SCANDAL: DOG-WHISTLE POLITICS (TV)
Summary
One in this drama/political thriller about the Pope & Associates crisis management firm in Washington D.C. In this episode, Jake visits Rowan in prison to discuss "Lazarus One," the contingency plan involving the theft of priceless paintings to fund B613, but Rowan refuses to admit any involvement, saying only that he is still "free." The 24-hour news cycle goes into overdrive prying into Olivia's life, and Quinn is stunned when Marcus flatly refuses her offer of employment, denouncing Pope & Associates as "shady." Fitz, outraged about the salacious press coverage about Olivia, tries to fire Abby, though Olivia warns him against becoming "emotional." Huck and Quinn try to shield her from prying photographers, though she instructs them not to hire any new "gladiators," and when Jake and Charlie head to France to meet with an operative with contacts in the art world, Jake is stunned to recognize "Elise Martin" as a figure from his past. Mellie is shocked when the other female senators inform her that they wish to impeach Fitz over his affair, but Cyrus encourages her to go along with the plan, reminding her of her own White House ambitions.
Marcus changes his mind for financial reasons and joins Huck and Quinn, while elsewhere Jake and Elise are revealed to be ex-spouses as they argue about a failed meet at Grand Central Terminal years ago, with Jake protesting that he genuinely believed her dead. Elizabeth tries to reason with Senator Gibson, pointing out that extramarital affairs are not illegal, but Gibson complains that Olivia was in Fitz's official employ and is surely "pulling the strings." Fitz and Mellie share a tender moment as they play with Teddy together, and Marcus grows increasingly angry at the media's portrayal of Olivia as either an "angry black woman" or a self-made star who rose from "the ghetto." Rosen convinces Fitz to at least meet with the Republican senators to cut off the impeachment plans, and when Elise's heist goes south, Jake and Charlie rush to her rescue as she shoots her would-be buyer and is nearly killed herself.
During his sit-down with Fitz, Gibson smugly reveals his "true cost of mercy": a large-scale rollback of many of Fitz's new laws, including the hard-won Brandon Bill. As Fitz struggles with his decision, Gibson advises finding a mistress more "palatable" to Republican voters. Olivia grows emotionally overwhelmed by the offensive and misogynistic comments about her online, and though a recovering Elise tells Jake that there is "no forever for them," he asks her to return to the U.S. with him. Mellie maintains her determination to "take the high road," but Cyrus rages that she never truly loved Fitz, whereas he himself valued Fitz like a son and feels destroyed by his betrayal, and then quits in anger. Marcus "goes off-script" as he lambasts the media for their treatment of Olivia, and Huck and Quinn decide to follow his lead, appearing in several interviews in which they call out the use of "dog-whistle politics" and coded language containing derogatory references to Olivia's race and gender. A not-so-fired Abby tells Fitz that Olivia would tell him to accept Gibson's conditions and kill the Brandon Bill in order to save himself, but Fitz decides that he "works for the American people" and makes an unscheduled trip to Olivia's home, where he boldly steps out with her by his side, making a defiant public statement about the nature of their relationship. As a result, Mellie has a change of heart and decides to join the female senators in pursuing impeachment. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 125504
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Politics
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2012-2018
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Bridge of Spies" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Goosebumps" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AARP organization
- TV - Commercials - AT&T and DirecTV services
- TV - Commercials - Apple music services
- TV - Commercials - Campbell's soups
- TV - Commercials - CarMax website
- TV - Commercials - Chevrolet automobiles
- TV - Commercials - CoverGirl Outlast cosmetics
- TV - Commercials - Dish satellite television provider
- TV - Commercials - Enterprise Rent-a-Car services
- TV - Commercials - Eos lip balm
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Gain laundry detergent
- TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal
- TV - Commercials - Macy's stores
- TV - Commercials - Marc Jacobs Decadence fragrance
- TV - Commercials - Neutrogena makeup remover cloths
- TV - Commercials - PetSmart stores
- TV - Commercials - Samsung Galaxy Note5 cellular phones
- TV - Commercials - Scion automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Sprint wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - TJ Maxx stores
- TV - Commercials - Target stores
- TV - Commercials - Volvo automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Wal-Mart stores
- TV - Commercials - Walgreens pharmacies
- TV - Commercials - Zyrtec-D antihistamine
- TV - Promos - "Blood and Oil"
- TV - Promos - "Dancing With the Stars"
- TV - Promos - "Dr. Ken"
- TV - Promos - "How to Get Away with Murder"
- TV - Promos - "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
- TV - Promos - "Once Upon a Time"
- TV - Promos - "Quantico"
- TV - Promos - "Scandal"
- TV - Promos - "Shark Tank"
- TV - Promos - "Wicked City"
CREDITS
- Mark Wilding … Executive Producer
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Tom Verica … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by
- Heather Mitchell … Co-Executive Producer
- Merri D. Howard … Co-Executive Producer
- Allan Heinberg … Co-Executive Producer
- Judy Smith … Co-Executive Producer
- Alison Schapker … Co-Executive Producer
- Mark Fish … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Matt Byrne … Supervising Producer
- Scott Collins … Supervising Producer
- Zahir McGhee … Supervising Producer
- Noah Evslin … Co-Producer
- Brad Yacobian … Co-Producer
- Holden Chang … Co-Producer
- Chris Van Dusen … Co-Producer
- Jason George … Co-Producer
- Zetna Fuentes … Director
- Chad Fischer … Music by
- Kerry Washington … Cast, Olivia Pope
- Scott Foley … Cast, Jake Ballard
- Darby Stanchfield … Cast, Abby Whelan
- Katie Lowes … Cast, Quinn Perkins
- Guillermo Diaz … Cast, Diego "Huck" Muñoz
- Jeff Perry … Cast, Cyrus Beene
- Joshua Malina … Cast, David Rosen
- Bellamy Young … Cast, Mellie Grant
- Portia de Rossi … Cast, Elizabeth North
- Cornelius Smith Jr. … Cast, Marcus Walker
- Tony Goldwyn … Cast, President Fitzgerald Grant III
- George Newbern … Cast, Charlie
- Mia Maestro … Cast, Elise Martin
- John Prosky … Cast, Senator Stanley Gibson
- Rose Abdoo … Cast, Senator Linda Moskowitz
- Julie Claire … Cast, Francesca Hunter
- Joe Morton … Cast, Rowan Pope
- Sheila Shaw … Cast, Senator Patty Bates
- Tiffany Phillips … Cast, Angela Raines
- Delaina Mitchell … Cast, Reporter Leslie
- Mark Meir … Cast, Reporter Sal
- Amrapali Ambegaokar … Cast, Reporter Jessica
- Stacey Turner … Cast, Trusted News Anchor
- Harry Zinn … Cast, Humorless Anchor
- Chris Wolfe … Cast, Hipster Glasses Anchor
- Jewel Greenberg … Cast, Female Reporter
- Paull Walia … Cast, Male Reporter
- Paolo Andino … Cast, Roundtable Gasbag
- Beth Fraser … Cast, Boarding School Pal
- Adi Spektor … Cast, Russian