Scandal’s Olivia Pope and HTGAWM’s Annalise Keating
On March 1st, the most powerful women on TV on Thursday nights came together to kick off a new month and mark the return of ABC’s TGIT lineup. For us fans of Shondaland productions, the Scandal crossover episode with How To Get Away with Murder (HTGAWM) was undoubtedly the most-awaited event on TV. Scandal’s Olivia Pope and HTGAWM’s Annalise Keating came together to form the most epic and iconic duo in recent TV history in the 2-hour long event. If you aren’t up to date with the latest episodes of both TV shows, DON’T CONTINUE READING UNTIL YOU CATCH UP!
As you all know, Annalise Keating was working on a class-action lawsuit that would help incarcerated people of color who didn’t get the appropriate legal representation due to underfunding of the public defender’s office, and as Annalise herself said, “people who were imprisoned for crimes someone else would not spend a day in jail for.” After having her case thrown out, she went on to seek the help of someone with the right connections that could help her bring her case to the United States Supreme Court, enter Olivia Pope.
In the beginning, both women clashed, but then Olivia agreed to join Annalise in her pursuit of justice. With the help of former President Fitzgerald Grant III, they brought the case to the current president, President Mellie Grant, who liked it, but refused to help because she thought the timing wasn’t right. It was later revealed that the real reason why the White House refused to help the case was to prevent Olivia from rising to power again, and with the help of Jake Ballard and Q.P.A. (Quinn Perkins & Associates), they resorted to blackmailing Judge Spivey, one of the Supreme Court judges, to make him throw out the case too.
Refusing to give up so easily, Olivia and Annalise decided to continue the course of the case without the help of the President. Later, a guilt-driven Quinn revealed the truth to Olivia, who then went to Judge Spivey and convinced him to hear the case, and in case the dirt the White House had on him was ever leaked, she assured him that she would do what she knows how to do best, make the scandal go away.
Annalise delivered a magnificent speech before the Supreme Court judges that would even make a rock cry. She argued without backing down how the U.S. criminal justice system needs to be fixed because it has historically been unfair to poor people and people of color. During her powerful rebuttal she stated, “Racism is built into the DNA of America. And as long as we turn a blind eye to the pain of those suffering under its oppression, we will never escape those origins.”
Whether or not she succeeded was not revealed in the episode, but this alliance between Annalise and Olivia was what both women needed; and the audience too! This was an opportunity for both of them to fight for justice and for Olivia to put her white hat back on and redeem herself after her short-lived stint as Command.
When everything was over, they both said their goodbyes in a scene that had me bawling at my TV screen (or maybe I was overly emotional). I’m lowkey hoping that once Scandal ends after this season, Olivia moves to Pennsylvania and starts working with Annalise Keating. I can’t get enough of this magnificent duo!