Blood Pressure Recaps is a series in which I monitor my pulse during pivotal, suspenseful scenes of a TV show to test its thrill levels. Last night’s season finale of Scandal is the first guinea pig.
For much of its existence, Scandal has been a welcome source of emotional convulsions. But like a stone-faced terrorist mom, this season was tough to love. Thursday night’s moderately paced finale may be proof that the funnel of suspense that typically moves this series has either vanished or it’s on a break somewhere, shriveling up in the sun.
Thrilling or not, Scandal still has some juice and last night’s finale, “You Can’t Take Command,” revealed the start of some major new developments. Just as Mellie is shifting into a more powerful, deserved position from First Lady to Senator of Virginia, her husband President Fitz has kicked her out of the White House. He’s also finally fired Cyrus as his Chief of Staff and righthand bro, after learning about both Cyrus and Mellie’s alliance with Rowan Pope. Huck’s still a madman. Sweet, adorable assassin Jake is still hopelessly enamored with Olivia. And most important (ugh), Liv and Fitz, Fitz and Liv, Olitz, are back together.
Everything is in flux. And yet, season four failed to leave me in shambles like Scandal normally does. It’s surprising, given how promising it started: with Olivia kidnapped and imprisoned, a storyline that seemed abruptly abandoned. In that winter premiere, when Liv finally has a chance to escape and runs toward a door, key in hand, only to be stopped by one of her captors, I literally felt my heart racing. We knew she’d get out, but her desperation and loneliness at that point was pretty dreadful.
For me, the excitement dipped after that episode. But a Scandal season finale is different. Shock is inevitable. To prepare for the impending distress, I bought a blood pressure monitor from a local CVS to keep track of my heart rate during major scenes.
Would this finale turn me into an emotional wreck? Would it make me convulse? “Here we go!” I said to no one.
Scene: Rowan Pope chats with Mellie at the White House
The central, magnetic force of last night’s finale is Liv and Jake and their doomed mission to shut down B613. Unfortunately, Eli and his grimaced monologues met them at every stop, starting with a quick visit to the White House to blackmail Mellie into cooperating with him by showing her a few snapshots of her affair with Andrew.
Once again, Mellie is at the mercy of a dude. And when Fitz later kicks her out, she’s also lost her key partner. Still, Scandal has increasingly become a proud feminist vehicle: storylines this season have included a sex tape scandal, slut shaming, Olivia Pope’s sexual rebirth, a girl caught having sex on video, military rape, Lena Dunham as a tell-all sex author, women running for president and domestic abuse. So clearly this is just the beginning of Mellie’s power evolution.
By the way, a normal resting pulse is somewhere between 60-100. At this point in the episode, I’m extremely chill.