Scandal Season 6 Episode 13: The Box Review

Keith NoakesMay 5, 2017n/a7 min

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: As the future of the country hangs on the balance, Olivia and Fitz are at odds with Eli, and Jake employs surprising tactics to manipulate the Mystery Woman. (IMDB)

Writers: Raamla Mohamed & Austin Guzman

Director: Steph Green

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 43mins

At the end of the previous episode, it looked like things were about to come to an end for Peus and Ruland with Ruland captured and Mellie picking Luna Vargas as he Vice President but they were not about to give up without a fight and that was what they did here.

Peus appeared to be the one in charge here and in retaliation, he sent out nine drones strapped with bombs across nine U.S. cities, threatening to blow them up if he didn’t get Ruland and Mellie back. Olivia didn’t take him seriously but he proved her wrong by blowing up two drones and killing almost 100 people. Fitz was not going to negotiate with a terrorist so they had to find another way.

Their only lead appeared to be Ruland but that was easier said than done because she was not willing to go against her powerful employer. The tracking chip that Jake cut out of the back of her neck after slamming her face against a table went nowhere. Even a well-performed lie didn’t work when Rosen had to go in there and give away his tell. Ruland could see that he was telling the truth about her making him sick and that he was lying about her immunity deal. Rosen got frustrated which led to the very satisfying moment of him punching her in the face.

Due to a lingering mistrust of Abby, Fitz shut her out of the Oval Office. She was getting frustrated being left out of important meetings. Since Cyrus, Fitz’s former chief of staff, was still at the White House, he began to take her place. He was encouraging her to prove that she deserved to be in the Oval Office.

We also learned the reason behind Eli’s reluctance to help. He wanted to run because he was still afraid of them. Peus and Ruland sent him boxes at random times that always weighed the same as a human head. This was to remind him that if he went against them, that he would be sent Olivia’s head. After a heart-to-heart talk with Fitz about how Fitz admired him for having control over his life, Eli apologized and offered to help.

Little did we know, he, Fitz, and Jake devised a plan to allow Eli to escape with Ruland so he can gain her and Peus’ trust so he can lead them to the drone control center. Olivia thought she was bringing Eli to Ruland so he could interrogate her but she just helped them escape. Afterwards, Olivia gave a great speech to Mellie to reassure her that it wasn’t over. Once Eli and Ruland were free, Peus assure Eli that he was free so when he had left them, Eli stabbed Ruland (violently I might add) and Jake followed Peus to the drone control center and shot Peus and everyone inside.

Overall, this was another great episode but I was surprised that it all got resolved here. It was exciting to see what would happen but they were ultimately not going to win. Eli’s story was compelling as it was easy to relate to how scared he was when it came to Olivia. Fitz was concerned that this was going to affect his legacy. This episode had great performances by Kerry Washington, Joe Morton, and Tony Goldwyn as well. I wonder where they’ll go from here.

Score: 9/10

If you liked this, please read my other reviews here and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, follow me on Instagram, and also like me on Facebook.

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