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Scandal 3.07 Costume Review: The Making of Mellie

It’s a big episode for Mellie as we find out what she was like long before the “Grant for President” campaign and we learn just how much she has sacrificed to become First Lady, a role that she pretty much despises. It’s a hard episode to watch because of what happens to Mellie and I’m still feeling uneasy about how this incident has been used as a plot device, particularly with the super soapy twist.

Starting with the present and the role we are used to seeing Mellie in as she puts her First Lady host hat on. This is the aspect of being in the White House that Mellie detests but she’s good at fake smiling her way through it all. The royal blue Michael Kors ensemble is a typically Mellie and denotes power. She’s wearing one of her many pearl necklaces and this is pretty much her standard First Lady uniform. Mellie’s hair is showing of the volume we have come to expect.

Flip back 15 years (flashback filter alert) and it’s a very different look and I’m in agreement with this tweet from Libby Hill “Sorry Scandal, I don’t believe Mellie was ever the kind of woman to not wear lipstick.” Mellie is all fresh faced and in love and it looks like Fitz is confused by Cyrus’ beard – Cyrus also has another beard as he mentions his wife. It’s all idealistic at this point and this doesn’t last for long as Fitz’s dad is a big booming voice of derision (and much worse later on).

The neutral color scheme here is pure Olivia Pope and there’s a unity between Fitz and Mellie in this shot that we barely see in the present. Fitz is wearing a turtleneck and jeans and it’s a very waspy look.

There are no pearls and this haircut screams mid to late 90s – they mentioned the Boston bombing a few weeks ago so this makes Scandal world in the same year as us; making these flashbacks are 1998. The floral dress is pretty and I could even see Mellie in something similar to this now (not paired with that cardigan and in a darker color), it also happens to be what Mellie is wearing when Fitz’s father rapes her. Yep, this happens and it’s awful and while I think that it is a step too far this review from Sonia Saraiya provides a good argument as to why this moment is important in the construction of who Mellie is now.

The day after, Gerry tries to bring it up and apologize that ‘things got out of hand’ and Mellie doesn’t want to hear any of it as she has an entirely different plan. The only real acknowledgment is when she enters the room and wraps her cardigan around herself. The turtleneck is the most covered you can make your neck look and this is a sign that she doesn’t want any part of herself exposed to this vile man who just takes what he wants. Mellie is pragmatic and this is the first in a long line of moments that she fake smiles her way through. Bellamy Young is exceptional in this episode and Mellie makes my heart ache with her post-assault reaction and then this brushing it under the carpet decision.

The rape scene is followed by this incredible and slightly disorientating shot in the Oval Office as Mellie walks around bare foot drinking whiskey. It’s here that she hints at what she has been through, but Fitz is as clueless as ever when it comes to fathers (he later finds out that Rowan is Eli Pope). Mellie lays it all out here, she knows that there’s no longer any romantic love but can’t Fitz have her back the way she has his? This is the second pleading speech that Mellie has given recently and for all of Mellie’s schemes she does it all for Fitz (and to be part of a power couple) but she’s the one taking shit for his keeping his pants on problems.

Part of this plan to make her more likable to the general public involves parading baby Teddy around who is super adorable as he plays with his mother’s pearls.

More pearls (as with last week they are vintage Chanel) and an amazing purple dress as Mellie gets her scheme on with Cyrus. It’s all back to normal, except this time Mellie and Fitz aren’t declaring war on each other and they seem to be on the same page. I’m looking forward to a Mellie/Fitz united front because the ‘I hate you, no I hate you more’ saga has become a little repetitive.

One final moment from the flashback scenes and Mellie looks happy as they start Fitz’s campaign for governor. She also tells him that she is pregnant and it’s this moment that made me throw my hands up as do we really need a “Who is the daddy?” story, especially one like this? This is probably the first time that Mellie did the faking it in public thing and it’s something she has become the master of. This is when Mellie developed the hard exterior and she barely lets the mask slip now.

Moving on to Olivia and this black Dior coat with big white lapels and cuffs is everything. Olivia has a lot of AMAZING coats and this one is up there with the Burberry trench from the season 3 premiere. The full skirt with a white lining on this coat makes it perfect for swishing purposes.

Here is a better look thanks to Fitz’s surveillance guy. Olivia looks sad and with the reveal that her mother is alive (WHAT?! Yeah the only surprise is that this reveal came this early) I’m sure she’s not going to get any less conflicted soon. I want to see the more defiant Olivia and I know this will be hard considering the shit that is piling up, but there’s been a lot of semi crying Olivia recently.

It’s a rare sight, but Olivia is wearing something in blue and maybe her recent state of mind is throwing her off her usual wardrobe patterns. It’s a color that softens her and it complements the lighter shade of blue that Jake is wearing.

There are two things you can guarantee with Harrison; that he won’t say no to a request from Olivia and that he will be wearing snazzy suspenders. This time in hot pink.

Abby’s new look involves a lot of accessories including this amazing necklace and costume designer Lyn Paolo revealed that it is made from a vintage Movado watch. Darby Stanchfield also features on this week’s TV Ate My Wardrobe “Out of the Box.”

Quinn’s top is pretty hypnotic and maybe she stared at it for too long as Quinn did something incredibly dumb this week; not only did she smooch Charlie, but she’s now another pawn in the B613 parade. Oh Quinn, when will you learn? I think the answer is probably never. Pro tip – don’t brag about how awesomely perceptive you are and then go and kill an innocent person.

Also hanging around is Jake and Olivia ignores Fitz’s warning to a) not hang out with Jake and b) not look into the reasons behind the plane crash. Jake’s wearing a leather jacket so he might be bad news for Fitz but he looks pretty great on protection duty.

One final shot of Harrison wearing three different patterns and both Abby and Harrison are pulling their best “You what?” faces. There is no reference to Harrison’s troubled past and we don’t even get a David Rosen mention, let alone an appearance.

Tags: "Everything's Coming Up Mellie", Bellamy Young, Dior, Kerry Washington, Olivia Pope, Scandal, Scandal Fashion

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Categories Costuming, Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.06 Costume Review: Team Josie Marcus

8 Nov

It seems silly to suggest that things are heating up on Scandal because it never slows down and in “Icarus” it’s getting a little bit too hot for some. There are multiple threads with B613 and Remington moving in tandem, a hint at Harrison’s past and the campaign for the Democratic nominee is giving Olivia the distraction she definitely needs right now. The big bombshell that Huck and Jake dropped at the end of last week provides much of the impetus for Olivia’s actions this week and we also get a glimpse at her childhood. Familiar costume patterns show that Olivia is trying to keep the status quo and there is a superb discussion on image and what it means to be a woman courtesy of the Josie Marcus campaign. So let’s get to it.

Olivia perfects her penetrating stare this week as she tries to get to the bottom of her mother’s death while not getting anyone else that she cares about killed. This trip to the Oval Office to turn down the request to work on Fitz’s re-election campaign is a fleeting visit and Olivia doesn’t even take off her Armani Collezioni funnel neck tweed coat (it’s very similar to this Stella McCartney one from a few weeks ago). Olivia spends a lot of this episode in grey, especially when she is dealing with anything Fitz related.

A couple of white jackets do make an appearance and she explains her choice of Josie over Fitz as her standard mantra “White hats people.” Olivia wears white when they’re trying to convince those with a lot of money to give to the Marcus campaign and in this scene they are trying to explain to Josie that to win she can’t just be nice, unless she wants to be President of Candy Land of course.

That line pokes the bear and we get this delightful shot of Lisa Kudrow as Josie Marcus showing that nice isn’t her only move. Josie doesn’t want to be made into someone that she isn’t but at this point she doesn’t get the game like Olivia does. So far Josie is playing the baking and chat show friendly lady persona when she needs to be working on combining this personable charm with her leadership skills.

Both of these TV appearances show Josie doing the rounds that campaigning politicians make, but with both of these examples it is highlighting her femininity in a way that can be edited together to make Josie seem nice, but inexperienced as a leader. One of the things that The Good Wife does so well is mirror the media commentary surrounding sex scandals and elections and here Scandal is showcasing their ability to do the same.

When it comes to Josie’s big interview with James, Olivia and Abby use their earlier experience of being on the receiving end of Josie’s anger to provoke her into giving the interview that will give her the bump she needs. They know that she doesn’t want to be told how to change and while she would be pissed at their manipulation it does the trick and Josie proceeds to dissect the image BS and sexism that female candidates face. This includes terminology like ‘Cinderella story’ and the pitcher of iced tea that has been put on the table by James’ producer. They’re all subtle enough phrases or images that a viewer might not give it a second thought but it helps form a perception.

If Hillary Clinton runs in 2016 I’m sure we’ll have a lot of these kinds of things to look forward to. *Sigh* This includes talk of what the candidate is wearing and they’ve been smart with Josie because there’s nothing of note to mention; her clothes are neither too flashy nor too dowdy and that’s the point. The focus should be on her, not on what she is wearing.

Olivia needs to be busy because when she isn’t, she is at home doing the above. Seeing Olivia this drunk and desperate sounding is new, wine is normally her solace and we’ve seen her down more than one glass in the past but never like this. Olivia does what I’m sure most of us have done in the past and that is drunk dial someone you shouldn’t, though this is normally reserved for romantic mistakes. Olivia calls her dad and wants to know what he did, Eli gives her one question but isn’t particularly forthcoming.

While Olivia is dealing with family drama, Harrison gets to do something other than saying Gladiators as Cyrus uses a face from his past to motivate Harrison into getting Olivia to drop Josie as a client. Harrison has a pocket full of polka dots and looks as dashing as ever. While the name Adnan Salif sends Harrison into a tailspin and the arms of Huck (well not literally, he just needs a favor) I am so glad to have a hint at a Harrison backstory.

This also leads to this darker suit/shirt/tie/pocket square combo and while it’s lacking the color of Harrison’s usual attire it’s still giving the Harrison power clashing signature style. Will Huck come through or will Cyrus get the mysterious Adnan Salif back in the US?

Meanwhile, Quinn is fed up of Huck ignoring her and being terrible with guns so she lets Charlie give her some lessons. Charlie can never be trusted so it’s no surprise that he is still in cahoots with Eli Pope. The hint of black lace on Quinn’s top and the close proximity between this pair as he demonstrates his gun skills (phrasing) would suggest that an unholy union is going to occur. Oh, Quinn. Quinn also earns herself yet another nickname as Charlie refers to her as Robin – this is much better than Baby Huck but still not great.

Huck is too busy hanging out with Jake – ok they’re working on top secret spy stuff – to worry about what Quinn is doing and I think this is something he will come to regret. The B613 crew like to wear a lot of blue, nice not a deep-V Jake.

Abby gets to spend most of the episode with Olivia and she is super happy to be on the Marcus campaign, Abby’s makeover continues to look wonderful and this week she wears more animal prints, long cardigans and her infinite supply of belts and necklaces.

My favorite is this Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress for the simple reason that I always love DVF wrap dresses (see pretty much everything Alana Bloom wears on Hannibal). One major drawback was the lack of David this week, but there was more than enough going on for them to get a free pass on this absence.

At the White House Mellie is not happy that she practically begged Olivia to come back and Olivia still said no. Mellie has another plan up her sleeve when she finds out that Veep Sally’s husband has a wondering eye. There’s a brief moment of sympathy from Mellie but she’s not going to waste an opportunity like this to get Sally to fall in line. So at dinner Mellie does her best subtle flirting at it turns out that Daniel Douglas doesn’t need much prompting to get a little touchy feely. The deep dark burgundy combined with the Chanel pearls look exquisite as Mellie has her game face on.

What’s a guy to do while he is waiting for some important information other than do some push-ups? This is an apartment that has many lights and yet still appears to be incredibly dark at the same time. Maybe it’s a spy thing.

Like Olivia, Fitz does a lot of staring this week including out of this window and the blurry quality suggests that he is heavily conflicted. We don’t need the window to tell us this but thanks to what he did or did not do with regard to Remington he has a lot on his mind. When Olivia drops her mother bombshell there is a flicker of confusion on his face and this looks like the first time he has heard this story. He still won’t tell her what happened though.

The Remington plot is ticking along and the other pieces are starting to come together, but it’s Lisa Kudrow’s performance that elevates this episode from good to great.

Tags: "Icarus", 3.06, costume design, Kerry Washington, Lisa Kudrow, Lyn Paolo, Olivia Pope, Scandal

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Categories Costuming, Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.05 Costume Review: Gowns, Sweats and Uniforms

1 Nov

It is the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Scandal and yet another stunning gown from Olivia Pope. Olivia is caught between not only her father and her sanity, but between two different campaigns as both the Republicans and Democrats vie for her services. As opposed to the huge nine costume changes last week “More Cattle, Less Bull” focuses on fewer looks and we get to see all the sides of Olivia’s style with work wear, fancy gowns and at home attire.

First up is Olivia in a white Dior jacket as Olivia interviews for the role of Josie’s (guest star Lisa Kudrow) campaign manager. This is pretty much standard Olivia Pope and it keeps with the image and color palette of Olivia at work; it is essentially Olivia’s uniform.

It’s easy to see why this Rubin Singer dress has been talked about all week as it’s a show stopper. It’s a really interesting looking gown and the geometric shapes in black and white aid the swagger walk that Kerry Washington has nailed for Olivia. This is Olivia’s entrance to the WHCD and she looks incredible. Jake doesn’t look too bad either in his tux and you can see why she asked him to be her date, even if she does run off to have a secret rendezvous.

It’s not who Olivia is expecting and she is greeted by Mellie instead, who after getting off one cheap shot asks Olivia to rejoin the Fitz campaign. Olivia is hostile to Mellie at first and the cut of this dress provides a striking visual with Olivia’s long black gloved hands on hips. There’s something a little superhero couture about this pose and hairstyle. It contrasts with Mellie’s J. Mendel burgundy gown and for once despite her usual manipulations this feels like an honest Mellie.

Mellie is very good at faking happiness as demonstrated in the photo above and she is every inch the perfect First Lady at this event even with the many jokes about Fitz and his keeping it in his pants problem. Fitz like Jake also suits this look, but Jake wins the prize thanks to his tux having military flourishes.

The volume of Mellie’s hair might be an indicator of how unhappy she is and how much she is faking it. In this scene it is at an all new high as is the forced smile.

They’re feeling the heat thanks to the very likable Josie Marcus who manages to sidestep her very own scandal thanks to Olivia – they need to make “We Got Poped” buttons, tees and bumper stickers. At the debate Josie is wearing an American flag pin but with a twist as hers is shaped like a star instead of the standard flag. So who is Olivia going to chose? It seemed like an easy answer thanks to Mellie’s pleas but the news that Jake and Huck have uncovered will make Fitz the less favorable choice. Oh and Huck is totally Team Olake.

This basketball scene gives both Jake and Fitz fans something to cheer about and gives Fitz something other than a suits to wear (he also gets some pj time later in the episode).

You know who loves to wear something fancy? Yep it’s Harrison who gets to lead the team in Montana and he questions Olivia’s judgement later as she hesitates to take Josie’s offer. It feels like conflict could be brewing between Olivia and Harrison. The tie/shirt power clashing is the standard Harrison work attire and we also get a glimpse at his supper snazzy polka dot suspenders too. Abby is once again rocking the leopard print Diane von Furstenberg blouse that she wore last week and I like it when shows like this includes repeat outfits.

Looking a little more casual without a tie, Harrison wears another pattern clashing shirt and suspenders combo all while not looking freaked out by the ram skull on the wall behind him. Instead he is giving Abby grief telling her that she’s “got issues.”

These issues are to do with Abby’s renewed romance with David and it hits a slight bump thanks to Abby lying to David about why she can’t go to the WHCD; it turns out her ex-husband is also attending. They’re still in the early stages of being a couple again and after all the deception it’s easy to see why it causes this issue. It’s ok as Abby turns up to David’s apartment looking very Old Hollywood in this Ralph Lauren gown (with a hint of Julianne Moore) and the pair smooth things over. This mention of Abby’s ex suggests that there is more to come about Abby’s past soon.

One of the things I love about dressing up is when you get home and can change into all the comfy clothes. Olivia does this too and thanks to Mellie’s chat she’s totally into the idea of a Fitz re-election campaign and this leads this old campaign tee and digging out a box of memories. This shot is also a hint of what we can expect in terms of the careful placement of objects if they don’t write Kerry Washington’s real life pregnancy into the show.

Tags: Costume Design. Lyn Paolo, Dior, DVF, J. Mendel, Kerry Washington, Olivia Pope, Ralph Lauren, Rubin Singer, Scandal, Scandal Fashion

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Costuming, Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.04 Costume Review: Trying to be a Good Girl

27 Oct

On Scandal last week Olivia Pope pretty much wore one outfit and to mix it up in “Say Hello to my Little Friend” there are nine costume changes for Olivia. The rest of Pope & Associates also show off their pattern filled closets and these might need downsizing if their financial troubles continue. So let’s get right to it as Olivia showcases her many white jackets and also throws in some rare patterned pieces.

Olivia in plaid is unusual even though this beautiful Ralph Lauren coat it sticks to her color palette, especially as Olivia is addressing the press. Olivia is facing a lot of turmoil in her personal life as she tries to ignore the plot her father is involved in and she wants to get back to “being a good girl.” Good girl would suggest the white hat but has Olivia come too far with everything she has done to reclaim that role? This shot also gives a better look at Abby’s wine colored Donna Karan draped cashmere coat that she wore a couple of weeks ago pairing it with another patterned scarf.

This is one of the white jackets that Olivia wears in episode 4 and she is appearing on TV to talk trash about the girl that their client is accused of murdering. This is the look I expect from Olivia when she is creating spin to help her client and it is paired with a dark top; the battle between light and dark is a repeated motif this year. It’s hard to tell where Olivia is coming from this season and how much of this is intentional and over at The AV Club Sonia Saraiya addresses the confusing nature of Olivia’s motivations and why certain things feel a bit off.

A classic Olivia Pope pant suit as she addresses her new client for the first time in front of the other associates; it’s not the bright white we see later in the episode and is entering grey territory. This reflects Olivia’s already wavering belief in this client as also represented by the plaid of her Ralph Lauren. The rest of the Gladiators in this shot are in their usual attire as Quinn is in the electric blue that has become her color this season, Abby is showing off another gorgeous blouse/pencil skirt combo and Harrison looks as dapper as ever.

White is Olivia’s uniform of choice and this double breasted white jacket is Olivia fits this description as she meets a potential client for the first time. This scene comes after her discussion with Jake about returning to normalcy so it’s not surprising to see her in something like this.

Another patterned piece with a textured wool blend jacquard Akris jacket showing another slight departure for Olivia as the case against their client gets stronger. Patterns aren’t really Olivia’s thing and the chaos that she is trying to control is showing through her clothing choices.

Patterns are both Harrison and Abby’s thing as Harrison continues to power clash his tie with his shirt and Abby adds more animal print to her wardrobe with this Diane von Furstenberg leopard print silk blouse. The palazzo pants and Tory Burch leather and chain belt are part of Abby’s big wardrobe update and Lyn Paolo has been killing it with Abby’s styling this season. In this scene they tell Olivia they are willing to work for free and I think we need more backstory from both of them to reinforce this level of devotion.

More form Abby’s new look and attitude as she attempts to coax David back on side as she visits him for a maybe lunch in this super sexy belted jacket and as I mentioned in the epic pre-season 3 Scandal chat, David and Abby are the couple I root for and it’s good to have one romantic story on this show that isn’t DRAMA all the time. More of this please to go with Abby’s fabulous new look.

Back to Olivia and another incredible jacket – I’m sure her coat/jacket collection could keep the electricity on at OP&A for a good year. This belted Kimono Donna Karan is stunning and as she tries to coax Jan Levinson from The Office into testifying for her husband she indulges in her favorite beverage. This piece covers the Olivia Pope color spectrum with ash grey, white and black and she shows off her amazing red wine not spilling power that I sadly don’t possess.

Back to white with Burberry (of course) as the verdict is fast approaching. Olivia is in her armor but she has judged the situation wrong and a killer gets to walk free. I think it’s time for Olivia to question her gut as a judging device. Everything is all messed up.

This of course leads to red win and lounge wear because what else can you do at the end of the day but pound a large glass of wine? I like Jake and I think it’s good to have conflict and obstacles with the central love pairing of this show but I also want to see Olivia without the ball and chain of a love triangle around her neck.

The same applies for Fitz who I find a lot more watchable when it isn’t purely about Olivia. This is why his scenes at the funeral are interesting as it shows him apart from the political machine that has made him a dishonest figure (though really everyone on this show, aside from maybe David is a giant liar at times). Alas he soon gets dragged back in as Cyrus tells him “I would hate to see your conscience get in the way of your goal.” Oh Cyrus, ever the manipulator. This scene also features a wonderful soundtrack moment with Nina Simone’s “Wild is the Wind” accompanying this excellent and emotive scene.

There’s another moment of honesty with Fitz in this episode and it comes from an unexpected place as he offers Mellie comfort and stands up for her after Cyrus berates her for the big microphone gaffe. Mellie is taken in by this for a second but then storms out; is she worried this is another part of their seemingly endless game of who has the upper hand?

Mellie’s mistake (#MelliesBigFatMouth) takes place when she is looking at her most First Lady; wearing nurturing pink and her pearls. It’s a rare mistake and one that calls into question her already waning popularity. This runs parallel to Olivia’s reputation being questioned and shows they have more in common than they like to admit.

Mellie’s outfit choice after this blunder goes for the opposite of what Olivia would suggest as there is no soft color in sight, instead Mellie goes for black lace and her titanium looking pearls. She’s trying to downplay the moment to Cyrus who is having none of her shenanigans. Cyrus also gives out some fashion advice later in the episode as Ethan returns from Montana wearing cowboy boots telling him “We wear shoes, real shoes, thinking man’s shoes.”

This brings me to Scandal’s latest guest star and TV Ate My Wardrobe favorite Lisa Kudrow who only appears on TV screens in this episode wearing both red and blue jackets.

While there is not much to talk about regarding her costuming at the moment, she is happy to wear the color of both parties and Congresswoman Josephine Marcus is here to cause some political conflict. Cyrus thinks he has the way to take her down swiftly and regain the female vote but he hasn’t factored in the Olivia Pope and she will come into play next week as Josephine becomes Olivia’s latest client.

This episode pushed the Remington plot forward and introduced a new political foil. While Olivia’s motivations are spotty in places I am glad that we got a more Gladiator centric storyline this week. They could definitely broaden Harrison’s role but I will leave you with his excellent dance moment that almost makes up for his lack of backstory.

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Tags: 3.04, Akris, Burberry, costume design, Darby Stanchfield, Donna Karan, DVF, Kerry Washington, Lyn Paolo, Olvia Pope, Ralph Lauren, Say Hello to my Little Friend, Scandal

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Categories Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.03: Staying in the Grey

18 Oct

Going from binge watching a show to seeing it week by week means that you get to pay more attention to the details. This helps with focusing on the costume design of Scandal; it also means that you can get a bit restless with certain storylines. This happened with “Mrs Smith Goes to Washington” as certain aspects like Mellie’s drunken diatribe worked, whereas the Remington barely there development felt frustrating. I understand that we can’t have everything all at once and I’m all for drip feeding information with these conspiracies but at the moment they are sacrificing the screen time of Olivia’s team and characters like David Rosen (who thankfully did get to take part in the overall case of the week).

Now to the costumes and while Olivia pretty much wore the same thing throughout the episode we still have plenty to talk about and coats take center stage once again.

Here is Olivia in a Donna Karan grey draped cashmere coat and Olivia’s coats tend to fall into two categories; structured form fitting trench coats and slightly over sized ones (belting is optional). This is part of the standard Olivia Pope color palette and it’s all about the blue/grey tones. Gone is the white of defiance and she is firmly in the moral grey; her white hat is locked away in a box somewhere.

This shot is from the post bomb confrontation with Huck and it’s safe to say that Olivia has had a pretty terrible day. This is reflected in her disheveled appearance as her single button Giorgio Armani suit is bearing the marks of the bomb blast. It’s an eye opening chat as she discusses her father with Huck and Eli Pope is the puppet master of everything right now. While this story is being nudged along and the net of the conspiracy widens I also hope we get to see the focus shift back to Olivia Pope & Associates in the coming weeks.

Another big part of Eli Pope’s agenda is Jake who was freed last week and Olivia wants to know why. Jake claims that he doesn’t know, but he is also part of Remington and so he is an integral piece of the overall puzzle. Whether he is aware of this is unclear and while he’s got rid of his box beard he still has the cuts and bruises from his time down there. He’s also made himself rather comfortable at Olivia’s apartment and as he watched her for months he knows that red wine will be required. Maybe the Gettysburger was a mistake; it’s all about the popcorn after all. This final shot from the episode emphasizes Olivia’s point that this isn’t a fairy tale and there is no happily ever after.

Also not a fairy tale is this image of a ‘happy family’ as Cyrus talks photo opportunities as Mellie and Fitz argue about how best to feed baby Teddy. Mellie is wearing wine colored purple in this scene and this hints at the notion of royalty and power as she continues to have her battle of wills with Fitz; Cyrus attempts to play the role of referee. This doesn’t stop Mellie from one of her best insults yet as she refers to Teddy as the “son you could barely get it up for to conceive.” I see so much therapy in the Grant children’s future.

Later Mellie is in a very different shade of purple as she gets drunk in the dark. Fitz thinks that she is wallowing because Olivia wasn’t killed; in fact she is doing the opposite and the shot above is Mellie demonstrating what Fitz would have been like if Olivia had died a hero. The pearls are off and her hair has lost some of its volume, she is not pretending to be something she isn’t. Mellie spends a lot of her time manipulating everyone around her to get what she wants but she tends to be very honest with Fitz and no more so than when she has been drinking her dad’s hooch.

Cyrus has another battle with David Rosen and while there isn’t much to say about either of their costumes (except David’s suits are much better this year thanks to his new job) this scene is a highlight as Cyrus tries the stone cold approach and David whips out his notepad of power to gain the moral high ground.

This is a situation where despite what he thinks David does not have the upper hand as he gets double teamed by Abby in person and Olivia on the phone; both know that David’s weak spot is his moral conscience and his love of white hats. I have somehow picked the most awkward moment in this scene and there is clearly still unspoken feelings between this pair. Abby once again looks incredible and wears another fantastic scarf/coat combination. For a better look at this DVF Tanaquil Suede Leather Combo Coat head here as the color blocking is obscured by Abby’s accessories.

While Harrison, Abby and Quinn have not had a ton to do so far in season 3 they at least get to look stylish in the office. Abby is in a polka dot blouse (no surprise that I want it) and the vintage Chanel gold belt is a really nice touch. Quinn is wearing a TV Ate My Wardrobe favorite as her dress is French Connection and Harrison is looking sharp in a suit (standard).

Harrison does get to leave the office and that means he gets to join the cool coat club. He also gets to pull his serious face of the week, but please can he get something more to do than looking snazzy and intense?

What is your favorite Scandal fashion moment from “Mrs Smith Goes to Washington?”

Tags: Aramani, Chanel, Donna Karan, DVF, French Connection, Kerry Washington, Lyn Paolo, Olivia Pope, Scandal

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Costuming, Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.02 “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”: It’s All About the Coats

11 Oct

On the season premiere of Scandal Olivia wore a very striking white Burberry trench coat and in this week’s flashback episode she gave the audience at least 3 more reasons to have some serious coat envy.

So let’s get straight to it as we look at the costume design on “Guess Who’s coming to Dinner?” and the various coats from Olivia’s past and present

The first flashback reveals this is five years ago and the light in the scene is softened to differentiate form past and present. It’s immediately clear even without this chyron that this is some time ago as Huck is homeless and living in Union station and this is the only point in the episode where we get a date stamp. The first flashback coat is a grey tweed Stella McCartney funnel neck and while Olivia is giving off a relaxed attitude to Huck as soon as her back is turned her expression changes and we find out that Sunday’s are dinner with dad day.

The coat that Olivia wears for most of the flashback scenes is a traditional looking camel Burberry trench coat and in the shot above you can also see the Prada purse that costume designer Lyn Paolo got shipped in for the episode. It’s the black version of the bag that Meryl Streep has at the start of The Devil Wears Prada. Last week’s big bunker moment saw a completely different Burberry coat/Prada purse combination and shows that Olivia is consistent with her designer choices. In this scene Olivia is so transfixed by her dad’s possible deception that while searching for the pen she literally throws the other contents on the floor.

Here’s another close up shot of the Burberry coat and pretty much all of Olivia’s coats and jackets have amazing buttons on them (I’m a sucker for great button details).

In the present Olivia is also having frantic and threatening phone calls and here she is showing off both her old school looking Fitz only phone and her white backed (off course) smart phone. The navy blue Alexander McQueen jacket is what I want to focus on and once again it’s all about the buttons. This the kind of tailoring we expect to see from Olivia when she is in full crisis mode and it also reflects how buttoned up her character is as she rarely lets anyone in.

This is paired with white trousers and the light/dark motif is repeated in the flashback scene where Olivia meets David Rosen for the first time.

The difference here is that Olivia is wearing a skirt and this goes against her pants only work wardrobe. This is prior to Olivia’s big dad discovery and involvement with Fitz and a lot has changed in the last five years for this character and her clothing has evolved with these personal changes. David looks different too, his suit isn’t tailored showing he isn’t making all that much money – he jokes that he should have gone into corporate law. His glasses have heavier looking frames and yes that’s a goatee. It’s a small scene but I’m glad to see how these two crossed paths and how David inadvertently helped Olivia discover the truth about her dad as he’s always a strong purveyor of the truth.

Ah yes Eli Pope the man who is Command and this episode filled in a lot of the blanks about Olivia’s fraught and estranged relationship with the man who didn’t really raise her. In the scene above Olivia is in her defiant color – she’s wearing a white dress so we know she means business and this is where she threatens her father to get Huck back. Of course Eli has his way of showing his daughter just how powerful he is and that involves hurting Edison. Eli Pope might look meek in his Sunday sweater but he’s one scary dude.

Harrison isn’t as scary as Eli but he’s pulling a face to suggest that Olivia needs to do something and do something now. All while looking snazzy (standard) in another power clashing ensemble. Now that we know pretty much everything about Huck can we please find something out about Harrison? He’s still pretty much a blank slate right now.

Same applies for Abby and while we know more about her than say Harrison, her background is still full of holes including what exactly prompted this awesome new look. This is a lot funkier than anything we have seen Abby in before and it could be as a reaction to everything that happened with David, whatever it is I hope we continue to see more of this side of Abby. That’s a nice flash of leopard print.

Abby also gets to join Olivia in the amazing coat club with this DKNY wine colored cashmere shawl collar coat and it compliments her amazing raven hair. Good scarf accessorizing too.

Everything is about perception which is why they take Jeneane shopping and they need something current but classic and professional yet relatable. This is what Olivia is an expert in and it’s why she has been so good at creating an armor for herself out of the clothes she wears.

Random observation time but is it more than just a coincidence that Mellie and Quinn are wearing the same cobalt blue color? Mellie is aware that all of her snooping is bad – when Cyrus calls her evil she simply responds with a “You’re welcome.” Whereas Quinn is tapping into her dark side and not realizing the consequences of her actions; this involves Olivia’s emails and accidentally revealing that Olivia’s father is actually the head of the program that ruined Huck’s entire life. Pretty sure Olivia is going to be super angry when she finds out that Quinn has been looking through her emails. Mellie is learning the hard way that her meddling is having the opposite effect of what she hoped.

One final coat and it’s in the present viewed through the smeared windows of the morgue that Olivia checks throughout the episode for the missing Jake (he turns up at the end beardy, bruised, bloody and alive at the end of the episode). This is a grey Max Mara belted shawl coat and it’s another one to add to the “Olivia Pope Coats I Covet” list (see also the “Virginia Johnson Coats I Covet” list).

What is your favorite outfit from the episode?

Tags: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", 3.02, Coats, Kerry Washington, Lyn Paolo, Olivia Pope, Scandal

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Costuming, Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Variety “Power of Women” Red Carpet

7 Oct

Variety’s fifth annual Power of Women luncheon was held on Friday and honored 7 women who have used their star power for philanthropic work and after Amy Poehler delivered an important message about her work with Worldwide Orphans (that you can watch at the bottom) she joked that “Thank you to all the bossy, right amount of crazy women in this room. Giving to charity is good for your skin and makes your ass smaller.”

Aisha Tyler hosted the event and the recipients as you can see in the photo above are Jennifer Hudson, Elizabeth Banks, the aforementioned Amy Poehler, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Amy Pascal and Nicole Kidman. This is an impressive group of women and you can find about their charity work here.

Turning over to the red carpet at this luncheon and it’s good to see an array of styles and colors among the honorees with host Aisha Tyler working the neon pink to maximum effect. After a week of many public appearances and some dubious dress choices (the big gingham number springs to mind) Kerry Washington wore a Vince Camuto cocktail dress that reminds us why she is top of the best dressed lists. The gold polka dots are an instant favorite here and studded Christian Louboutin ‘Malabar Hill’ pumps add an extra bit of flare to the outfit. Elizabeth Banks also looks stunning in this red Dolce & Gabbana top and skirt with lace detail. I’m so excited about what Elizabeth Banks will be bringing to the huge Hunger Games press tour next month and all things Effie related. I could however, do without the nude Louboutin’s that she is wearing at this luncheon.

Some of the cast of Scandal were on hand to support Kerry Washington and Darby Stanchfield’s super pretty Valentino pastel graphic floral design is my favorite outfit from this luncheon. Stanchfield has been on crazy good form with her red carpet choices recently and her new look on the season 3 premiere of Scandal is definitely giving me some red hair envy.

Amy Poehler looks great in this teal long sleeved Beckley by Melissa with Worldwide Orphan founder Dr. Jane Aronson, who Poehler first met in 2009 at a Glamour magazine Woman of the Year event. You can watch a video of Amy Poehler talking about this cause, how great TV is at the moment as well as part of her speech. Did it suddenly get dusty in here?

To see the Amy Poehler and Kerry Washington Variety covers head here.

Tags: Amy Poehler, Darby Stanchfield, Elizabeth Banks, Kerry Washington, Power of Women, Variety

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Amazing Ladies, Red Carpet
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.01 “It’s Handled” Costume Review

4 Oct

It’s back! After a summer of catching up with Scandal, talking about Scandal, predicting what Olivia Pope might wear and admiring what star Kerry Washington has been wearing we can finally talk about the season 3 premiere. This is going to be a different kind of review as I’m going to be looking at the costuming and how this adds to the narrative and tone of the episode. Costume designer Lyn Paolo has done an excellent job of establishing key aspects of a character’s wardrobe – such as Olivia never deviating from wearing pants in the office – and I will be looking at how this informs a scene and how it evolves over the season.

The centerpiece outfit is this incredible Burberry Prorsum Caped Duchess Satin Trench Coat and it acts as armor for Olivia; it’s what Olivia wears to tell her father that she is never out of options and as she tries to work out the best solution with Fitz and Mellie. Olivia has worn other more traditional Burberry trench coats in the past and there is a powerful image that this silhouette produces as Olivia walks with determination to her destination. We’re not used to seeing Olivia backed into a corner like this and while she is trying to give off an image of control her expression reveals how hurt and lost she is feeling. This piece features in the “Storm is Coming” promo photos and it’s one that I wrote about in the Fantasy Costuming series back in July (yes I still can’t believe something I picked something that features this heavily in the season premiere).

If you knew nothing about this show then the image above quickly identifies the two opposing styles of the women in Fitz’s life. Mellie is very traditional and while she rails against the notion that as First Lady she is ornamental not functional she knows how to dress the part. Block colors are very much part of the Mellie look and here she wears midnight blue to emphasize that in her position no matter how ornamental, she still has power and authority even in the presence of the woman that Fitz really loves. Despite their differences Mellie and Olivia are mirroring the other with arms folded as they try to resolve this situation. Olivia is very much in what you would consider work wear – her uniform consists of well tailored pant suits and the costuming shows a clear divide between the roles these women play.

Olivia lays out what color Mellie should wear when they tell the press about the affair details, she tells her to wear a soft color like lavender and as you can see from the photo about Mellie goes in the opposite direction with black. Mellie is clearly not on board with Fitz and Olivia’s plan and this is because she has figured out that Fitz is the one who leaked Olivia’s name. She’s ready to go to war with Fitz and by dressing in black she is mourning the death of her marriage (which died a long time ago) and shows that she is not backing down from this fight. While the cut is still very much in the First Lady tradition, it’s going against the vibrant color palette that we normally associate with Mellie. Gone are the regular pearls too and the necklace she is wearing looks like pearls made from gun metal which is appropriate given all the war talk with Fitz.

While Fitz’s costuming is pretty much what he has always worn, I really like the above shot as it’s reminiscent of this JFK portrait and the image of Kennedy has already been mentioned earlier in the episode. Fitz also pulls a move when he takes off his jacket that at first suggests that he expects some sexy time in the bunker, instead he pulls Olivia into a very different kind of embrace as he comforts her. I’m not Fitz’s biggest fan as he tends to act like a horny teenager a lot of the time so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Olivia returns to the office mad as hell because of the role her team played in choosing an innocent woman to get Olivia off the hook. Harrison is all “There’s nothing wrong with a little self-preservation” showing that these gladiators sure like to live in the moral grey areas. As always Harrison is impeccably dressed and by mixing a polka dot tie with a gingham shirt he shows that power clashing is something he does with both his clothes and with his boss. Olivia is in her usual work wear and I wonder if we will be seeing more dark shades after this experience. I don’t think she will be wearing the white hat that David gave her anytime soon.

Quinn jokes that they should find a bad intern they can blame again who can end up dead, well she made it seem like a joke but considering how she took to torturing at the end of season 2 part of her is probably being serious. From the way Quinn dresses you wouldn’t be able to tell that she is developing this darkness and she wears the brightest colors in the office. Her costuming is still very girly and this gives her an unassuming quality.

There’s something different about Abby this season her poker straight hair has been transformed into this gloriously wavy style (something I have praised about Darby Stanchfield’s red carpet look). We’ve been promised more Abby backstory this season and her style has evolved from being somewhat uptight to this more relaxed and confident appearance. Her relationship with David might have something to do with this and while it doesn’t look like they are back together there was definitely something that bordered on flirtation in the premiere. Abby is one of the only characters that calls Olivia out and so this confidence might also be down to feeling less like one of Olivia’s fixing projects and something nearer to an equal, especially as Olivia has a problem that needs to be fixed now.

A really strong start to the new season and I’m looking forward to discussing how the costuming on Scandal informs and adds to the experience of watching this show.

Tags: "It's Handled", 3.01, Burberry Prorsum, costuming, Kerry Washington, Lyn Paolo, Olivia Pope, Review, Scandal

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Scandal
Author Emma Fraser

Magazine Cover Roundup: Kerry Washington, Amy Poehler and Claire Danes

3 Oct

It’s the start of the month which means new publications of several magazines and some of our favorite TV women feature on the covers. All three of these women have new seasons of their shows to promote and for one of them this has been a year of multiple cover shoots as both her star power and the popularity of her show are on the rise.

I am of course talking about Kerry Washington and at the moment she is getting at least one cover a month, sometimes two. In October she was on the cover of both Glamour and Flare, this month she features on Essence and Variety.

It’s a captivating cover as Washington is staring into the camera full on and she is wearing a stunning Rafael Cennamo Couture gold gown. In the interview she discusses the difference between Olivia’s style and her own “Olivia has three [fashion] modes: Work Olivia, Black-Tie Gala Olivia and At Home Olivia… My fashion is more eclectic: There’s Going to Work Kerry, which is gym clothes and Nike kicks. That’s the Bronx girl. There’s also Red Carpet Kerry and Out to Dinner With Friends Kerry.”

It’s Variety’s fifth annual Power of Women issue and Kerry Washington is one of five women being celebrated for her work as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Washington works as an arts ambassador in areas with poverty-stricken schools, using arts programs to help increase reading and maths scores as well as having a positive influence on attendance, parental involvement and enrollment. It’s a very different cover photo to her Essence shoot but just as mesmerizing. Washington’s red carpet style can’t be put in one category and her magazine covers have varied wildly in style and composition and I can’t wait to see what she features on next – personally I’m hoping for Vogue.

Amy Poehler is another one of Variety’s Power of Women recipients for her work with the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. Poehler is both a fundraiser and an arts ambassador for the organization and she recently raised over $30,000 by throwing an Emmy “losers” afterparty. Co-hosting with fellow “loser” Jon Hamm the invitation stated that if you turned up with an Emmy award then your entry fee was a donation to WWO. It’s not mentioned in the article but I’m also a big fan of Poehler’s Smart Girls at the Party a website which promotes healthy self image for young women.

Claire Danes covered Vogue earlier this year and now it is time for the UK issue of this publication. The cover shot is a lot softer than the US counterpart which almost feels like it is Danes’ Homeland character Carrie on the front. Wearing a tweed Louis Vuitton jacket Danes looks both relaxed and happy and you won’t be surprised to hear that I’m going to find out what lipstick color she is wearing because it’s the perfect soft pink blush for the fall season (when I’m not opting for a ’90s influence).

Tags: Amy Poehler, Claire Danes, Essence, Homeland, Kerry Washington, Parks and Recreation, Scandal, Variety, Vogue

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Amazing Ladies, Magazine Covers
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal Catch Up Chat: The Influence of Social Media and the Rise of Kerry Washington

2 Oct

Over the summer I did the smart thing and caught up on Scandal and I’m joined by Kerensa Cadenas and Julie Hammerle to discuss all things Scandal; including why it has become such a phenomenon, the rise of Kerry Washington and what we hope to see in season 3 when it returns this week.

Emma: The best place to start is when we watched the show and why we started watching as I know that myself and Julie have marathoned this summer and I don’t know exactly when Kerensa watched, though I know it’s a lot longer than us.

Scandal has been all over my Twitter feed and magazine covers this year and the amount of coverage has increased significantly from January to now. I’ve been meaning to watch the show for a while, mostly thanks to the really good word of mouth and because I’ve enjoyed previous Kerry Washington performances. I liked the sound of the soapy story combined with the political aspect and strong female lead, plus I’ve recently watched The West Wing for the first time so had a Washington D.C. hole in my viewing.

I’m not well versed in the shows of Shonda Rhimes as I’ve only seen one episode of Grey’s Anatomy, but she always comes across as an interesting writer whenever I’ve seen interviews with her.

How about you both?

Julie: Hello, ladies,

As far as Shonda Rhimes shows go, I’ve seen every episode of Grey’s Anatomy (except for the last two, which have been clogging up my DVR since May). I watched an episode or two of Private Practice and I think I saw one episode of Off The Map. When Scandal started, I mentally bookmarked the show as something I’d like to watch and then promptly forgot about that. It happens. So, I let the rest of the world decide that Scandal was worth our collective time before binge watching the first two seasons this summer.

The show appealed to me because 1) I love a good nighttime soap, 2) Kerry Washington is all kinds of awesome, 3) Shonda knows how to do drama, and 4) I love shows about the inner-workings of Washington.

What’s your story, Kerensa?

Kerensa: I’ve never been much of a Shonda Rhimes fan. Both my mom and my sister were (and maybe still are) super into Grey’s Anatomy, so as a snobby teen (who am I kidding I was like 21) I refused to get into it even after season one was purchased for me for Christmas. I’m not super into medical dramas, so I never got into Private Practice either.

Honestly, I’m not really sure how I started watching it. I had heard so much on Twitter about the show, my editor was surprised that I hadn’t watched, I think Kerry Washington is a flawless human being so I just went for it one night aided by wine. I was instantly hooked because like Julie said I also love a good nighttime soap, was automatically invested in all the characters and the DRAMA and suddenly discovered presidential fantasies I didn’t realize I had. It helped that once I started watching I badgered my BFF to watch and he got just as hooked.

We now run all our life decisions on whether or not Olivia would do the same.

Emma: This show has definitely benefited from the online conversation and all three of us started watching partly because of Twitter.

Have either of you read the Kerry Washington’s recent Vanity Fair interview? There’s a bit on the amount of tweets the show generates when an episode airs (it’s around 200,000) but it’s the part about Washington getting the entire cast to join Twitter and to live tweet an episode that intrigues me. One of her close friends is a social media consultant so she’s been pretty savvy on this front. Now I don’t think this method would work for all shows but something like Scandal that has that soapy DRAMA quality is perfect for this kind of interaction.

Now seems like a great place to talk about Kerry Washington and we all agree that she is several levels of awesome – plus we totally need some “What Would Olivia Pope Do?” merch.

Most of the films I’d seen her in prior to this were very much supporting roles such as Ray, Last King of Scotland and Django Unchained (and her story was the least satisfying in this film, especially if you factor in other great Tarantino female characters) so I’m so glad that she’s got such a terrific lead part in Scandal. TV really does seem to offer more satisfying roles for a range of women. Washington gets to play a range of emotions from week to week and while I don’t like that Fitz makes her weak she is often the strongest person in the room as she’s gathered a group of broken (but awesome) misfits to work with her.

The whole Olivia/Fitz business is probably a big draw for some of the audience; it’s the stuff that happens at the offices of Pope & Associates that I get the most enjoyment out of. They have been smart in drip feeding information about each of the gladiators throughout the first and second season; how Olivia saved all of them but really they saved her (awww). Except Desmond who has gone to live on an island or something (his name was Stephen right?). Watching how each of these characters challenges or refuse to challenge Olivia’s motivations has been fun and it changes weekly as to who my favorite out of them is (at the moment I’d probably pick Harrison as I love his suits, I’m so shallow).

What do you guys think of Olivia’s team?

Julie: I didn’t read the Vanity Fair article, but I did see this quote (on Tom and Lorenzo’s site):

“One of the most profound things for me about the show is the number of white women of all ages who come up to me and say, ‘I want to be Olivia Pope.’ […] The fact that white women can see this woman of color as an aspirational character is revolutionary, I think, in the medium of television. I don’t think white women would feel that way about Olivia if her identity as a woman, period, wasn’t first in their mind.”

To me, that sums up one of the best things about a Shonda Rhimes show. Her shows are so effortlessly diverse to the point where it’s not even the point. Olivia Pope isn’t an Everywoman (because none of us can look that great in white Prada trousers), but she is, above all, a strong woman to whom we all can relate and aspire to emulate. And, please, order me a few WWOPD bracelets.

I’m going to skip the Fitz stuff for now, because I know we’ll have a lot to discuss about that later. So, instead, I’ll talk about the team.

Desmond/Stephen: As much as I love Desmond, Stephen was kind of his smarmy older brother. I don’t really miss him all that much, and I kind of like the rest of the team (save Huck) being so in the dark about Olivia’s past. It’s like we’re all taking this journey of discovery with them.

Quinn: Whatever, Quinn. She’s, like, the typical Shonda Rhimes newbie girl. She reminds me a lot of Sarah Drew on Grey’s Anatomy — a little precious, a lot naive. They tried to edge her up with the whole murder charge thing, but she was totally innocent, so that didn’t do much to make her interesting in my book. I guess they’re trying to make her the new Huck now, with her learning about computers and spy stuff, but even that feels a little forced to me. I want them to take Quinn to some honestly dark places.

Abby: Abby is also a little precious. They let Desmond have his whores and Harrison have his time in prison and Huck have his whole killing obsession, but the girls are A) wrongfully accused murderesses and B) victims of spousal abuse. Let the ladies be bad, Shonda!

Harrison: I love Harrison, mostly because I know very little about Harrison beyond the fact that he looks fabulous in a suit.

Huck: I’m a little love/hatey on Huck. I think it’s a cool character idea to have a trained killer/ex-spy in Olivia’s ranks, but I am much less sold on the actor who plays Huck. Also, Shonda devoted an entire episode to Huck sitting in a corner mumbling “742” or something while the rest of the cast took turns spilling their guts to him (this is a Shonda show staple), and that’s automatically annoying.

David: I love Josh Malina, partly because he sounds like he’s always reading Sorkin dialogue. I like that they’ve brought David into the group and I hope they let him do more next season than sit in the conference room eating burgers.

Kerensa, what say you about Pope & Associates?

Julie: I take back my David stuff. I forgot that he ended the season working for the DA again. So he’ll probably be more of an antagonist next season, which also makes me happy. Basically I’m very pro-David Rosen and I’m still shipping him and Olivia. Dolivia Posen forever!

Kerensa: I really like the team overall. I do agree with both of you that Harrison completely and utterly rocks a suit. But I really want to know more about him! He feels like such a mystery to me. He will always follow Olivia no matter what and not question her motives, even if he should (i.e. breaking up David/Abby). But I feel like for the most part we know so much about everyone else and as Julie mentioned, especially in the case of Huck, which might not be a great thing.

I actually really like Abby a lot. I think she’s an interesting character and there’s a lot of potential for her. And I totally ship her and David. Although, Emma–I’m gonna need more explanation about this David/Olivia shipping!

I do agree with Julie that Huck isn’t always my thing–but I totally sobbed at the end of that episode when we get his fully backstory. However, I do really like the weird mentor relationship between him and Quinn. I think they both recognize a lot each other in themselves. But like Julie also mentioned, Quinn is super naive and kinda precious so I wonder how dark she’ll actually get in the next season.

I love David so much! I really want him to be part of the team which now probably won’t happen considering his new position.

I did read the Kerry Washington Vanity Fair article–which I went and bought the day it went on the newsstand. And the quote that Julie shared was what really stood out to me as well. I hate to say that it’s shocking to see a show that is so effortlessly diverse but while watching Scandal and recently Orange is the New Black sometimes it really catches me to be like “Wow, there are women on this show!” “Wow, there is racial diversity!” Because apparently everything I’m watching is so (this will be my one swear word I’ll allow myself) fucking white. I think there’s a lot of power in that quote and in those social media numbers because I think it really shows the necessity and demand for more diversity on television.

Emma: Oh it’s Julie that’s all about the Olivia/David pairing; I’m totally shipping Abby and David. I’m hoping for more of them in S3 and I expect we will. I read that we’re going to find out more about her backstory beyond the domestic violence, which I’m definitely looking forward to as I really like her so far (but not when she’s being overly judgemental). When Harrison made it seem like David had a history with hitting woman that was pretty brutal and as you mentioned Kerensa shows that he will do pretty much whatever for Olivia.

Count me in for the sobbing over Huck’s Jason Bourne like backstory, especially as Astrid from Fringe is his wife. The pairing with Quinn is great and the glee that she showed when drilling Dadshaw from The Carrie Diaries leg was pretty dark. Hopefully they’ll explore this more.

David’s great as both an antagonist and as part of the team. He has the same desire to do the right thing and while he’s less morally grey than say Olivia, he’s also willing to bend the rules now. Previously I’d say that he was more rigid so it will be interesting to see how this will influence his decisions in season 3. As you said Julie he is so great with all dialogue.

I’m sad that Brenda Song is languishing on the hellscape that is Dads and will no longer be on this show. #FreeBrendaSong

Diversity on mainstream TV is a joke and one thing that highlighted this recently is the way some people reacted to the news that Coach was coming back to New Girl as they assumed this meant that Winston would have to leave. So ridiculous. Hopefully we’re at a turning point and I hope these numbers and conversation shows this.

One thing I’d like to talk about is how the show balances ‘case of the week’ with the longer arcs. How do you guys think it handled both of these things in S2?

Julie: Astrid from Fringe! I did not put that together. She’s such a cutie.

I think I’m shipping David and Olivia so hard (not that hard) because he’s totally the anti-Fitz, and he’s the only one in her life who will not put up with her shit, especially not anymore. Hot stuff. And totally unexpected. Do the unexpected, Shonda. Of course, this is also the woman who put Meredith and McDreamy together in the pilot of Grey’s, and here they are married with babies 100 years later.

Speaking about diversity, I was reading some Scandal comments yesterday (I know, but they were on the AV Club and therefore relatively coherent). Someone mentioned that they knew immediately that Olivia’s dad was Olivia’s dad because he was an African-American gentleman of a certain age. And then everyone else jumped on that and said they had no idea he was Olivia’s dad because this show is chock full of people of color. On any other show, by any other creator, Mr. Pope probably would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb, but not on Scandal or any other Shonda Rhimes show. Someone even commented that perhaps Shonda Rhimes career up to this point has been one big long con leading up to the second season finale of Scandal, packing her shows full of people of all races and ethnicities just to throw us off the scent of her big reveal. Crafty stuff that, Shonda.

As far as the case-of-the-week stuff balances against the longer arcs, I think the show does a good job of both. Even when there is a quick case to be solved, there’s other stuff going on in the background to keep all of us long-gamers happy. The difficult thing network shows like Scandal have to deal with is the epically long season and long shooting season. I imagine it’s hard to sustain a longer arc like the whole Defiance thing when you’ve got 22 episodes to fill. Sometimes the show feels like it’s making shit up as it goes along. I *hope* Shonda has a very good idea where the whole thing with Olivia and her dad is going, and how it fits into Olivia’s backstory. I think we could have a sort of Sydney Bristow-gone-rogue situation, which would be awesome. Or the dad story could be dropped like a hot potato by November sweeps.

Kerensa: #FreeBrendaSong –seriously she was so good on this.

Julie, that’s such a great point about David and Olivia. I never really thought about it but that makes so much sense. And UGH FITZ. I know we are gonna get to that…

The format works for me really well actually. I’ve never been super big into the procedural structure–but for the most part I’m usually pretty interested in the case of the week stuff with some exceptions. And I think they do have a pretty good balance between the long game and the case of the week. It’s always great when the two really intertwine somehow. Speaking of narrative elements, how does the use of flashbacks work for both of you?

[Source]

Emma: Just got in from work and I’m doing my best Olivia impression by having a glass of red wine (I’m not wearing white loungewear as that would be a disaster).

I like the procedural structure for shows that I dip in and out of or have on in the background but I need longer arcs to stay invested and this is where I see some similarities between Scandal and The Good Wife (plus all the sex and political aspects of course) and I think the flashbacks add to the way it tells the story in the long run. The flashbacks have been used to establish the Olivia/Fitz affair, to show the various schemes and manipulations of characters like Mellie (who I love and have a lot more to talk about later) and to show how Olivia started relationships with the team.

All of these things are important to the big picture that Scandal is projecting and as one aspect is resolved another mystery is exposed. This is where Olivia’s father comes in (a reveal I didn’t spot coming, thanks in part to what Julie says about the diversity of Scandal, I also vote for a Sydney Bristow-esque story) and I suspect that we will be getting multiple flashbacks where he is concerned.

Huck has been served well by his main flashback episode as he was the one character I found it hard to connect to (though maybe this was intended), though I find his hair and beard to be a bit cartoony when he is homeless, like I get it’s meant to be a disguise but it’s over the top. I think we can all agree that Harrison needs more backstory and the same could be said for Abbey too. With Quinn her past was the mystery at the start of S2 but we pretty much know everything about who she was, it’s who she is going to become that has the most potential.

One of the things that has made this such an easy show to catch up on is the breakneck speed of the plotting. The case of the week helps to slow things down when it needs it but they have done an excellent job of balancing all aspects of the story. There were multiple points where I actually yelled at the screen and most episodes end in such a way that you just want to stick the next one on. The writers are doing something very right.

How do you guys feel about the flashbacks?

Kerensa: I’ve never watched The Good Wife. Is this a horrible thing?

I like the use of flashback in the show. It’s a narrative device I like as long as it’s used well. And considering the amount of flashbacks we get on the show it could be executed poorly. But it’s not! I think that using the flashbacks in telling us about how Olivia/Fitz get together is really the most effective because #realtalk I don’t think I could handle seeing that all unfold in real time. And you know I love a good melodramatic romance–but I just couldn’t.

I think it also works well for learning the backstories of Olivia’s associates for similar reasons. These people are Gladiators now. We aren’t really supposed to see them as they were in the past–but knowing those details are important is obviously important in understanding how they come at both the work they do with Olivia and the brief glimpses we get into their personal lives (this relates much more to Abbey than anyone else).

I agree with Emma that the pacing of the show makes it excellent for watching and keeping invested in the story as well. Shonda is promising that stays true for season 3.

Julie, how do the flashbacks work for you?

Julie: I’ve never seen The Good Wife either; so if you’re horrible for it, Kerensa, then you have company.

I have been enjoying the flashbacks and, for the most part, I think they’ve been used well. The second season lulled us into a false sense of how all this works. Olivia’s flashbacks are about her (barf) affair with Fitz. The gladiators’ flashbacks are about how they came to be gladiators. Now, with the introduction of CIA Daddy, it looks as if we’re going to get a lot more Olivia backstory beyond boning Fitz, and I’m very much looking forward to that. I hope these flashbacks will reveal all kinds of craziness.

The pacing of the show is breakneck, but in a really digestible way. We have the cases of the week to ground us in a simple story (same is true for Grey’s, really), but then we also have all this character/backstory happening to keep me tuning in week after week. It reminds me a lot of early Alias in that way (though this show needs more wigs). I’m seriously hoping it becomes even more Alias-like with CIA Daddy in the mix. That excites me. Also, Scott Foley. We can’t forget about him.

Emma: I definitely vote for more wigs and the whole B316 has an SD6 Alias ring to it (plus all of the Bourne movies).

Now to The Good Wife comparisons which I will try to keep to a minimum (I’m pretty sure you guys would love it and it’s definitely one of my favourites) but I was talking to a friend who has also marathoned Scandal this summer and we got on to the subject of Fitz and how he’s kind of the worst. This isn’t just from a romantic perspective, but also as his role as President and while I get that he’s not meant to be a President Bartlet I also don’t think they’ve shown us enough of what makes him a great politician. A politician so good that a group of smart level headed individuals would break the law and rig the election for him. This is where The Good Wife comes in as Peter Florrick has done terrible things in his personal life (sleep with prostitutes) but they’ve also shown that he has charisma and political nuance that not only wins over his wife and the voters, but also the audience. I want them to do this with Fitz so I can actually invest in the central relationship, but at this point they’ve shown that both Mellie and Cyrus have more political savvy.

As you both mention the flashbacks give further insight into Olivia and Fitz, I’m glad we get to see why it’s so intense between them but it also highlights one of my main issues with this pairing and that’s the power Fitz has over Olivia both mentally and physically. There are also moments where Fitz is aggressive in his pursuit of Olivia (like when he is drunk in the elevator) and even though I doubt it will go to a dark place it feels like it could. I know there are lots of very passionate Fitz/Olivia shippers and I can see that they have great chemistry. I also get that it’s meant to be a tragic love story as they can’t be together, but it just isn’t something I can connect to.

Now Scott Foley as Jake is someone I can get on board with – I’ve not seen the appeal before this show but now I totally get it and I’m really looking forward to the Ben vs. Noel debate now that we’ve started Felicity for This Was TV.

I’ve opened the can of worms that is Fitz; what don’t you both like about him and is there something the writers could do that would make you change your mind?

Kerensa: I, too, am super excited for Olivia backstory flashbacks next season. Like has she always been able to wear white without spilling? How does she only eat popcorn and is able to live?

Emma, I totally agree with you, in that nothing has shown us that Fitz is a great politician. I guess maybe he’s cares about people or something? And has the right (seriously, I almost just wrote WHITE there instead of right) WASP background for the job. But there’s been nothing that makes me believe that he is any sort of political mastermind. Unless being great at oral sex is a new qualification? Literally everyone on this show has more political savvy than Fitz–Mellie, Olivia and Cyrus are basically running his career. My personal OTP is that Mellie and Olivia get together and take over the country.

I also have to bring this up for a friend who just recently watched as well. In a heated GChat over Scandal, she mentioned that it’s completely inconceivable that Fitz is a Republican. That’s what she thinks is the biggest scandal of the show. He along with his administration has never really done anything republican at all. Do you guys have thoughts on that?

Emma, I do agree with you about the power Fitz has over Olivia certainly. But I actually think she may have more power over him. I mean when he can’t see/talk/have sex with Olivia–he gets all mopey and whiny and drinks whiskey and kinda forgets that he’s running a country. He acts like a love-struck 16 year old. It’s exhausting. But while, yeah, Fitz puts Olivia into a tailspin at times for sure at least she like can keep working and stuff. And she sort of tries meeting other people–like that boring Senator and SCOTT FOLEY. I never got the Scott Foley thing before either but I’m so on board now.

Emma: I really like that they went with a Republican administration as it’s the unlikely route when it comes to Hollywood and the presidents they depict (even when they don’t say which party they are it often feels like they are a Democrat). When it comes to Fitz being a Republican this doesn’t seem all that obvious, his VP is clearly representing the hardline conservatives whereas Fitz is dancing in the middle. Would a Republican president really have a gay Chief of Staff? This doesn’t seem all that likely and I tend to suspend my disbelief when it comes to the political plots points because this isn’t The West Wing (and as I mentioned earlier, Fitz is certainly no Jed Bartlet). What they did with Fitz’s opponent was smart in a way as they made him into a coward and a killer; he’s no saint either so Fitz on this occasion is the stronger candidate. Though I’ve just remembered that Fitz is also a killer, so eh they’re both terrible presidential candidates.

So we’ve touched upon both season 1 and 2, the team, Fitz, Olivia and some of the other supporting characters so I want to look ahead and ask what you both hope to see in season 3 – who do you want to see more/less of? What story needs more expanding? Do you long to see Olivia in bright colors or would that ruin the theme they have? Also Julie even though I think I know the answer what are your Fitz thoughts?

Julie: Yeah, I don’t see much Republican in Fitz and his administration. His Chief of Staff is gay and Fitz is cheating on his wife with a WOMAN for goodness’s sake. It’s almost as if Shonda and company thought they had to make Fitz a Repub in order to cover for any political bias on the writing team (assuming Shonda and most of her writers are more liberal-leaning; I don’t think that’s a huge stretch). I think Aaron Sorkin took flack during the run of the West Wing because of all the liberal folks running around the White House. He made President Bartlett a bit more centrist, and let the people around him bear the Super Liberal mantle. Maybe Shonda didn’t want to deal with the criticism that Scandal is just more liberal propaganda. Maybe she just thought it would be cool and different and open-minded to write about a Republican president. Maybe she’s a genius and knew this would draw more people to her show. Whatever the case, it worked. Even if Fitz doesn’t.

Also, I was Team Noel back in the Felicity days, so I totally get Scott Foley. And if given the choice between a hot and mysterious spy guy who saves you from intruders and a drunk and whiny Edward Cullen-type, is there really a choice to be had?

Emma: One thing I’m really looking forward to with season 3 is being able to join in with the all the post episode chat as last year I had to basically avoid anything Scandal related in my Twitter feed, on the internet in general and in all the magazines that Kerry Washington started to feature in. Now it feels like I get to go to the party and as this is a show that has a high social media involvement this is definitely a bonus to the watching experience. While I had some of that this summer while I was catching up with the show it will be nice to not have to avoid potential spoilers. It’s going to be strange not being able to stick on the next episode straight away and the withdrawal of going from binge watching a whole season to watching one episode per week is something that takes time to adjust to. At least there will be millions of others yelling NOOOOOOO! at the screen when the inevitable cliffhangers happen.

What did you guys think of the Emmys in terms of Scandal? Dan Bucatinsky won in the guest supporting category – I never understand why these aren’t given out at the Primetime Emmy show (his speech is adorable). The lead actress category was crazy strong and so while I would have loved to see Kerry Washington triumph my loyalty was split between Claire Danes, Elisabeth Moss (who should have won for Top of the Lake) and Washington.

Kerensa: I agree with you Emma. One of the things I’m looking forward to the most is the social aspect of watching Scandal. Beyond us discussing the show in more conversations like this and via Twitter, I’m excited to have viewing nights with popcorn and wine with the 4 people I know who actually watch the show. And I do think Scandal may take over the blessed position of my “visual recap” which I’ve been doing all season with Breaking Bad.

Plot wise, I’m really hoping we get more about Olivia’s backstory. I hope Harrison has more to do. I still want David/Abby to get back together. And I want Mellie to run for office. Cyrus, keep doing you boo. Oh! And I’m hoping for more Scott Foley in shirtless scenarios. Also, since Emma and I have been watching The Comeback I’ve fully realized the national treasure that IS Lisa Kudrow, so I’m so excited to see what she brings to the show.

I was super excited that Dan Bucatinsky won! I know Scandal is considered a “prestige” show by any means and that Best Actress category was filled with excellent performances but I really wanted Kerry Washington to win. I think she deserved it and it would have been an incredibly historic and extremely important moment if she had won.

Emma: How could I forget Lisa Kudrow?! Yeah The Comeback has made me very excited for this guest starring role.

Julie: I, too, loved that Dan Bucatinsky won for guest actor (even though he was in nearly episode of Season 2; I don’t understand the Emmys). I’m hoping that Cyrus (Jeff Perry) will get a nod next year. He has the juiciest role. I was rooting for Kerry to win. She’s the buzziest actress, and, while I’ve come to love Claire Danes late in life, she’s won before. And Homeland kind of sucks now. Let’s move on.

Lisa Kudrow is going to be a great addition to the show. She’ll bring some comedy to the proceedings, and I’m hoping she gets some scenes with Josh Malina, because I think they’ll play well against each other.

Other wishes for Season 3…I hope they kill off Fitz. I know that won’t happen, but I hope it does. I also hope that Shonda and friends know where they’re going with this whole Spy Daddy thing. There’s nothing worse than a show opening up a big old mythology Pandora’s box and then not knowing where to take it. Basing this on my extensive Grey’s Anatomy knowledge, I don’t think Shonda has ever tried anything this complex and far-reaching, story-wise, so I hope she’s up to the challenge. I’m sure there will be lots of drama and fun and gorgeous clothes, so there’s always that.

I’m very excited for Thursday!

For more TV Ate My Wardrobe Scandal coverage head here.

Kerensa Cadenas is a writer living in Los Angeles. She is a staff writer for Women and Hollywood. She also writes for This Was Television, Forever Young Adult, and Bitch magazine. She was the Research Editor for Tomorrow magazine. You can follow her on Twitter and read her ridiculous thoughts about teen television at her website.

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as well.

Tags: Kerry Washington, Scandal, Shonda Rhimes

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Categories Scandal, TV Team-Up
Author Emma Fraser

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TV Ate My Wardrobe

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