Characters Fitz, Olivia and Jake from ABC’s Scandal
If you know me, you know that the television show Scandal is kind of my life. Which means I’m very aware of every shot, every character, most lines and even the music. And the music on this show is amazing. Which leads me into a discussion of music choice and Olivia’s love interests.
Yes we all know Olivia has been involved with Fitzgerald Grant and Jake Ballard and that it’s a love triangle that relies on two ideas (the “let’s make jam in Vermont” and “let’s stand in the sun,” respectively) that seem very out of reach from the drama that occurs in DC with the looming Rowan, B613, the fact that Grant is president, etc. I think this creates an interesting parallel, one that seemed to overlap in this past season and could arguably been seen in certain scenes and music.
Jake and Olivia in 4×01
Fitz and Olivia in 4×09
“Sunny” by Bobby Hebb plays in two scenes in season 4. It actually opens the season with Olivia enjoying “the sun” and isolation from her life in DC with Jake. The song plays as they canoodle on the island until the news of Harrison’s death threatens their happy times on the island. The second time the song makes an appearance is in episode 9 (“Run”) and it plays during Olivia’s dream while being held captive; Olivia “wakes up” and the song begins as she teases Fitz into sharing a shower in their dream Vermont home. Now what do I think this means? I’ve attributed it to the fact that in both instances she is ignoring a situation. With getting on the plane with Jake, Olivia was avoiding her father, the White House drama and turning her back on her OPA family. With the dream, she feels defeated in trying to escape captivity so she accepts this dream world as reality.
And with reality, Olivia has had a chance to “stand in the sun” with Jake. That was her decision at the end of last season and as seen in the season 4 finale, I think that maybe it was not everything she wanted and perhaps she even associates it with her determination to escape in episode 9 as seen through the cut aways to her running toward the red door, the frantic escape alongside the shots of her time with Jake on the island; I think the moment when Jake tells her that she has always really wanted Fitz was when she realized that all along she has just wanted to reach out to him again.
The idea that “the sun” with Jake is incomparable to “the sun” with Fitz is demonstrated through the use of Nina Simone’s cover of “Here Comes the Sun” when Olivia and Fitz meet on the balcony. He asks, “What do we do now?” and Olivia replies “Whatever we want.” I think that is the sun she has been yearning for as she navigated her feelings for Jake and Fitz in the past. It’s so fitting that “the sun” has come full circle with her feelings and for now, maybe it is all right.
Fitz and Olivia in end scene of Scandal Season 4 Finale (gif courtesy of Tumblr)
But alas until next season, #5candal…
Nikki Knows It All 