Now that Scandal is over, I can share this scene map of a deleted scene from 710 without worrying about spoiling anything. This is what the show submitted with the application for a traffic encroachment permit with Ventura County (which are public records). I guess they were planning to have Fitz sell the Vermont house after what Liv did to him in that episode, and then eventually pave way for a more realistic house together in Georgetown. The story with Mama Pope in 713 about letting go of the fantasy of normal also seemed to suggest that.
But they decided to leave it open ended instead. The way the show ended Liv is free to go to Vermont with Fitz, or for them to let go of Vermont and buy a house in Georgetown (or both). All of the external obstacles to their relationship are gone now. Now they have a chance to really be together. To paraphrase Liv from the very first episode, if they try and fail, they try and fail, but they have to try.
I personally am glad they left things open ended with Olivia and Fitz and let us pick whatever ending we want for them. If I ever have time to write fanfic I have at least 4 ideas, including one stemming from this deleted scene.
As promised, here is a summary of all of the spoilers or potential spoilers I have pieced together. Sorry this is long, but hopefully it has some useful tidbits. I don't work on the set, which is why I am allowed to disclose whatever I can find. All of this is out there if you really know what you're looking for. That said, read at your own risk, as some of these things could be big spoilers, including the potential fate of the Vermont house.
Spoiler 1: David is the Law, and the Law is David
This might be old news, but I deciphered most of the lines from the clip Darby posted of the last take on the last night of filming. This is a scene at QPA with Liv, Quinn, Huck, Abby and David. Here's what I was able to make out. They filmed some of the lines multiple times so it may be out of order.
QUINN: [Something inaudible]
DAVID: In theory, yes.
LIV: David is the law, and the law is David. He wears the white hat. We can't ask him to take it off, not again. We didn't come this far just to escape. If we go to jail, we go to jail. So if anyone wants out, speak now, and speak up.
SPOILER 2: Quinn's Wedding Bouquet
On wrap night, Kathryn Coulliard, who is one of the second team members and also plays Sally Langston's production assistant (and Fitz's in the AU), posted an Instagram Story with a prop that was labeled "Quinn's wedding bouquet." The flowers do not appear to be the same as the ones used in the attempted wedding in 706, so this probably means Charlie gets out of prison and they get married.
I don’t have the screenshot of her post here, but I noticed after writing this that the flowers match the flowers Abby was carrying into what looks like a prison in one of the #peepingtom tweets. This is probably wild speculation, but now I am wondering if Charlie and Quinn get married while Charlie is still in prison so one of them doesn’t have the testify against the other. Parallel to 506 maybe?
SPOILER 3: Jake’s Grave?
Some people reported that Scott Foley briefly posted, then took down, a picture of a grave with Jake’s name on it. Take that for what it’s worth. I can’t believe Scott would have posted it even for a second if Jake actually dies, so I’m not getting my hopes up. (Sorry, I know some people on here like Jake but this is just my perspective).
Below is the biggest potential spoiler I have, which may break your heart, depending on where you stand. You’ve been warned.
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SPOILER 4: Why Vermont is (Probably) Not Happening
For the record, I am an olitz shipper who has never quite bought into the idea that Olivia would be happy living in Vermont making jam all day (although 710 made me reconsider a little), so this is written from that perspective.
The “Vermont” house is actually located in Ventura County, at 1350 W. Potrero Road. Fortunately for us spoiler hungry fans, Ventura County provides citizen access to real time records of applications for film permits. I am sad to report that the producers of Scandal did not apply for a permit to film there for the finale. The last time they filmed there was for 710.
This would seem to suggest that Olivia and Fitz will not end up in Vermont and that we won’t see the house again, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. In preparation to shoot 710, they applied for a traffic encroachment permit, which allowed them to block the road to film a FOR SALE sign in front of the house, according to the scene map they submitted with the application.
Obviously, we have not seen a for sale sign in front of the house in 710 or any other episode, so there are two possibilities:
They cut this scene from 710 (more likely); or
This scene was filmed for the finale, and they did it that way so they wouldn’t have to rent the house again and bring the crew there just to shoot one scene.
Just to add yet another wrinkle to the saga, right around the time Scandal wrapped, Tim Ballou from ABC, the same locations manager who applied for Scandal’s permit for 710, applied for a permit to film a pilot called “The Fix” at 1350 Potrero Road. At first, I got excited, knowing the British name for Scandal is The Fixer. I thought perhaps he used a code name in case any fans thought to check Ventura County permit records. But then I found out The Fix is a real show that began filming about a week before Scandal wrapped, and based on the synopsis for the pilot episode the Vermont house would be a logical place to film. So most likely it was just a coincidence, but there is a remote possibility that they used it as a cover to avoid spoiling Scandal. Probably sounds crazy, but I know they took crazy security measures to fly Kerry and Scott to the island for 401 and avoid spoiling it, even though that wasn’t even really a spoiler since we saw them leave for the island in 318.
This was the application for Scandal for 710:
And here is the payment receipt for the permit for The Fix, which Tim Ballou (the same guy who applied for the Scandal permit) applied for two days before the official wrap date for Scandal:
Probably a coincidence, but I wouldn’t completely rule out them filming after the official wrap date (and using another ABC pilot as a cover) in order to avoid spoiling it.
SPOILER 5: No Georgetown Either?
Yesterday, the scandal makeup account on Instagram posted a shot of Georgetown, which got many of our hopes up, but then clarified that they didn’t film there, but were just staying there. It’s possible that they were lying because they realized it was a spoiler, or that they posted it not realizing people would get the wrong impression because they didn’t remember that part of the AU and didn’t realize Georgetown has significance to Olitz shippers.
Of course, they may have filmed Georgetown scenes back in LA, before the trip to DC, or they could still have that ending without actually filming a house in Georgetown. So I’m not losing hope yet (and people who hate Fitz shouldn't rejoice just yet).
Fuck the FCC. Fight to keep the net neutral. And fuck every greedy lawmaker and ISP company that tries to destroy free speech just so they can swim in even more money.
Thoughts on Scandal (spoiler warning)…
So I’ve very much enjoyed watching Scandal and seeing Olivia Pope journey to finding power. This season, we’ve seen her become the most powerful in the free world. However, I don’t enjoy, obviously, how much this power has corrupted her. It is disappointing in 2017 to see a powerful woman of color also turn evil due to this power. Olivia has made calls that have (so far) killed at least three good, innocent people and not forwarded the country. She is the puppetteer behind the first female President, who doesn’t let this capable commander and former First Lady do what she is meant to do. Of course, it is important to see characters as complex, and Kerry Washington is an absolutely brilliant actor but it’s a tad disturbing to see the two most powerful women be either evil or weak. To see this narrative is kind of sad.I’m soooo disappointed that this is actually how Washington DC is, but I think we need more narratives that support the idea of women in power. I love Shonda so I hope she can end this show with at least some light coming back. ALSO THAT EPISODE WRECKED ME QUINN IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER Anyone have any thoughts?
After taking Command, Olivia struggles with missing Fitz and wondering if he could still love the person she has become. My ideas for how the first episode of season 7 should go.
I posted the first chapter on ff a while ago, but don’t think I ever posted it here. I added two new chapters yesterday.
Here is a sneak peak from the first chapter.
I really appreciate reviews. And I promise Fitz will be in it soon.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - NIGHT OF MELLIE'S INAUGURATION
"How does it feel to be the most powerful person in the world?" Cyrus asks.
"Right...it feels right," Olivia says.
"You don't seem too convinced," Cyrus says skeptically.
"No, I am," Olivia insists, not very convincingly.
"Look, I get it, Liv. It's only natural to feel a little squeamish about how far you had to go to get here. Honestly, I'd be concerned if you didn't."
"I'm not squeamish," Liv insists, insulted at his characterization. "I know that this job entails and I know the burden it carries. Turning two kids into orphans is not a decision I made lightly, but it needed to be done."
"I never said it didn't," Cyrus says. "Come on, Liv. We both know I'm the last person who's in any position to judge."
Olivia nods, her defenses coming down a bit as she realizes they are in the same place now. For years, Cyrus has insisted that playing dirty is the only way to survive in this world, and it's both liberating and depressing to finally accept that he's right and abandon all pretenses of being better.
"She said she loved him," Olivia muses. Cyrus looks at her questioningly. "Luna. She insisted she loved Frankie, and she as crazy as it sounds, I think she was telling the truth. As much of a monster as she was, I think..."
"Even monsters are capable of love," Cyrus finishes for her.
"Yeah."
"You miss him?" Cyrus asks sympathetically.
Olivia nods. There's no point in denying it, not after putting it out there for the whole world to see. "It's weird, being in the Oval and realizing it's not his office anymore," she admits.
"You're not alone in feeling that way," he says. "You did the right thing, though, letting him go."
"It wasn't my decision," Olivia says flatly.
"Oh, come on. You could have convinced him to stay if you really wanted to. But you didn't. You didn't want him to see this side of you, the side we both know he doesn't have the stomach for."
Olivia sighs. Cyrus can tell she's holding something back.
"What? What is it?" he asks.
"My father...wanted Fitz to run B613," she says, her voice starting to crack a little.
"What?"
"Fitz was going to stay to run B613 and I changed his mind. I knew that it would destroy him and I couldn't..."
"So you took matters into your own hands?"
"Sort of. I wasn't planning on having Mellie sign the same order...I didn't decide that until later."
"I'm assuming he doesn't know?"
Olivia shakes her head. "No."
"You did the right thing," Cyrus repeats. "It would have destroyed him. He's too good for this world. I know it hurts but you did the right thing."
"I know," Olivia says, blinking back tears. "It just...I've let him go so many times but this time it feels different. Even when we weren't speaking he was still there, still here. But now he's gone, and..."
"...and suddenly the world feels a whole lot colder, doesn't it?" Cyrus asks.
"Yeah," Olivia says sadly, shivering as a cold drift of air coincidentally passes through.
New Scandal fan video. I think this song captures Olitz perfectly - they keep getting agonizingly close to being able to really be together and then one of them walks away. Audio is a mashup I made of two different versions of "What Hurts the Most" - one by Rascal Flats and one by Jo O'Meara. Music belongs to the artists and clips belong to ABC/Shonda Rhimes. Compilation is a fair use derivative work, for fun only.
Oh my days the negativity on here is just depressing. All you guys do, day in day out, is complain. Complain about the show. The characters. The show runner. The cast. It is beyond me. You’ve all got blinkers on and are blinded by hatred. I come on here for the gifs now and the occasional post, but you people are why I don’t bother as much. You suck the life out and soul out, i don’t know how you people are not depressed from the amount of complaining you do. I know people say they can post what they want and its their choice blah blah, agreed. But seriously? do you guys not have anything better to do than moan all day, every day, over something that isn’t even real. I’ll leave it at that. Rant over and heres a pretty #Olitz gif for you negative nancies to criticse.
I will admit, I was one of those people last week. It was hard to tell where things stood between Fitz and Liv and I was afraid they were setting it up to go back to the stupid triangle. But after 613 I feel pretty optimistic about Olitz, at least for now. It’s Scandal and there are always unexpected twists, so who knows what will happen, but it was clear after last night that they are in a good place together right now. Either way, I am psyched for this hot scene next week.
But hey, since you said we should criticize the gif from the 614 promo, I’ll try putting an Olaker spin on it:
See how her eyes are closed? That’s because she’s secretly fantasizing she’s with Jake instead! She’s laying face down because she’s miserable being Fitz’s sex slave for the next two weeks until he leaves office to make sure that he doesn’t throw Rowan in supermax, but she feels guilty for “cheating” on Jake. Oh, and look at how she has a bang in her face on one side. She wore her hair with a bang on one side in episode 305, when she went with Jake to the correspondents’ dinner. That proves this is supposed to be symbolic of their great love.
Olitz fanfiction set in the alternate universe of the 100th episode
Finally updated this story, set in the alternate universe where Olivia said no to Defiance and married Fitz. Reviews are highly appreciated. Here’s a little sneak peek:
Fitz gets out of the shower and walks into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. He smiles when he sees his wife sitting at her makeup bureau in her bathrobe pressing her hair.
"You don't have to do that," he insists. "I can think of a better way to spend the time," he says seductively, leaning down from behind her and kissing her neck.
"Fitz, no, no, no. This meeting is important. We need to be a believable couple that people can envision as President and First Lady."
"Mmm, I like the sound of that. But why do you need to straighten your hair?"
"Because it makes me look a little more palatable to the Republican base."
"I'm a Republican and I like your hair curly," he responds.
"You know what I mean. Besides, I wore it straight during the campaign and I don't remember you complaining," she remarks.
"I like it straight too, I just...you shouldn't have to..."
"I don't have to do anything," she says pointedly. "This is my hair and I'm the only one who gets to decide if I want to straighten it or not."
"Okay, fair enough," he concedes. "But by the same logic, shouldn't I get to pick my own tie?" He holds up a multi-colored tie that he knows she is going to hate.
"Um, no," she says firmly, cringing at the memory of some of the ties she had to yank off of him during the campaign. She started carrying a supply of ties for him that she found appropriate, and she's pretty sure he started picking bad ties on purpose after a while because he liked having her change it for him.
"Now, that doesn't seem fair, now does it?" he complains.
"Deal with it," she retorts.
"I still don't understand why we're even having this meeting now," he grumbles. "The election's more than 2 years away."
"Because if you want to run again, you need to line up some key people now to run your campaign, before the top talent gets taken. As the standard bearer for the party the last time around they're going to expect you to make a decision early."
"I want you to run my campaign," Fitz responds.
Olivia laughs. "Okay, Fitz, there are a million reasons why that is a non-starter," she says, amused by how unrealistic he is being.
Olivia made a choice regarding her body. She is not obligated to feel remorse.
I am an Olitz shipper 100% and I hated the abortion storyline on Scandal. It felt thrown in for shock value and it felt like salt in the wound in the context of 509. I am frustrated that they never explained why Olivia made that choice or how she felt about it. I would imagine that she did not make the decision lightly, as evidenced by her blinking back tears watching Mellie’s filibuster in 509, but I would have liked to know what was in her head instead of us finding out she was pregnant when she had the abortion. All that said, I find it really offensive that some people judge her for what appears to be a lack of ‘remorse’, as if she was obligated to regret it.
I have mixed feelings about her decision not to tell Fitz, but if she was sure she didn’t want to have the baby, I actually think she was kinder not to tell him. His son was murdered and he really wanted kids with Liv, so she knew it would break his heart. If they had stayed together afterwards you could argue she should tell him (and she might have) for the sake of honesty in their relationship. But once they had that big fight and ended things telling him would have been cruel, as it would have added to his pain for no reason.
I can understand those who disagree and say she should have told him, either before or afterwards. That is a legitimate point for debate. But what offends me is the people who call her cold, selfish, or evil because she did not feel ‘remorse’ for it. I wish I knew why she decided to terminate the pregnancy, especially since she had previously indicated that she wanted kids with Fitz (see 309), but if that is how she felt, then why is she obligated to feel remorse or shame about it?
So much this! I could’ve written this! Not as eloquently, but still… I had absolutely no problem with Liv doing an abortion but I did have a problem with how it was handled. First it was thrown in there for shock value, which didn’t serve the story or the characters at all, nor did it help me understand Liv any better. Later, when Fitz found out about it, he was basically the writers’s poster boy on how abortions are okay - which they are! - but the message was diluted by how crappily that storyline was handled. His reaction was driven by the writers’ need to make a point, not by Fitz’s character traits. While I think in the long run Fitz might have come around to the abortion because he is absolutely helpless when it comes to Liv, it would’ve been great to see his struggle to get to that point over time. Not five minutes of Mellie yelling at him and him suddenly being a-okay with all of it. That wasn’t the Fitz I know. Had this storyline been written characters first, shock value later, I think Scandal might have had something very insightful to say about abortions and how they’re handled on TV. They did an abortion storyline so much better on Grey’s, where it made sense for both of the characters involved to behave like they did, because they acted based on how their characters had been developed over the seasons.
An abortion storyline would’ve been such a golden opprtunity to delve deeper into Liv’s character. Lemme go hide before people start throwing rotten fruits at me but I think at this point of her life, she was absolutely right to get that abortion. She made the right choice. She’s clearly not fit to be a mother. Just look at how crappily she treats and abuses her friends, people she claims she loves! Throw in an innocent kid in there and that has Rowan/Liv 2.0 written all over it. Now, was this her motive for the abortion? Did Liv recognize her shortcomings as a mother? Or did she simply just not want kids? Hell if I know, because the writers chose to tell me absolutely nothing about Liv’s thoughts on the abortion. I have no idea why she got that abortion, and as a viewer, that’s the thing that pisses me off the most.
You obviously have a lower opinion of Olivia than I do at this point, but I do agree with you that the abortion storyline would have worked much better if they had explained why she did it. My theory is that learning the truth about her own mother tainted all of the memories she had of her mother taking care of her as a child, and that made her unable to see herself as a mother. But I wish she could have explained that.
I think Fitz may have taken it better than expected because it had been 18 months since the breakup by the time he found out, and as painful as it was, finding out she was pregnant the last few weeks or months they were together might have made her behavior in 509 make more sense to him. Also, after Mellie’s speech, he might have kicked himself for being so self-absorbed and caught up in his anger in 509 that he didn’t even realize she was pregnant or that something was bothering her. As much as I love Fitz most of the time, he was so cold to Liv in 509, failing to ask what was wrong on multiple occasions when she was obviously upset.
“insanity is doing something over and over again expecting a different result”
well sure Jake…
But first remember the time she saved you ? sorry I mean the numerous countless timeS she did ? also how many times did she tell you that she doesn’t love you ? but still you continue to try and gain her using even more pathetic tricks every time…
Secondly her dad. She keeps choosing him and defending him despite all logic. THAT’s insanity! because it always end up the same! it turned out that he didn’t change after all and she ends up miserable and even more broken.
So that’s the crazy things she has to stop doing.
But of course you had to be your idiotic self and made it about her relationship with Fitz which is the only case where it doesn’t apply. She keeps going back to him but it’s different every time. Unlike 4x22 she didn’t go back to him as a shortcut. She knows now that he’s not the answer, that she has “work to do, things to figure out” that’s why she didn’t indulge in bed with him (501). She knows she must remain focused on the mission. So this time is different because she’s not in denial anymore, she knows that being with him is not going to make all of their problems go away overnight. Going back to him this time she didn’t wish he would save her; she didn’t think she just wanted to be with him; she wasn’t looking for someone to save her as she knows she has to do it herself.
I LOVE your interpretation of this scene. That conversation, combined with the way Liv looked at Joke when Rowan told the whole room she was sleeping with Fitz again, made me nervous that they were trying to lay the foundation for having her realize it will never work with Fitz and run back to Jake again. As if that is not doing the same thing over and over. I agree that going back to Fitz now is very different from before, because 1) he is no longer married, 2) he is about to leave the White House, which means she can be with him w/o having to be a “headband wearing” first lady and have their relationship on display for the whole world, 3) he has grown a lot in the two years since 509 and understands her better now (mostly - could have lived w/o the show-off kiss in front of Rowan), and 4) hopefully Liv has grown enough to see that she can be with Fitz without losing herself or her ambitions.
I agree with you that the insanity is continuing to choose and defend her dad hoping he’s changed. The insanity is also continuing to run away from Fitz and never really give him a chance, as Abby said in the AU.
