204: Beltway Unbuckled

Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with Higheartradios.

Katie, well.

You all listening.

There was a hot second when Josh Molina and Scott Foley were like, we should host the Scandal podcast and Scott talked to Shonda about it, and Shanda was like, oh, Katie and g you're already doing that. It's been in the works for years.

Oh man, what a different vibe it would have been, right, I know, I mean, it would have still been great, but you know.

We could like let them sit in our chairs for like maybe half an episode, like how I sit in for Kelly Rippa, Like maybe Josh or Scott could sit in as like a guest host further down the road that get out of here, you motherfuckers. We don't want you.

I don't want them to get too comfortable. And then they were really funny and really good, and we're.

Like, uh, well, they also have a very different relationship than me and you. I mean, those two are just god awful to each other. They love each other so much, but they're like they have that sort of like frat boy relationship where they're just straight up ballbusters to each other and Dick, so it would be a probably very angry show.

Oh my god, do you remember that time, Katie that we were at sex fifth avebue.

I was just gonna bring it up.

We had an event at sex Fifth Avenue where the clothing from the show right was being displayed and there was gonna be a line of clothing from you know, by Lin Paolo Limited. Yeah. Yeah, we show up and there's a red car fly to New York.

Yes, and they've redone the window treatments Sax fifth Avenue to be all of our characters in our clothing.

Yeah. So it's like mannequin's that look like, yes, in our clothing.

Yo, mine was hot. I kind of remember that. I was like, dam.

Wouldn't you have been awesome if we could keep those? Where are they? Like? Are they dressed somewhere? Like? No, someone's like that mannequin looks like I think it.

Was to celebrate the launch of that the Limited was doing a scandal clothing line that Kerry Washington and Lynn Polo collaborated on. There was the quin jacket and this other thing. But we all go and your parents are there.

There was a huge crowd outside Sexmith Avenue, and you know, we're all doing the red carpet, the whole cast, and Shonda's there, and then eventually we go inside where there's a big party and champagne and there's a ton of people in there. The cast, friends and family are all inside mingling with us and enjoying it. And I looked through the through the glass of sax but having my parents are just standing outside with the crowd, and I'm like, you got behind.

Like a red velvet rope and it's like cold outside, and I remember being like, fucking your most parents are here.

Yeah, And at one point we had to go and stand next to our mannequins and they did some pictures of us. Remember that, Yeah, I've forgotten.

We all like climbed in the My mother.

And my father are standing outside with the crowd of fucking fans like I like, waving at me, and I'm like, and they wouldn't outside, No, I think my brother came in. My one brother came in, and I was like, well, fraid, why aren't Mommy and Poppy like inside? And he was like, you know them, They're they're cool, they just want to stay outside. They're fine.

I love them.

They did I don't know if they'll be listening to this podcast, but they should know they raised the most glorious human beings.

Oh Katie, you are way too sweet, dude.

We've got episode two oh four, Yes, Beltway, Unbundled Buckled Ye, which on.

October twenty fifth, twenty twelve.

It was written by Mark Fish, a writer that came to us a little bit later but stayed all the way through the end and is a Shondaland fave.

And it was directed by Mark Tinker.

Remember Mark Tinker. This director was like the coolest freaking Yeah.

Well, Mark Tinker is kind of responsible for saving my life and getting me into the Shondaland universe because he was the producing director of Private Practice, and Private Practice was the first time I was ever hired as a guest star in the Shondaland universe, where Shonda actually like remembered who I was, and that's why I got called into audition for Off the Map and why I kept getting called into audition for Scandal and all of these things.

Way he cast me and did you have a good role? Did you have like a Duday role.

Oh, this is the most fucked up shit you have ever heard in your life. It is awful. I played a mom who left her kid in the back of the car by accident with the windows shut. I want to get back to the car. The baby has burned to death and is not breathing because there was no new air and it was too hot. By the way, that is actually the cause of some infant deaths. Now

Is like a new thing.

And every time it comes on, I think about this fucking episode.

Of that dreadful episode. You must like, Oh my.

God, it was horrible, horrible. But that's how I'm at Mark Tinker, and that that's how I edged my way into shondaland Baby Mark Tinker.

Okay, Mark Tinker.

Wait, the guest stars of this episode are superb. I'm gonna read the top of them and g the second because it's the most people ever it's Greg Henry as Hollis Doyle, Deborah Mooney is Verna Thornton, Norm Lewis as Senator Edison Davis, Brenda Song is Alyssa Susie Poor Far as Becky Flynn, and Wendy Davis is Kimberly Mitchell.

And then we have Stephen W. Bailey as Noah Elliott, Kate McGregor Stewart as Mary, Joe Holt as the Secretary of Defense, Christen Carrey as Brooke Foster, Eve Gordon as Janet Nystrum, and Todd Wearing is Peter Nystrum.

Oh, I can't wait to talk about a lot of guest stars. Can't wait talk about that real quick, guys. The synopsis is a missing college student turns up dead after it's revealed that she is the anonymous Beltway Unbuckled blogger who has scandally slept her way through Washington, d C. A diplomat pops up on the suspect list, which caused trouble for Olivia when she's pitted up against the White House. Melly causes a scene when she gets involved with Olivia's

Oh my god, Gus. Well listen right off the top. This first scene with Fitz and Melly in the baby room, where Fitz wakes up, you know, on the couch in the baby room with Melly. So freaking good, such a good scene. I actually wrote in my notes, Melly, I fits hate each other so well. I wish I could fight that good with Mike. That's in real life. I said, I need Scandal writers to write lines for me for my everyday life, because I mean, this is this The words that they say are so brilliant.

This is the time she says erection, and I wrote, yes, she writes the way Bellamy Youngler's erection. She's like my husband, it's an erection for Olivia Pope or whatever she's saying. And that they're so I wrote, they're so mean to each other. Holy shit, it's so good.

And she says, I don't want to spend my night sleeping next to a man who gets erections dreaming of Olivia Pope so good whoo.

They are at odds and fucking hate each other and they're so good at it. And we get into hawks AA storyline where we meet the one and only Susie Porfar, who is incredible a gem, and she's says, nice to meet you, whiskey, I'm cocaine.

Yes, yes, Also listen, can we talk about Susie Poorfar, who I believe Linda Loewie are amazing casting director went to see a play called Tribes that Jeff Perry is in who plays Cyrus, and Susie Poorfar was in that play and she saw her and that's why she brought her in to scandal, is my understanding.

That's what happened. She's unbelievable, and play Tribes. If it's ever playing in a theater near you, don't walk run.

We went to see it. Were we together when we went to see it in New York? Remember?

Yeah?

I went and Susie was fucking ridiculous. I can't wait to talk about who you liked making out with more me Susie poor Far or Kimmy or Kim Jimmy.

Your answer is you had the best time making out with quick.

Obviously with you. Yeah, but so Susie poor far real quick, yo, She's been in a ton of shit. I was just watching In the Heights the other day and she's in in the Heights.

What does she play in that? I saw that one of the.

Lead characters is applying for an apartment in New York City, and she plays like a really sort of upity you know god she It was like, sorry, you know you have to it's taken.

I remember that. I remember that. She's unrea believable. We go into Abby and David a fucking all the time. Now they're just like and they're adorable. They're just like adorable in this next little scene and they say, oh my god, Abby's like, this is the last time. This is the last time. We're not voting ever again. And he was like, well, you said that after the fourth, eighth, ninth, and tenth time, but you didn't say it over the seventh time, So what did I do right that time?

Oh yeah, but they're so complete opposites too, right, Yeah, they don't make sense to me. But then they're so hot together in the sack.

They really are, And I wrote the note must have been cold, David hard nipples. That was my note. My note was shit stage was cold that day because David's topless and the scene and his nipples are just straight up, straight up rocks.

I love that there's a shot too, of both their feet. They both have very nice feet. What's a deal breaker for you with a partner, Like if somebody got fucked up feet? I'm like, yo, I can't.

I don't know.

I've been married so long and I've just known Adam's feet for fuck ever. But I think, like a no go for me is I have like.

A hair thing. Clearly my husband has like a shit ton of hair.

But I saw a piece of his scalp one time it like sort of parted and I was like, I'm picking you up, Rogane. So this is the foam you're using, This is the pill you have to take. I don't care. So I might have like yeah, And he was like, Katie, it just parted like I slept on it whatever, And I'm like, no, I see it happening. We need to prevent this is his dad's bald at his brother's bald.

No, yeah, would you do with Adam started going bald, would divorce him obviously.

No, okay, this all comes to that, Josh Molina at Darby Stansfield, you have great feet. Congratulations on that. We get into the procedural of the episode, which Jenny she's a missing girl. Her parents come in because Edison says, you know, these parents are my constituents, and I'm terrified we can't find their daughter. And so Olivia's like, fine,

And yeah and fucking date have stud and then blog about it, blog about it. Yeah right, yeah.

And so she goes missing. Oh this is what I wrote.

Oh my god, I totally forgot Quinn and Harrison shared an office.

I did too. When I saw this episode, I was like, what they were like side by side and you went to get a grape? He was like, hell, no, he's smacking hand.

Like I forgot.

We shared an office.

Yes, me too.

We also shared a trailer. Then they moved you to him.

I think yeah, because I remember from like season two on, I think I was pretty much with Columbus.

Or maybe I only shared with Columbus the pilot.

Maybe it was just a pilot. Maybe it was just a pilot, because I remember always being with Columbus.

Oh, that must have been it. Maybe you were always with Columbus and I was with We have to ask when they come on, because now the memories have shifted.

But also just for our listeners, when we say share a trailer, we weren't in the same like space together. It's a double banger, right, which means too small quarters with a couch like a chair, a tiny desk in a bathroom.

Your poopers share a wall.

Yes, your poopers share a wall. Oh my god, pooping was so hard.

In our trailers.

Columbus in his trailer, like, is he in the bathroom? Is this my chance to like take a nice, big old dump, like.

And you can hear each other flushing?

Yes, it's so.

Insane, like, yes, why do we always end up talking about.

Listen, everybody poops I have that book.

I read it constantly. Yes, because my children are always about potty training. They're like obsessed with poop. It's a fascinating thing. Party of hell. Yeah, Okay, so they share an office. Okay. Quinn gets a lead. We think that we found the belt Way Unbuckled Girl in Albuquerque or something, and I'm like, let's print out the picture of who she is. And at the same time, Olivia's at the crime scene looking is it possibly the belt Way Unbuckled Girl?

Yes?

And She's like, yes, please tell me.

Can we just pause just for one moment and and talk about how there was a fax machine in this episode? And I was like, remember fax machines, all that fucking noise they used to make real so dramatic, But Yo, we had a fax machine in this episod.

That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard.

You're a hacker? How could that not have just been emailed?

How did it just not pop up on one of our computers. They're all standing like you, and the parents like Jenny's parents, and I think Abbey right and Harrison are all stand around this fact.

Machine's machine, waiting for the possibility of the like a face to come up on this slow ass printing ass nineteen hundred facts.

And then of course Olivia is at the crime scenes of very dramatic back and forth, you know, as the picture's coming out slowly, she's there sort of uncovering Jenny's body at the crime scene. So it works very well for the scene. But I was like, yo, a fucking facts machine.

This is not how it would go down. But it made dramatic impact. Yes, and that's what we're all about.

Yes, And once again Quinn is like, we found the girl. There's a girl. She's all excited, giving last parents false hope about like this could be your daughter.

She's making promises right and left that she can't keep.

Mellie is screaming about being puked on by kids, and she's talking about immunizations and she's like, give me.

A seat at the adult table.

I don't want to be doing this first lady bullshit anymore, where I'm dealing with children and doing dumb shit that doesn't affect our country. I'm a political animal and I want to see it at the table like I had on the trail.

Yes, and can we just say again, Bellamy is so freaking good in this scene. I wrote in my notes baby puke exclamation point, and I wrote, I am one hundred percent on Melly's side in this scene because she's like, Yo, all these little snot nosed kids coming up to me and throwing up and touching me, and and she has I wrote another memorable line for the scene because she says this amazing line very quickly in her oh so

She's so good.

And there's also she brings up vaccines in this scene. Do you remember that, Katie? And I was like, oh shit, what a vaccine dig because she's like, how do parents not get their fucking kids vaccinated? How stupid can you be? It's the twentieth century or whatever? And I was like, oh, wow, sort of.

I can hear Shonda in that line so much because I've I've talked with her so much about being a mom and we've been moms together and like vaccinations and immunizations for our kids, and we've done so much about

What the fuck is wrong with you?

This is fucking science immune, Like I shouldn't even be spending time talking to these parents about vaccinations or whatever she is doing.

This is so stee, Like, what do you fucking think and get the vaccination? Your kid is gonna get smallpox or whatever?

Exactly exactly yea, And Tony says for her to suck it up, suck it and deal with it.

They're so good. We'll be right back, guys.

We cut to the Morgue scene, probably to see the Beltway unbuckled girl and get some about how she died.

And it's Stephen W. Bailey as Noah Elliott.

Yeah, but he is also the bartender on Grey's Anatomy.

Yes, he's that guy that you've seen in movies and ever shows, commercials. He's been in a ton of commercials, Yeah, he's just that face that you're like, oh, there's that dude.

Yeah, yeah, I Thod'm pretty sure.

I remember talking to him on set and him being like, yeah, I went to Dartmouth with Shonda.

We're like really good friends.

And when she started Gray's Anatomy one hundred years ago, like she got me the gig is playing the bartender, hoping like maybe it'll recur, and I think he's done. Like I think that bartender did end up recurring a bunch. Yeah in Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, Grace fans would know better than me. Okay. The next thing I wrote down is that we learn that Verna is in the cancer wing and no one knows because she's a Supreme Court justice.

Yeah, oh man, not to bring things down, but yeah, just go there. My friend was doing chemo and I went to Nashville to be with him, and I would sit in the room with him with that machine, you know, and he'd you know, we'd just be hanging out. And seeing Verna so strong in that scene is so like inspiring and so beautiful. It's so touching. But it made me think, you know, so many people that have been

Gosh, so terrifying and you're putting in something makes you feel so sick, you know, like you're putting in medicine that is, you know, hopefully killing the thing that is killing you, but also it makes you feel so sick, it's like poisonous. It's just like I can't imagine it.

But there Vernon is super regal and strong and stoic and stoic, still very authoritative and concerned about Olivia not having her phone on. She's like, keep living your life. What are you doing? You know? So so great, deba great.

And this piece of shit we realize lavit, this, this piece of shit politician has immunity and is here in our country and is the guy who we everyone knows killed the beltway unbuckled girl and was like having sex with her. Gotten a car accident. She flew out of the car and he just like he left her there to die. She was alive, That's what the more person tells us. Was like she was out of the car and had someone called somebody, she could have been taken

Wasn't it for like five hours? I think it was like five hours, just like dying slowly? Oh, because you know, when you when someone passes away or someone dies in an accident, I think everyone's first thought is always like did they suffer? Like what you know? Was it quick?

Was it quick?

Like?

Let it be quick?

Exactly?

You know, this girl saw hot heard god horrible.

But so this douchebag fucking Alexander Lavitch. But he has diplomatic immunity, which means, you know, he he doesn't have to the laws don't apply.

Don't apply to him. He's like completely untouchable. President Grant's like he's immunity, like he has that I'm not doing anything. I don't care. And Olivia is like, okay, watch this, and he she makes this huge media spectacle, you know, at the White House on the lawn.

Yes, because the president is the only one that could ask Kirkistan, which is where Lavich is from, to revoke his immunity. Like the president is the only one that can sort of step in and try to make that happen. So yeah, So as you were saying, yeah, they do this huge protest outside of the White House.

And they're getting some traction, Like they're getting some traction.

They're like, this girl was murdered and you know this guy is gonna get it, get away with it, and this isn't okay. Let's all use our voices and band together, and they're trying to make like a big scene of it.

I love the scene.

Gee when you come in and Abby's all, yeah, she like baked cookies and she's calling David Rosen. She's like, let's have a day tonight and he's like, I can't. I'm busy. And she's like, fuck you, you're busy. What are you doing like murdering people or whatever? And she hangs up and she's such a bit and she's.

Eating a cookie. She's eating a cookie. Ooh, those cookies look so good. It's so good, And Hucky is like, is there artificial sweeteners and those cookies artificial sweeter sweetness.

Makes rats die?

Which you learned from your future and girl friend and lover.

Yes, SUSI, I loved having scenes with Abby because Huck. You don't see Hock and Abby together often.

Did you guys ever have like a storyline on the show.

We had some moments that we had sort of longer scenes together, but I don't remember as far as storyline, I don't remember. I guess I guess you guys are.

Close to like you guys, it's so cool, Like I can't wait when we have her on and so like everyone has their own like special little relationship.

You.

Me and Carrie were texting the other day and we were texting and she brought up an inside joke and then you brought up an inside joke, and it was so fun, like we all have our little things together, like you and Carrie have your own special inside jokes, or like you and I have our own special inside jokes, or like you and you know.

It's so totally. Me and Darby got closer when I was in Vancouver shooting a pilot and I had to isolate for fourteen days, and she was in Toronto as well.

Yeah, she was in Toronto shooting locking key.

Lock and key. Yeah, but you arrive in Canada, you do quarantine for fourteen days. This is at the height of the pandemic. And then after fourteen days, I was brought to say we started shooting. We shot for like one day. The next day I come into work, they tell me, don't get out of the van. Oh your barber has COVID. You have to go back into your hotel room and isolate for another fourteen days. It's the first time, Katie that I thought I was gonna lose

Oh my god, did you reach out to her because you were both in Canada and she was quarantining too, or you were just like, Darby is who I need in this moment? Tell me?

No. I think we just sort of texted randomly and we're like, hey, what's up, Just thinking about you, how you're doing, And then we just continued talking. And since I was gonna go to Vancouver, I think I was like, oh, I'm going to Vancouver. Yeah, like you said, since I knew she was in Canada, But yeah, how.

Did you get through that quarantine? Did you watch eight thousand horror movies?

Yes? But also after a while you're just like I don't even want to turn the TV on anymore, you know what I mean, Like it just gets so it was so frustrating. And in Vancouver they're super strict, like you couldn't leave the hotel room.

Did you have a balcony?

I did have a balcony, which was like the saving grace, you know what I mean, because I could go outside.

For I had to do that quarantine in Vancouver too, because I was shooting a holiday movie there and I had to do the quarantine also, and because I was bringing my whole family, I was like, oh no, no, no, we need a house, like I can't I can't wait wait wait wait.

Is this the movie Kiss Cam Christmas?

No? No, no, this one was shit?

What was it? Because Christmas takes flight?

Oh shit, I haven't seen that one, Katie, me and Mike just watched Kiss Camp Christmas.

Is it good? I haven't watched it.

Well, you haven't watched it. No, Katie, it's really cute. It's really good. You and Jesse Bradford, who plays Cliff. If anybody's a fan of Bring it On?

Who bring And he's also the leading swim fan, Like, hello, everybody, fucking he's so hot.

I've had a crush on him for so long. You get get a good chemistry.

Yeah, I picked him. I picked him. Yeah.

They were like, yeah, they got me because thank god.

The director was like a massive scandal friand France Lisa France, and she's awesome, an amazing director.

Love her so much.

She's the She was the producing director at Queen Sugar with Avid Duvernet.

Amazing, amazing director. But she was a huge Scandale fan.

She was like, give Katie Lows this job after like a few other people had passed and I read the script and I was like, oh, I want to do this. Like I really love a rom com, I love a sports movie, I love a Christmas movie, and Mary kis Cam is like all three of those things. And it was going to be three weeks of like really crazy schedule, but one hundred and seventeen pages I was in but I was like, I got this. And then they were like, here's all the guys we're thinking of. Who do you

Again because it's like a superstitious thing. If they don't kiss on the kiss cam, then the team is not gonna win.

How was our kissing?

Was acute?

It was super cute. I mean not as good as Quinn.

Oh god, Quinn were hot and fucked up and hot as fun. But Jesse Bradford, I was like, yes, so seen those impressionable years and bring it on came out. I was that perfect age were that brushing scene that is like jam out on the air guitar. By the way, if you want to see the hottest person that you've ever seen in your whole life, it's Jesse Bradford's wife.

Her name is Andrea war Trouss.

She's a vet.

Grenarian I have She's Brazilian.

Wait, imagine if a veterinarian looked like Giselle's ben a veterinary.

I thought you were saying like a vet, like a like a military. I was like, Oh, that's hardcore. She's a.

Goddamn puppies and she looks like Gizelle. She's so beautiful and they have a beautiful baby. And we had the most fun time ever shooting because we all just moved to Duluth, Minnesota to do it.

Wait, do you remember me anding you talking when I was in New York and you were still in LA I think you were about to go to New York and we were you had just done that movie, and we were talking about Jesse Bradford and you having to kiss him twenty five thousand times, and you were like, gimo his wife was his wife showed up to set the days we were kissing or something like that right came.

I was like, god damn it.

Which listen, I'm sure she's a lovely person, but sometimes scenes like that, right, you're like no.

And the good news was was like, this movie's very holiday like lovely.

So the kissing was very PG. I mean there were no tongues being slit.

It's not hocking quin kissing.

No, this was like which, by the way, when we get to the episodes of the Hucking Fin sex scenes, Garmo and I did so much character work and so many character conversations about how Quinn Huck would make out and how it's the opposite.

Of fits and Olivia. But anyway, no, this was very PG.

But yes, his wife and baby were there on those days watching the scenes when we had to kiss like eight thousand times, and I was like, this is.

The weirdest job in the world.

I remember the first time I kissed him, I was so embarrassed because it said in the script that like I maul him. I like, I like push him down and like kiss him. And I did it, and I did it in the classic Katie way, like too much and like threw him down.

And she was like, well that's just like yeah.

She was like that's just too much. And I was like, oh my god, I'm so embarrassed, like I hate this job. This job is I mean, I love it, but it's so embarrassing. I'm glad. But he's the best and so lovely.

The movie turned out really super cute.

Okay, everybody, I hope you watch Mary kiss Cam and think that Jesse and I have the best chemistry ever.

We'll be right back. We have to talk about the fucking best scenes in this episode.

Are like, there's so many to me.

When Olivia and Fits are in the restaurant.

Oh so good, like, oh yeah, she thinks she's gonna go meet Cyrus.

Right, yes, Cyrus is like meet us at our usual spot to talk about this whole Lavitch problem.

She shows up, she turns around, and then all of a sudden, she's on her phone, and then she looks up and the whole restaurant is empty, and all of a sudden, like security like white house security, starts walking and she's like, oh hell no, this motherfucker brought me to this restaurant to have a meal, like you know, have a talk with me, just me and him. Her and Fits.

Oh so good, and they have this scene that is so beautiful. And it's basically like a breakup scene, Like it's basically like he's saying.

Let me go or I'll let you go.

She says let me go something like that, and she says, how is there any future here? And the President says we're done, and he says I'm letting you go, which is how Verna says, like that's a big theme in the episode.

And he also says, I'm fine, I'm gonna drop the charges against Edison.

I'm gonna take Edison off the watch list, and this whole thing is over, and he and it's a very long, kind of theatery scene. It seems like a little one act. It's like yeah, and then he leaves and Olivia is just broken. She's and Carrie is so good.

Oh, she's so good. I wrote tearstick. Do you think carry used the tears?

I don't think so. No, Well, I actually maybe yeah. I've never seen her use a tearstick, and I'm gonna put money on if she ever did use one. She's sure shit didn't use one. In this scene.

It just felt, Yeah, it felt it very raw and very available to her there, And it's also that type of thing. We've all been there, right where you're like you want to break up with someone, you want it to be over, and then they're like, okay, you got it, I'll give you what you want. It's over. And then you're like, wait a minute, I don't really want it to be over. It had that feeling of like, oh my god, now he's really like like letting go so painful. It was, it's so good, so good, so good.

Fitz leaves this scene in the restaurant and says, you order whatever you want, it's all being charged to me anyway, And then going back, Mellie's so pissed about her fucking six hundred dollars skirt being thrown up on. Do you guys actually know what does the US president have to pay for?

Like can we just stay first? Like I thought that all that shit is just is waived, like they don't have to pay for anything.

Apparently, well clearly we're all paying for the president's food and restaurants out and Mellie's skirts and like all this shit.

Turns out no groceries.

Yes, the White House comes with its own chef, but the First family actually has to pay for their own and Michelle Obama confirmed this in two thousand and eight on a Jimmy Kimmel appearance. But like, can you believe the president pays for their own damn groceries?

Like, where are they shopping?

They also got to pay for dry They also got to pay for dry cleaning.

Yes, so when that baby bitch threw up on Melly's skirt, it's like she know that she paid for that shit herself.

They got to pay designer clothing. But there's a loophole that designer could obviously gift you know, a piece to the First Lady or the President, yes, obviously, and that they do not have to pay.

But they have to pay for staff at private parties of the White House. That makes no sense to me.

Worst stylists, what crazy? Yeah, they got to pay that's ridiculous. Yeah, this is a crazy fact. Okay, So the for fair interior decorating of the White House, because I'm sure they each like to sort of switch it up and make it a little bit their own. The president is permitted one hundred thousand dollars stipend to redecorate parts of the White House. Anything beyond that is something they have to pay for themselves.

The Obamas classy, class class act. The Obamas didn't take the stipend and they used their own money to redecorate instead.

White House.

But since or previously to the day, the best hot tip. The interior designer of the White House for the Obamas and their interior designer is a designer named Michael Smith, who is also Shonda Rhyme's interior designer.

Out.

I didn't know that I catered for multiple times.

No way is he loaded a load head.

So that's just some fun facts.

That's when Fitz leaves the restaurant and says, don't worry, it's going to be it's all being charged to me anyway. I guess that would be a personal expense.

I think so.

I think we wouldn't have paid.

And the kid barfing on her skirt definitely personal expense, there you it? Okay, real quick to wrap up a few of my other favorite scenes, Ge, do you have any few other favorite scenes?

Well, it's probably the same one. We probably have the same ones. That One of my favorites is the Hollis Doyle and Rosen scene when Rosen shows up at Hollis Doyle's office and is like, what do you have to do with Cytron, what's up with you in this Citron business? And Jesse you know Lindsay Dwyer's boyfriend who died in

So David's putting it all together and is like, I know, which leads us to the end of the episode, but very quickly before we get there. This is the first episode where we see Melly and Olivia working together because Melly calls Olivia to the White House and says she has an amazing scene where she's like, the it's dying out.

Yeah, the protests are dying out.

Yeah, all of the press on the beltwave, unbuckled girl being killed is all dying out. And I think if you and I lived in Kyrkistan, we would be sold off for cows at the age of sixteen, married off, raped continuously to give your children no education, blah blah blahlah blah.

And if this dickhead from a.

She says, a goat herder of a country or something thinks he can come on American soil and take one of our educated girls and treat her no better than a dog. You are sorely mistaken, and I'm going to fix this. And Olivia is like, what's your idea? And they sort of come together, and Melly walks out on the front lawn and is like, no, no, I'm not making a speech. I'm just here to protest alongside you.

As a mother. Yes, a mom. It's so good, so powerful.

And then you cut to the Oval office where Fitz has this maniacal laughing breakdown. Him and Cyrus are drinking together and they're like, we've been had the two best political animal beasts on this show. Melly and Olivia Pope came together fucking.

Rocked us, he said. Fitz says, I have been brought to my knees by my wife and my dot dot dot Olivia Pope. Yeah, he's He's just I mean, I wrote in my notes, Uh, these two could rule the world.

This is the beginning of how much. I mean, Yes, there's so much tumultuous shit too, but like they end up working together. I feel like a lot in the course of the series.

Yeah, you Hawk.

Ends up dipping back into that whiskey ooh.

Girl, he said, I need another nip. Yes? Are you talking about the scene where he tries to stop the dad? So after you know, obviously Jenny's parents are super upset that the president couldn't really do anything right. What ends up happening He's able to do something.

He gets he gets him like deported, like he can never come back on American soil ever, but like so whatever, he's gonna go back and live Kirkistan and Chill is what says.

Yeah, so the parents are super upset and is this the scene you were here? Yeah?

And the dad's like, I'm gonna go fucking handle this.

Yeah, and he knows because the dad and the wife are leaving OPA, the OPA offices, and Huck could feel like this guy is gonna try to kill this man. And Huck has this really emotional, like powerful scene with the dad and he's like, don't do it, You'll regret it, trust me. And the dad is like do you have kids? And Huck's like nope, and he's like get out of my way, and.

Then he's like you don't fucking get.

It, bro storms off.

Yeah, and we think.

That the dad is like on a mission to go kill him. But what we realize it's so great is that Huck goes back to AA and is like, at the same time, it's like going back and forth between the news that Lavich has been found.

Dead of a heart attack, right, and Huck.

Is like, I drank that whiskey again and it felt real good.

Yeah, it was so funny, like seeing that scene at an AA meeting when Huck is sharing and he's talking about you know, usually when people share, they talk about how regret full they are about, you know, having a slip or drinking or doing drugs. But Huck is like, I enjoyed it. It was the best feeling in the world. I'd forgotten how good it was. And I'm stuck here, like I'm not going back to being sober all this stuff. And I was like, oh my god, He's just sharing all this shit at the AA meetings.

And then how can Becky hold hands? Right?

Yes, And it's a transition to Fit and Melly holding hands walking up to the plane because Fitz is about to go to Tokyo.

Yeah, he's about to go to Tokyo.

And then the episode ends with Abby sinks into David's shower. She's totally fucking unhinged and insane and is like, I know I've seen your walla crazy, I've been in your apartment. And we sort of see this beginning of like she and David are sort of teaming up against Olivia Pope to sort of figure out the Quinn Perkins mystery. We've got the whole table of masterminds who come together, Melly Live, Hollis, Cyrus, Verna. They all sit down and Hollis says, we've got a

I remember when this episode aired, that scene at the end, when Olivia is the last person to walk into that scene, it was like it was like mind blowing, like people mind blowing.

They're all back, They're all back. And the episode ends with a close up of this whole table of geniuses sitting around dealing with that they put this man falsely in office. And the episode ends with this closeup of Fits alone on the plane to Tokyo to the summit or something, and he is just it's like You're looking at him, and it's just like all the amount of people and lies it took to make this man.

To put this man in office, yet it was just.

And you see him and he's completely clueless of everything that's going on behind the scenes to get him where he is, and he's so fucked up, and just it's such a great It was so like cinematic.

And also he knows it at this you know, he knows that these people did all this shit?

Does he know at this point?

Does he know at this point? I don't remember. Maybe he doesn't know.

I don't think he knows yet.

I don't think he knows yet. Garmo and I. I don't think he knows yet. He hasn't found it out yet. Yeah, I don't think he.

Also at another great line at the end of this episode is we have a David Rosen issue, because David Rosen is you know, he's the fly in the ointment. He's the one who was like, wait a minute.

I texted Josh Molina a picture of him in the shower with SuDS and his hair and I was like, look what I'm doing. And I just told him he was a great actor. But okay, wait the other thing. Guillermo texted me the best phok fact ever. What did you text me? I'm going back to this.

Well. One of our guest stars, her name is Eve Gordon, and she played Janet Nystrom, who is Jenny's mother, the girl that was killed by Lavich. And you know, you guys know by now, I'm obsessed with horror movies, and I'll always do a Google search on the guest stars and see if they've been in any like horror movies that I know, or just any horror films. And of course I fucking googled Eve Gordon and Homegirl was in

Oh, that's what it is it's like this.

That's it.

Yeslf just drops open to like the miscaping devil hole of hell and you make this fucking horrible sound that's in your whole face is white and your eyes crazy like.

Love.

You just texts me the scene yesterday, and he's like, full warning, this is terrifying.

I fucking hate horror ship.

But watch it. I was like, watch it till the.

She's amazing in it, and I I hated it.

And then Katie sent me a video of her doing the uh, and then I sent her a video of me doing the uh.

Horror movie were hello time? You know this fun fact? Eve Gordon and Todd Waring, who portray wife Peter and Janet Nystrom her husband and wife in real fucking life.

Can you believe that? Ship? So many? I think I feel like there's so many couples. Not so many, but there are a lot of couples that have worked together, right, but have Do you like working with your husband because you've worked with Adam?

I actually love it like I love it.

I would I would never ever ever want to be like a series regular with him on a show. I think it would be like going to work is my favorite place ever because I'm not at home.

Yeah, exactly. You want to step away from.

Me, and it's my own life, like my own thing. So I think I would never want to be on a show with him, like eighty hours a week for like seven years. I don't think it's like healthy for a marriage in my mind.

No, no, no.

But I've loved guest starring with him. I've loved doing plays with him. Anything that's like four weeks, six weeks, a workshop, a song, a duet. You know he did Waitress the musical time. Oh that so good, and like that is great. Yeah, but I like finite things.

Yes, something that's going to end quickly. Yeah, yes, Well. I wrote down some couples that have been together a long time that acted together a bunch. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton of course, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronin, who were so good he was in Cocoon and oh so good. Ozzie Davis and Ruby d were another couple who had worked a ton together.

Maybe that is what's wrong with my career. Maybe I should only be working with that. Maybe we are the next Kate.

Burton, and I mean Richard Burton and Liz Taylor.

Hey, okay. Some other fun facts about this episode is like David Rosen's talking on his iPhone at the beginning the episode, and the home screen icons are clearly visible, which means the phone was not on during the call. You, Josh, that's always.

Such a struggle to get the phones to I remember that being the struggle always.

With our phones on, sen I, I don't like it. And wait, there was some other big fun fact. There's a top that Carrie's watching like a jacket that she wears in this episode.

That's all.

That's a throwback jacket with a belt on it that she wore during season one, episode six, the Trail, which I always loved because car it fits her perfectly.

Yeah, well, that's not gonna say if it's if it's something else. But you said it fits her perfectly. You thought that that's what I was gonna say.

It fits her perfect Wait is it, Katie?

Is it the jacket that she wears at the crime scene? That jacket belt?

Yes, And what I love about that is it's so Kerry Washington. Because obviously Olivia Pope has the most incredible wardrobe of all time. But she did take very seriously that Olivia has a closet that she would pull from and Pete wearing things because that's what that's like.

Bold do.

All right, y'all, let's get into our favorite do.

Do Do Doo tweet. I said, y'all, all of our Scandal tweets at the time are like, why is that jacket the same? Who makes the jacket? There's a lot of obsession about the jacket. We love the jacket.

Can I report We need to report back who made that jacket?

Well? I know, Katie because I did my research.

Oh my god, I am going with you.

I'm gonna I'm gonna read a couple of tweets from uh Jeanie Lauren at More and again she tweeted, Hey, Scandal ABC, Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, please tell me the designer of the coat Olivia Ward at the crime scene in beltweigh unbuckled. And then she tweeted again a few minutes later, but for real, I'm gonna just keep tweeting until y'all tell me who makes that coat? And I looked that shit up, yo, it was I had a really dig deep and it's Gucci. Gucci is the designer of that.

Out of here Garabo Diaz that you know that Gucci, are you the greatest co host and friend of all time?

I would never you are so.

Jeanie Lauren, it's a Gucci jacket. We're how many years late?

She tweeted that in twelve, ten years ago, ten years ago.

Sorry for the delayed response, girl, It's Gucci.

Okay. In closing, Columbus Short tweeted that night we are a family.

What can I say?

Hashtag team OPA, hashtag boss chicks, hashtag don't hate at Scandal ABC and this most adorable picture of Columbus being kissed on either cheek with Olivia and Darby and me on his adorable head.

Yes. Darlene Joly at Joly tweeted, Mellie is a mess. I love it.

Yes, Yes, Tima wrote, A friend told me she fell as during last night's scandal. I told her to repent because she's committed a serious cardinal sin at Scandal ABC. Bridget Monique, replying to at deb Wilker, said I have no idea what's going on? I almost passed out. It's exciting, though, WHOA And then at VIRGINI Miss Kila twenty four wrote Assmith Thick at miss thick. My husband wants to know what did Olivia Poe put on the president for him to act like that?

I think she means like a spell, Like what does she put on him? Does she put a spell on him for her for him to act this way? I don't know.

Interesting.

Those are our scandal tweets.

These are our scandal tweets to the time some of our scandal fun facts episode two oh or belt Weigh Unbuckled. Next week, we're going to be coming back at you with episode two five, Yeah Baby, which is titled All Roads.

Lead to Fits They show do.

They sure do?

And his penis that everyone is I guess yes. Also, I want to say next week, I'm going to start getting competitive with Youugi, and I'm going to try to google some deep dive ass fun facts because I am sitting here and you are so impressive to me. The little nuggets of its info that you are giving me give me life. Yes, Gucci, Hey, Gucci was the jacket. I can't wait to find out if Kerrie took that. I hope she did. It's a fucking fierce jacket. We love you all.

Happy listening, Go tell your friends.

Subscribes can Rewatch podcast Unpacking the Toolbox Episode two O five Nick, Thank you everyone, Bye bye.

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 Alce, Lauren Homan, Tyler Klang, and Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is Vince de Johnny, with music by Chad Fisher.

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