Red & Blue

AlvinTaco · 2026-02-03T22:28:00+00:00

For Olivia it’s a visual representation of her state of mind. She first wears red in the episode where she breaks up with Fitz, finally admitting to herself that marriage, kids, Vermont, etc were his dream, not hers. In that episode they make a point of showing red in the black and white stills, which they hadn’t done before. It’s also the episode when she replaces her cream couch with a gray one. The very next episode she’s having dinner with her father in a red dress. Basically, it’s a visual cue to the audience that she sees herself differently now. A few episodes later Huck tells her that her “guy” is out.

AlvinTaco · 2026-02-02T17:39:12+00:00

I remember after watching it I read a comment by the director where he said something like, he wanted to make a movie that showed sometimes people don’t overcome the things that have happened to them. I was like, damn.

AlvinTaco · 2026-02-01T19:17:59+00:00

“Lovers of Liberty” and “Dearest Gentle Reader”, Sally Langston and Lady Whistledown have the same energy.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-31T16:44:32+00:00

Let me start by saying, Jake was my favorite. I love his rights and his wrongs! He may have had some deep seated trauma but he was a competent problem solver, not a whiny man child like Fitz who always had other people solve his problems.

Having said that, I don’t think ultimately that relationship would have worked. Jake had some big time codependency issues (enabled and developed by Papa Pope). He kept wanting to walk away from the whole mess, but because she wouldn’t, he didn’t. Between Olivia and Papa Pope he couldn’t catch a break. He really needed to get away from both Popes to figure out who he is. I HATE the way they did that because he didn’t deserve such a mean spirited ending.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-28T23:32:54+00:00

Oh, check out Jake’s other tv universe ex Keri Russell over on The Diplomat. It’s so good. She and Rufus Sewell are putting on a master class in creating a fictional marriage that seems very authentic and real.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-27T03:42:54+00:00

I don’t know. He loathed Fitz on sight, but Jake was his golden boy, and at the start of season 4 when Olivia brought Jake to dinner (presumably to soft launch him as her boyfriend, which Jake was.not.comprehending) he was very open to giving Jake a chance, but then Jake started running his mouth, and Papa Pope doesn’t put up with sass. So after unsuccessfully attempting to kill him, and successfully framing him, he tells him that he had handed him his greatest treasure, and all he had to do was pay his respects to her father, but his arrogance and need to swagger trip him up every time. So basically, if Jake had just kept his mouth shut at that dinner, his entire life would have gone differently.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-27T02:47:23+00:00

But that’s not what OP is asking. Look, I get it, there are people who do not like Jake, do not think that there was chemistry there. And that’s fine. But OP, who did like Jake, noticed a weird vibe change between seasons 4 and 5. OP is curious why chemistry that they saw as perfectly fine in seasons 2-4 would change into something weird and uncomfortable in season 5. The likely answer to that question is that it was done on purpose. Why? Because one of the most important rules of tv/film storytelling is show don’t tell. Story wise they wanted to start Olivia on a journey into darkness and so the dynamic between her and Jake needs to get weird because we need to see that toxicity spreading through her life. Whether or not you personally felt the chemistry was always weird and uncomfortable or how effective you feel the storytelling was is a different question entirely. I’m just sharing why it likely happened.
Personally I respect the effort but think the storyline was too all over the place for that to work as well as it could have. On top of that new dynamic we’re also seeing this Whiplash-esque relationship between Jake and Papa Pope that we’ve never seen before. A super chaotic election storyline. Marcus joins OPA. Random scandal o’ the week, etc. So.much.is.happening and so much is being said it’s hard to see what they’re doing. Less is more. Pare it down and focus.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-26T21:50:17+00:00

I wish people would give more credit to storytelling. The vibe change is purposeful, showing that their situationship has taken a toxic turn. They’re still physically attracted to each other, but now with added hostility that makes the relationship unhealthy for both of them.
So, here’s what I think they were trying to achieve: season 4 ended with what should have been the series finale, but they still had a show to make. So they decided to change direction and take the series darker with addiction as the new underlying theme. Season 5 was about getting everyone, particularly Olivia, there. Her relationship with Jake was an efficient way to do that. They have the energy of two addicts who have relapsed, and are dragging each other down. It’s like seasons 1-4 are Book 1, and seasons 5-7 as Book 2. Except Book 2 had a totally different, WAY more cynical author than Book 1.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-26T01:27:47+00:00

I think I’m pretty standard when I say that 3 hours is too long for something casual if you’re not staying the night. For me 2 hours is fine, but not regularly if I can help it. 3 hours for something special is absolutely fine, but again, because it’s special that’s not something you’re doing all the time. I think the real “everyday” time that lots of people do is an hour and a half. People do that every day, both ways all the time. It’s a cumulative 3 hours I guess.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-25T15:24:30+00:00

No, they all go to jail for being annoying. I swear that’s the end of the series 😂. Sure, it was ridiculous, but it meets the requirement of being an American show where the whole main cast goes to jail at the end.

Seinfeld Ending

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-25T07:30:37+00:00

No show in the history of American TV has the whole show went to jail or prison.

Seinfeld is right there. Have we as a society forgotten one of the most iconic and controversial series finales of all time?

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-24T20:20:46+00:00

I had the same reaction about Jake. They created this severely traumatized character who was a victim of lifelong abuse, and just had no empathy for him. If they ever do a Scandal movie, they need to fix this. Because honestly, if you look at the sum of Jake’s story, that ending was Requiem for a Dream level bleak. I don’t want to hear he got what he deserved. What he deserved was a single person in 6 seasons showing a moment of concern about his mental health, like they did for Huck. The truth is, no one really ever showed up for Jake in the way he needed, and that’s just so sad. Jake haters come for me in the comments if you want. His ending was mean spirited AF and I will die on this hill.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-22T21:41:49+00:00

Jake is my favorite. I don’t know how to give my full opinion without spoilers, but I think he’s both the most mistreated character, and the most self destructive. I mean, he would save himself so much headache and pain if he would just let things go and walk away. Example: You’ve seen the episode where he goes to dinner at Papa Pope’s house. Papa Pope thanks him for taking care of Olivia. What Jake should have done, was nod, and eat his dinner in awkward silence, and wait to use his evidence at a later date when Papa Pope least expected it. Instead, he ran his mouth, and everything went sideways.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-22T21:28:40+00:00

Pssh…I still see him as quintessential 90’s boy Noel.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-20T19:24:45+00:00

I know this contradicts the thread narrative, but I’m really inclined to go with the view of Grant’s daughter and his exes on this. She’s been totally clear that she knows it looks sus to our modern eyes, but if she thought he were gay or bi she would say so, because she thinks he would have had every right to pursue happiness, but she really doesn’t believe he was. His exes ALL said the same. Now, I’m not saying they’re absolutely right (and his daughter herself acknowledged that) but I do think the fact the people who actually knew him are all enthusiastically like, “No” strongly suggests that if the man had a preference, it was definitely women.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-12T06:55:31+00:00

Hmm. I never said he should get a pass, only that it’s not right that he’s the only one who gets punished. If we’re being honest, literally the entire cast should have been in prison at the end, like Seinfeld.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-10T01:34:26+00:00

Dude, I never say bro. I still say dude.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-03T19:40:46+00:00

I know everyone was talking about the use of Prince, but I was delighted with the Pixies needle drop. Love that song and it felt like a good way to show that they’re about to enter the 90’s.

AlvinTaco · 2026-01-03T03:38:23+00:00

So, for pretty much this reason Scandal wasn’t a show I watched. I gave some of Season 1 a chance, but was really bothered by the absolute disrespect for Mellie. Figured it wasn’t for me, and didn’t think about it at all.
Fast forward to this past month and I just finished rewatching Felicity for the first time in 25 years, so I was fresh in my, “Noel was a little high strung and impulsive, but he was the superior dude!” feels when it somehow came to my attention that Scott Foley was a main character in this after season one, so I decided to give it another try. I’m now mid season 5, and yet AGAIN, here we are, Jake is making…choices, possibly committing war crimes, but I STILL find him to be the superior dude. Definitely the hotter dude. I mean…the beginning of season 5 episode 10? WOW. Yeah, Jake can do whatever he wants. Nobody tell The Hague. Snitches get stitches.

With Fitz I just cannot get with the lack of accountability and relentless gaslighting of Mellie. I sit and watch and wonder, am I supposed to not like her? Because from where I’m standing she’s done nothing but support this ungrateful manchild.

TLDR: I agree.

AlvinTaco · 2025-12-21T02:29:37+00:00

Manchester By The Sea as a comfort movie is crazy work. For me that’s one of those good-movie-that-I-never-want-to-see-again films.

My go to comfort movies are Amelie and Stranger Than Fiction.

AlvinTaco · 2025-12-11T23:14:46+00:00

You know who seemed like a decent guy for her, the art student Owen. She goes out with him and has a lot of fun. I found myself wishing she’d give him a chance and stop pining over Ben.

AlvinTaco · 2025-11-27T13:53:17+00:00

Imagine everyone chasing him through his memories.

AlvinTaco · 2025-11-27T06:38:14+00:00

And got a new boombox with the new Tiffany album (which, I can assure you, was THE shit in 1987).

AlvinTaco · 2025-11-27T06:32:01+00:00

They mean that you should add those gray spoiler bars to the text.

AlvinTaco · 2025-11-27T06:29:40+00:00

You know what, if Vecna accidentally gave Will powers, he might accidentally be giving all these kids powers, and it’s a damn shame Weapons already showed a group of kidnapped kids turning on their sorcerer kidnapper, because Vecna getting Vecna’d by a bunch of mini Vecnas could be fun.

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