Olivia and Fitz are back together again and enjoying every scandalous moment together while Cyrus, Mellie and Huck are all still dealing with the aftermath of helping Command. When a visit from the Queen of Caldonia and her family turns into a tragedy, Olivia is hired to make sure the Royal family's private life stays private.
As Scandal has aged, it's become more aggravating. I made my peace watching it knowing that it's largely just a collection of great moments played by great actors despite every episode being wildly inconsistent and the season's overall arc no longer being as compelling or original as it once was. This show can still be amazing. But heading into Season 5 knowing that Olivia and Fitz are once again a couple felt incredibly tiresome. "Heavy Is the Head" needed to establish a direction for the season. One that was different than all the other times Olivia and Fitz were together and causing problems for Mellie and the rest of the White House. The premiere does spend a lot of time letting the characters enjoy the innocent stages of their newfound love. Each one is moving forward with what they want out of this relationship. But it's not until the ending where the future of this couple is revealed.Olivia and Fitz try their best to keep things as secretive as possible. The Secret Service obviously know what's going on - but they always do. Behind closed doors it's Olivia and Fitz and nothing else. They are spending all of their time with each other. Olivia doesn't even go back to her apartment anymore while Mellie and Cyrus have been completely isolated from the White House. But relative peace time is never a situation that Scandal handles well anymore. Yes, it can spend some time focusing on case-of-the-week stories. But it also thrives on being able to build a conspiracy narrative with shocking twists. This premiere does simplify things which makes it a better entry point for the season - as well as something new for the show.
The restructuring of characters' positions on the show is an interesting shakeup. Cyrus and Jake are only briefly seen. But they are on the outskirts of relevancy in regards to what the center of the show is right now in Olivia and Fitz. They are distant because they aren't important to that ongoing love saga. And now, Olivia seems to be the only one actually doing her job. She used to be surrounded by a talented team. Remember when five or six people worked for Olivia Pope and Associations? Now, it's just Olivia and Quinn. Huck is too busy moping on Olivia's couch hoping that one day she'll return and fix him just like she always does. Abby is no longer the effective press secretary she was last season. Fitz and Olivia are in charge of the show right now. They are the ones making all of the decisions. Everyone else has to deal with the ramifications of those actions. The bubble they create takes the subtlety out of what they are doing. Liz knows a lover's quarrel when she sees one. But that also creates a reality where it's understandable that someone would leak their romance to Sally Langston and the press.
This premiere also features a case-of-the-week storyline that Olivia has to handle that also has serious consequences for Fitz. Because the show takes the time to create this fictional country in which to center a royal family around hints that this might not be the last the audience sees of them this season. It's a royal marriage that young girls dream about. This episode shows that that happiness is all just an illusion as the "happy couple" is subservient to the whims of the press. They are no longer able to enjoy the intimacy of their relationship because they live in the public spotlight. It's not all that subtle in its comparisons to the predicament Olivia and Fitz find themselves in. When the Princess is killed in a tragic car accident, Fitz is quick to embrace life to the fullest, serve divorce papers to Mellie and want to commit to Olivia while still in office. Olivia has the opposite reaction. It does drive a wedge between the two as they both are hoping for different outcomes in the handling of this case. And yet, the themes are still transparent enough to suggest that things will continue to be fine for Olivia and Fitz as long as they are able to talk things out.
Olivia is in the right to want to slow things down and consider their actions more carefully. They can't foolishly move into a serious relationship that isn't hidden from their closest friends as well as the American public. But slowing things down doesn't make narrative sense either. The two of them are largely defined in this premiere by their relationship and nothing more. Both are capable of being their own individual characters - though Fitz can still come across as a child who lashes out when he doesn't get his way. That quality is just not on display here. But that does make things interesting in the end when Sally publicly outs them on her show. It's unknown who gave her those pictures. And why anyone would give them to Sally Langston of all people? But it does create a situation for the season that revolves around this key relationship that is different than before. Yes, the show has done the tease and fake out before of Olivia being outed as the President's mistress. This could reach a very similar outcome. Olivia and Fitz get upset with Sally and find a way to change the narrative of this story. The handling of this ongoing plot in the future will determine whether or not it's a good idea. Right now, I remain hopeful. But that has become increasingly not enough to completely enjoy the show over the past few years. Let's just wait and see where this is going.
Some more thoughts:
- "Heavy Is the Head" was written by Shonda Rhimes and directed by Tom Verica.
- The Princess was having an affair with her bodyguard and was pregnant with his baby. Her husband, the Prince, was completely oblivious to it while the Queen staged her death to look like an accident. Olivia found out the truth, told the Prince who then forced the Queen to step down as the leader of their country. It was unexpected - and the Queen was a delightful character - but also very straightforward.
- Huck is hoping that Jake can fix him after Olivia delivers a passionate speech that she can't stop him being the monster inside him. This can only end horribly, right?
- Quinn pointing a gun at Huck's head was such a horrible cliffhanger. I'm glad that it barely gets a mention at all in this first episode back.
- A friendship between Abby and Liz has the potential to be very entertaining. New character pairings are always appealing. The two of them can have a lot of fun together while still being supportive of each other. Yes, they both can manipulate. But it should be interesting to see where that story goes.
- It's also very transparent the amount of push-and-pull Olivia has over Fitz when it comes to him making political decisions. He's determined not to attend Mellie's swearing in ceremony until Olivia tells him he needs to be there. But then, he doesn't back down when she threatens to ruin his plans to build a Navy base in Caldonia.
- At first, it felt like Sally and her program were only back to deliver exposition about the circumstances of this elegant state dinner. Thankfully, she plans on being important to the show once again.
- As great as Joe Morton has always been on the show, I'm so grateful that the show seems to be moving past the whole Command and B-613 story. That was really an overwhelming drag by the end of last season.
