This episode felt like an early Thanksgiving dinner; I’m totally stuffed. I sampled all the juicy storylines and drank in the dialogue, and now I need to push away from the table, and lie down on the couch for awhile. As always, Shonda Rhimes delivered a jam-packed Winter Finale, and I should have worn the mental equivalent of stretchy pants to watch it.
We opened with Maya Pope out of the cage and Papa Pope MIA. Olivia has plans for them both: lock Mom up and charge her with murder, terrorism, and treason. As for Dad, “hunt him, find him, and kill him.” Wow. I guess that means Thanksgiving plans with the Popes are canceled this year.
Yeah, I think they definitely are, because Olivia tried to kill Rowan. She holds him at gunpoint, and has an epic Rowan-style monologue of her own, telling her dad that he “lives in the shadows, pulls puppet strings, and pretends the world won’t exist without [his] protection.” Rowan spat back that Olivia is “ungrateful,” and has “no comprehension of love.” Just as he’s about to say they’re the same kind of people, she pulls the trigger.
Sure. The gun is empty. So she didn’t kill him. Except… she kinda did. “Never in a million years” did he think she’d pull the trigger, and she did. Now Rowan may be alive physically, but I think she destroyed him emotionally. And I think Olivia died a little bit too. Because, woah she pulled the trigger! Even I didn’t think she could do it.
Plus, Olivia knows Rowan is right—she is a lot like him. Mama Pope confirmed it too. Olivia wears white and Rowan wears black, but they’re two sides of the same well-tailored coat. Both Olivia and Rowan pull puppet strings and manipulate the truth. Ultimately they’re both very lonely people, and they’re connected by that loneliness. At least, they were connected before Olivia tried to sever the connection with a bullet. I know she’s tough, but Olivia is going to need one helluva of a therapy session after this.
Or a Stevie Wonder dance session! Oh, how I loved this scene. The music (“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” by Stevie Wonder), Olivia smiling, Jake without pants, pizza waiting in the oven… it was perfect. My favorite part was that Olivia chose herself! Yes! She’s not choosing between Fitz or Jake, Vermont or the sun, she’s choosing the dance floor. And she’s okay dancing by herself. Good choice. I’ve been on Team Olivia for a long time, and I’m glad she finally came around.
I really enjoyed Olivia’s pep talk with Cyrus too. He resigned from the White House because Lizzie leaked pictures of Cyrus and Michael in flagrante delicto. Cyrus planned on moving to Europe, tail tucked between his legs, until Olivia paid him a visit. “When did you decide to let them ruin you?” she shouts at Cyrus. “Grow the hell up. The Cyrus I know doesn’t hide in his half-empty closet and wet his pants like a little bitch baby.” I know Olivia was working out her own family issues here, but I’m glad she snapped Cyrus out of his series-long stupor. Even if Fitz accepted his resignation, I did not.
Cyrus and Michael agree to marry for PR reasons, and Cyrus is back in the White House. Team Fitz is back together again, making plans and stronger than ever. We should feel a sense of calm now that the team is all back together again, right?
Wrong. Oh, so wrong. There is no calm in the West Wing when the Vice President and the head of the RNC are planning war with West Angola. Yes. That was a great twist. Remember the car bomb that almost killed Andrew Nichols? Well, he planned it. Andrew, Lizzie, Kubiak, Jeremy Winslow—they all want a war with West Angola, so they planned a hit on the VP to pin on the West Angolans. Why? Because Jeremy’s law firm handles the country’s American assets and they’ll all make bank if there’s war.