*Scadal spoilers ahead*
On February 11, television’s biggest night returned with mid-season premieres. If you don’t know what I mean, I'm talking about T.G.I.T, The one night a week that is dominated by Shonda Rhimes. She is the executive producer of "Grey’s Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder." These shows air on ABC, one right after the other, starting with "Grey’s" at 8 p.m., and they have an enormous fan base.
Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, is the main character in Rhimes’ show, "Scandal," that takes place in Washington D.C.
We finished the winter finale on "Scandal" on an interesting note; Olivia has had an abortion and left Fitz (The President of the United States played by Tony Goldwyn) in the White House alone. Despite her returning to her apartment alone, the episode ends with Olivia taking some steps to maybe “restart” her life. For starters, she throws out the old sofa that reminds her of a bad time, she orders a new one and she goes back to her old way of eating popcorn and drinking wine.
The past 4½ seasons have found Olivia’s wardrobe comprised of colors like black, grey and white. White being very important because it symbolizes good and purity, which she had liked to believe she was.
She calls people who fight to do the right thing “white hats.”
It was actually kind of shocking to see Olivia's first scene in the Season Five (part two) premiere. There she was, in a bright red dress.
The style change was even hinted at in the promo for the second part of the season.
What does this mean for Olivia Pope? Has she shifted away from trying to do the right thing? Is she still the same person, yet somehow different now that she isn’t fighting for the love of Fitz anymore?
My theory is that her good intentions have evolved to become more powerful than ever before. She has cut ties with the White House because she doesn’t want to feel chained to it any longer.
At the beginning of Season Five, Olivia had moved into the White House and was living out her childhood fantasy with Fitz, but over the course of the season things start to go south when Fitz tries to make her First Lady while she believes she is worth something much more important than curating the White House art collection or picking out China patterns for special dinners. She felt trapped.
Red can symbolize energy, action and passion, and I believe Olivia has rediscovered all of these things.
Now that she is out of the White House she is doing what she loves again. She has found a renewed passion for her work and she is going to do everything she can to distinguish herself with her own accomplishments, not because she had an affair with the president.
What do you think? Is Olivia going to continue on this path of power and confidence, or fall back into her old habits of falling for a guy in a situation that may be totally inappropriate?
Tune in Thursday nights at 9 pm on ABC to see how the rest of Season Five unfolds.
