Tag Archives: Scandal season 4 finale

Scandal “You Can’t Take Command” Review (4×22)

15 May

SCANDAL - "You Can't Take Command" - Everything comes to a head in the shocking season finale when Olivia and the team finally make some big moves to take down Command, and Mellie's fate is sealed as the election results are announced, on the season finale of "Scandal," THURSDAY, MAY 7 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Nicole Wilder) SCOTT FOLEY, GUILLERMO DIAZ, JOSHUA MALINA, KATIE LOWES, KERRY WASHINGTON

“I can’t have a soul. If I had one, I’d never accomplish a thing.”

Sure, that may be largely a politician thing, but it’s also indicative of a bigger problem in the Scandal universe: its characters are not so much fleshed out characters as they are contrivances, plot points that constantly exploit others’ secrets and look to deliver the next big Shonda Rhimes speech. This type of broad characterization only works, however, when there’s a clear and focused arc tying everything together; without that, it’s just a bunch of writers writing themselves into circles and squares and ellipticals and obtuse angles. Because their characters don’t really have souls, they can be maneuvered wherever is most convenient, and it gets pretty grating to watch at times.

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