Tell-Tale TV Panel: Scandal Season 6

Just as it always does, Scandal kept us on our toes this season, and it definitely delivered some surprises.

See what our panel of writers thought of Scandal Season 6, and be sure to join the discussion by responding in the comments below!

Our panelists are:

• Lauren Busser, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Shadia Omer, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Samantha Coley, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Jamie Steinberg from Starry Mag
• Lisa Steinberg from Starry Mag
• Sage Young from Head Over Feels

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

Lauren: I would give it a 7. I wasn’t entirely sure where this season was going at the beginning, and I wasn’t much of a fan of Season 6, but it picked up again and ended on a high note.

Jamie: I’m going to go with a 7, too. Things got pretty intense this season (some graphic moments) and I felt like some of the episodes dragged. I found myself bored on more than one occasion.

Samantha: A 7 feels right. I was really disappointed with the first half of the Season; it felt slow and lacked a lot of what I loved about this show, but towards the end it finally picked up and brought those things back and like Lauren said, ended on a high note.

Lisa: I am going to with a 7, because there was a lot of suspense, but it also felt like it had a lot of rough parts and I couldn’t figure out where they were going with the storyline. They went in so many different directions it was hard to keep up with it all.

Sage: I’m going with an 8. To be contrary, yes, but also because I really like this mode of storytelling. Scandal knew that the biggest piece of information that they had to offer was the identity of the next president, so they spent an entire season doing a flamboyant withholding dance. I was in the palm of their hands.

Shadia: I’ll give it an 8.5. I did not like Season 5, but Season 6 got me interested back up again. The suspense was kicked up a notch. But I wasn’t too fond with some of the character arcs this season too.

What was this season’s biggest problem?

Lauren: I am really struggling with the on-again, off-again Fitz and Olivia relationship. I am not the biggest fan of theirs to begin with, but the 100th episode, “The Decision,” cemented the fact that Fitz and Olivia do not belong together and aren’t a good match. I think Olivia is drawn to power, and I think trying to nurture this relationship is really bogging the show down.

Jamie: Huck. He had the hots for Jennifer Field’s friend and then found himself almost dead. At that moment, we all thought he was gone forever only to be revived in the trunk of a car and struggling to survive.

Plus, he sure seemed to recover PRETTY quickly from his wounds. They expected him to maybe never regain his mind and body to full capacity and suddenly he’s helping Liv fly a drone to distract Samantha?

Samantha: I definitely want to second Lauren, Olivia and Fitz do not belong together in any timeline and I’m really tired of their relationship. I had hoped after a full season of them being apart Scandal was done trying to make that relationship happen.

The biggest problem for me, however, was the way the story was told at the beginning of the season. Taking each character out and telling their point of view during the election got old really fast. It also focused a lot on the men of the show for the first half of the season, which in my opinion is not where Scandal excels.

Lisa: It felt very stunted and that the direction they were going had more magnitude than they could pull off. I get what Shonda was doing with playing up our real political climate while also making things very exaggerated, but I don’t think she was able to get viewers to be as invested this season. Especially now finding out next season will be the last, I think she tried to do too many things to give next season the segue into series completion.

Sage: I don’t think I have the words to describe the rage I feel every time Olivia falls back into Fitz’s sway. She was always too good for him, and now that she’s a VP-murdering criminal mastermind, I’d think his faux-Boy Scout act would be an ice-cold bucket of water for her.

And nothing against Tony Goldwyn, but it feels like they’ve run out of story for Fitz entirely. Because let’s be honest with ourselves: if he were really in charge of B6-13, he’d be dead in a day. It’s time for the former president to retire, for real.

Shadia: This is going to sound crazy but…Olivia Pope. I was not fond of her this season at all. I missed the old Olivia Pope, the gladiator that wowed us. There was something off about her character this season.

She was more selfish and way too stubborn than usual that really got me upset. Also, another thing that was a problem for me was Olitz. I’m gonna say it, I am Team Jake. I think I have been for a while. Olitz’s relationship and their reunion towards the end of this season felt rather forced to me. Jake has always been the perfect guy for Olivia.

What worked really well this season?

Lauren: My key takeaway from Season 6 was the shift in power dynamics. You saw interpersonal relationships start to shift in Season 5, and by the end of Season 6 I don’t think anyone is where they started. They also did some character episodes that I thought worked really well this season.

I also have to say that I loved Zoe Perry as Samantha (a.k.a. The Mystery Woman, a.k.a. “Ponytail Bitch”) I think she was a very effective villain, because she seemed sweet, but I also wanted to slap her whenever she came on screen. How can you plot the downfall of the government and seem that chipper?

Jamie: Who killed Frankie Vargas. I was on the edge of my seat each week. I never would have imagined from the beginning of the season who would have killed Frankie and why they would have killed him.

It was certainly quite a surprise seeing the lengths certain people went to in order to put Frankie six feet under and get themselves ahead.

Samantha: The unknown villain that was somehow more powerful than all of the big dogs we’re used to seeing on the show really worked, and again I’m seconding Lauren, but Zoe Perry was incredible as Samantha. She just kept popping up everywhere and knowing everything and pulling none of her punches.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Mellie and Olivia. Over the last two seasons these two have grown closer and have come to care about each other deeply.

I continue to be delighted that this relationship has been turned on its head from where it started in Season 1. I think Quinn and Charlie’s relationship worked really well too. Season 6 got dark in a lot of ways but their proposal and wedding planning brought a lightness back to the show.

Lisa: Zoe Perry was definitely a great foil and villain; she could pull of keeping you on the edge of your seat and still make you think that her character was just a cog in the mix of everything.

For me, the best of all was watching Bellamy Young. She took my breath away all season long. Mellie’s journey and growth to go from first lady to first female President was fantastic and brilliant.  I’ve loved how Mellie and Olivia have grown as well from adversaries to working together with a camaraderie.

Sage: I 100% agree with Lauren, Samantha, and Lisa on Zoe Perry, who was a fabulous guest star and a great foil for Rowan. I’m also here for the continued development of Olivia as a Walter White-style anti-hero.

I punched the air when she told Cyrus it felt “RIGHT” to be in power in the finale. And count me in on that Mellie Grant fan club. She’s probably the most moral character Scandal has at this point, and as convoluted as her route was, it was very emotional to watch her ascend to the Oval.

Shadia: The fact that this time, Eli Pope had someone else to answer to this season, blew me away. The suspense was crazy! It was interesting to see a more vulnerable and kind of fearful Eli Pope for once. All for the sake of his daughter, of course. But the villains of this season with Peus and Samantha was terrifying but so intriguing to watch. I think the reveal that Vargas’ wife being behind it all was another OMG moment for me.

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Lauren: I think the moment that Huck got shot was pretty surprising, I can safely say I didn’t see that coming, and that’s where the season turned for me, and the stakes started to get higher.

Aside from that, I think the finale had the biggest shocker, with Luna Vargas turning out to be the real force behind Peus and Samantha, and then not having anything to do with it. I am not entirely sure I buy this twist, but it was effective, until I thought about it more.

Jamie: Mama Pope was back! We all were all so worried about Huck, Frankie, Cyrus, Olivia and Mellie that we never even expected to see her return for a moment! Her season finale appearance sure made her reappearance amazingly thought-provoking and intense.

I was waiting for her to be used for a lot more though than sitting in the bunker and taunting her ex-husband.

Samantha: Luna Vargas. Honestly, I’m still not entirely sure how to map the interconnected web of which bad guy was the real top villain this season, but I definitely didn’t expect Luna to be in on it. I loved that in the end it came all the way back to Cyrus planting the seed in her head. I’m telling y’all, you can’t trust that man, ever.

Lisa: That Mama Pope returned and that Luna Vargas was behind it all. I don’t think they put enough pieces of the puzzle together to make her the fall guy but I definitely did not expect it.

Sage: I’m going with Abby Whelan digging a bullet out of a body cavity.

Shadia: Luna Vargas being the mastermind, but Cyrus being behind that idea as well. That man is dangerous — don’t be fooled!

What are your hopes for next season?

Lauren: I think all of my hopes hinge on Mellie coming into her own as a president. She’s always been a very compelling character to me, and through Season 5, I think she was still playing a bit of a “mean girl,” but she’s developed a partnership with Olivia and is quickly becoming one of the only characters who actually grasps the bigger issues.

After watching the Scandal Season 6 finale, and I talk a little about this in my review, I am really hoping we don’t spend a lot of time on the whole “first female president” issue, while it is historic, I think we need to see Mellie owning the room and acting like it’s no big deal, so the idea becomes acceptable.

I also want to see Olivia struggle with her dark side a bit, mostly because I think we’re seeing her make a power grab and become a little more like her father in giving into the seductive nature of power.

Jamie: Gosh, this is difficult to say. I didn’t really know how to even begin to imagine where to go next season. Fitz is out of the picture (for now). Jake is married. Quinn is pregnant. Mellie is in office. Olivia is her Chief of Staff. Cyrus is going to be the new Vice President.

I mean, how do I even begin to predict where to pick up with these people in a season that is going to be the last one of Scandal ever?! Honestly, I hope Mellie is being a badass and has found her voice. I hope Olivia has a new love interest that does her some good.

Someone who challenges her, truly loves her and pushes her to be a better person. I guess I can’t really ask for anything more other than Cyrus finally being silenced once and for all.

Samantha: I want to see Mellie being a better president than Fitz ever was, and I want to see more of her relationship with Olivia and how that plays out now that Olivia’s gone rather dark. Like Lauren, I’d like to see them get right to her being a boss, which I think they will given the way Mellie immediately wanted to get to work rather than spend time picking out a ball gown.

And like Jamie, I want to see Cyrus gone. I want to see OPA flourishing and the gladiators sticking together like the found family that they are. As it’s the last season ever, I just want the show to end in a good place; I want Mellie and Olivia ruling the world together, I want Olivia to put her white hat back on, and I want the Gladiators to get their happy ending too.

Lisa: I would love to see Mellie finally have her time but it be independent where she can have her own control. Where she can lead the free world and do so under her own command and for the greater good, rather than having to run anyone else’s agenda.

I am an Olitz fan and I know so many are, but I can’t help but root for Vermont. I also am excited to see more of Quinn come into her own as head of OPA. I’d like to see Olivia have that moment in the sun and shine and feel like she isn’t going to be anyone’s target anymore.  

I’d also like to see something of substance for Abby. I know this season they used her as a puppet for their plan, but I think she deserves to have a stand out storyline that plays to her strengths. I’d also like to see Huck have the closure and happiness he needs with his family, he deserves that.

Sage: More domestic bliss scenes between Abby and Leo! (He’s too good for this world though.) I feel like Olivia has made major strides as a character and Quinn has too.

I want to see Huck get out of his self-destructive loop and for Abby to knock that chip off of her shoulder and finally stop feeling competitive with Liv. I’d like to see Marcus and Mellie sneaking around the White House, having a secret affair. (Is she reckless enough to do that? Probably not, but this is a soap.)

And call me a purist, but can we get a few more regular old cases for the OPA staff? I miss those crisis-of-the-week storylines.

Shadia: To see Mellie Grant shine as president! It’s finally her time! To see Huck and Jake happier and Olivia to be better than she was this season.

And I agree with having Cyrus being gone. Just when you think he can have that redemption, he will be that snake. He needs to be kept in check. All in all, looking forward to season 7 but I’m also glad that it will be the show’s last!

What did you think of Scandal Season 6? Share your thoughts in a comment below! You can also check out all of our other season review panels right here. There are more to come!

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