Scandal Season 1 Episode 7 “Grant: For the People”

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Scandal 1.6 “The Trail” Review

This was one power packed episode. It was filled with both emotion, surprise and even shock and one reveal after the other shed more light on the characters of the show that has shown that with just ten episodes, it could still create a fan base simply by pulling them in with the quality of their delivery.

This is the ninth episode of a ten episode season. The episode was titled ‘The Trail’ and it was another episode that was designed to shock and awe. They used a lot of flashbacks to get some back-story and switched these with the present day. And the way they covered the campaign years with the present gave more background to the characters and revealed some shocking things.

This is a fact; the First Lady rules. That is the first thing that is to be said here and she is ready to sacrifice or destroy anything on her path. It is a good thing that she wanted her husband to be President so that she could be First Lady or else she would not have blinked before getting rid of him.

Another thing this episode did was to tell many a fan that they had misjudged some characters. And one of the most misjudged character would be the President. Now he is believable so when he said his affair with Amanda was a one night thing that was borne out of emotional turmoil, you won’t want to doubt it. Another thing is that his feeling for Olivia is a real as anything can be. Some of the high moments of this episode were when they were together. That ‘One Minute’ moment was unique and a standout moment in television drama that is noteworthy.

We have mentioned the First Lady already because she too was a shocking revelation. She is a real piece of work. But another shocking character that was misjudged by most fans was Billy Chambers. How do you profile a murderer? How many people saw that coming when he attacked with the scissors?

And the thing is he has such an amiable character that the only thing you would want to say he could do was to do some political deals. The guy is a murderer. That was a shock and a surprise.

One of the big reveals was that Chambers is the father of Amanda’s baby. And that not all; he also encouraged a tryst with the Amanda and the President. Talk about seeing a man in a different light!

On the relationship side, Quinn and Gideon seem to have something for each other. But fans may never get to know how that will go since he lay on the floor bleeding to death having been stabbed by Chambers. She just went out to get something but will she come back in time to save him?

One of the things that flashbacks revealed was that Olivia got to know her team members even before she knew the President. And about the President; with all the understanding fans would now have for him, it still does not excuse the fact that he places his ambition over his heart and this points to a fault in his character. This was an amazing episode. The season’s finale is next.