There are times, watching Scandal, that there shouldn't be a case of the week for Olivia to handle. Olivia is trying a massive effort to bring down B-613 and her father for good, and she really doesn't have time for these things. But, the show has this one touch with reality- those cases that you and I feel are a distraction pay the bills. They also show how unbeatable Olivia is at her job and how unbeatable her father is at his job.
Today's case provides Rowan with a chance to spy on Olivia, and foil her kidnapping of Russell. It also provides a way for Mellie to prove Cy right while advancing her campaign for Senator. And it also provides one of the bravest moments I've seen on television. In. A. Long. Time. Think back; you've probably seen everything the universe can throw at someone on TV. But have you ever seen an abortion? Olivia holds Martinez's hand as the vacuum tube is switched on and starts sucking the embryo out. Martinez lets a tear fall; she would probably have loved to be pregnant by a man she cared for. Instead, she's aborting her rapist's reminder of how he violated her.
Olivia's treatment of Ensign Martinez, raped and desperately wanting an abortion, is in stark contrast to Russell's new status. Olivia seems to have bought the apartment next door. Maybe so it can be her kidnapping HQ instead of someone else's. It's empty, the only remains of the previous neighbor her old curtains, blowing in the wind and letting golden light shine in on Huck and Quinn's brutal torture regimen. Who did not cringe in empathy pain when Quinn power-drilled into Russell's kneecap?
All this trouble, which Olivia assures Russell will be worse than the death she refuses to give him, is to discover the meaning of "Operation Foxtail". Jake, in Olivia's bed, recuperating to the sounds of Russell's agony, would like Olivia to tell him what's going on. He'll settle for relieving Huck of torture duty for a while so he and Russell can share a beer and jointly bitch about what a shitty boss Rowan is. They trade his most stinging barbs with each other. Rowan's gift is in guilting his agents. He likes to break them down, and build them back into machines that just want to please Rowan. Rowan also likes to remind his agents that they really are just pawns in his games. Let your agents feel they're important to someone, and they just might feel like real people.
Russell is happy to have a pain-free moment to trash talk his boss; but he's still Rowan's loyal soldier. Does he think the Gladiators have no chance, and wants to stick with a winning side? Or, does he think Rowan will finally give him some validation? Jake's attempt to help Olivia cope with yet another boyfriend turning out to be her father's informant is a preview of events to come, and from the most unexpected place.
Susan Ross continues refusing to obey Fitz on principle; she semi-kidnaps Olivia's next client from a Navy aircraft cruiser, so the woman has a chance to actually get some justice against her rapist. With her alleged attacker a man in command of a huge chunk of the Navy officers that will try him, justice is a slim shot, even with Olivia in her corner at Susan's request. Who didn't enjoy Olivia readying herself to see Fitz when she saw the Secret Service, knowing she was getting someone much more formidable?
Who didn't enjoy the way that almost every woman on the show rallied to Ensign Martinez's side? Only Lizzy Bear looked neutral, willing to let the military handle the matter, while every other woman demanded that Fitz Do Something. Fitz wants everyone to have some faith in military justice; but the female Scandal characters long ago lost hope that regular justice can help rape victims. Abby detests having to dodge questions when she'd rather personally castrate Martinez's attacker. Mellie can't believe Martinez would just be left to fend for herself in a system that salutes the guy who raped her. (Remember, Mellie's been raped by a powerful man herself; she knows what Martinez is enduring).
Olivia and Quinn basically have to do the investigative work that Martinez's JAG lawyer, Virgil Puckleberry, doesn't even know how to do. He shows up to the first deposition, with books he obviously hasn't read, and complaining of an Ambien hangover. Olivia and Quinn are already convinced that the guy is no help; his incompetent questioning only confirms their first impressions. Virgil is privy to their strategizing on finding evidence of Admiral Halsy's whereabouts during the crime, and getting Martinez an abortion. He decides that Naval Traditions have nothing on Olivia and her Gladiators.
In the end, Fitz's secret help to Olivia's investigation, which turns up security logs, and probably some surveillance videos, also helps Mellie's campaign. While Abby has to pretend to not be involved or on Martinez's side, Mellie and Fitz work out Mellie's position on Martinez's search for justice. It involves Mellie ditching the idea to rehash her son's death on the same stage he died on, for a speech that links supporting justice for rape victims with support for the troops. If you support the troops, you need to support justice for military rape victims. And by the way, voting for Mellie is a way to thumb a supposedly-not-concerned President in the eye on the issue.
So, Cy is right; but, will every advance Mellie makes in her own career be at Fitz's expense? So far, Fitz is willing to take a hit. Maybe he hopes that this season's legislative successes will help historians forget about West Angola. With his next ambition to be the mayor of a small Vermont town, maybe he feels he can afford the political hits.
Mellie is great at describing how she's got to disagree with Fitz, because of course she's right. She's great at making her political opinions appear to be the values of whatever people she's speaking to. Their support of her can be a message to a President. Even Lizzy, in the doghouse for pressing Mellie to play the dead-son card, has to be impressed, using Mellie's success at campaigning to line up her next big donor. Lizzy wants Mellie to use the energy she just created to wow him into supporting ads that can run until election day.
Olivia and Quinn, saying goodbye to a relieved and happy and vindicated Martinez, say nothing about where the video of Halsey violently attacking one of his subordinate officers came from. Huck was busy torturing Russell for Operation Foxtail Easter Eggs. Was Fitz the inside source? Martinez's JAG lawyer, Virgil, isn't around to praise the Gladiators. Quinn and Olivia, leaving Martinez in some Naval Office Building that is also the headquarters for JAG, quickly realize why.
Olivia also realizes it was a big mistake, earlier in the episode, to invite Virgil to her apartment for a strategizing session. Virgil asked why one of her gladiators needed to go to the apartment next door; Olivia's explanation that it was getting some work done that she was responsible for didn't convince Rowan's inside man at all. We see three discordant images, all made possible by Martinez's case and Olivia's work: the photo of the real Virgil: the real Virgil's dead body as his impostor readies for the role Jake described earlier; and Russell's rescue. Despite Russell's assurances that he gave no info, I fully expect Rowan to kill Russell.
But then, I didn't expect Operation Foxtail's target to be Mellie. Rowan is gracious as he meets Mellie, the big donor she's got to impress for some major campaign cash. Is his goal to co-opt her? Or, is she his next victim? Let's hope You-Don't-Get-To-Die applies to her, too.
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