Tell-Tale TV Panel: Scandal Season 5

As usual, Scandal Season 5 delivered its share of plot-twists, surprises, and dramatic moments. With Mellie running for president, Jake under the thumb of Papa Pope, and one flat-out shocking moment from Olivia, the stakes were incredibly high.

But how did Season 5 fare overall? Our writers share their thoughts below.

Our panelists are:

• Ashley Bissette Sumerel, founder and editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV
• Sheena Bosket, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Samantha Coley, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Lauren Busser, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank the season overall?

Sheena: To be honest with you, I’d give this season a 5. For me, there aren’t that many memorable moments from the season. I was expecting a lot out of the “Mellie running for president” storyline, and it just didn’t do that much for me.

Plus, I’m really sick of the long monologues given to almost every character. These monologues are so unrealistic. In real life, no one lets you talk for that long without interrupting. They were impressive in the beginning of the show, but now they’re just boring because characters are usually expressing opinions, thoughts, etc. that they’ve already shared.

Lauren: I have to go with Sheena; it was a 5 for me as well. I didn’t find many of the episodes memorable. In fact I barely remember the first half of the season at all except for Mellie’s filibuster, Liv’s abortion, and her leaving the White House. So basically the last episode before the midseason break.

Ashley: I actually really enjoyed this season. Maybe not as much as earlier ones, but more so than I did Season 4. I think I would give it a 7.

Samantha: It’s a 7 for me. It was considerably better than Season 4, but there were certain episodes that fell completely flat, and I’m not so sure about some of the directions it’s taken Abby and Olivia. Overall, I really enjoyed the season.

What was the season’s biggest mistake?

Sheena: Olivia killing Andrew. I know it’s meant to show she’s evolving and becoming darker, crazier and more ambitious but that scene doesn’t make any sense. That was such a small thing for her to snap over.

Yes, Andrew certainly deserved to be told off for what he said to Olivia but that’s all he deserved. I mean, how many times has Mellie called Olivia a whore? If Olivia was going to take a chair to anybody’s head, it should have been Mellie’s.

Lauren: I honestly cannot think of a mistake that was made this season. I do think that Olivia killing Andrew like that was a bit extreme and seemed to escalate rather quickly, but I don’t want to name that as a mistake, because it feels like that’s the only thing I will remember about this season when I look back on it.

Ashley: I don’t quite know how to put my thoughts into words on this one, but it has to do with all the mystery and choices surrounding Jake. I found it hard to keep up with what they were doing with his character, and then I found it unbelievable that he was suddenly so vulnerable. I don’t know, it was just off somehow.

Samantha: Jake’s plotline was a mess, it was put together as this huge mystery and when it was revealed it wasn’t really all that shocking or interesting at all. That entire storyline became boring and it felt strangely out of character. It feels like they forgot what to do with him and then just slapped a bunch of random things together hoping it would be interesting and it really, really wasn’t.

What worked really well this season?

Sheena: I enjoyed the somewhat sisterly dynamic between Mellie and Olivia this season. I loved it when they had the conversation about why Mellie stayed and why Olivia left. I’m looking forward to watching them get closer next season.

Lauren: Again, I have to agree with Sheena. I loved Mellie and Olivia’s dynamic this season. When you consider that they went from being enemies to cohorts. It’s a really interesting journey. What I am looking forward to, next season, is the dynamic between Mellie and Olivia. How is that going to juxtapose Fitz and Cyrus?

Ashley: Ditto on the Mellie and Olivia dynamic! Just to give another answer, though, I have to say that I LOVED Hollis Doyle running for president and mirroring Donald Trump. I thought it was a bold, timely, and smart choice — that also made me literally laugh out loud a few times. And I also adored everything about Susan Ross this season. Such a fabulous character.

Samantha: Mellie and Olivia! These two together are incredible! They’ve always worked well together, even when they were at odds emotionally. Now that neither of them are romantically attached to Fitz they get to play off each other in a delightfully complex and positive way, which I really love.

Susan also got a lot of fantastic development this season. Even Fitz was massively more tolerable now that his role doesn’t revolve around yelling at Mellie or being obsessive over Olivia.

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Sheena: David actually being in love with Susan Ross. I know this seems like a small surprise but I thought he was just doing the bidding of Elizabeth. I never expected him to fall in love. And if he was going to fall in love, I assumed it’d be with Elizabeth because she’s the tall, shiny, pretty one. Yay for plus-size love interests!

Lauren: I think I was surprised by Abby’s ambition. I think I always detected it in her but seeing it come out this season made me jump back a little bit.

I was really taken aback but how much she scorns Liv. Maybe it’s a symptom of binge-watching the series this summer, because those early days when they got along was so fresh in my mind, but her rise to power was both something I applauded and flinched at.

Ashley: Olivia murdering Andrew with a chair was by far the biggest surprise to me. And there were several — this is Scandal, after all. But that was seriously shocking, even for this show.

Samantha: I’m with Ashley, seeing Olivia kill Andrew made me sit right up in bed. It was brutal and incredibly well put together in my opinion. His continued taunting of her coupled with the resurgence of her PTSD from when he had her kidnapped and held for ransom in deplorable conditions, building up to her just losing it played out in a way I did not see coming.

 

What did you think of this season of Scandal? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Scandal returns this fall on ABC.