Rising Secrets: The Other Women 2.2

This episode of Scandal continued to raise the bar for the show's fast paced and mystery driven style. We see in this episode many different situations that directly correlate with some of the issues that have been deeply embedded into the plot. Secrets begin to come out from many aspects of the show, just enough to spark curiosity but not enough to satisfy the urge to know whats going on. There is a good balance of crisis within the show that keeps the show versatile enough to keep viewers guessing at the unpredictable storyline.

A basic overview of the episode is Olivia is still having late night calls with President Grant, today's client is a well known pastor's wife who wants to keep scandalous way he died under wraps to protect his legacy, CIA photoshops a picture to influence war, and Quinn situation unravels a bit further.

The fact that Olivia and the President are still having late night calls clearly expresses the love between them is still there. Regardless of Olivia's scheme to get the President's Amanda Tanner scandal wiped aside by suggesting he have a baby with his wife, there are still clear signs that their relationship is far from over. The after hour calls suggest a top secret atmosphere, which presents the most compelling secret of the show...their relationship. With so much going on and the danger this relationship can bring about for public image, they continue on this rocky road. Does this show how powerful love is?

The main event for this show was the pastor's affair with another woman. A woman who was at first deemed as a prostitute turns out to be the pastor's mistress. Not only that but this woman has his child and has been around for fifteen years. The mistress demanded six million dollars from the wealthy pastor's wife or she would go public destroying his life work. Olivia was the negotiator between the two. The scenes were very compelling as the fast-paced, intense action switched between wife and mistress finishing each other's sentences. The cut ups were amazing, delivering a unique narrative from a different perspective.

As the climax was building up, the first lady came to speak in public with the pastor's wife. As she begin to break down, she asked the media and Olivia to leave. She related to what the pastor's wife was going through almost speaking on her own situation explaining she should still be there for her husband even if he was a cheater, that the mistress can never take her place and that she was his wife. This was a shot at Olivia who overheard the talk, the sense that even though Olivia was in love with the president didn't matter because she will just be a mistress at the end of the day. In the end, Olivia had a heart to heart with the mistress. This correlates because Olivia was speaking on her experiences, it was like this sub plot was another story for the bigger picture going on to make Olivia and First Lady step back and examine their own situations. After the talk, the mistress knew that money wouldn't replace the loss time and appreciation she really wanted. All she wanted was to come to the funeral. The wife refused at first, but gave in to letting her participate. There was a heartwarming feeling as the wife was made aware that she had a child with the pastor too and was just as hurt as she was. The two embraced showing people can rise above personal conflict for the good of others sometimes.

Other rising secrets to keep an eye on were Quinn's and David's situation. As far as David is concerned Olivia is behind the fact that the easy case was closed and now an autopsy was stopped on her behalf. David questions his bosses only to find out he will be relieved of his duties. Now David is really suspicious and has dedicated his time to look into Olivia. Quinn on the other hand may be our largest story as the Supreme Court Judge says Quinn has the power to shut down the whole government. As the secrets slowly come up, Scandal continues to intrigue our curiosity. Til' next time...