I think it's kind of hilarious that at the end of 1.05, we hear Olivia say "Hi" back to Fitz. And then at the beginning of this episode it goes straight to "Why are you here, you can't be here!" Nothing in between? Haha.
Not even one minute (get it?) has gone by in this episode yet there's so much to discuss! Back to the details of his sexual contact with Amanda Tanner..."I know, her baby, it wasn't yours." "No." "But it could have been." Many Gladiators take this to mean that they did have traditional sex. Others take the next line, Fitz's offer to explain the sexual details, to mean that he was denying traditional sex and was willing to explain whatever other types of sex they had to prove to Olivia that the baby couldn't have been his/he didn't have traditional sex with her. "Really? You really want me to detail for you how and where and what positions Amanda Tanner and I had sex? Would that help make you feel better? Cuz I'll do it. You left me, I was unhappy, she was there, one time, I made a mistake." What do you guys think??
Right after comes one of my favorite lines "She wasn't my girlfriend and don't you ever call yourself a mistress, we both know better." Although, um...Fitz? You referred to Olivia as your mistress multiple times at the end of 2.08. Not cool. I'll let you go this time because you were upset that Olivia didn't stop you when you let her go but DON'T YOU EVER CALL HER A MISTRESS, WE BOTH KNOW BETTER.
God, there's no way I can do a blog post about this episode. I literally want to type in the entire script. "The problem is..." "Your marriage. It looks like you don't screw your wife." BURN.
"And you're right...I would be lucky to have you." Man, the double talk with these two starts early, huh?
I love Fitz literally needing to remind himself to take a step back and breathe. LOVE IT.
LOL Abby, you look deranged. And it's not just the crazy hair. It's how excited you are about buying a gun.
I think it's a little weird that someone from Sally Langston's campaign (Amanda Tanner) is giving the schedule of events to members of Fitz's team, but let's go with it. I think the line "I don't care which campaign you're volunteering for I want to thank you for coming out today" is an important line. Seemingly irrelevant. But I think without it, it would have been harder to sell that Tanner was working for Langston's team. Because a member of Fitz's team would have surely been giving Olivia and Cyrus a schedule of events.
I'm gonna agree with those that say that characters like Alyssa shouldn't become regulars. I don't need precious screen time wasted on her storylines that I don't care about.
It always bothered me that Liv and Cyrus were sitting directly outside of the room when Fitz and Mellie were having an argument. They even had the nerve to shoo other people away when they accidentally came too close to the room. Why did Cyrus and Olivia need to hear the details of the argument? They didn't.
"Then we better suck it up and start acting like this isn't a dead marriage." IS not a dead marriage. Not WAS not. How long has it been dead? We may get to see in 2.11.
I also think it's interesting that the only thing Mellie brings up during the fight is how much SHE gave up for Fitz to be President. Literally no other discussion topics? Not that they aren't intimate or don't talk or share things or laugh or whatever..or literally anything else? You're upset about the perpetual resentment even though you gave everything up for Fitz to be President? And let's be honest, you're after your own ambitions too, Mellie.
LOL "Hell, I'm half way to voting for him."
"I think you underestimate how good a politician I am."
I also love the term Hagrid Huck. Hilarious. And true.
"Honey, it's not necessary, we believe you." That's it? Your wife is accused of having an affair and you don't fight about it? You don't talk about it? Pretty obvious that Fitz didn't care.
*Sigh* "I am a man in love. With an incredible woman." *SWOON*
Shonda really does love those elevator scenes, doesn't she? So do we!
I think the first "one minute" scene in the hallway will always be my favorite. The Constitution scene from 2.08 comes close, but I think I will always choose the first "one minute" scene. If I had to choose one picture, one scene, it would be this one. I love simplicity. I love simple writing (clearly, from my blog, right?). I love silences during which two people can just be comfortable in each other's presence. There's no pressure to talk or to entertain or to impress. Two people can just BE. I love when he asks for one minute during which he's not the candidate and she's not the campaign fixer but during which they are JUST THEM. So simple. Two people just standing in front of one another in a hallway. I love this scene. I think it resonates with me because I personally don't need the lavish gifts or the extravagant parties or the expensive anything. When I really love someone, it's about the simple things. The kiss on the forehead, the tight squeeze of my hand when I'm getting emotional, knowing that someone's happiness is rooted in your own happiness, same with pain, not having to say everything, wanting to say everything. It's just a beautiful scene.
AND HOW GREAT IS "THE LIGHT" BY THE ALBUM LEAF???
Mellie, OF COURSE you interrupt with what you're wearing to the town hall. By the way, I don't think Mellie's look to Fitz indicated that she knew something was up. I really don't think she knew until Hal told her about the Constitution scene. I think she just looked at him with a lot of disdain. They do hate each other, after all. They are both in an unhappy marriage. I really think the look was just "I can't stand you." I would put a screenshot of her face here, but I think it would just taint my favorite Scandal moment thus far.
Aw, Liv...you love the fact that Fitz wants to play the rest of the game above board, win or lose, don't ya? Well? Mellie doesn't love that QUITE so much.
I know her stunt during the press conference/fake miscarriage was super sneaky and wily but honestly I respect that Mellie doesn't pretend to be someone she's not (at least for now, y'all know that Shonda tries to go from Millicent to Melody next season). Here Mellie goes after what she wants. The White House. By any means necessary. She plays with the nation's emotions and she's not ashamed. People love to hate Mellie and I have to say I'm no exception. At this point in the series she's cunning, true to herself and fun to watch. And let's face it. Bellamy brings it to EVERY SINGLE SCENE.
Is it just me or does anyone else care less and less about "the present day" scenes in this episode the more they watch it? I couldn't give fewer shits about Gideon trying to uncover his story related to Amanda Tanner. BACK TO THE FLASHBACKS, I SAY! Oh, here we go. Bus scene.
Kerry Washington has said in the past that this scene was one of the more difficult ones. And you can see why. So many silences between these two characters. BUT THEY SAY EVERYTHING, DON'T THEY? Beautiful acting. Can you guys tell that I love Tony Goldwyn and Kerry Washington? Yeah? You got that? OK, good.
"Suddenly I'm looking down at myself and I'm...how did I get here? Why didn't I meet you sooner? What kind of a coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up?" These lines are EVERYTHING.
Oh, no wait. This is everything. LET'S BE INAPPROPRIATE, FITZ!!!! LET'S!!! CALL ME!
No, but seriously. I love the line about being a coward. Aren't we all sometimes cowards? How many of us have made decisions that weren't 100% what we wanted? How many times have we all been scared to do what we want or to let our guard down or to just go for it? This line always reminds me of my constant struggle between wanting to be a kickass lawyer at a top law firm in NYC and wanting to move to South Carolina, learning to row and living on a beautiful beach with a dog and just make enough money to get buy, be a cashier, interact with friendly people and live in a town that doesn't value material goods so much. Living in a less frantic environment sounds nice. I love NYC, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I find myself spazzing out simply because the 234098234 people around me on the subway are spazzing out. And that kind of stress adds up. My dream job is to be a lawyer. I love the law, I'd be very good at it (let's not talk about what that says about my personality). But part of me thinks that I'd spend so much time chasing that dream. I'd be missing out on so many things along the way. Like having a dog. Learning to row. Enjoying nature. *Sigh* Oh, no. I'm rambling again, aren't I? Sorry.
Aw man I love this episode. I love 2.08 more. And I love 2.11 even more. But I've said this before and I'll say it again...I wouldn't have been able to enjoy 2.08 as much without 2.06 or 2.11 if it weren't for 2.08. When I'm feeling blue I watch those 3 episodes in chronological order. I've done this on more than one occasion. That's ok, right? Cool.
Man these silences during the bus ride are SO SEXY. Why can't my conversations ever go like that with a hot dude? Oh, wait. It's never Tony Goldwyn.
If only they had just gone in Olivia's room instead!!! But a lot of people think Olivia going to Fitz's room signifies her accepting Fitz, letting him in by committing to his room. But seriously. IT'S A POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'S ROOM!! Where's Huck when you need him to sweep rooms? Oh wait. Apparently he only does that on every third Wednesday of the month. Shonda, come on, we both know Huck's better than that. (Late season 2 reference).
This song is "No Time Outs" from the Out of Sight soundrack, by the way. Great song. It's not "their" song but it works for me. You know what else works for me? Broken lamps. How many lamps does it take to shoot an amazing scene between Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn? George? Let me know!
Take off your clothes. 'Nuff said. Is it hot in here or is it just me?
I could write an entire blog post about this scene but I'll spare you all. Well...I'll try.
I love the shot of Tony Goldwyn on top of Kerry Washington and he whispers something incoherent and she smiles. SO ADORABLE. Many have said that Tony Goldwyn whispered "You're doing fine" during this scene because Kerry Washington was nervous about shooting this scene in general and in front of the cameramen, etc. If that's true then seriously HOW CAN YOU DENY TONY GOLDWYN'S UNICORN STATUS?
Have I mentioned enough times that I LOVE THIS EPISODE?
"All they had was a tape and a voice. They needed a voice. They needed a girl." "They needed Amanda Tanner." OOOOHHHHHH.
Honestly? Considering what was on the flash drive, I'm shocked that Billy Chambers didn't just leak the flashdrive to the press. I know Sally Langston sites Matthew 13:24 but...clearly he truly believes that she should be POTUS. Don't his actions that we see in the next episode come a year-ish too late? Weird.
What's that, I hear? The Album Leaf??? Olitz's song?? YES!!!
Let's just ignore the fact that Fitz stayed there all night (it's light outside now). OH SHIT! THE LIGHT BY THE ALBUM LEAF. Hmmmm? But yeah nothing happened they just sat in silence and reminisced about their love and how it grew throughout his campaign. :-( I LOVE YOU OLITZ!
"I've imagined your place a thousand times. I like it. It's very you." "Yeah. Living alone has its perks." Can we talk about how unbelievably sad I was after this dialogue? WE TAKE THESE THINGS FOR GRANTED IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS. Or at least I do. Never getting to see the apartment of the woman you love because you're POTUS? Damn. #firstworldproblems. No but seriously never being able to sleep over at your beau's place? Never being able to lounge around and stay in bed all day and just be together? UGH IT'S APRIL 15, 2013 BUT I'M STILL SO SAD ABOUT THIS. If you're in a relationship, please value these precious, underrated, invaluable moments that most people take for granted. Do it for Olitz! I realize I sound crazy, let's just go with it...
I know I'm in the minority here but the hallway one minute scene wins. The couch one minute scene is PAINFULLY BEAUTIFUL. This scene really made me respect Tony Goldwyn is an actor. The look on his face is SO PAINED. Not sure I agree with the statement that Liv has miscarried in the past because he put his hand on her stomach. I think that's a bit of a stretch, at least until we have more information to support that theory.
UGH SUCH GOOD ACTING!!!
Also love how Shonda Rhimes literally timed this scene with a stopwatch. It's exactly one minute long. And yes I timed it myself. Hey, it was another excuse to watch this scene for the 10 millionth time.
Also the first time I saw this episode it BROKE MY HEART when they said good-bye to each other at the end of this scene. It felt like good-bye forever. Spoiler alert!!! It's not.
I will comment that it's interesting that Amanda Tanner and Billy Chambers had a master plan. That Billy sent her in to seduce the President. Scandalous, right??
But not more scandalous than scissors to the neck!!! Too bad. Gideon was kinda cute.
