Episode 1.02 "Dirty Little Secrets"

I have to say that I enjoy that Shonda Rhimes now says the "previously on Scandal..." statement at the beginning of each episode after a short recap.  She is now consistently that voice.  At the beginning of the series, she wasn't.  I think it's cool to have her do it and not necessarily one of the show's main actors.

Stephen, you're smarter than that.  You just have your face toward the car as David Rosen is driving past?  Come on, Desmond...err...Stephen.

Watching Quinn keep saying that she can do more than just buy coffee and babysit AT / watching her look up to OP so much really counters her current behavior (constantly questioning Huck and OP about their involvement with her new identity/disappearance).  She used to be such a believer ("gladiators in suits") but now she's questioning everything.  STOP ASKING QUESTIONS, QUINN, YOU'RE ALIVE!

Oh, Gideon, you're so sneaky.  But not sneaky enough.  You smell like a reporter.

I actually really enjoy the dynamic between Billy Chambers and Olivia Pope.  I liked the scene during which he calls Morris to make an appointment so that Olivia can get into the White House and I like how he asks what happened and points out that Liv is one of them, etc.  Of course he goes to her to fix Keating because she's the best.  I even enjoyed him semi-asking her out for barbecue during 1.06 and the harmless flirting during the State Dinner...yes, yes, I know he was with Amanda Tanner...all I'm saying is that I enjoy their dynamic.  I think it's entertaining, witty and harmless.  In a lot of ways, they think similarly - trying to get their candidate on top (get your minds out of the gutter!).  Don't worry, I'm still an Olitz die-hard.

I pointed this out on Twitter but I want to point it out again.  In this episode, Olivia says "Tell the President I'm busy," when she's in the White House because she doesn't want to see Fitz.  Fast forward to 2.08 when Olivia is also avoiding Fitz and she tells him "I'm busy" in the hallway before he says he misses her, etc.

I LOVE the relationship between Huck and Olivia.  It's adorable.  Something that I really appreciated when I rewatched Season 1 (which time, you ask) is during this episode when David comes to get Sharon Marquette and he's about to touch Olivia with his pointer finger and Huck goes "DO. NOT. TOUCH. HER." in a really adorable/protective way.  LOVE THAT.

I think the Mellie scenes in this episode are also a result of a lack of continuity given that Bellamy's role was later expanded.  The swift kiss between Fitz and Mellie "You look fantastic" and her suggestion to bring Olivia on to help with the snag in Keating's nomination were a liiiiittle too friendly.  Notice how in episode 1.07 when Mellie says "You know what I always say, if you have a problem, get Olivia Pope on it," with SO much disdain.  That's more of the Mellie we know and love (well, sort of.  I love Mellie and I think Bellamy Young brings it for EVERY scene she does but am Olitz for life).

"Why do men do it?"  "Honestly? To never have the conversation we're having right now."  HAHAHA I think this conversation is hilarious between Harrison and Abby.  He does make a fair point in that I do think a lot of men probably perceive buying dinner/drinks as paying for sex.  Gross.  Moving on.

I think it's a little weird that we didn't see more flashbacks or interactions between Amanda Tanner and Billy Chambers about their plan.  The history of the dog and the suicide.  His reaction when she was thinking about backing out.  How he convinced her to seduce the President in the first place.  What their plan was about the pregnancy (knowing fully well that it wasn't the President's), etc.  I know most Gladiators say that they're glad the Amanda Tanner storyline is over (more on that when I go over 1.07) but I think a little more detail here would have been nice.

A shout out to Sprinkles Cupcakes here.  They're mainly based in California (I don't even really like cupcakes all that much, but let me tell you, these are DELICIOUS - possibly the best cupcakes I've ever had).  Olivia delivered Sprinkles Cupcakes to Morris (she ended up not needing to because the President put her back on the list).  I thought this scene was cute because it showed Liv's knowledge of minor details like the type of cupcakes Morris likes from her days in the White House.  I also love when he says "of course, I don't know what kind of cupcakes you gave him [the President]."  Hilarious.

Olivia to Stacey: "But you have to tell him.  [looks at Fitz]  Because if he finds out from someone who isn't you, it's going to break his heart."  SO SAD.  Why did you have to lie, Fitz?  Why?

I did not see the Mrs. Patrick Keating = Stacey prostitute thing coming.  It was interesting that Keating's reaction was about the nomination "You have cost us everything that matters in this world," rather than a more disgusted/off-putting response given that his wife slept with countless other men and got paid for it throughout their relationship.

LOL and this is definitely my favorite of the men that Harrison goes after with their prostitute requests:

I thought it was really smart how Liv used the power in the room so that Keating could get the nomination and so that Sharon could get away and stop being a madam.  Everybody won.  Awesome.

The "But Liv?  She's the love of my life" scene didn't have as big an effect on me as it did after seeing later episodes.  I think I needed the flashbacks/more back story between the two of them to fully understand and appreciate what that meant.  What Liv meant/s to Fitz.

I wonder if the Scandal writers knew at this point who Quinn Perkins was.  I'm assuming not.  But they ended up writing fit nicely with what she was saying to Amanda Tanner about being in trouble once and that people were...and it would have been nice to have someone help her.  I know her statements were vague, but it worked.

If I haven't mentioned this already, my advice is to enjoy Season 1 for what it is.  There are going to be holes, a lack of continuity, and inconsistencies given they didn't necessarily know where the show was going.  And after all, the Scandal family is human.  Yes, Keating is mentioned as Fitz's FIRST Supreme Court nominee in this episode, which we know to be false -- his first was Verna, but I think the writers just decided to go with the Verna plot because it was more interesting and was a part of the larger conspiracy that is taking shape in Season 2...worth an inconsistency for a plot in one episode (Keating).

As always, feel free to contact me on Twitter (@scandalUS), via email/gchat (scandalUS1@gmail.com) or here to talk Scandal!  Thanks for reading!