You Knew What You Were Getting - Scandal - Season 4, Episode 19

Well, it's the homestretch of a Scandal season, and even the mid-season finale showed our characters' attempt to "bring down" B-613", so that's what the show is starting to focus on.  But there's still some other plotlines that need either tying up or starting up.  Mellie's run for the Senate has to go public; and we need to see Marcus officially join the Gladiators.  He's a White Hat, after all.

We must also start racking up bodies as B-613, aka Rowan Saving the Republic, reacts to any threat to its existence, past existence, or non-existence.  Rowan's gone underground, his agents are scattered, yet he can always muster up someone to break up The Gladiators' attempts.  Since actor Scott Foley has confirmed it, and it was on the preview for next week, it's not really a spoiler to discuss the death of Jake Ballard.

Is this a bad time to compare Rowan Pope to Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger, from Game of Thrones?  Their main difference is that Rowan likes to think he's keeping "The Republic" together by killing anyone who could The American People to lose their faith in their leaders, while Baelish is happily tearing Westeros apart and killing the people who could keep it together.  Baelish wants to be the only one left and take a crown for himself.  Rowan wants to keep out of public altogether, and keep The Republic together at the expense of his own daughter's sanity.  But they both are willing to scheme, ruin people, and kill, no matter the body count.  Baelish is obsessed with guarding and teaching Sansa, all while using her.  Rowan wants Olivia's affection and success, even if he has to kill her lover's child.   Both Sansa and Olivia are well aware of these men's obsession with them; and do whatever they can to mitigate, and fight for whatever scraps of autonomy they can get.

I guess the main difference between them is that Baelish doesn't lie to himself.  Rowan really believes he's saving "The Republic" when he orders an airliner shot down, or covers up the murder of the VP's husband; Baelish relishes the chaos to come when he engineers the murder of Joffrey, or betrays Ned Stark.  Rowan will never let the American People debate what danger they're willing to live through for a just and open government; Baelish doesn't care what kind of government anyone else in Westeros wants.  They're alike in that they both have major chips on their shoulders that they alleviate through their work.  And they're still the most efficient and effective schemers in TV history.  Before I type a whole book comparing them, let's get to saying good-bye to Jake.

We start with Rowan who is looking fit and trim and ready for some amazing speeches while sipping wine with his daughter.  And his daughter's new lover, who's drugged and tied up on the floor.  Well, what else was Rowan supposed to do?  I know, the obvious answer is "not involve him in the first place", but this is Rowan, and Rowan needs to remind Olivia that she's got no secrets from him; and that he can fuck with her any time he wants to.  So, Russell is out cold on the floor while Rowan insists that this B-613 crusade by David Rosen totally has the wrong guy, and he'd like Olivia to handle it.

Olivia says no.  Olivia enjoys saying no.  It's not handled.  So Rowan plays the Fitz card, which reminds her that bringing down B-613 has the potential to get him truly impeached for a really super high crime.  Olivia plays it tough, but Rowan can see that she's hurt by Fitz's past and current crimes, and that they're not an item anymore, and he loves telling Olivia that he told her so.

Rowan also confidently informs Olivia to call him when she's decided to represent him and get this mess buried again; after all, what good is justice in a Republic that's falling apart due to just how awful it's elected (an unelected) leaders turn out to be?  How will she protect her friends in the chaos exposing B-613 would cause?  Rowan's so sure that exposing B-613, and ultimately, destroying it, would also destroy this nation.  But then, he adds to the list of things that he thinks the public should never hear about. Has anyone ever told this man to stop digging?  And, in the end, he doesn't think Olivia will hang her own dad out to dry.  No matter how poisonous the apples and the tree, they're still not far from each other.

No one drinks wine with you like I do

He won't leave though, without a very gracious compliment on the wine and some last sips of it.  A guy's got to have his priorities, and Rowan needs to show Olivia that he's totally sure she'll never betray him.  Although, at mid-season, he was literally berating her for doing what he now is sure she'll never actually do.  But his confidence and his knowledge of everything she's been up to, including the new locks on the door, rattle her enough to doubt her own resolve.  And once he leaves, she proves him right by giddily convincing Russell that he just drank too much, sang some songs, and passed out.  She's already covering for Rowan.

Interspersed with Olivia trying to decide if justice for her Gladiators will make up for ruining Fitz forever, is the rest of the cast trying to move forward and resolve the tragic end of Brandon Parker, shot five episodes ago by a cop who thought he might have a weapon.  Fitz has made Brandon's dad, Clarence, a promise, to make sure this never happens again.  And, what better way to do that than to make sure every cop in America has a camera to record all stops?  Marcus united a neighborhood to demand justice until the truth came out, and plans to keep on doing that by becoming the mayor of D.C.  He's a lawyer with a Georgetown degree, so, he's not just a pretty face with a bullhorn.

Marcus' biggest flaw is his penis.  It just can't help being inside the current mayor's wife.  She's happy to accommodate him, but not okay over getting caught.  So, when they're having a tryst in the mayor's mansion, which, apparently has gone unnoticed by a completely missing staff, and someone enters the house, Mrs. Mayor sends Marcus into a closet (haha, he's in the closet, we get it).  It turns out not to be Mayer Verrano coming home, but some masked murderers who repeatedly stab her, quickly grab some jewelry, and leave her.  And leave Marcus with the murder rap.

Marcus calls Olivia, knowing that she fixes problems.  But, what he doesn't know is how.  Huck, Quinn and Olivia try to decide exactly how they're going to make Marcus a ghost in all this to his horror, and then silent acceptance.  Huck and Quinn are a little too business-like as they carry out Operation Fluff-n-Fold.  It's not a laundry service.  It involves hammers to break bones and joints, so the body can be folded into a carry-on suitcase and wheeled out.  Then, it's just bleach and elbow grease everywhere, and Marcus is home free!  The show assumes that Huck has taken out the numerous security cameras the mayor's mansion would have recording everyone who's come and gone.  Huck and Quinn are going for a Missing Person look, so Mrs. Mayor's body will disappear somewhere, never to be found.

And Mayor Verrano will go public with his missing wife, playing the part of dutiful, concerned husband.  It's kind of like Gone Girl on steroids.  Everyone involved knows she's dead, including her own husband, who had her killed while she was making sweet love to Marcus to remove him from all future elections as a murderer.  So, when there's no body to incriminate Marcus, Verrano has his tech goons plant some emails in his wife's inbox, supposedly from Marcus.

The cops haul him in for questioning, and it's a little weird that a lawyer submits to a completely illegal detention with no representation.  Maybe that's why he called Olivia.  Olivia doesn't just verify that Marcus can leave; she makes sure that the Captain of the precinct knows that if the DC cops ever publicize that he was questioned, that she'll make a royal fucking stink about Marcus' totally unconstitutional detention.  He was never arrested; never read his rights, and the cops hoped maybe to just bluff their way to a confession from someone they've never liked.  Olivia has the Captain's attention on the floor with all his other cops around him, throwing every screw-up his department made back at him, until he agrees that Marcus was never at the precinct.  Olivia makes a point of rapid-firing every statement she makes, every question she demands an answer to, so the whole precinct knows she's on to them.  Even Marcus is happy to admit he was never there.  And, when she walks out, with a free Marcus, he can't help smiling to himself at how lucky he is.

It's when Huck and Quinn figure out just who Mayor Verrano actually hired to kill his wife that Marcus realizes what he was getting when he hired Olivia.  He's one of the few clients who's never lied to them or hidden things from them; it's his honesty that gives the Gladiators their case's twist at the end.  Exposing himself as an adulterer will ruin his potential career.  Rather than turn in the killer, the Mayor's driver, Marcus opts for using what he knows as leverage to get the wife-murdering Verrano out of the race, and make himself the mayor-elect.  Marcus, who may or may not have really loved Mrs. Mayor, regards Verrano like he's pond scum as Olivia declares the terms of the deal in the back of a limo.  Presumably, Verrano's limo, with Mickey the murdering driver privy to the conversation, too.  Marcus can't believe that our elected leaders are even worse than he knew.  Verrano can't believe Marcus is so worked up; it's his muttering that his wife had it coming, that does it for Marcus.  Verrano doesn't even feel guilty; while Marcus has been nagged by the fact that Mrs. Mayor was horribly killed because of him.

It's kind of like when you chose a career over marriage, only more illegal

At the press conference, Verrano does his part.  But you know when Marcus starts talking about Martin Luther King, that he's going to go public with everything.  And, he does.  Olivia, still loyal to her client even though he just can't go through with the deal, whisks him away.  To, presumably, a more congenial police precinct where he tells them what he knows.  And, hopefully, not how he hired Olivia and her Gladiators to cover up Mrs. Mayor's murder.  Maybe he lets Verrano's goons take the rap for that.  If Huck and Quinn did a great job, which they presumably did, no one should ever charge anyone at OPA with obstruction of justice.

Olivia's not so lucky with Russell; when she calls him over to her apartment for another booty call, he appears.  But, not for booty.  He's decided not to buy Olivia's story of drunken singing and debauchery, after all.  And he's tired of calling her Alex.  For some reason, this conversation has to happen in Olivia's doorway, perhaps revealing how precarious their relationship is at this point.  But, Olivia solves it all by letting Russell, and us, know that Olivia has a complicated life that Russell doesn't want to be a part of; Alex is simple- she just wants Russell.  Russell needs a little extra convincing, but it's not long or much effort before he's carrying her to her bedroom, his clothes off, and Alex's legs wrapped around his waist.

I'm not Russell, or Fitz, but I'm here for you

Cy and Fitz are so-damn-close to getting the Bodycams For Cops Everywhere Act passed through the Senate.  Somehow, the bill has gotten the 60 Senate votes to go up for a vote, but not the 51 votes needed to actually pass.  Maybe math doesn't matter on this show.  They come close due to some leaked fakery, courtesy of Lizzy Bear, who uses her knowledge of her fellow Republicans.  Cy, relieved that his job is done, can't wait until African-Americans all switch their registrations to "Republican", an alignment not seen since the 1930s.  So, when an early childbirth of Senator NewMom blows everything up and they're down to a tie-breaker again, it's time for VP Susan Ross to do one of her actual job duties: breaking a Senate tie.  It's like civics class, but with the inevitable twists of Shonda Rhimes.

Twist number 1 is that Susan Ross is not Cy's little gopher.  She's the Vice President. And, when he Vice President has agreed to be a guest moderator at a spelling bee, she sees it through.  Because, the children.  It's only when onomatopoeia is spelled correctly that she'll leave.  Cy tries escorting her to the Senate to vote; but she's not voting on anything 'til she's read it.  Give her the 1200-page bill, some coffee, some red pens, and post-it notes.  She's got some political asskicking to do.

Cy tries to rush Susan along, but she's not happy with the bill she's been reading.  She's got "questions", which sound more like serious screw-ups in the bill that will cause unholy hell later.  She wants to talk to a lawyer.  So, Cy ushers in the nation's top-ranking lawyer, David Rosen, to shoo the pigeon away from the monument.  But, this is no ordinary pigeon.  This is one of those lifetime-city pigeons, and she knows how to stand her ground and get a few crumbs.  David Rosen has to grudgingly admit that he fed the pigeon some crumbs.  If you need someone to run roughshod over the perennially smart and tenacious Susan Ross, Rosen is not your guy.  He admitted to Susan that the bill has flaws.

Susan explains the bill's main flaw:  the federal government would give local police departments grants to buy body cams, train cops on not treating black men like criminals and keep records on police killings of minorities.  Susan explains that the federal government then doesn't do anything to actually force police departments to do this.  She explains, to a childless David Rosen, that it's like telling her daughter Casey, who would never need telling, but still, telling Casey to clean her room but assigning no consequences if she doesn't.  Fitz isn't telling police departments to do anything.  He's giving them money, asking nicely, and hoping for the best.  Which, Susan can tell you, never works on typical ten-year-olds.  Unlike her Casey, who would never need asking or bribes.  But, the nation's police departments need more than asking nicely and bribes.  They need checking up on, and they need accountability and consequences if they don't produce the body cams, training, and reduced killings.

Fitz and Mellie are going to need to sideline their discussion of when and how to announce Mellie's Senate run, and personally nudge Susan to vote for Fitz's great victory against racial injustice and personal promise-keeping to Clarence Parker.   Mellie tries the soft approach; Susan gloms on to her, since she's a lawyer.  But, Mellie has to admit to not having read the bill she wants Susan to vote for.  Wow, what Presidential material.  So, Susan takes the opportunity of having caught Mellie at being a really bad executive to point out that she knows Mellie needs a softball VP to not compete with her own Presidential plans.  And, Susan's willing to not spoil Mellie's dream.  But, unless Mellie's got answers to her "questions", Mellie's not going to cajole Susan into doing anything.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still here for you, Olivia

So, last but not least, Fitz comes in to bluster his way through.  It's been over 24 hours.  Susan is mildly disheveled but still going at it.  The room is a mess.  But then, the bill is a mess.  Susan, however, is still sharp.  And she calls Fitz on his bullshit.  She demands his attention by reminding him that he knew he was getting an honest VP.  See, Langston and Davis may have been scheming criminals, but they were always willing to sell out if they had to.  Susan is second only to Marcus in honesty this night, and all along.  But, an honest VP has no reason to sell out.  An honest VP will call you on your bullshit.  An honest VP won't rest until the President rolls up his sleeves, takes marker to a whiteboard, and re-writes a 1200-page bill.  Neither of them are lawyers.  But, one of them is a professor who's really good at making stuff sound important even if it's just common sense law-giving.  And, one of them is a guy who's been to the rodeo before, so he knows just how to get the totally re-written bill through the final vote without anyone realizing they're voting for something new.

We cut right to Mellie, balloons, lots of red, white and blue and lights as she announces her Senate run.  Was she worried about not getting center stage?  Well, Fitz gives her the job of taking center stage, and keeping everyone's focus on her.  Everyone will be so fascinated by her platitudes about Virginia, Freedom, and America, that no one will notice that Fitz pulled a fast one on a Senate that didn't actually want to change anything.

Fitz and Marcus learn not to compromise in pursuing what's right.  I'm not hopeful the lesson will sink in with Fitz, especially not if Operation Remington comes out, which Rosen's questioning of Jake reveals so you know it will come out.  Fitz will run for the nearest rock to hide everything under, producing the obviously rigged report from his own father covering his tracks that we learned about last season.  Marcus might learn permanently, especially when Olivia backs him up.  Sure, he spoiled the deal she'd worked out.  But, clients are allowed to change their minds.  And Marcus is definitely allowed to choose his own self-respect.  This show routinely pits characters' self-respect vs. what they want to accomplish in politics, and Olivia quietly informs Marcus how this one cover-up would have led to a lifetime of them.  Marcus may be over in politics now due to his honesty.  But, if he was dishonest time and time again, he'd finally be done eventually.  This way, he can be honest from the start.  And, he can transition to her Gladiators.  It's just what White Hats do.

Marcus' stand, despite paying the price, teaches Olivia something.  Throughout the episode, we've been seeing her with her Gladiators, or with Jake, resolutely looking like she's having second thoughts.  Jake tries approaching her, telling her that he'll be there to cushion the blow when her father is ruined, when Fitz is ruined.  Maybe Marcus' self-sacrifice is enough to remind her that she's got to stand up for what's right, too.  Maybe she's looked at all her compromises, and realized they're about to catch up with her, too.  Maybe she's more determined than ever to make sure her father is brought down, and Marcus' example taught her the sacrifice will be worth it.  Maybe all these realizations keep her going when her father reappears, and she has to disappoint him.

Rowan decides not to be disappointed at all.  Olivia is finally the adversary he's been waiting for; someone who's also willing to lose what she holds most dear, her dream of life with Fitz in Vermont; to go up against him.  Finally, someone who's decided not to waver!  Rowan can't wait for the war to begin.  In fact, he can't wait so bad that he has one of his agents lure Jake to Gladiator HQ so they can have a rollicking fight throughout the office, rolling on the floor and over furniture.  Jake manages to get the mask off, revealing none other than... Russell! And, Russell is in no way ambivalent about this.  Rowan didn't force him into this.  Russell is eager to show Rowan how not-special Jake is.  It involves a lot of stab wounds.  One is reminded of Mrs. Mayor's death at the beginning of the episode.  One wonders if Huck and Quinn will go with a Fluff-n-Fold.  And, one wonders how much he loves playing Alex's boytoy so Rowan can keep tabs on Olivia.

Cutting The Bread Too Thick - Gotham - Season 1, Episode 19

With Alfred down, and Captain Essen nowhere to be seen, our Gotham characters are free to get into trouble.  On an island somewhere, Fish Mooney improves her situation this week- but at a cost.  And, we officially enter the setup for the season finale.

Alfred is home from the hospital and Jim wants answers.  He knows the pair lied about who stabbed Alfred; but Bruce can only try to apologize for his sandwiches.  The bread slices are too thick, you see.  Which ruins the whole sandwich.  It's interesting to see this compared to another character, near the end of the episode, who also tries to smooth over food that's not quite right.  Jim warns Bruce that Alfred should not try to handle this alone.  Does he know that Bruce means to investigate too, or does the warning cover both of them?

Penguin has taken an interest in local color, specifically a hole-in-the-wall place owned by a virulent matron who disapproves of her daughter's new boyfriend.  The owner's rolling pin means business; but Penguin still manages to coax a deal out of her; if he can break up the daughter's affair with a guitar player, they will do business.  Penguin has no worries; breaking relationships up is his specialty.

Jim, the new union president, thinks he's getting the beginning of a fan club.  Officer Neat & Trim, a young cop who totally hopes Jim succeeds in changing things, thinks Jim is such an awesome detective that he's got a request.  Would Jim the Hero look at this case that he was the original uniformed officer on?  It's a typical Dead White Woman case- she was missing for months, then turned up dead and dumped somewhere.  Jim, at least, tries to see if the cop has some ulterior motive for wanting Jim's help, but the guy just wants justice done.  Maybe he just knew the victim somehow that didn't come up before; maybe he wants Jim to show up another detective that pissed him off.  Either way, Jim can't see the harm in checking and Lee is in when she hears "homicide" and "body".  Nygma's always up for something that stumped everyone else.

The only unwilling participant is Bullock.  He hates the whole idea from the start.  He can't stop Jim from wasting Jim's time.  And, it seems, he can't stop Jim from wasting his time, either.  Lee is the one who suggests checking the private, hidden "speakeasies" of Gotham, which is a thing now.  Which is just what Bullock wanted to do today: run through all of Gotham's most exclusive bars and not be able to have a single drink.  I think more than his feet are hurting as they try the last on the list Nygma gave them.  It turns up a small lead, a bartender who remembers Grace, the victim, on a date with some guy who was hot enough she noticed, but bland enough she can't really remember much about him.

So, now that we've got a clue, we can get a drink!

Good thing the show immediately switches to a flashback, in which we see Grace with her date.  The bartender was right:  Jason is hot, but not memorable.  He looks like he does something profitable but not important or useful.  And his line that he's looking for "unconditional love", spoken like he's already demanding it of Grace, cements her to him. She's at his place within minutes, and stays the night.  Grace is entirely too trusting and polite; she tries to exit the next morning, claiming work responsibilities.  But what's work, when the guy you thought was wonderful last night turns out to be a psycho who handcuffs you permanently?  We see Grace, long into her imprisonment at Jason's apartment.  She's impeccably dressed, she looks healthy.  But she's in dire fear the whole dinner.

She points out that the lamb is overcooked before they even eat.  She stammers through every statement.  Jason eventually loses patience with this woman who he wanted to turn into his perfect doll, and breaks up with her.  His break-ups are a little harder than most; it involves a Polaroid camera, a blindfold, and a really awful-looking knife.

Single again!

Back in the present, Lee can't find anything wrong with Grace's body besides the killing wounds.  She wasn't abused while a prisoner, leading her and Bullock to wonder if she just ran away.  But Jim won't buy it.  Grace had a wonderful life.  Why would she run from it?  It's Nygma who provides the answers tonight.  He digs up a photo of evidence that went missing; Bullock recognizes the symbol of the broken heart right away.  And he so wishes Jim had listened to him.

Back on Dullmacher Island, Fish is testing the security system to see who answers the alarm.  It turns out to be a man only called The Catcher.  He's a hick-type who appears to really be into his job.  He doesn't have to do much; very few prisoners ever even get outside, and apparently, can't swim.  But Fish has her eyes on the boat.  And the helicopter.  She confides to Kelly, back from his surgery to remove who knows what, that they're getting out of here.  ASAP.

The cage isn't even gilded!

Her first step is to find the muscle for the job.  She needs guys who can handle danger, not the pantywaists she's been hanging with.  When the guys bring up the helicopter, having heard it land before, Fish asks who there knows how to fly.  When that turns up no one, she brings up the boat, and promises to get the keys.

Which she does, but not before almost getting shot by Dullmacher who almost catches her going through his desk.  She manages to turn it into a monologue on killing oneself out of fear of failure and punishment, so Dullmacher sends her away with a warning.  When she sets the plan in motion with her new team, she leads them out just as she promised, telling them the gate outside has been opened, and they're to wait for her to return with her good friend Kelly.  As the alarm goes off again, she dashes back downstairs.

Dullmacher meets her at the door to the jail.  He's ready to shoot her for real this time, but it turns out that Fish left the jail gate open, so all of Dullmacher's other prisoners, about five of them, can storm out and attack Dullmacher themselves.  He's left bloody and broken on the floor, with no organ sources now, while Fish and the rest make their own way out.

The guys make it to the gate, only to find that Fish screwed them- it's still chained up.  The Catcher finds them before they can find Mooney, blowing them to bits where they stand.  He realizes he's not done when he hears the chopper.  Fish has led the rest of the prisoners to the helicopter that she can fly.  She's just picky about who she takes with her.  They're off the ground and making their way when The Catcher hauls out the rifle, getting a shot in that leaves Fish conscious but bleeding.  She's got to fly fast and reach a hospital soon.  Or else they'll all die in that chopper.

When Alfred turns out to be really not ready for anything, Bruce leaves him napping at Wayne Manor after scanning the phone book.  Alfred has insisted that Reggie Payne is probably still in Gotham, using whatever money he made from spying on them to get drunk and then find a place to shoot.  So, Bruce decides to check Gotham's shooting ranges.  Almost seeing a very irate Penguin, who's on his way to solving this whole daughter/guitar player dilemma.

While Bruce turns up nothing, Penguin decides the best way to get a guitar player dumped is to cut off the fingers that make girls love him.  They fall to the floor while Penguin's henchman, Gabe, does the cutting.  Antonia is back at her mother's in hours; Penguin loses no time closing the deal.  And, he finally reveals to Gabe why he wanted the place so bad.  He doesn't want to run it; he wouldn't dare tell the owner, Olivia, what to do.  It doesn't make much money.  It has something else Penguin desperately wants.  It has access to a certain Gotham crime boss who's already threatened to kill him.  Penguin has decided to kill Maroni first.  But, would Falcone approve?

Bullock finally explains that GCPD already knows who killed Grace Fairchild.  The broken heart removed from evidence, and only found by a determined Nygma, is the calling card of the Don Juan Killer, aka The Ogre.  And, he doesn't just go after women he meets.  He also looks for women GCPD Detectives trying to find him like.  So, Jim's just put Lee in danger looking for Grace Fairchild's killer.  And someone at GCPD set him up.  Officer Neat & Trim, under duress, admits that it was Loeb.  Still angry over being beaten by Jim over his secrets, Loeb had Officer N&T set Jim up for losing Lee.  And Jim is pissed.  Luckily, the object of his new anger is, right now, sauntering through the precinct.  With no Captain Essen in sight to rein him in, Jim angrily confronts him, grabbing him and shooing away Loeb's security.  Who really wants to go at it with a guy who can subdue a criminal with his bare hands?

Jim lets Loeb know he's gone too far.  And, he lets Loeb know that he's going to stop The Ogre once and for all, unlike every other detective who's failed.  And when The Ogre is behind bars, Jim is coming for Loeb.  And, not for another sweet union position.  For Loeb's job.  For now, Jim can only try to reach Lee and make sure The Ogre hasn't found her yet.

Bruce comes up empty at Gotham's gun ranges.  But that's because Reggie doesn't shoot guns.  Or, at least, not when he's flush with money.  Which is where Cat comes in.  Or, rather, flips down a ladder in.

So,  where's Cat?

She immediately know what a "shooting gallery" is, and it's what you don't want to see; a floor of people laying on mattresses on the floor in some forgotten building shooting up drugs.  It really is no place for a kid.  Not even Cat.  They find Reggie right away, though, and immediately set to questioning him, using his bag of whatever he's taking as leverage.  Cat makes a show of almost throwing it out the window a couple times, which gets Bruce the answer he wants:  Reggie was hired by a guy named Blunderslaw. What is it with the creepy Germanic names on this show?  No one at the shooting gallery thinks to ask this, as they're busy worrying about Reggie's bag of drugs.  Cat throws it out the window in a fit of pique at how pathetic Reggie really is- two kids could play him.

Reggie finds that the drugs haven't spilled thirty feet below to the alley.  They're just hanging precariously under the windowsill.  And once he's done leaning precariously over the window trying to get them, he tells the kids that he's going straight to Bunderslaw and telling all about Cat and Bruce.  Who can't have this loose end.  Bruce balks at dealing with Reggie, but Cat doesn't.  She pushes him out the window before Bruce even realizes it's happened, and the would-be snitch lies motionless on the ground below, surely dead.  Bruce looks down in horror as Cat gets out of there pronto.

So, the last three episodes are set: Jim will be tracking down a monster to save a woman he knows; Bullock will be worrying about him; Lee will be constantly pestered by a worried Jim; Penguin is going to try to kill Maroni, even if it risks Falcone's wrath; Fish will be returning to Gotham by hook or crook; and Bruce is going to track down this Bunderslaw.  I'm sure all our heroes will get their happy endings.  Totally sure.

Perhaps - Game of Thrones - Season 5, Episode 1

Everyone's tired.  Everyone's dug themselves a hole, and just can't believe how deep it's gotten.  Most of the characters just feel overwhelmed by how hard it will be to climb back out of their holes.  Some of the characters are still digging.  One has resigned to being deep underground.  But, a couple have decided that the sooner they start climbing, the sooner they'll be out.

The show cycles through each of the episode's locations, then cycles back again as a plot line introduced in the first half is either resolved, or not. There's lots that's MIA.  We'll get to those near the end, if you're interested in knowing what you're missing.

There's very little action, as the episode shows the characters picking up various pieces of their lives since the murder of Tywin Lannister, the imprisoning of Dany's dragons, and the attack on the Wall.  There's very little repeating of their names, which would have been helpful, so I'll remind you of them here. The locations and characters and plot lines don't overlap.  But, at least two sets of characters mean to change that.  And, the possibility of two of our favorite characters meeting to finally set things right is teased right in front of us.

We'll start with the minor plot lines.  Littlefinger and Sansa basically dump Lord Robyn, useless little spoiled turd that he is, on Lord Royce, who is loyal to his lord and still vowing to protect Sansa's identity in the Vale.  Royce promises to protect Robyn, but makes no promises on making him a decent swordfighter, something that Littlefinger seems completely unconcerned about.  Robyn has his family name and the Vale's complete loyalty to him; he doesn't need fighting skills.

Notice how only Littlefinger is pleased

After all, Littlefinger has certainly never had to actually fight anyone to slay his enemies.  Unfortunately, it seems like anyone who's not Sansa is his enemy.

Littlefinger, after lying to Lord Royce about his destination, whisks Sansa away.  She quickly deduces they're not going to the Fingers, which is Littlefinger's home and seat, and he playfully evades telling her where they're going, just promising that it's safe for her by distance from Cersei.  They discuss trust, and how even trustworthy people can be surrounded by spies.  And how Littlefinger trusts in his gold to buy loyalty.  Could that, in the end, be his weakness?

Their carriage literally drives right by Brienne, she of the quest to find the Stark girls.   Podrick and Brienne recover from Brienne's knock-drown drag-out sword brawl with Gregor Clegane, aka The Hound.  Arya outright refused to come with her, even after she offered the girl safety and protection and friendship; The Hound laughed at her offer.  Even if she did manage to throw him off a cliff, his scorn must have hurt.  And it feels horribly wrong for her to take it out on Podrick.  After the treachery of King's Landing, it's entirely understandable that he doesn't let his boss out of his sight; but Brienne still has it in her head that it's his fault Arya is nowhere to be found.

Brienne bitterly sharpens her sword as she disowns Podrick, basically telling the kid that he's basically been tagging along without any real status all this time.  She can't believe that the life of serving a lord she could respect is basically turned to shit.  She can't believe just how awful every lord she could still fight for is. And she's pretty close to abandoning her oath to find both Stark girls and get them somewhere safe.  Which is kind of funny, because neither of the girls believes that anyone can protect her at this point.

Tywin Lannister's death, at this point, is the main attraction in King's Landing.  Cersei arrives last for the funeral, after mourners from all over the Seven Realms have waited for her long climb to the Sept where she's just mourned her own son.  This time, we know exactly why she gives Margaery a glare and practically chases the young woman away.  We actually get to see Cersei as a young girl in the episode's opening, roaming through mud and trees, looking for an old crone with three eyes and cat's teeth.  But Maggy turns out to just be kind of a slob with eyeliner.

Always awful

Young Cersei is every bit the mean girl she'll become already.  Already showing long blond tresses and threatening others with her father's wrath; she gets Maggy to prophesy her life.  Maggy tries to dissuade Cersei with vague threats about knowing one's future.  Cersei is unmoved, and just wishes it wasn't so painful to give Maggy some of her blood to taste.  Maggy doesn't need spells, just a few seconds to swallow the drops.  It's not a glamorous scene at all; not meant to connote any real magic is going to take place.

Which is why it's even creepier and more ominous when Maggy makes a bunch of correct statements about Cersei's future.  Cersei doesn't marry Prince Rhaegar, despite her father's plans.  She marries King Robert, after Tywin sacked King's Landing and Jaime killed the former Targaryen king.  Cersei and Robert have no children together; she personally made sure all of her children were Jaime's, and he fathered so many bastards it took a whole day to kill almost all of them.  We've already seen Joffrey die horribly after getting the Iron Throne.  So, when Maggy tells Cersei that a younger queen will take her place, and all of her children will die after being crowned, we see that Margaery never had a chance with her mother-in-law.  And that Tommen and Myrcella might be screwed.

Could you just let me be queen, already?!?!?!?!!?

And now, it seems, Jaime has no chance with her either.  Cersei's already figured out it was Jaime who freed Tyrion, but she doesn't dare kill him for it; she needs him because he's the last person in King's landing she can actually trust.  She certainly has no time for anything but her ruminations on how everyone but her dead father is useless.  Loras is barely tolerated; Pycelle is openly snubbed; only Kevan can get her ear for a moment, and only because he can tell her why little cousin Lancel is so horribly altered.

Before the Paleo diet

A shitload of liver later...

Lancel used to have a beautiful golden bob and soft golden skin.  Now, he's shorn and pale, but his eyes show that he's got a purpose beyond serving his family now.  This Lancel isn't going to do as he's told, something his father, Kevan (Tywin's only brother, and Cersei's uncle), clearly doesn't approve of.  Lancel also helps to introduce the Sparrows to the show.  Sparrows are, basically, septons from around Westeros, made poor by the decimation of the countryside and the deaths of their flocks, who descend on King's Landing looking for justice for the people from the crown and nobility.  Basically, they're Occupy King's Landing.

Lancel is willing to talk openly of his sins for Cersei; she tries to ignore him by simply denying everything in case someone is listening; but she probably scurries away to arrange for his death and have her third glass of wine for the day.

Loras, despite appearing to mourn Tywin, couldn't be happier; he gets to stay in King's Landing, where his favorite boytoy Olyvar can come over whenever, and apparently leave his bedchamber without caring about being seen.  When an impatient and disapproving Margaery tries to remind Loras to be discreet about his capital crime, he brushes her off.  He'd rather tease his sister that she's about to marry Tommen just as Cersei will no doubt release herself from marrying Loras.  He's free from Cersei's control, but Margaery will soon be in the thick of it.  She just looks out the window, murmuring about the possibility that she's got a plan.  Let's hope she doesn't confide in Ser-I-can-flaunt-my-gay-lover-everywhere.

Mereen, the new and improved home of Queen Danaerys Targaryen, is also wandering about in a malaise.  Danaerys, for all her good intentions and acquired street smarts, hasn't convinced the former nobility of Mereen to simply accept her rule.  She tears down the Harpy goddess statue, by pulling it down the side of the pyramid, shredding wooden protections for the pyramid itself as it crashes down to earth in a cascade of dust. Though down, the statue is still in one piece.  Symbolism for a beaten nobility?  Is it reminiscent of how recent Islamic conquerors in Afghanistan and Iraq are destroying ancient, pre-Allah statues? It has about the same effectiveness.  None.

An Unsullied warrior overseeing the destruction, White Rat, needs some down time.  Literally.  If you're a prostitute, what do you offer young, strong, and well-paid men who have no sexual organs?  Why, lullabies, of course! Easiest money a prostitute ever made, even if the work is kind of boring.  Although, for more excitement, a working girl can always sell her customer out so his throat can be slit.  We never see the killer's face, only his golden mask.

The mask makes me a superhero!

Dany is unthrilled at the news of the murder, promising justice for the Unsullied killed by this new group of would-be rebels called the Sons of the Harpy.  You can get rid of her statue, but not her ways.  Danaerys calls for the killers to be brought to her, so all can see her dispense justice from those who attack her own army.  And she orders the Unsullied to patrol the city, something that puzzles her returning diplomats, Hizdhar zo Loraq (guy in the flowy robes Danaerys doesn't listen to), and good ol' Daario Naharis (guy with the awesome ass Danaerys does listen to).

Loraq has gotten the good people of Yunkai to set up a council of both former slaves and masters to govern the city, with all laws submitted to her for review. Their first new law for her review is to re-open the fighting pits.  Long a place where slaves died or became local heroes, the whole idea repulses Danaerys, who icily rejects the idea.  Reminiscent of the old feminist slogans again pickup artists, Danaerys shuts Loraq down when he tries to convince her to change her mind.  Her no will always be no, she tells him firmly.  So that we can all be pleasantly surprised next week when she changes her mind.

I don't see why it's so hard to just do everything my way

It's not until Daario works on her, or maybe it's his ass working on her, to convince her that the fighting pits are more than just a symbol of slavery and brutality.  He confides in her that he, too, was a slave once, sent to fight and win or die in the pits themselves (Prince Oberyn, he of the messy death last season, also boasted of spending some time in them.  By choice).  And he won.  And became a hero.  For a lowborn, probably illiterate man, fighting was his only way up.  And, to freedom.  One feels, while Daario explains how fighting is about more than the fight itself, that he's trying to speak for all men born as low as he was.  The fighting pits were his ticket out of slavery, and into the mercenary company from which he now fights for Dany.

Daario's also got some warnings about keeping those dragons locked up.  Buying an army isn't an accomplishment, and the Sons of the Harpy are proving that her enemies no longer fear her soldiers.  No, people only fear dragons.  Dragons that Dany admits she can't control and won't allow to harm anyone else.  Daario hints that she better figure out how to control them pronto, before more Unsullied die and she gets crucified on the hill.

Dany tries to take Daario's advice, creeping through the dark to see Viserion and Rhaegal, the two smaller dragons named for her brothers. Like her brothers, they're pissy and total dicks to her.  Drogon, named for her dead husband who loved and treasured her, is still missing, and would probably be even more frightening.  Dany scurries away, hoping no one saw how little she can handle.

Moooooooom! Get out of my room!

The dragons are now a wild card. They've shown that Dany isn't their boss.  They've shown that no one is their boss.  Is Dany going to find a way to make them hers again, or a teacher?  Or, will they remain a symbol of Dany's rise to power but inability to maintain that power?

Missandhei and Grey Worm reach a sort of impasse;  Missandhei lets curiosity get the better of her, asking Grey Worm what a castrated man could have seen a prostitute for.  Grey Worm has no idea, and no speculation.  Will he be wondering the same thing?  And what happened to the prostitute?  If everyone knows about her, is her head on a pike already?

Stannis tries to capitalize on his win at the Wall.  He legitimately saved the Realm from a wildling invasion, just as the Night's Watch requested.  Ser Alliser Thorne, strides around like he owns the place.  Janos Slynt parades next to him, happy to forget his own cowardice. But, it's really Stannis and Melisandre in charge.  They make sure the crowd knows that.  And Jon can't believe everyone wants to put him in the middle, just when he's hoping to spend his days training the new kid from Molestown.  Unlike Lord Robyn of the Vale, little Ollie really does have to learn how to fight; and Jon stresses the importance of holding your shield up.  No matter what.  Ollie looks tired, but Jon gently chides him to remember his lessons for next time, giving the kid hope that he'll improve if Jon just smiles at him once in a while.

Stannis and Ser Davos have other plans for Jon; they send Melisandre to fetch him and bring him to the top of the wall.  Melisandre, who never saw a personal boundary she doesn't immediately violate, inquires if Jon is a virgin.  Maybe thinking she'll shut up if he just tells her, he does.  And she does shut up, very happy with his answer.  Stannis and Ser Davos, standing atop the wall maybe to assess just how much cold ice they've won, want to make Jon instrumental in their plan to take Westeros from the North down.

Jon has already learned of the Red Wedding; Team Stannis reminds him that co-conspirator Roose Bolton is still living, and even taking up residence as Warden of the North at Jon's childhood home of Winterfell. You know, where Rob Stark also came from.   If Jon would like a little revenge, how 'bout doing a favor for ol' Stannis, hero of the Wall?  If Jon can convince Mance Rayder to accept Stannis as his own king, and promise his kick-ass surviving Free Folk as soldiers for Stannis, then everyone wins.  Mance gets to live.  The Free Folk get their war on those South of the Wall; and if Team Stannis wins, Free Folk get to stay on land Stannis will grant them, as his subjects.  Ser Davos insists, rightly, that it's a fair deal; even the small numbers of Free Folk, with their brutal warfare, would be a great addition to Stannis' sellsword army and would scare the shit out of Roose Bolton.  And give Ramsay the fight he's been waiting for.  Oh, to think of what Tormund Giantsbane would do to Ramsay!

Sorry, kid, I don't do bowing

But we're not going to get that.  Because Mance won't give up his own leadership over the Free Folk by showing himself bowing to someone else.  Mance won't have his people fight a Westerosi war, even though the Free Folk have been defeated, and can either live as subjects in Westeros or die.  If the plan was to live South of the Wall to survive, why not take Stannis' pretty good deal?  Jon thinks Mance is an idiot, but he still loves the guy enough to grant him one small mercy.

Mance is a little fearful of his coming execution, though still committed to dying before bowing.  When he's marched out, his last words to Stannis are pretty forgiving; he wishes the King luck.  Stannis seems happy to respect a man he's going to execute; but Melisandre sees Mance as an example, addressing his fellow Free Folk, Tormund in front and in chains.  They can choose her god and her king, or death by fire.  And she personally sets Mance's pyre on fire.  Mance tries not to scream in agony, as the Lord of Light's previous victims have.  But it's a struggle, and Tormund can see just how sadistic Melisandre, and by extension, Stannis can be.  And he's learning just how Westeros does things.  And he's thinking he's got his own savagery to add to the mix.

Yeah, I'm gonna kill you all

Mance is just about to lose his self-control, when an arrow pierces his heart, killing him and depriving Melisandre and Selyse of his screams.  The two zealots have been foiled... by Jon.  Stannis dragged him into this.  And if he's got to go down, he'll go down on his own terms.  It's a fuck-you to the power of Melisandre, and as much of  protest as anyone can do without also being burned.

The only real bit of hope tonight is in Pentos, which is just across the sea from King's Landing, and home of Varys' partner in crime, Magister Illyrio Mopatis.  This is the same house Danaerys and Viserys were living in at the very beginning, five seasons ago.  This is the house Danaerys was married from.  And, it's Tyrion's first stop in Essos.  He tumbles out of his crate into a dirty, bearded heap on the ground.  Tyrion's hatred of the crate he's stowed in is understandable, and it takes him time to adjust to even being out.  He and Varys, who accompanied him to Pentos when he realized Tyrion had done something serious and stupid in King's Landing, trade barbs about just what it was like to keep Tyrion concealed.  They both gripe about how much dealing with shit from a crate sucks.

Welcome to Pentos!

But, now that they're here, and Tyrion can suck down as much wine as he pleases, Varys picks this time, when Tyrion is bitter and done, to pitch joining his plot to save Westeros from Baratheon and Lannister mismanagement.  He talks of a Targaryen Restoration, as if a Targaryen has already been restored to the throne.  But, he also admits that a the whole thing turned into a catastrofuck that has sunk Westeros into a miasma of cruelty, blood, poverty, and death.  Tyrion pukes.  And drinks some more.  He's ready to be a useless drunk for the rest of his life, which was his life's original goal.
Varys waits until Tyrion's got his land legs back, and another glass of wine, to once again talk about hope.  Tyrion wants to die of alcohol poisoning, but Varys doesn't think he'll actually take a coward's way out.  Varys is good with words, responding to Tyrion's cynicism with pleas that he thinks life must be this way because he's used to it.  Tyrion doesn't want to be the guy that Varys relies on to save Westeros from the rich, selfish and bloodthirsty noble houses.  But, Varys picked him because he saw a guy who had Tywin's smarts, Ned's human decency, and Jon's heart.  And, maybe he knew that Tyrion would never really give up on making a difference.  Maybe he saw Arya's tenacity in there, too.

Seriously considering giving a shit

If there is a guy who can travel to Mereen, and help Dany retake Westeros and become a better queen while she's at it, who else could it be but Tyrion?  Is Varys for real?  We don't see that he's had any doings directly with Danaerys or Ser Barristan, so he gains very little from putting her on the Iron Throne.  And he's picked Tyrion as an ally, though that could be because he knew Tyrion would agree to go to Mereen, as long as he can drink the whole way there.  But hey, the guy carried Tyrion's shit.  So, any ego he might have had must be gone.  No, it looks like Varys is on the up and up.  And we get to end on a hopeful note, and not just because Arya will be in next week's episode.

****

Martin's fourth book, A Feast for Crows, is an exhausting read featuring exhausted characters just trying to survive the book.  So, the part of the TV show that starts really covering this book is going to be a slog any way they try to portray it.  They can't just skip over it, since A Dance With Dragons is the same time period but the rest of the cast, and the same melancholy trudging through the story by characters who have given up on happy endings.  After that, there's no more source material.

And the series has already run through Bran's story line.  After deleting Bran's guide through the Land Beyond the Wall (a creature named Coldhands), and most of their trek north, Bran is officially not going to be in Season 5.  Depending on what Martin and the TV show come up with over the next year, we may or may not see him in Season 6.

Remember in Season 3, when house Tully was basically torn apart?  The only one who got away was Blackfish, Catelyn's uncle.  Season 4 didn't show him at all, which is too bad, and there's no word on whether he appears this year, which he actually should if the TV show plans on being at all faithful to the books.  Which, according to several sources, it won't.  An entire plot line was left hanging.  A plot line important to Jaime, as he's the one in the book tasked with cleaning up the mess of the Riverlands.

And, since the show confirmed, I bear the sad news that Lady Stoneheart, the resurrected Catelyn Stark, will not be wrecking havoc in the Riverlands in her undead crusade for revenge against House Frey.  This has disappointed many readers, since Lady Stoneheart represented our own desire to stick it to House Frey for violating the Guest Rule of Westeros.

So, the moral of all these stories is that even book readers have very little clue what happens next.  With Martin mum on where the books are going, and the show's makers very secretive, the Game of Thrones is really anyone's game at this point.  Valar Morghulis!

The Other Shoe Drops - Scandal - Season 4, Episode 18

For once, an episode about dads that actually doesn't focus on Fitz's shitty dad.  One dad tries to do right by his son, even if it tears the son apart.  Olivia has to untangle that mess.  One dad left his wife and daughter for another woman.  That little daughter became the First Lady.  One dad reappears after a well-earned vacation, eager to know what his daughter's employees and lover have been up to.

There's very little interplay between episode's threads; Congressman Reed's case this week, which Olivia takes, is almost there just to get Olivia out of bed so she can kick Franklin Russell out.  With a name like Franklin, no wonder he left that off and just stuck with Russell last night.  Russell seemed fine with a one-night stand; Franklin is just too needy.

Gotta' go!

Congressman George Reed has needs too; but he's going to pay Olivia well to fulfill them, and it means possibly getting justice for his long-wrongly-on-death-row dad.  It's not clear what Olivia sees in Reed Sr. that convinces her so strongly, so quickly, that he's innocent of shooting his teen daughter's former teacher/lover.  It's hard to understand how Reed, Sr. got on Death Row; everyone agrees that the killing was totally understandable, and the shooting victim's other former teenaged lovers are happy the asshole is dead.  The guy's ex-wife was probably also happy he's dead.  It's impossible to confirm, though, since she's recently died of pancreatic cancer.

Notice I never told you that I didn't do it

Congressman Reed's mystery is almost too easy to solve; who else would Reed Sr. protect by lying, if not his only remaining family member?  Reed Sr. has wanted his son to forget and move on; but as soon as Olivia has it figured out, her move on Reed Sr. is to demonstrate all the ways his son has not moved on while his dad faces death for his crime.  It's eerily similar to Congresswoman Josie Marcus taking the fall for her daughter.  Except that Olivia can, and does, convince Reed Sr. to let his son confess to killing the poor girl's exploiting lover.  Reed looks almost relieved as he offers his hands to the cops to handcuff.  Reed Sr. looks like he has no idea what to do next as he's handed his old belongings and re-enters a world he was happy to leave behind.

Reed Sr. claims that he's been dead since his daughter took her own life.  And, it's hard not to become  a stone when you use your daughter's dollhouse to reach her where she's hung herself.  What will he do while Reed gets used to prison life?  It will be a while, but by using resigning his seat in Congress and his voluntary confession as leverage, Olivia should be able to get him easy time, and revive his reputation when he's eventually freed.  But how will these two face each other, years from now?

Lizzy Bear has her own client's past to untangle; Mellie, it turns out, is the child of a broken home.  Her father left her young to take up with another, much poorer, much less polished woman.  The new marriage produced a much poorer, less polished sister named Harmony.  And these two have never gotten along.  The personal and class resentments, no doubt, built on each other over the years.  Which makes them easy for Lizzy Bear to spot while interviewing Harmony as part of vetting her candidate's family.  Mellie chafes under the extra scrutiny a candidate's family will get; but Lizzy Bear convinces her to devote some time to making nice to Harmony, because the woman is itching to air Mellie's dirty laundry, when she's not making soap from local animal fat.

Cyrus gushes like a schoolgirl, complete with the most malicious whisper ever heard in the White House, over how much refereeing Harmony's eventual shitstorm will sour Fitz on ever helping Mellie run for the Senate.  Abby listens to Cy like a neutral employee, and dishes on the whole thing herself to Olivia, who sounds like she almost wishes she was there.  Almost.  It's nearly as much fun watching Fitz and Mellie argue like five year olds over his attending dinner with Harmony and Mellie.  One man with no patience for other people's problems with two women who have nothing but problems between them.  Cy is giddy as he relishes the ruins of Mellie's Senate campaign.

Harmony may not have a pantsuit, but her strappy high heels and neckline aren't that scandalous, really.  It's not like she waltzes in like a Vegas showgirl or something.  Even so, feminine yet power suited Mellie really doesn't want to touch her own sister.

I am totally not trying to guess if they're fake

Mellie just can't help suggesting her sister change her shoes before she leads her on the awesome White House tour.  In front of Cy and Lizzy Bear, the two would rather die than start fighting; but fighting in front of Fitz during dinner is totally fair game.  Harmony wants to talk about her soap business; Fitz wants to politely pretend to listen.  Mellie wants to halt the whole thing because even family must call Fitz "Mr. President".  I think someone's been First Lady a little too long.  I think Harmony's been wanting to pull all of Mellie's hair out for some time.  The women screech it out over who was worse during their childhood; Harmony for existing, or Mellie for keeping Harmony from her father's relatives.   Two girls who fought for their father's attention have never hated each other more.

Fitz tries to lecture Mellie for her inability to keep her temper with someone she hates; guess what a big part of the President's job is?   Mellie officially informs Fitz that he's got to transition to First Husband; he's got to be the one who defuses the tensions in social situations so she can get to the horse dealing and hooch swallowing; that's going to be his job, eventually.  Wait, I thought he was moving to Vermont, eventually.  Does Mellie know this?

Would Mellie even need Fitz, eventually?  Wouldn't she be considered brave and better off by the American People for divorcing her kind of alcoholic, philandering husband?  Wouldn't it be considered a sign of political independence?  I suppose Fitz would have to accept the hit to his public reputation, which could cut into his mayor of Small Town, VT fantasy.  For now, their new dynamic means that Fitz is the one who smooths everything over with Harmony.  It's not as masterfully done as Mellie's first political wrangling with Jerry Sr., but it does the trick; Harmony goes from wanting to ruin Mellie to wanting to really hug her.  Cy looks on in bewildered fear as Fitz promises more personal miracles to come on her Senate campaign.

Now we get to the good parts of the episode; namely, the ones that involve Charlie.  I mean, Jake.  Jake's always been able to scare Rosen silly, despite the fact that he's always left Rosen alive.  Remember James' murder?  If Jake wasn't going to kill Rosen then, he's never going to.  Or, at least, we should all have remembered that.  Despite the raiding of B-613's offices and chasing away of Rowan, the agency appears to be so alive and well that Jake and Rosen must dicker about bringing it down.  What is there to bring down anymore?

Turns out, quite a bit.  Jake's acrobatics in Rosen's office aren't so much to scare him as place a bug on a desk that no one will miraculously never find.  It leads to three agents/witnesses being killed in a bloody mess on Charlie's watch.  They all had extensive dirt on Jake, and the intention was to lure him into testifying; instead, Charlie finds Jake in the not-so-safe apartment.  Charlie tries to shoot, but Jake launches onto him immediately.  At first, the two try to duel like pros, but it becomes an awkward tangle of B-613 agents on the floor trying to get the gun while one of the witnesses crawls uselessly on the floor.  Someone shoots the last remaining witness to death in the scramble before Jake manages to stagger out the door.

Rosen is horrified by this easily predictable mess.  Charlie immediately moves for killing Jake like a rabid dog; Huck instantly agrees. Quinn tries debating them over it; Rosen just dejectedly slinks away.  Huck declares that Jake has lost his humanity. He looks sheepish while he describes Jake's supposed state, as if he knows too well how savage Jake has become.  Quinn reluctantly agrees, but she's totally on board with killing Jake later that night when they make their first attempt.  Huck and Quinn quickly figure out that Jake is actually in Olivia's building, sending them scurrying to Olivia's.  Olivia has actually invited Franklin Russell back, and really can't be interrupted to meet her new neighbor.  Since Lois has passed away, Jake has somehow passed a background check and moved himself and his gun in.  

Huck and Quinn realize that there's just no fixing the mess when Jake implies that if he feels too threatened, he'll just kill Olivia.  It's important to note, that through all of this, Huck and Quinn have firmly rejected telling Olivia.  Anything.  She still doesn't even know about the investigation.  Let alone the immunity agreements, the testimonies, the dead agents, and Jake's melt down.  

It's the next morning when Charlie arrives with coffee for Huck and Quinn.  The three stare blankly ahead until Rosen joins them.  All three former B-613 agents have decided to completely give up; there are no more agents to use for leverage; if there were, who would ever agree to testify now?   And how long would it take for Jake to wipe them all out?  Who's to say he still won't?  Worried about their lives, they reject Rosen's call to push forward and tell Olivia.  Rosen is convinced Olivia would want to know.  Huck and Quinn are convinced they don't want her to know and that she can't handle the fallout from all of this.

The Not-So Fantastic Four

Charlie's goodbye is touching.  Is he really leaving the show for good?  His handshakes and gentle good-bye kiss say yes.  I'll miss him.  No matter what, he never lost his bonhomie.  Everything was just another job to be handled, never a disaster to grieve over.  He was born to be a B-613 agent.  He'll spend his life as a private investigator, maybe. Does he have a possible future as a Gladiator?

Rosen just can't give up.  He's going on about white hats.  Neither he nor anyone else ever bothered to wonder how Jake knew where to look for the B-613 agents earlier, so of course the bug is still there and Jake is still listening, presumably from Lois' old apartment, to hear that Rosen has hit on a new leverage for Jake; the murder of James Novak.  It was a chilling killing, precipitated by the murder of the VP's husband.  Rosen insists to Huck, in full hearing of the bug that's still there, that he's going after Jake for it.  It could bring down Sally Langston to boot, so why not?

Well, because Jake says no. In the parking garage.  Rosen has decided that the safest place for whatever files he wants to use against Jake is with his secretary, Holly.  She's ever helpful and hoping Rosen will take care of himself when Jake approaches, gun pointed at Rosen.  Rosen dutifully steps away as he's told, to find out Holly was also carrying, and now has her gun firmly pointed at Jake.  Jake wasn't listening to Rosen's office to find the agents and kill them; he was listening so he could hear B-613's plant in the Attorney General's office, Holly, plot to kill those agents right from Rosen's office.  Jake quickly kills Holly and tries his best to assure Rosen that bringing down B-613 is still on.

Rosen's not so relieved; Jake outright tells him to just roll with Jake's supposed betrayals, because that's how Jake works.  He'll appear to hang you out to dry to smoke out your enemies.  Don't worry, Jake's got this.  

Yeah, but who's got Jake?

Olivia has her own heart to heart with Huck.  Turns out, Jake's taken over Lois' apartment so he can make sure Olivia hears everything from his wiretapping herself.  And, she lays into Huck for telling her nothing, for insisting on telling her nothing.  She could've handled knowing what they were up to.  She feels betrayed, while Huck looks like a puppy caught peeing on the rug.  

And, it's a good thing Jake prepped Olivia for what's coming.  Because it's here.  Franklin Russell is the worst boytoy ever.  Who brings the woman's dad for a booty call?  The guy seeing Olivia Pope, that's who.  Rowan is back!  In a way that reveals he's still the boss of the world, and maybe even the Solar System.   And he's here to ruin more than Olivia's love life.  Ah...... the speeches in two weeks!!!  I'm already loving them!!

All Life Is Precious. Except Pete - Walking Dead - Season 5, Episode 16

Ugh.  I give it a year. Between the sometimes startling incompetence of the Alexandrians, and the bloodthirsty antics of Team Carol/Rick, Alexandria won't last.  Or it will, by some dramatic sleight of hand that happens between Seasons 5 and 6.  Or Morgan will help Rick not be a bloody mess at the end of every day.

Do your best, Morgan.  That's all we ask. 

It's doubtful that Deanna will still be in charge, and the death of her husband, right after her son's death, probably isn't going to give her much faith in Rick's leadership.  Especially since her husband was murdered with Michonne's sword.  My bet is that the show will have her relinquish control, maybe even leave.  Rick's predecessor in Alexandria simply walks away from the town in the book, and the show will very likely go that route, with Deanna's last son leaving with her.  Giving Rick clean control over the town.  Although, it would have been interesting to see her and Rick act as co-leaders, like Roslin and Adama from Battlestar Galactica.  But, this show isn't about how checks and balances improve leadership.  This show is about how Rick blunders into a place, saves the day somehow, leads for a while, then whatever group he's leading loses the place.  It makes for great television, but who would really want to endure the zombie-pocalypse this way?

Do Rick and Carol even hear themselves as they plot to take Deanna and other town residents hostage if the night's town meeting doesn't go their way?  What if Deanna had called their bluff, if it even was a bluff?  Would Rick really have slit throats?  Isn't that what he's stood against for 2-1/2 years?  After showing up way late for the town meeting, covered in zombie guts after having to hand-crush a zombie head, his big speech boils down to: "I was going to kill some of you, but I got this zombie instead.  Put me in charge."  The Alexandrians just nod their heads at this, and I'm almost sympathetic to Pete when he makes his lone and disastrous attempt on Rick's life.  It makes for great television, but who would really want to endure the zombie-pocalypse this way?

Anybody else a little concerned at how easily she deflected blame for snatching Rick's secret gun? Oh, no, she had nothing to do with it.  But she's already got a plan for taking over Alexandria that night at Deanna's meeting.   Lying to Alexandria is one thing.  Lying to Michonne, Glenn, and Abraham is another.  

No idea how this could have happened.. maybe we could stage a coup tonight?

Carol has become something of a Lady MacBeth.  She coos at Rick how much he needs to just take over the town, no matter what happens at the night's meeting.  She coos at Rick that it's time to stop coddling the Alexandrians, even if it means he's got to make them scared of him by threatening to kill if he's not in charge.  There's a name for people who take over towns because they're not bad ass enough; but it's not "Sunshine".  Carol coos threats to Pete, while pretending to bring him a casserole.  Let's just say I don't want any of her cooking.  Ever.  There might be razors in it.

Yep. Definitely razors.

Darryl and Aaron almost get killed, with Aaron blaming himself.  Not sure if there's really any blaming him.  You can't hold yourself responsible for losing someone wandering the woods of Northern Virginia, and settling for trucks of food instead.  Was it smart to just open the back door?  The counterweights hanging off the side of a truck were a weird thing to see.  Trucks don't need those, as the doors open along a track inside.  Wouldn't Darryl or Aaron have heard the zombies inside?  Maybe, maybe not.  Let's hope Aaron got the Alaska license plate home, because he seems to have dropped his promo photos.  Very convenient for Laurel and Hardy, who call themselves the Wolves.  And leave graffiti insisting they're not far.  Now they know there's a town nearby for the taking.  Just in time for next season's premiere.

When Darryl and Aaron spring the zombie trap, a horde emerges from the trucks, both together, thanks to the lines connecting the doors with those counterweights.  They are herded, by the dead, into a sedan.  They think it's a safe place, until a note found by the last victims convinces them it's better to make a dash for the outside.  Darryl is willing to go out on the sacrifice play, and that sound you heard at about 10pm last night was the sound of millions of Dead Fans getting their torches pitchforks ready for rioting.  Thankfully, Aaron offered to go out with him, and we wondered if together, they could make it to the fence.

They couldn't.  Holy crap they couldn't.  Good thing they had last minute help.

After teasing us twice before this season, Morgan has finally found his way to Northern Virginia.  He's having a great trip, staying for free in abandoned cars, smiling at stray rabbit's feet, and totally kicking the shit out of anyone stupid enough to try to take him.  The Zen Master of the zombie-pocalypse plays the Wolves' threats pretty cool, drawing out the first one to explain the exact nature of his psychosis, so the audience can know just how much Darryl and Rick have to kill them next season.  He tries to reach for his gun, but Wolf #1 nixes that.  That's fine.  Morgan will just go to the walking stick, which he wields like a boss, winding his arm around it to prepare to strike.  Morgan doesn't kill the Wolves, just leaves them in his camp for the night, sounding the car horn so zombies will come and finish the job.  Instead of killing them, he gives them a fighting chance.  Because, he explains to Darryl later, all life is precious.

In a show where everyone you knew before the world turned is probably dead, meeting a long-lost friend should be unheard of.  But, in an age where everyone's kind of stuck where they are, you're bound to run into people again.  Darryl eventually found Merle; and Morgan, aided by a map and his ridiculous ninja skills, has found Rick.  Does Darryl put it together, when he sees Rick's name on the map, knowing they're talking to someone named Morgan?  Does he remember what Rick's walkie-talkie was for?  Because it sure as shit wasn't used for Rick's team to ever communicate.

The Wolves get out in time to survive, and even do what Aaron couldn't: find Red Poncho guy.  It's supposed to be there to pile on for Aaron later, as a reminder of just how much of a dud his latest trip was.

Sasha has some.... fun... while burying zombies, trying to feel what it will be like to be buried with them.  The survivor's guilt has never been clearer in either her or Gabriel, who wanders out, not expecting to come back.  He claims to Spencer that he's just going on a short walk, but his weak and deadpan voice indicate that he's saying his last words.  So, why the last minute change of heart, garroting a zombie and bashing the other one's head in?  Are those his first big kills?  Because, for first kills, they're pretty bloody and physical.  Which is probably why he breaks down, crying over his own inability to even get himself killed.  I mean, even Aiden managed to do that.

Rick and Michonne make a big deal of whether she's more loyal to the town or Rick.  Michonne squarely swears her loyalty to Rick and even a possible takeover, telling Rick to just not do it unless someone actually makes a move against him.  But, if Alexandria actually banishes him, all bets are off.  Maggie rallies Team Carol to offer glowing testimonies, despite Deanna's growing distrust of them all, and her unsuccessful attempt to bring Gabriel's warning to the town.  Once Deanna's husband, Reggie is dead in her arms, bleeding even more than Rick is, she decides she's had enough of being nice, and tells Rick to go for it, which Rick immediately obeys.

Just when you think Rick has done the right thing, the night's murder is interrupted by Aaron, Darryl, and Morgan.  None of them have any clue what's been happening, and Morgan looks like he didn't find Rick after all.

Eugene and Abraham make up, partly facilitated by Rosita, who may or may not take over the infirmary since Dr. Peter Drunky-Drunk is dead.  Eugene does some more of his monotoned babbling, while Abraham apologizes for socking Eugene good, something Eugene acknowledges was coming to him anyway.  These two, really, have nothing in common.  At all.  Without Eugene's fake mission, it's hard to see how they ever would have come to care at all about each other.  It's unclear whether they care about each other now.

Nicholas and Glenn have their climactic fight.  Does Nicholas lure Glenn out?  Or, is it just opportunity knocking when Glenn follows him out?  Does this town want to do anything about people just climbing out?  Does the town really want people just wandering the woods outside, without anyone knowing they're not around?  Apparently so, because Glenn and Nicholas can fight and fight again without anyone even thinking of looking for them.  Nicholas even shoots Glenn and digs a fist in the gunshot.  The shot alone should have brought people, let alone Glenn screaming in agony.

Quality time in the zombie-pocalypse

In the end, Glenn does the right thing when cowardly Nicholas surrenders and agrees to be Glenn's bitch.  He'll show up at the meeting, right behind Morgan, further making the trio of travelers wonder what the fuck has been going on.  

Michonne, after the night's excitement, gets her sword back, but it won't go back up on the wall.  It belongs strapped to her back, and there it will stay.  Sometimes, you do have to bring the world outside the walls inside them.

I actually want to leave off, for the season, with the climax to Sasha and Gabriel's suicide plot line.  Because it's slightly hopeful.  Because, Gabriel has the possibility of being less annoying now, that he's officially done sniveling.  Because, Sasha might put the rifle down to sleep at night now.  Because, Maggie joins with Sasha in mourning their losses.  Because, the sight of the three of them praying, after Gabriel and Sasha have a knock-down fight over who's the most suicidal that requires Maggie to break it up, indicates that the characters have the opportunity to finally come out of their PTSD.  Because Tara is shown waking up as they come together to heal each other.  Will the ebbing of their trauma convince the Alexandrians that Team Carol/Rick has something to offer besides bloody scenes?

Let's hope so.  Because he carries a big stick.