Every time we see Mellie in this episode, I can’t help but think of that scene in She’s the Man where Amanda Bynes’ character steps out of her friend’s car, dressed like her brother for the first time, then freaks out because she thinks someone suspects her of being a girl. I went back and forth all hour with Mellie, especially during her visit to the pastor’s wife. I see her tension with Olivia and I think, SHE KNOWS! Then she tells the Mrs. Drake that she can’t think of her husband as a monster and I think, SHE DOESN’T KNOW! How could she know about Fitz and Olivia and still say those things to her? But then she tells her that she needs to ‘be his wife’ and has this strange look on her face when hugging her (not to mention more awkwardness when she has to face Olivia to leave), and I think, SHE KNOWS! That’s why she’s faking the pregnancy and standing by him even though it’s incredibly difficult. Obviously, if she doesn’t already know, she’ll find out because we see her tell Fitz to stay away from Olivia in a promo.
Source: ABC
I don’t think Pastor Drake’s death was very well constructed. First of all, he seemed to have died of a heart attack during sex with his mistress, which totally could have happened in his own bed. So why would there be any conceivable need for an autopsy? In addition, why does David need to make the withdrawal of the autopsy about him or Olivia. Can’t the president put a stop to it simply because he’s a friend of the pastor’s family and wants to give him some dignity? For the first time on one of Shonda Rhimes’ shows, I can’t help but call the writers out on a story line that feels contrived. Yes, it created parallelism between Olivia and the mistress (I loved her monologue about being the other woman) and the Drakes and the Fitzgeralds, but there were too many things that just didn’t add up. The writing credit for this episode went to Heather Mitchell, who’s written one other episode for this show and a Season 8 episode of Grey’s Anatomy. However, Shonda’s name is on this show no matter what, and she shouldn’t have let this slip through the cracks.
I can’t believe I didn’t see this last week, but it just dawned on me that Huck and Olivia (and now Justice Thornton) could have wanted someone else in the Oakland building dead. I’m still not entirely sure what Huck meant when he mentioned that eight people died that day. Did he mean that there was an eighth death that they’re trying to cover up, or that the eighth person was Lindsay Dwyer, because she had to turn into Quinn Perkins? If there’s not an actual eighth person, then what is so special about Luinn (Lindsay/Quinn) that makes her so valuable to Olivia or anyone else. So far, she hasn’t actually proved to be much more than a huge screw-up. I do love that she and Huck are bonding somewhat over their similar traumas.
Speaking of sick people, what the heck is the matter with Fitz and Olivia? Where does she get off telling the President about Pastor Drake and his mistress, and how can they stand to laugh about it, especially when he has to deliver the man’s eulogy! Then, when they’re through laughing, Olivia starts yelling at him all of a sudden. I know love triangles are so CW, and technically the show already has one with Fitz, Mellie and Olivia, but I would really appreciate it if she had another love interest to distract her from Fitz. I don’t know where she’ll find the time though, between fixing her weekly case and trying to cover her tracks from Quinn’s case before David ends up finding something.
What did you think of this week’s episode?
Hi! I’m the founder and editor of Watch It Rae! I’m a lifetime TV lover, dating back to my childhood, when my dad discovered he could skim french fries off my plate by saying, “Look, it’s Barney!” I try to watch any comedy that I can, and a handful of dramas too. Check out our Tumblr page! Comments are my lifeblood, so get to typing! Hint…keep scrolling down.
