Shonda Rhimes is at it again: snatching wigs and taking names. The new seasons of Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder (HTGAWM) are back and easily addictive. From steamy love scenes and surprising hookups to backstabbing strategies and “reads” that’ll make you snap in “Z” formation, “Mama Shonda” is delivering plots that simmer, thicken then run over with drama. Here’s What Shonda Taught Me (WSTM) Week 2 recap:
This week’s lesson: Your past will boil over into your present and try to burn you
Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is not happy with the spotlight being shone on her for her “alleged” love affair with the most powerful man in the world, President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant (Tony Goldwyn). Instead of simply being blasted by First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young), Olivia finds herself in the midst of a media circus and under public scrutiny for the leaked pictures of her all-too-close acquaintance with Fitz. She spends the episode on the run from gawkers and tries to indulge in work (and a few major gulps of cheap wine—straight from the bottle) to maintain her sanity. Her Gladiators, including ex-beau Jake (Scott Foley) are in the lion’s den with her, resolving cases, (to help her afford those luxe designer outfits that she dons) and figuring out who leaked the pics. By the end of the episode, we learn that there’s no point in hiding behind your truths, as shameful as they may be. Instead, standing in them might bring some peace of mind –after, of course, you deal with an unforgiving team of political bigwigs—including my favorite: Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry).
On HTGAWM, the same lesson is emphasized. Now, we’ve spent ALL last season playing “who dunnit” and this season, we’re right back in a big ol’ game of Clue. This time, there are more characters and complex motives lurking in the shadows. However, “Mama Shonda” is showing us that a rocky past can creep up on you and throw everything for a loop. We found out that Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) swings “both ways” when her college gal pal and ex-jumpoff Eve (Famke Janssen) (and yes, it’s a woman!) comes to town and becomes the lawyer for her most recent ex-jumpoff Nate (Billy Brown). After a steamy “afternoon delight” with Eve, the two work together in a criminal threesome of sorts to save Nate from going to trial for the murder of Annlise’s husband, Sam (Tom Verica). We also see Annalise still manage to work on another case with only a smidgen of stress from the prosecutor’s accusations that Annalise, in fact, killed her own husband. The entire episode tugs at last season’s tornado of events, which include the murder of three people associated with Annalise and as usual, makes us say “whaaaaat???” (in both confusion and awe).
Stay tuned for next week’s episodes and a new lesson.
