awe of Fitz and Mellie being able to have an insane fight and then clasp hands and present a united fight to their children. Just stunned, wow.

Is Liv really the help?

Christine: Unfortunately, yes. She's always there to clean up the mess and keep them on track. And occasionally she's Fitz's lover when he decides he can fit her in. Olivia started this show as a strong character but more and more she just seems to be there to make sure things are okay for Fitz and it's a bit depressing. 

Jim: Yes, but that's not a bad thing. A lot of us are help in the world and what we do matters a great deal.

Emily: Yes and no. It does seem that she has spent more time cleaning up the messes in the White House, but at the same time, she's brought some of that on herself. By being in a relationship with Fitz, she's automatically pulled in to more of the sticky situations because of that relationship and how that gray area overlaps with the aspect of just doing her job.  Hopefully she'll be able to walk into that "light" she's searching for soon. 

Miranda: She absolutely is, in more ways than one. Not only is she the one cleaning up people's messes, but Shonda made a political point by using that particular phrasing, a point which I hope will turn Olivia back into the strong, confident, take-no-bullshit woman she was when this series began.

Leigh: Well her job as a fixer IS to help people. But the way Mama Pope meant it was that she was always going to be behind the scenes as just another bit player at the White House and never the main dish.

What did you think of the Grant kids?

Christine: About as screwed up as I'd expect given the circumstances. Their parents have very little time for them so they're lonely, smart, materially spoiled and looking for ways to assert whatever power they have. I only wish Mellie had told her daughter that her father's been cheating for years, but I suppose as a mother she doesn't want to hurt her kids any more than she already has. 

Jim: Meh. We really haven't seen enough of them to make any kind of impression.

Emily: I loved finally getting to meet the rest of the Grant family and the dynamic between the kids and Mellie and Fitz. I agree with Christine about the expected dysfunction and the kids being privy to more than I expected since they're away at school. I hope we get to see more of them before the season is out. 

Miranda: They were perfectly, delightfully hormonal and just like teenagers can be. I think the family dysfunction is part of what made the episode so enjoyable for me. 

Leigh: Exactly what I expected them to be. They're detached, living far away from their parents, trying to maintain a perfect image as the First Family. Yet they are still teenagers and still care that their parents are cheaters. They're struggling between being the perfect offspring and formulating their own opinions and views.

Quinn: Huck or Charlie?

Christine: Charlie. Huck and Quinn turn my stomach. I need those weirdly sexual scenes between them to stop. Now.

Jim: Huck. While he seems less stable, he really wants what's best for her. Charlie is just in love with the idea of having a girlfriend.

Emily: Ahhhh! I have to say Huck as much as their dark moments are hard to watch right now. I say that because I think Charlie would turn on Quinn really easily and is definitely more loyal to Command and the job than he would be to her.  The loyalty for me is what makes Huck the better choice. Yes, he pulled a Dentist, Little Shop of Horrors style, but Quinn crossed a line and turned her back on the OPA family and Huck was trying to protect Olivia, not himself like Charlie would.

Miranda: This is one of the subplots that has me most intrigued. Huck and Quinn together romantically kind of skeeves me out a little bit while simultaneously pulling me in. And Quinn and Charlie's Bonnie-and-Clyde routine is also interesting. I think Quinn is going to find herself in the position of having to choose to kill one of them and she'll choose Huck. 

Leigh: Huck and Quinn always gave me the sibling vibe and unfortunately they still do!

Why would Jake Let Ivan, Marie, and Adnan go?

Christine: Perhaps he thinks there is a larger conspiracy afoot and wants to see the bigger picture before he round them up. Honestly, I'm not sure but I look forward to finding out. 

Jim: He wants to see what they are planning. Clearly Adnan and Marie are planning something around the President. I'm more surprised that Olivia's computer was so easily copied from.

Emily: I'm with Christine on this one! I think Jake wants to see more of what they're up to first, knowing that may be easier and possibly faster than bringing them in for interrogation.

Miranda: He definitely wants to keep tabs on them a little while longer knowing that they're probably not the head of this snake.  

Leigh: Good point, Jim. Olivia's computer should be way more secure than that. I want to agree that he's just waiting for more information, but part of me thinks he's up to something shady and purposefully going against what Fitz would want.

Should Mellie have come clean to Fitz about what she sacrificed?

Christine: YES!!! Once again I was yelling at the TV. Please for God's sake tell him! It was so frustrating that she didn't and she let him feel so superior. That really bugged me. 

Jim: Yes, she should have. I was WAITING for her to slap him down with how she's kept silent about being raped by his father. Oh man, was I waiting!

Emily: Gahhh! I was yelling at my TV too! I want her to come clean with Fitz because by being kept in the dark he'll never understand how much Mellie has sacrificed for him. At the same time, not only do I think she's trying to protect Fitz, but as a mother I think she's also trying to protect Jerry from the truth. I don't know a mother who would allow something like that to destroy her son. As much as I think she needs to be able to talk about what happened I almost feel like the time to come clean has passed and now it would only cause more pain by revealing the truth. 

Miranda: Yes, absolutely. I can't even begin to imagine the emotional weight that someone in her position would carry for all those years, so I can't begin to imagine how hard it would be to confess that to the man you married. But at the same time, I'm tired of her carrying all the blame and guilt for their failed marriage. I realize that scene was Fitz getting things off of his chest and saying that he would no longer carry the guilt and blame for cheating, but he deserves the truth at this point. They both do.

Leigh: Fitz just gave her such a dressing down and Mellie has always been made to feel like crap in their marriage. That fight was such an eye opener about their previous relationship and I wish that Mellie had just been about to speak her truth.

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Scandal Season 3 Episode 15 Quotes

Andrew: Glass houses, Olivia.
