TV Ate My Wardrobe

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