103: Hell Hath No Fury

Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with Iheartradiots and Katie.

We're talking about how Guermo watched episode one oh three Hell Half No Fury twice yesterday, once today, and it's on in the background currently as we are recording this podcast.

Correct.

Yes, when I've watched this episode now a few times, I'm just like this sucks, Like this is so awful. I don't want to explore these feelings. I feel this like massive weight of responsibility where it's like, Okay, if I'm going to breed and contribute a human being to our fucked up society, the least I can do is hope that they only add goodness and don't take it away. And I mean my mom sort of, I mean, my

And look how well he turned out. Yeah, he did.

Turn out well. I feel like, does your mom ever think that, Like your mom had three boys?

Oh yeah. Plus we grew up, you know, in the eighties in New York City, where when in Washington Heights, when the city was just like a ball of crime, a snow globe of crime. It was just the worst,

One of my favorite facts about Ghermo Diaz growing up in such a fucking rough time and rough neighborhood. Tell me if this is wrong. This is what it is in my head every time there's a close up of the back of Huck's head. Oh yeah, I love it so much because you have this scar back there, because didn't you get hit with a gun?

Yeah, I can't believe you remember that.

Oh I think of it every time I see the back every and since I've been watching all these episodes, and they you're always hacking huk and they're always zooming in on the back of your computer, and I always see that little bump on the back of your head.

Oh my god. Yes, I got mugged in front of my building in Washington Heights at like eleven o'clock at night, at gunpoint. They held the gun up to my head and were like, give me. I had like a flight jacket and like a ring, like this cheap ring, and they took my jacket in the ring and then they told me to turn around, and I was like, oh shit, this is it?

Like you thought you were going to die?

Oh of course.

But somehow, you know how they say, you get super like calm in those in those moments of like complete you know, where you would you would assume that you'd be really scared and it would just be full on fear. I got really zen and really calm and just turned around and then he just ended up hitting me with the gun in the back of the head. And that's what that what that scar is. I can't believe you remember that.

Did you have to get stitches?

No? I just went upstairs and my head was bleeding and my mother was like, oh shit and put like a towel and some ice.

Like they didn't even take me to the hospital.

But you know, it was just it was a small it was a you know, a pretty small. I was like seventeen. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That is crazy. And where do you fall in line of the brothers?

I'm the youngest. Yeah, so I have two older brothers. Yeah.

That's why we work so well together, by the way, is because I have this theory that every couple that works out really well, they're not the same in birth order. So I'm the oldest and you're the me. I'm the oldest,

No, no, no, no, yeah shut up. Yeah no. I love that theory. Yeah, that's that's interesting. That makes sense. I mean, it makes sense.

Let's let's do this this stuff, and we should like do this stuff? Gee, we should like to fucking say what's on this fucking paper? And on this fucking paper it says we're talking about episode one of three, which was titled Hell Hath No Fury. It aired on April nineteenth of twenty twelve. It was written by Matt Byrne, which we will circle back on this, and it was directed.

By Alice Brown.

Yes, so much to say about both of these. Gee, do you want to give me the synopsis? In Scandalpace?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, here we go. Millionaire CEO Sandra Harding contracts OPA with helping her aunt. I went over this.

So many times before we started, and of course now I'm like.

Oh, our Scandalpace might be out of practice. But as we continue this, okay.

Yeah, here we go. Millionaire CEO Sandra Harding contracts OPA with helping on her son Travis's trial for rape. Ahmeda. Tanner's only demands is a five minute meeting with the President and the White House gets hit with another scandal and audio sex tape Dicyrus believes to be sent from Olivia as blackmail.

And we have guest starring JoBeth Williams of Sandra hard and Curtis Armstrong as Attorney call Michael Cassidy is Travis Harding. Mina Baddy is assistant US attorney Jane Powell. Jerica Hinton has Hannah, the doctor who delivers this amazing speech to Harrison. By the way, Jerka Hinton plays Stephanie Edwards and Grays and Natie. We're going to get to all of that. Yes, this episode, I think that the guest stars between Joe Beth Williams and Michael Cassidy were fucking incredible.

Yes, yes, yes, this is this episode. I watched it a bunch, but it was also like every time I got something new, I got something new out of it. But yeah, and I was so starstruck with these guest stars because Joe Beeth Williams was the mother in Poltergeist and Poltergeist Too. She played Diane Freeling and she is freaking as everyone knows. I'm a huge horror film fan and so be.

Around freaking out on set.

I don't know this, my god.

Yes, I think I was maybe honestly with Joe Beth. I knew she was doing the episode, and I think I saw her like by the trailers. But I don't think we have had many scenes together. She might have been like in the office when you know, hucking Quinn and those guys were there, So I think I was kind of around her, but I didn't really interact with her on the show. But also, yeah, freaking amazing. And also our other guest star plays attorney Cole. Yes, yes, Booger from Revenge of the Nerds.

Man guys Booger for Revenge of the fucking Nerds. Yes, I'm rewatching this episode last night for today and Adam's like, that's Booger, and I'm like, oh my god, yeah, that is Booger.

If you're an eighties kid like like I am, and you know, Katie's younger than I, but you remember Revenge of the Nerds like you write, and Booger like he.

Was, of course. And this is such a testament to Linda Lowie, our casting director who's married to Jeff Perry, who played Cyrus, Like yes, yes, God, the guest stars were so fucking great on this show. And honestly, the guest stars have to carry oh yeah, the a story like they have a lot of times, these guest stars and g and I, you know, God, we've been around in this biz, and like we've had to be like

I've done all the.

Without a traces and cold cases and all that. It is a tough job. I mean, you're working every day for nine days. You are crying, you are getting rapes, you are getting abducted, you are.

You're talking a ghost. You are a ghost, remember you on ghost Whisper I was. And also you're coming into this world of actors that you know, have been doing the show for her however many seasons. Yeah, so you're kind of, you know, you feel like a fish out of water sort of in the beginning. And then and then you you know, you get your traction and then it flows and then it gets easier. But you're just

So it's a tough job.

I remember always we were always so kind to our guest stars. I remember always saying to them, welcome, We're so excited you're here, Like we're we're all so so kind because I think of the fact that we all have done so many guest star roles, right, so we know how it is to feel when someone is not sort of inviting or warmed to you on set.

And I think this leans into Seanda having like that no asshole policy. Yes, she had a no asshole policy where when she hired the series regulars of the show, she supposedly called our previous X bosses to sort of vouch for us and make sure that we weren't dicks. But yes, a lot of us also fucking come from

It's candle pace.

All of a sudden, the directors were like, you got to pick it up, pick up the pace.

Oh God, could you imagine if I was guest starring on our show, I would have been shitting bricks.

And you were say, how I've always been a big preparer.

I think I was, But then do you remember towards the end of like the series, we'd all roll up to OPA and be like, what's like have you looked at the scene, And we'd be like, I don't know, I guess let's look at it, let's read it like you know, and they were setting up like I know.

But what's so fucking crazy about scandal and episodic TV, I think in general is that, like your brain is a muscle, so like if you do ten crunches a day, in a few weeks, you can do one hundred or whatever. But it's the same with fucking memorizing lines. It's like if you do it for eight years or however long we were doing it, we would got so good at the end that it actually made no sense to sit at home and sort.

Of do it in a bad thank you exactly. We all started to realize that we could just go over I mean, of course we'd look at it at home and read the script and all of that, of course, but then we didn't need as much time preparing now to learn the lines. We'd go over it a few times and then have it memorized like completely.

So we would always come on to set and like run. We knew that the best way to learn it was actually with each other, yes, and we would drill it on like lighting setups or set changes in the hair and makeup trailer. But you were really good at like even a big fucking chunks, you and Josh Molina, Like I think, I know you say you've got a stoner brain, and you do, and I love it so much. But like you were really good memorizing a lot of shit.

I had like pages of a monologue like that.

I definitely like went over it over and over and over the night before because that you can't mess around with that.

Do you've run lines while you're like pacing or you just like sitting in your secret room.

Honestly, Mikey would run lines with me, my partner, he would he would run lines with me, and I would do it in front of him and just do it over and over and over and then you know, and then I you know, keep drilling it until I got it in my brain.

But yeah, if we had long monologues like.

That, especially that we had to talk so fast, you know, you got to make sure you're on point.

Yes, one more thing on this and then we're getting to the official shit of episode one of three. But I know we talked about last episode scandal pace. It was such a thing. But like also and do you remember this gee, Like Shonda at the very beginning of the show said how you say is up to you, but what you say is up to me.

Yes. Yes, So we.

Could never say an of or a the or like improv a little bit like I've been on other jobs since Scandal where it's like, you know, you just like add a button or whatever the fuck, And I'm like, we never went off script.

Didn't in the very beginnings. I think it was Henry ian Cusick who emailed Shawna was like can I say this instead? And she was like no, or I don't know what she says, but it was like it was like a hard, cold, like hell no, like say what I wrote.

When we have him on, we have to ask him. But I remember him having a really fucking hard time because he was coming off of like eight years on Lost. And I remember having conversations with him the first season of Scandal where he was like, you don't even know, like we would show up in the fucking woods of Hawaii shooting Lost and like no one knew their lines.

But what's so brilliant about Shanda and the Scandal writers was that if you missed an of or threw in an extra the or whatever, and uh, it's like messing up. It's like poetry, like saying the words. It's written so well. And we always talked about how if something's written really well, then it's really easy to memorize and to say, so if if you added something or took something out, it didn't flow as well.

Absolutely, I've never had an easier time memorizing than Scandal.

Same.

So the beginning of this episode, I felt like this is so fucking cool, like we're saying cool again, and it's because it's going in to get the little shitty, spoiled piece of shit kid played by Michael Cassidy, who's just bone this like hot blonde chick. They're all fucking hungover.

Yeh. She sneaks him out the back.

And Harrison is so cool.

He's so cool, He's always so cool. And and what stuck out in this episode two is the I mean, of course there's music, and the music is amazing in every episode, but in this in this episode, that music is just that song is just playing over that whole sort of intro. Yes, right, and even it's not only music without lyrics, it's music with lyrics over dialogue, which is kind of like, oh shit, but it works so so well.

It's so it's so classic scandal.

Yeah, the beginning was such a classic Scandal. I loved it so much, and I felt like, oh God, when I come back, like, if I ever get to play a cool character, I think I will. Do you think Quinn got cool?

Oh yeah, Quinn so cool? Dude? Oh hell yeah. When you started wearing your leathers and your black boots, I know you got so cool.

I don't know. I felt like in her heart She's still such a fucking turd.

Aren't we all though we're all turds at heart. I think all of that.

We take a moment to discuss what we're wearing on our heads, yes, and then we'll get more into the episode. She and I wore our gladiator in a suit, long sleeve, comfy, a little too tight, don't put it in the dryer shirts. And today I text you this morning, I'm like, what are we wearing today and what do you have on.

I was like, well, I'm thinking of wearing my beanie, my black beanie that I bought in the White House gift shop. And we went to the White House Correspondence dinner.

Why did I buy stationary?

I bought a beanie?

So cool?

I bought a beanie. I bought a backpack. But we're fucking sporting it now and chilling.

My scandal hat is really not cute. I love it, but I think it is not a great hat. I apologize to anyone who got who got this from I don't know.

I gave it away.

It's cute.

It's a white beanie, and it's a scandal. It scandal white Gladiator.

It's a white beanie, which just is not the right color for a beanie. A white beanie is not great. Like it's weird. You sweat in your head, there's dance like your head is gross. I make up on my forehead. So to have a white hat on is Oh, isn't that funny? Because our show White did they the hat says scandal and red and then gladiators in black underneath your head hot.

My head is so hot. I'm going to be pulling this shit off in like so hot.

Whenever you need to just let your head breathe, ge, just let it flow. The coolest part about Scandal, there are so many things, but we got to go on the most epic trips. We got to go to two White House Correspondent dinners, both under Obama as president. And it was the most amazing fun time. With the hat you got from the first trip or the second trip.

It was from the first one. Yeah. And also we were on the hottest like political show on television, so all of us in DC like there for the correspondence dinner. It was just it was it was so surreal and meeting all these political figures and celebrities and like you know people that were like Aretha Franklin was like, I love your show, and it was just like wild to be around.

Why people, you know what I mean, It's the closest I always equate it to like, it's like the closest to being probably like what the Beatles felt like. Yeah, we talked about it before that you can't go anywhere, but I sort of can. But when you drop the Scandal cast as a group into DC, when we were on, it was like we were the fucking Beatles.

Yeah. It was dangerous.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, insane And.

One of the most memorable nights of my life I want to say is when we were there. Oh I think this was the last time, but whatever.

I'm gonna talk about anyway.

Yeah, I think it was the time we went We went as a cast kind of three times for two different White House Correspondence dinners, and then the last time we went to shoot the penultimate episode there. Yes, and again we could never go anywhere as a group without

Yeah, all at.

Night while we were just chugging whistle pig whiskey out of the fucking bottles to keep us warm.

And we did photo shoots in front of all the monuments we got, you know, we got out and videoed each other and took pictures and yeah, and we were drinking whistle pig whiskey, which and then later on Bellamy I think it was Bellamy, right, who got us all a bottle of whistle pig. I still have it in my kitchen. Oh yeah, I haven't opened it.

I drank that shit you Okay, So Joebeth Williams is unbelievable in this episode and the things that neat that really struck out to me at the beginning. Okay, we've got so Sandra Harding is the case. Her son is saying there's a rape allegation against him from a woman named Helen Fisher. Olivia makes a deal with Gideon Wallace to keep the story quiet for seventy two hours and then he'll get an exclusive aman of Tanner tells Olivia that she has undeniable proof of the affair with fits Paz.

Oh my god, I still am. They play that shit like every single day like that.

Have never seen an episode?

Really talk about scandal pace, Katie. Those guys speak faster than we do. They speak so fast.

Yeah, I remember auditioning for it, and oh yeah, I auditioned like a million times because it was like the Hot show when I moved out to la and I auditioned a million times and they would always make me speak really fast, and I'd be like, this is so easy for me, Like why am I not getting a part on the show? But I never got a part on that show?

Their loss? Yeah. Oh.

Amanda Tanner is played by Liza While Who who did she play on Gilmore Show?

She played Paris on Gilmore Girls. She was like the biggest, like staunch, like bitch, like super smart, like went to Harvard, like angry, like the meanest like but she was Rory's best friend who's one of the lead characters on the show.

Do you think Amanda Tanner is like a completely different character for Eliza than Paris.

Oh?

Absolutely, Yeah.

That's why I was so great watching her play Amanda Tanner because I was like, this girl got ranged. You know, people say that all the time, but she the emotional places that Liza had to go playing Amanda Tanner was like, you know, I mean, I think we all kind of are familiar with it a little bit because we all had to, you know, go through some serious stuff on the show as our characters. But she just does such a wonderful.

Job speaking about you guys listening, Like Shondaland likes to sort of collect people, you know that they continue from project to project and things like that. And Liza, while at the time was married to Paul Adelstein, that's right, who well he was playing he played Leo Bergen, but he was originally the lead doctor on Private Practice, that's right, Which is why Shonda and Linda Lowie know Liza and

Wow, we're gonna have her on and.

We're gonna have to ask and she'll tell us.

I cannot wait to have her on.

But the other thing that happens in this episode that I need to talk about, I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you. Tommy.

Oh no, not at all.

That Tony Goldwin takes off his shirt.

When he wakes up when he oversleeps.

He's oversleeps, and Mellie is sitting in the fucking West wing where wherever they sleep, No, the private residence, I think is what it's called, yea, and Tony's sleeping and we're just gonna reserve the ride on this podcast. That whenever I call people their characters' names or their real names, whatever, get yeah, yeah, Tony's sleeping and he wakes up and he's.

Like, what's happening? Mandela got up for me? Like Mandela is waiting for me.

I can't.

Because yes, he's in boxers and like a T shirt that he slept in, and he quickly takes off his T shirt and I was dumbfounded.

He's pretty easy and eyes.

What is going on with this human beings body like?

But it's just not fair.

I don't get it. I loved he is family. He drinks wine, he orders desserts, he eats carbohydrates. He just must also like eat like baby vampires or something that I do.

Although, Katie, I remember during the table reads, I always remember Tony having ordering a salad. It was like from tender Greens and it was either the the tuna with you know, with the greens. I know, I'm so hungry, right, hungry too, Oh my god, let's talk about what we ate in a little bit. But I remember Tony always

You know you're gonna have sex. Would have lived or someone else. So I think that I feel like.

They were always super super prepared.

Well, he looked out standing, even in those two minutes. I was like, God, if you were editing the episode, you must have been like, and Shaun is sitting there like putting the episodes together. She must have been like, Okay, well we can just rest assured that Tony should be topless in every sex scene for the next seven years.

Yes, he's fine, Yes, But also that scene when he wakes up and he oversleeps.

It reminded me.

Wasn't Tony always sleeping on set? Like, wasn't he We'd always like catch him like asleep, like any chance he got, he was like sleeping.

Why is he so tired?

I don't know, but I'm tired too.

I am too. But you know what, maybe it's because he was fifty then, right, Like do you know what I mean? Like when we were shooting Scandal, I was twenty eight through like thirty six, whow and you were.

I turned forty on the pilot. On the pilot, I turned forty.

Yeah, So he was like because I think Tony's like sixty six or sixty seven. I think he can see mixed my yeah, I think he's six. Let's google it.

Wait, I think he's like fifty eight or fifteen nine.

Yeah, oh am, I oh he oh am, I am completely wrong. Hold on. If he's he's sixty two.

What oh shit? He looks good.

I know, but so imagine at fifty two years old. You're not in fifty two yet. Gee. Imagine being on set with those hours. He was just so tired.

She was tired, She got asleep.

She was like, I got to sleep.

I think him and Jeffy were constantly sleeping on set.

Yeah, and jeff was always sleeping for sure. We'll be right back, guys.

What other notes do you have?

Well, let's talk about maybe Alison Lady Brown, like our director for this episode.

Let's give a whole fucking moment of silence, respect, love, and adoration for that woman.

Alison Lady Brown came into Our Lives on Scandal and directed a whole bunch of episodes. I'm assuming this is the first episode she directed, right, Yeah, I think it was. Yeah, the loveliest woman, super chill, super funny, just so beautiful, just such a great, great director, and I think she came from directing a lot of stuff on like Nickelodeon right, a lot of like kid shows. So it was funny to see her transition from that into this, you know, crazy scandal world.

We were so lucky to get her so early at the top. And actually, I never look at you like this, but I have to say, when I was rewatching this episode, there are so many just fucking dope shots. Yes, and I'm just like, I don't know about camera, but I feel like she's nailing it.

Yes, Yes, And.

We had such a love affair with Alison Liddy Brown because she came back and directed the infamous seven fifty two. I should have won every fucking acting award under the sun.

Also, Alison Lady Brown is queer.

She's you know, she's an openly gay woman, which I loved, you know what I mean, especially when she directed me in seventy two because I'm openly as well. But I don't know, it was just a cool thing to be like, all right, cool, and I'm wearing a shirt that says queer right now, Yes, you.

Are speaking about which I was thinking about this last night. Shit, when we have Carrie on we have to ask her this. I think Carry was like the last person to know that Giarmo Diaz is an openly gay person. She was like what, I feel like the first bunch of episodes, we were all like pretty buttoned up about our personal lives.

Was like, oh, shit, parade, Like.

I literally know what you were talking about. I was like the parade, and then I was like, oh, the fucking gay cry parade. Oh my god, is this person gay? And then I ran home and I googled it and I found out that you were, and I was like, this is the fucking greatest news and slice bread. But then I remember that Carrie. I don't know how she found out, but I remember it was in like episode seven of season one, while we were in Gideon's apartment and he's dead on the floor. This is how it

Yes. She also has extreme fomo like fear of missing out, like she needs to be in on every conversation, everything that's happening, right, So I'm sure she was like, wait, what how did I not know?

Yes, She's very like especially in OPA, it's such like, you know, like a click of high school students who were like all talking, talking, talking, talking, and if you're like over to the left getting your hair and makeup done, and you like miss a little tidbit of hot goss, You're like, have you got to get in there?

You know?

So she felt like she hadn't known yet yes, And I think she was the last of the OPA people to know. So then what happens is this is insane. Are you ready for this tidbit? I'm gonna give you Helen, who's the girl that is accusing Travis of rape is played by this actress named Helen Woglum. She and I were an acting class together at Leslie Khan and she was so.

So good good, yes, yes, yes, You've got.

That monologue where she's like, how much.

How much would it take for you?

Yeah?

How much would it take for you to be quiet about being raped? To shut up? How much could you be bought for? And her lip is all quivering and she's so good. Were you in the room?

No, you're hu isn't in the room for that?

No, But I think that's the first time obviously with the characters were Olivia and the other attorneys were and they were all like, oh shit, this bitch is telling the truth. Like we're fucked now, you know what I mean. They were like, oh, she's not even taking the money. She was like no, I don't want the money, like.

Yeah, And then they're trying to get him ready for trial and he says to Harrison, well, what does this mean? They always take the money? And then Harrison calls Olivia and he's like, I think he's paid people off before, which sets all of OPA like down the path to know, this guy's a fucking piece of shit, and Michael Cassidy plays him so well.

Oh he's so good. He's so good. He's such a great actress.

So good. The other thing that when they find out Harrison goes to get the rape kit from Jerica.

Hint hit it in, Yes, who.

Ended up kicking ass so much that again, like I said, Shanallane keeps it all in ensemble, like they gave her an amazing job. She played Stephanie Edwards on Gray's Anatomy. But how fucking great was her monologue?

Yeah, oh oh good, so moving, so moving, but powerful and like hell yeah, Like she just throws it back at Harrison because he's sort of flirting with her in the beginning. He's trying to get this rape kit, you know what I mean. And she's like, dude, you don't

H Yeah, she does it so well. She's such a good accurate matt Burne wrote this episode, which makes me think of how long I've been with Matt burn because matt Burne. First of all, it wasn't until reading these pieces of paper that I even realized Matt burn was with us from the beginning. Was he like I thought he came in at season two. I can't believe he wrote this episode.

I honestly, I was like, maybe season three or four. I thought Matt burn sort of came in, But I thought so too.

And he wrote Inventing Anna. No, yes, so I I mean Seanna wrote it. I mean he was in the writers for Inventing Anna. But he was like a big dog on Inventing Anna. He wasn't like he was like executive. I don't know what his title was, but it was a big title. And so I got to be with him in New York for a while shooting Inventing Anna. And it's just so cool to watch and having been with someone sort of at the start, because I don't actually think he was a television writer before scandal. I

Yeah.

He came in and he was like, I'm I was there at this actual trial of Amadelvi. He was at the trial for doing research for this show, and he was like, your character at this point is fucking ugly sobbing. This isn't like fake wow, Like this isn't like even just a little bit crying like boo, this is like how ugly and unabandoned do you cry when no one's looking? And I was like, oh.

Fuck, which is the worst thing you could tell an actor because then that pressure no tears anywhere to be found.

Don't freaking tell me that shit, Like really.

Dearmo, I was like, bring in the tearstick.

You're bringing them tearsticks.

Do you ever I use a tearstick?

Do you I have in the past, But yeah I have, Yeah, for sure I have.

And then there's you know, you just never know. That's the thing about acting.

Sometimes it comes and you don't need that shit, and sometimes it's just not available. You're just not it's just not there and you have to fake the funk and that tears that comes in for the for our listeners, I don't know what a tearstick is. It's a freaking little hollow stick that has like eucalyptus in the middle, right, and and the makeup artist blows through it into your eyes to make your eyes tear up, right, Katie.

Yeah, it's a bit. They have two different There's a menthol stick that's a blower. Yeah, that's what she's talking about. They like blow Menthol crystals into your eyes. It's essentially like blasting vix vapor rub in your eyes, which makes tears come. Or there's a lipstick tube that's menthol, like a vix vapor rub in ellipstick form, and I would just rub that underneath my eyes. Call action. Yeah, I I literally think I did damage sometimes during between Scandal

And if your coverage, if you're last up to get your coverage, coverage is when they're you know, the camera's pointed at you, and you do you do the scene, you're featured. By the time they get to you. Sometimes it's just you're drained. Like you said, it's it's just not there, and sometimes it is, it comes out of nowhere. That's what's so beautiful about acting, too, right, because it's sort of magical and you never know. Sometimes crazy beautiful

Oh, you mean like if you feel like I know, I used to be like oh fuck. Am I not supposed to tell people I use a tear stick because people think I'm going a crappy reactor.

But that's the thing. We don't use it all the time. It's it's once in a while when you feel like, Okay, I need to I need to be there at this level of emotions and I'm not there, so and then you'll do it. But it doesn't We don't use it all the time a lot of.

Times, you know, don't like to spend the whole time thinking like, oh my god, there are no tears coming. Yeah, you're just like taking yourself out of the scene. You're not thinking about what you want from the other person. Do you think Meryl Streep uses a tearstick?

Hell no, I don't think so.

But you think she's just that great, Yes, But.

I've also seen scenes where she's super emotional, know, and crying and there's no tears and it still works and her eyes are sort of well up and do you know what I mean, Like it doesn't have to be full.

On tears all the time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, And again, she's so wonderful.

Somebody get fucking mail Streep on this podcast so that we can I.

Want to know if that uses a tearstick?

Do you use a tear stick? I want to find out. I've got to know somebody that knows her. I met her daughter once. But do you think it'd be weird if I went right up to her daughter be like, does your mother tears?

It would be a little weird.

I think yeah, But I think you should still do it because you're probably not that close with her.

Right, No, don't care if I promise here now today, folks, if I run into Gracie Gummer, uh maybe Gummer.

I like those names.

Yeah, if I run into them, I'm gonna ask them if their mom uses a tearstick. Oh, we have to talk about Carrie Washington and her first White House state dinner dress. That is she no one wears clothes like Kerry Washington.

So this is the first time we see Olivia Pope dressed up going to a White House extravagant event. Right, this is the first time we see her.

And it's remarkable. I mean, she looks so gorgeous and when they're dancing and his hands are on her back because the dress is backless and it's white, and I'm just like, yes, you know again, Adam walked into the room. He left and then he came back for this part and he was like, my god, they were so good together.

Harry had good chemistry with that white dress.

That dress was outstanding. She looked remarkable.

It really was.

Yeah, so classy, so hot, and I also felt so bad for Melly, like cut to like what Mellie's wearing in like some sort of dumpy hairstyle and like a crappy sort. It's not crappy, but it was like matronly.

Right compared to Olivia Pope. Yeah, I was like, oh.

Shit, Carrie had a lot of skin out and stuff, and I was like, wow, Melly, you don't stand a fucking chance.

That wig was on tight on Carry's head.

And their chemistry during the dancing when he was like meet me in our spot, she's like, don't look at me, don't look at me or whatever.

He goes to that spot to wait for her and she's sort of on her way to meet him, and Cyrus first stops Olivia and he's like, get out of here.

We don't want you here. We know you're trying to blackmail us.

Cause in the meanwhile, Cyrus receives a recording of Fits having sex with a woman, and they obviously assume it's Amanda Tanner, and Cyrus thinks that it was Olivia Pope that is trying to blackmail them. So he stops Olivia Pope in her tracks where she's going to meet Fitz, and he's like, hell, no, fuck you think you're doing.

Get out of here, and he throws her out of the White House.

And then he goes to the spot where Fits is waiting for Olivia and he sort of, you know, tells him.

He's like, I know what you're doing. You're waiting here for fucking Olivia.

Yeah, well she's not coming because she's trying to blackmail us. Yeah. It's really interesting how Cyrus is sort of that in between that middle guy.

He is a sticky, tricky, smart character. He's just like always looking. He's just doing what's in all what he thinks is in his own best interest, no matter who. Yes, he has to sort of cross and double he's playing double sides all the time.

Oh yeah, and he plays it so brilliantly, especially in the scene, I mean always.

Oh my god, he's such an amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing actor. Then this episode takes such a turn for darkness for me, which is I sob when the mom calls the cops on Travis, can I tell you what's so dark and why I think that? And I'm so sorry? I'm going to go here.

Do you have a son now?

Yeah?

Yeah, because it made you think, like, would I do this to my kid?

Well, I don't know if I would. Hopefully I never have to know, but I do. I get so worried about raising a kind boy, a kind white boy in this world and him ever hurting someone, and me being completely aghast and shocked by, like, I can't believe I like raised a monster. You know, she has all these brilliant monologues where she was like I was never there, I never made it to his games, and I'm fucking all up in my son's shit.

You're such a present mom, Yeah, you're all up in his grill.

Okay, what else happened we talked about in this episode? What are other favorite things we.

Should talk about?

How the character who is accusing this young piece of crap who supposed he raped her, we find out the OPA team ends up discovering that it was her best friend that in fact was raped by him. And she then and that girl ended up killing herself. He paid her off. She ends up killing herself, and so her friend we cut to what is this character's name.

Helen, Yeah, Helen.

So Helen ends up dyeing her hair and sort of I don't want to say stalking because that has a nasty edge because she was trying to get this guy back for what he did to her best friend.

Yeah, she's trying to blackmail him. No, what would the word be.

She's trying to trick him into like taking her out and having sex with her, and then she accuses him of raping her. But you know, and so the OPA team finds out and Booger ends up like destroying her on the stand and she's crying. It's such a sad emotional scene because you feel for her. You're like, she's she was fucking stepping up for her best friend who ended up killing herself because this guy raped her. So she was like, I'm gonna dye my hair, I'm gonna

And Travis fucking gets off because he's a piece of shit, and then the moment has to make this choice about calling the you know, Olivia goes to her door and says, what he did wasn't your fault, but how you handle.

It now is right exactly, yeah.

And so she calls the cops on him, and then I freak out about raising a sun.

And the mother ends up calling the cops on him and they take him away, which is so satisfying.

It's so great, and he's like, what's so satisfying? Get the fuck out of here, as we would say, we'll be right back. The other thing. I love two more things about this episode m Okay three one. Tony says, why do you invite live? And Mellie says, in that classic creepy, fucking Bellamy knows all type way, she's just like, you needed to see her. You slept better last night, didn't you? And You're like, what the fuck is going on with this relationship?

Yeh? She knows?

What does she know? How much does she know? This feels so icky and so interesting and I love it and the way that Bellamy Young is able to just like fucking deliver that in two lines is ridiculous.

She kind of lowers her voice. She goes down here. I know now you can sleep, can't you.

We ought to make her do that on this podcast.

Yes, yes, I was gonna say, speaking to memorable lines. This is this the episode where Hucks says to Quinn.

You're weird.

Weird is good, which I love.

Oh my god, I can't believe we almost stepped over that. No. I remember getting that monologue and it said scandal paste as fast as you can say it, Katie, where I call Giddeon and I'm like, you were.

So good and so fast in that scene.

And that beautiful shot of that like stained glass like piece of art whatever it was behind you. Oh, it's such a great And then Huck is waiting at the door and he says, and.

You say you're weird, and I say, no, I'm not, and you say weird it's good, and I say, thank you.

We're so stark.

It's the best. Weird is good. And right here, right now is even like the beginning of the Quinn Hawk shit. Yes, yes, you're already seeing what they're fucking doing. Like, yeah, I'm not sure if they knew or they didn't know.

Yeah, I think they were starting to kind of feel feel it going that way, you know what I mean.

It's just so great. And then another scene that's stuck out.

I don't know if you were going to say this one too, is when she's at the bar and she's waiting for Gideon and he Hawks shows up and he's like, put your.

Hair down, flirt a little bit, but not too much.

Don't drink the real drinks. Drink you drink this. You pay off the bardunder by the way, we see the Quinn hawk thing, and then we see Quinn say to live, which I kind of I didn't like, hate my performance, which is good. I said, well, I trust my gut and I think she's lying. Yeah, And I just fast forwarded all the way to like the end of the series where Opa is QPA and this whole thing started because Olivia Pope, I mean didn't start. She can do a million things, but one of the things that makes

I thought of that too. It's so brilliant.

But then I at first I was like, fuck is in Olivia supposed to be the only one that you know, goes with her gut. But then I thought, well, that's the whole reason that she put this team together. That's the reason why she got freaking Lindsay Dwyer and changed her identity. She knew there was something special about You, about Uck, about Harrison, about Abby, about all of them. They're all flawed, but then they're all sort of brilliant

The other crazy thing that I have read about on the Internet that exists in this like the interweb dark net. Remember we would always talk about the dark net.

On the dark Web, Yes, yeah, yeah.

Dark Web. Some fans seem to think in this whole like Olivia has a gut and Quinn has a gut, and maybe from the beginning they knew that OPA was going to turn into QPA. Supposedly, some fans think that Quinn is only named Quinn because it's the closest letter from an Oh, Like, all you would have to do to make opa qpa is add that a line.

Think, yeah, what is that? There's got to be a name for that little line in the queue, right, I wonder.

That's got to be on purpose? Olivia Pope and associates. Yeah, when Perkins and associates.

And Perkins, Oh shit.

Is that I have goosebum web is fucking crazy?

Right?

And then the episode ends with the big reveal that Amanda Tanner is with child.

As they used to have to say in the fifties on Is Love Lucy, they couldn't say pregnant. They had to say with child or true. Yeah, they couldn't even say I'm pregnant.

Yeah, So Amanda Tanner is pregnant with what we seem to believe is President Fitzgerald Grant's baby, and she's only asked for a sit down meeting with him, that's what she wants.

Yeah.

Some fun facts about this episode is that David Rosen is seen with a.

Dog um perro.

Un perro.

Oh.

Remember on the Scandal days where I'd be like, let's try going a whole day where gamme gamar only to Spanish to me so that I could learn Spanish, and I would make it one minute.

I'd be like, well, okay, said kid, and Katie was like.

Okay, you can't do it, can't do it. Don't understand what you're talking about. And I'd love to talk too much.

And then we'd be like, let's go see what food they got in the in the you know, a crafty let's go look it forod.

So he's got a dog in this episode. It's the only time the dog appears and never appears again.

Yeah, you think.

They're probably just like this is so expensive, Like fuck.

It, I mean, and also like, you know, how many opportunities were there to be like let's bring in the big dog.

You know, he was either in.

His office or at OPA or wherever, so he kind of you know, I get that the dog phased out.

Yeah.

The working title for the episode was actually a Woman Scorned. The title comes from the phrase hell half no fury, like a woman scorned. Wait, so it's called hell half no Fury.

Yeah, And it.

Was originally a woman scorn. I think maybe because a woman scorned people wouldn't know that was from a saying.

Yeah, and I guess they wanted to leave it sort of a little bit more encompassing of a lot of stuff and accept instead of focusing in on woman the woman part.

Maybe Oh that's a good point.

Perhaps, I don't know.

In wrapping up, should we do some tweets at the time?

Oh you ready for?

Oh shit? Time time time, time, tweet tweet, tweets at the ties.

Tweets at the time, y'all.

Oh my god, so many of these tweets that I'm reading. From April twenty sixth, there's a tweet from Giermo Diaz. What did you tweet?

Dude?

I don't even freaking remember why I tweeted that shit.

It looks like it's a response to something, right, because I say, stop trying to make fetch happen? Lol?

Thanks Mike, glad you're enjoying Scandal ABC. Who the hell was I talking to?

Why is that guy Mike one trying to make fetch happen?

Right?

What is he talking about?

And is that Mike Webb my boyfriend? Like I wonder if that's because my boyfriend's name is Mike, But I wonder because I remember he was on Twitter for like a hot second.

But then what was Mike's Twitter name? Do you remember it?

I don't remember because he was literally on for a second, so I wonder if that was him.

Anyway, we won't ever know, but let me tell you something that guy Mike won Fetch never happens.

Fetch never happened. Unscandal Bye balloon. Oh that's a whole other thing we got to talk about when that episode comes up by balloon.

No, the balloon seed I think was cut. Oh no way, I don't think it ever made it to air. I really don't, but we'll get there.

We could, but we could. We remember the episode so we can still talk about.

So then Natalie Abrams also tweeted this night scandal tweets at the Times, and Natalie Abrams was like a fucking huge journalist, reporter fan who covered scandal from the start when nobody was like the beginning of scandal, nobody cared, nobody gave us press, nobody cared. Nobody cared except for Natalie Abrams. She wrote, in case you missed it, hashtag scandalscoop will Quinn's relationship with Gideon get her into trouble. That's not that interesting, but anyway, shout out to Natalie Abrams.

Yeah, we love her.

Are there any other good ones? Gee?

Yeah, there's another good one from Mozilla Junior and she says, Cyrus in Scandal is a lion.

Bleep, bleep, bleep.

I think what she meant to say is Cyrus in Scandal is a lion piece of shit. Exclamation exclamation by exclamation esclamation point, and then she says I'm angry exclamation point hashtag scandal.

This is really starting to ramp about. Oh, someone's got a good note for us. Sad bitch Summer at Twinkies and Wine says the only bad thing about Scandal that the transitions are seizure inducing.

I love her, I think she means because the clicks of the camera right it is sort of.

Yes, well, good luck, because we use the shit out of that sound effect for seven years.

Yes, someone else tweeted, and another thing is the person's sort of name, Mesha Crump. Yeah, Olivia Pope is a bad, bad woman.

Exclamation point. Oh wow, people are starting to get their feelings about the show.

But also it's the beginning of the show where I feel like people didn't know which way to feel about Olivia Pope because very soon we're gonna see from tweet to at the time that Olivia Pope can do no wrong. I really feel like, at a certain point, Olivia Pope was the greatest fucking superhero to have ever graced everyone's television screens on Thursday nights at nine or ten o'clock, and no one ever tweeted bad shit about Olivia Pope.

And even when she fucking killed that dude with a chair, people were still Olivia. She's so wonderful, Olivia.

The way you killed that guy with a fucking chair.

She freaking clobbered this motherfucker and killed him.

Pay you rigged an election, the way you cheat. We love you. You can do no wrong. Olivia Pope is fucking perfect.

Yep.

At this point, people just like weren't sure. I mean, this is only episode three of the one hundred and twenty. I think we did one hundred.

One super super early on.

Yeah, gee, did you know? Like I know, we do tweets of the time, But I also think that during the show there were actual real life scandals of the time.

A lot of scandals. Listen, I bet there were scandals left and right during this whole show. I mean there's scandals every day, which.

We have to do that research too, which I'll put you on Gearmo. Since you're the researcher of the show who researches all the guest stars in their links to horror films, I need you to also put on the list scandals of the time.

I'm on it.

I don't know if you remember this, g I kind of don't, but tell me if you do. During the airing of this episode, all these secret service dudes were relieved of their duties because they were all messing around with prostitutes allegedly. Yeah. But that's what's so crazy about Scandal is that, like nothing we did was far from truth.

Yea ever, but also that sounds so vanilla right now in twenty twenty two, when the twice impeached disgraced former president like stole literal documents from the White House and he has them in his freaking year you're so right house, so wherever the hell it is, And that a couple of prostitutes for these secret agents, like yo, they don't have time to go date and go to bars.

Yeah, they're working twenty four hour fucking shifts trying to keep the fucking most important person of the free world alive. It's like they need to pay for a quick fifteen minute blowjob.

Yeah. Listen, sex work is a is a respectable like legitimate business.

And have you ever been to Amsterdam?

I haven't.

No. I thought you can ask me if I've ever hired a prostitute.

In Amsterdam where sex work is legal. It's so fascinating. But at seven o'clock in the morning, people are just like there's the line of the rows that are you know, men women in straight gay this that the other thing. You're walking past their little role their little rooms with the little and it's all like regulated and measured and safe.

And like a transaction.

Yeah, and a transaction. What were we talking about Oh yeah, the Secret Service.

Guys that that scandal doesn't seem like seem so vanilla right now, right like the fact that that was a scandal back then. Now it's like really like.

I love scandals of the times, though it does seem vanilla. I hope all those Secret Service agents have found employment since then, I guess.

Or have married some of their you know prostitutes, found love perhaps, yeah.

Sure, or now that they're unemployed they have lots of free time to date.

Yeah, I know, they don't have to pay for sex exactly.

Well, it brings up to the point of Harrison in the season one where you know, when Abby's so fucking mad at him about him that Stephen uses you know, the dame to pay for sex mad all these the madam exactly, and Harrison is like, well, like whatever, we're all paying for it. I do it. You know, whether it's for dinners or nights out or take into the movies or some fancy restaurant. I mean, it's the same bullshit, different day. You know.

It's like there you have it, listeners, there you have it.

Scandals of the Time. Yes, Gladiators, we love you. This is the joy of my life to get to just hang out with gierramal Diez and talk about Scandal and relive these amazing memories and experiences we had. Yes, you guys, we have such exciting fun things. This was episode one oh three. And we've got guests coming out that you're not coming up and out. I sort of mashed those words both.

Maybe some of them are coming out too, you never know.

We've got Akxana Bayoule coming out.

We got Akxana Bayola, who I want to make a correction. She's not a Russian skater. She was a Ukrainian skater. Anyway, I didn't want to but yes, and Olexana Bayoule and Brendan Hines, I hope are very happy to No, that's not there.

Yes, we're we can have their We should have them on talk about their wedding. We have exciting guests coming on. Stick with us, so much fun recapping of episodes, and we have like I can't even tell you the guests. We're going to be talking to all of your favorite Scandal characters and how they came to be, oh.

Pa, the White House, like they're all going to be on here.

So stay tuned, Stay tuned.

Tell your friends tell your family gladiators, we love you and we love when you all come together. So come together and listen to this podcast.

Huckleberry Quinn, y'all.

Huckleberry Quinn, huncle Berry Quinn, y'all, come back and thank you so much for listening to the Scandal. Rewatch podcasts Unpacking the Toolbox with Katie Lows and me Amia.

Yes Gerrico by Balloon.

Yeah, I don't know what our official sign off.

Is by Balloon. Thank you guys for joining us on Unpacking the Toolbox. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate, or leave us a review.

Scandal is executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Alex Alcea, Lauren Homan, Tyler Klang, and Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is Vince de Johnny, with music by Chad Fisher.

Scandal is a production of ABC Signature, and you can follow along by rewatching Scandal on Hulu.

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