Dog-Whistle Politics (Scandal)

"Dog-Whistle Politics (Scandal)"

"Dog-Whistle Politics" is the 73rd episode of the fifth season, the American political thriller television series Scandal.

It aired on October 15, 2015 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The episode was written by Mark Fish and directed by Zetna Fuentes.

Plot

After learning that the Louvre was on fire, Jake Ballard become immediately suspicious about Rowan trying to rebuild his empire B6-13 through Lazarus One which 1st step was destroying the work of art museums and disrupt the market of artworks. Jake goes to see Rowan in Prison for answers, which the ancient command denies any knowledge about it. Jake decided to continu his investigation and went in France with Charlie, but he unexpectedly crosses paths with someone he thought he'd never see again.

In the meantime, Olivia who has agreed in the last episode (Paris is burning) from being thrown under the bus to save Fitz’s presidency, is laying low because of the media coverage about her relationship with the president. Fitzgerald Grant, for his part was trying to deal with the senators (republican) who have the power to take him down through impeachment, and he quickly finds out the true cost of mercy when he discovers not everyone fully supports his actions.

Meanwhile, Quinn recruits Marcus Walker, a former client at OPA to help smooth over the media storm surrounding Olivia and Fitz. But when it becomes clear that the media (who was digging up dirt on Olivia), won’t back down, Marcus Huck and Quinn come up with a plan to handle the press. A strategy called Dog-whistle politics which is a language, a type of political speech using code words that appear to mean one thing to the general population but have a different meaning for a targeted part of the audience.

Mellie Grant was asked by female senators to join them in their bid to impeach the president. A path she refused to join at first, but then decided to follow at the end of the episode, when Fitz decided to go to Olivia’s home and do the right thing: making their relationship official and very public.

Production

The episode was written by Zetna Fuentes and directed by Mark Fish. The episode featured the songs Scandal End Credits Theme by Chad Fischer; Satisfaction by Aretha Franklin, and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder.

Reception

Broadcasting

"Dog-Whistle Politics" was originally broadcast on Thursday, October 15, 2015 in the United States on ABC. The episode's total viewership was 8.06 million. In the key 18-49 demographic, the episode scored a 2.4/7 in Nielsen ratings, the highest rating. The show rank 11th on 18-49 Rank and 2nd in Drama Rank.

Critical reception

The episode was well received by television critics, with many praising. The Entertainment Weekly praise the episode saying: Scandal was firing all cylinders tonight: we had some really sweet Liv-Fitz moments, some angry and compassionate sides of Mellie, some slick OPA problem-solving, two new faces, a scary Papa pope speech, and drama Galore!

Huffington Post too congratulate the show, commenting :Scandal has nailed the degrading way women of color are discussed: Lucky, sassy, ambitious, well-spoken, shrill, calculating, urban.

The Time magazine named Dog-Whistle Politics 3rd on their Top 10 Best TV Episodes of 2015.

External links

• Official website