This post is most likely not going to be as coherent as my previous posts because I am fresh off the high of that season finale but did y’all peep all the Olake parallel scenes and how hard Olivia played Fitz which is exactly what her daddy wanted her to do in the first place? Truly, I am hollerin’.
Let’s start with the ‘family is a weakness’ line of Rowan’s that Olivia internalized and sat to the side not because it’s bullshit but because she refuses to let it get in the way of what she needs. This ~lone wolf thing that her father had going on for the longest time is not who she is. Olivia needs people; she needs a family and she’s worked hard to develop her own and that’s not something she’s willing to let go. Interestingly enough though she is willing to let Fitz go, and I believe it’s because he’s not her family.
Olivia’s family accepts all of her even the dark scary parts, the parts that are evil, the parts of her that are ruthless and vindictive. They accept her which is why it was laughable that Fitz ever believed Rowan actually wanted him as the head of B613. Totally in character of course but utterly laughable. I actually guffawed when I watched that scene because B613 is a shadow organization. Their hands are stained with blood, and they do what they have to in order to preserve the republic. They are duty bound and they serve at the pleasure of the nation not the president. Fitz, a man that was willing to go to war for love. A man who was willing and able to carry on a relationship with a woman whose father killed his child. A man who has time and again put the nation in jeopardy because of his ~feelings could never be Command. No one is ever given that position. It’s not handed to you; you take it. How could a man whose favor and beliefs shift with the changing of the wind ever be formidable or fortified enough to withstand the demands and costs of Command? So, yes, Olivia did save him but she also reaffirmed what and who he is to her. A fantasy.
Their kiss on the lawn of the White House was picture perfect. Pristine in its beauty. Honestly, the stuff of romance. I applaud the show for it even as I giggle behind my hand because it was a masterful move. It’s telling that Olivia yelled, “Mr. President,” instead of Fitz. It’s telling that she told him that she wanted him to stay but he couldn’t if he was going to be Command and that even after he rescinded the order, Olivia still sent him on his way. She said goodbye. It wasn’t an ‘I’ll see you later’ or ‘I’ll see you soon’ but goodbye because Fitz is not her family and he does not fit into her world. He loves an idea of who she is just like she loves an idea of who he is but unlike him, Olivia’s love is tied to the White House, the seat of American power. You vacate that seat and her love vacates itself with you. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t care just means she has different priorities.
That’s not how family works though. Family has a seat at the table. Family knows where the bones are buried. They may not know all of the story but they know more than others and that’s a weakness Olivia is willing to have. It’s also something that Jake understands and Fitz never could. Fitz wants to live in an idyllic vision of what he believes to be true about people. The world is black and white to him but he’s also willing to be led by his nose in situations that he doesn’t want to deal with. Olake believe in shades of grey. They head straight through the realities of life no matter how ugly they are. And Olivia has something with Jake that she’s never had in a partner; the ability to be herself, to not pretend. She doesn’t have to be better than she actually is. All of that darkness she has sitting inside her; all of that anger can be all the way at the surface. It can lash out; it can strike and Jake won’t turn away from her. He may not always like it and he will certainly tell her about herself if needed but he won’t turn away. Olivia knows this because Jake has actually seen her at her worst, and he’s still here. Talk about ride or die.
Olake were epic levels of partnership in the finale. They were clearly a unit. They moved together. It was beautiful to see because it felt like we came full circle. Olivia before the mirror in her gala dress reminded me of s2 when she was getting ready to go on a date with Jake and ended up backing out because of Fitz. Both times Jake came to her door except this time they stepped out together. But their door conversation also reminded me of the end of s4 when they put her father away and Jake told her to take what she is owed. But this time instead of her running off to Fitz, she and Jake go and take what she is owed together. She takes the White House and she reconstitutes B613 and becomes Command with Jake by her side. As she yelled to Fitz in that hotel room in s3, Jake being there is for her. It has been that way since she realized she loved him. It’s been that way since she brought him into her family. It continues to be that way. Olivia told her father she wants to share this world i.e. her world with him, and though she wasn’t talking about Jake, I do believe wanting to share her world also extends to him, too. I would not be surprised if those three have Sunday dinners together. Just like I’m not surprised that when Olivia truly and wholeheartedly stepped into being Command she chose Jake to be with her.
added: Also,I’d like to point out that Fitz and Olivia don’t work because she needs a partner. She cannot carry all the weight of the relationship on her shoulders and that’s what Fitz requires. He is the most high maintenance of men. She always has to be on. With Jake she can be every facet of herself which is what happens when you step outside the romance novel with the poorly constructed plot and back into the reality of what you need in a partner. Olivia and Fitz are like the epitome of love not being enough to sustain a relationship.
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