207: Defiance

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

Katie, I just set myself up for fucking failure to why why.

Do you have a million things going on?

No, I'm just trying to like wear a beanie with headphones. We've done this before, hear mo.

Remember I've done it.

Yeah, and you're like, yo, your ears are gonna get so funky and your head gets so sweaty.

It's gonna get hot. But it's good that it's freezing outside.

So that's my hair is disgusting. Can I show you? I don't think I had this on scan, but I need to show you.

That's awful. Put your hat back on.

You see this read that's a whole gray, a whole gray streak.

Lean into that ship, lean into it.

That is just fucking old age right there.

That sucks when women you get a little bit of great and you have to keep dying the roots right and it grows out, and like how how quick does that grow out? Like in two weeks?

That's so fast.

And also like if you're blonde, it sort of like hides better. But if you're yeah, gray, you right now.

But I'm not. I'm gray on my beard like here, but on my head, I'm not gray at all, which is weird. Yeah, like just here I'm gray. That's it.

The guy's hair on Scandal was such a thing, like you guys are such fucks, Like I can't deal.

You had your guy? Did they pay for that?

No? Well I had my I would have to go and get my own aircut because they didn't know how to fade on set, remember, and that was a whole deal. And they they weren't allowed to bring a barber on set because there's hardly any barbers that are in the Union. So it's all these you know, older people and younger people too, but fading is a whole like specific skill.

Enough art person too, because he brought he brought.

His person, but that person was in the Union and they're few and far between. But Columbus snagged one and it was like a friend of his, I think, So that's why he was able to bring one on set. But you know, they wouldn't, they wouldn't. They wouldn't bring one in for me. So I would have to go outside every three days and get my hair, my own air go every three.

Days days, ten months of the year for the seven seasons.

Yeah, or they would come to set, but they weren't allowed to cut in the hair makeup trailer. Once in a while he would come and cut me in my trailer, right because you know, legally they weren't allowed to be in the makeup trailer. Yeah. Good, that was some crazy shit.

That is so And it was that you used the same guy all seven years, or did you?

Yeah, it's two brothers. I still use them. They still cut my hair.

My question to you is, during the pandemic, what did you.

Do Mikey cut my hair? Mikey would fade it and it was it was it was awful, But I didn't care because it was just me and him at home and I just wanted the feeling of a fresh haircut.

And did he And when you do a fade, is it's the buzzer.

It's the buzzer. Yeah, you just go to the skin and you go up. You know. Oh, but Mikey would do it during the pandemic. Yeah, he would do it. Did you hear his No, No, he didn't care. He was just like, I don't give man. Yeah, he just let that shit grow out.

Has there ever been a period in your life where you have had a long hair.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah when when I was when I was young, when I did Half Baked, I had long hair.

When I did Party it was like to your cheeks.

Yeah yeah, but never Yeah, I've not shoulder length or like no, like two hundred cigarettes. I don't know if you've ever in that movie I have, I have sort of it goes down to like it's like long long, like would you ever do that in one length? Only? If I had to for a role. But I really don't like it. It's too much fucking work, right, It's so much, and then it goes through that ugly phase, like you know, it looks cute when it's short, and then it goes to that nasty why anything, and you've

Life's too short, too short to be ugly all the time.

And I'm too short to be ugly.

Germo, you are shorter, and I love that about am I two?

I love being short? Yeah?

What do you love about it?

I don't know.

I just like it's you're always I are you? What are you?

I'm five to seven okay, yeah, maybe five six, but I think I'm five to seven.

Guys, this episode is in where it ends.

I think I say that every time.

This is ten guest stars. Do you want to do the first five and I'll do the last five?

Yes, we are talking about episode two seven, called Defiance. It aired on November twenty ninth, twenty twelve. It was written by Peter Noah.

And directed by Tom Verica.

What we Gotta Have Him on? I Love Tom Okay.

Guest stars of the episode where Brian Lesher is Tom Rieso Rios as reported number three, Erica Schaefer is news anchor, William Stone Mahoney is Defiance voting.

Clerk, Chelsea Ross's Harold Pierce.

Jason London is Skip Pierce, Kate lang Johnson is Jenna new Hall, Patty McCormack as and Pierce. If you know you know Patty McCormack, y'all, we're going to talk about her. Grainger Hines as Senator Schuman, Susan Merson as Judge Thompson.

And this is what happened to the episode.

It's guys, this ending of banana, This banana's in the ending of this episode is the craziest shit I've ever seen.

It was so good. Okay.

Harrison leads the team in managing a billionaire businessman who seems to have lost his sanity, while Olivia is helping Senator Edison Davis phil the Senate Majority leader seat after she just helped the former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Schumann publicly resign.

That's a lot of senators. Meanwhile, the White House celebrates the President's fiftieth birthday and James continues to investigate Cytron and discovers something that could change the fate of the country.

Dun dundong, y'all.

Wait, I don't know. Wait, let's get into this right now. Who the fuck is Patty.

McCormack, Katie Katie Cake?

Help me.

I don't know about movies. I don't know about television. Someone take away my fucking seat.

Let me go to my not Ooh, y'all, y'all, Patty McCormack is that wait? I was on set. I remember the rumblings from the crew and I think from Tom Verica as well, saying pat seed bat seed. Patty McCormack is the little girl in the movie from the ninth Team six from the fifties. I think it's nineteen fifty to fifty six called the bad Seed. She played the bad Seed. She was that little girl with the long braided pigtails, and she was like the little devil who

Oh my god, how old was she when she did that?

She I want to say she was like seven or eight, but she was like the lead like and she was mesmerizing and frightening, and she was so so good and so dramatic. She would cry, I didn't kill her because her friend like gets murdered or dies, and you know, people think that it was her that killed her, and it was and uh.

She nominated for like awards for this.

I don't know, that's a good question. I should have fucked it.

More like the movie that was just like culturally huge, like everyone's I think.

That's what it was. Yeah, And then she was also in the film from the nineteen sixties, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the fucking movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yes, look, she was like the lead woman in it.

Y'all know, you all gave us the gladiators out there, gave us our ship name Huckleberry Quinn.

Yes, y wow, well I thought she was out. I mean, all of our guest stars are, but she was so good in this episode. And I love Jason London.

Oh, Jason remember all.

Of the I mean, isn't he a brother of Jeremy London.

Oh yeah, Jeremy London is his brother? Yeah? Tell me, yeah, Jason London. I mean, listen Jason London. First, y'all know I love horror movies. He was in Carrie to the Rage. He played Jesse Ryan, one of the guys that like fucks around with Harry and then he's a dick. And he was also in two Wong Food Thanks for everything, Julie Newmark. He's Bobby Ray. Bobby Ray. Bobby do declare Bobby Ray. Yes, he's Bobby Ray. Do declare. He was

Is and he was the lead of that Aerosmith video that was so iconic.

Yes, yes, oh.

My god, I remember that.

And Jeremy London and Jason London are both actors.

No, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Are they twins?

They are identical twins. As far as far as I know they're identical twins because I can't tell. I looked them up on the Internet and I can't tell them apart at all. But one last adjacent London credit was Wasabi Tuna, which is a movie. It's the movie that brought me out to LA A movie called Wasabi Tuna with Anna, Nicole Smith, Alana Uba, Leslie Jordan, all these all these people. But the movie was the biggest piece

Are you?

Yes?

You were you in the movies? Is that why you came out to l A.

I was in the movie. I got the It's one of the first movies. I just got a straight up offer and they flew me out to La to to film with Sabby Tuna. And then after the film, I stayed and I auditioned for Weeds, and then I booked Weeds, and then I just kept staying and that's what kept me in La. But with Sabby Tuna brought me out here and like I said, Annachole Smith was in it.

Well, they're amazing in this whole episode and it's such a lovely I mean, it's such a great episode because we started it really is that Edison Davis, Senator Pudding Pop.

In a relationship.

They're like buzzing around Olivia Pope's apartment, getting dressed and like talking as if they would, but she's not letting on at all that she's ever had. He's like, here's all the chicks I dated since we've been since we've been together, and she's like, I'm not saying anything, but the only thing I am going to tell you is that when the Senator majority leader gets into some big trouble and there's a problem publicly today, you do a vote of support publicly and we are going to sort

They're so cute. They're so cute.

Whole time. Was like, I don't think he looks like Coxtable.

I think he does, y'all. Just to give you a quick like a recap in the in the last podcast, if y'all listen, we talked about we were talking about some maybe it was too Yeah, you're right, it was. It was two of five where we talked about it. But someone tweeted saying calling him Senator Putney pop right because he resembles Bill Cosby, so that's why we call them senator ya. My notes for that first scene, it was a lovely scene, but I said, oive, this that

If I remember correctly.

I think he is. Yeah, he's, I mean again, he's he's he's so good. He the actor is what.

The fuck I keep forgetting his fine Lewis God's tired.

We are tired, and I love normals.

We will be back with more after the break. I thought they did such a great job. David Rosen and James meet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to exchange information about Defiance, and the whole time I'm looking at it, I'm like, motherfucker, this fucking Lincoln Memorial looks so fucking good.

I thought the same thing, and I wrote that shit in my notes. I said, our green screen team are they're like the best, like not once, because there's some movies, even in Titanic, I could be like, oh, that's a green screen, you know what I mean? And certain.

Obviously Seal had a big budget, which I think I think our budget was like two million in episode. To be honest, I think it was too Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure it should which goes pretty quickly when you're making a huge show like Scandal. We have a lot of characters, we have a lot of costumes, we have a lot of locations, we have a lot a lot, a lot of things going on. But I don't think Scandal was like at Titanic level by any means. And

That's so interesting.

Chelsea's Chelsea spelled c h E L c I E.

You're welcome.

He's this rich dude who seems to be having this total life crisis where he's divorced his old bag of a wife and he's fucking this blonde ass play way bunny and he lives in this mansion and he's driving a motorcycle inside and he's naked and he's in his pajab. He's like he just seems to have lost his mind and he's not going to pass on the business to his son. There's all this shit. Yeah, and the best

It's so key, yeah, yeah, and Olivia is like, you got this, you can handle this, you can handle in coming. And he's so great. He's so great in this episode. Also, Chelsea Ross real quick. Chelsea Ross was in a horror film called Drag Me to Hell, which is an amazing horror film. He was also, yeah, it's so good.

What are bad horror films?

There's some, there's there's some, there's some bad ones. There's Bear. Bear was pretty bad. No, Bear was fun to watch. He was also he was also in Basic Instinct. We all know Basic instinct. Yeah, and he was in the movie Rudy. I don't know if you guys have seen Rudy. I love Rudy so much.

What did you play Rudy?

Yeah, he played a guy named Dan Devine. I lied, Actually, I just lied on the podcast Katie. I've never seen Rudy. I just feel like everybody really loves that movie, and every time I talk about it or people mention it, I'm like, I love that movie and I've never fucking seen it. I'm so sorry, you guys. I literally just straight up lied on the podcast.

You want so many movies. You want so many movies. You watched so many.

Movies twice, You've watched I Love Lucy probably one million times, you know, every single and you can't find time to watch to watch Rudy.

God damn it. And I love what's his name from the Goonies? What the fuck is his name? Oh?

My god, he's and he's in.

Patty Hurst's Son. He's fucking He's in Lord of the fucking a.

He's such a good actor.

Sean.

God, he's adorable.

Then what happens, Oh, okay, so we're working the case. Fitz sees Olivia on TV standing behind the senator that's been being bad and he's like he can see just like one half of Olivia Pope's face and he's so fucking transfixed.

Yo. But Tony in that scene when he's watching her, his acting is really really good. It's really powerful.

And it's really good.

He has two moments in this this episode that where his acting is like quiet and behind the eyes and so special.

It's that looking at her eyeball, and then the other moment through.

Yes, yes this really photos. I thought the same thing.

He gets these surveillance photos of Edison and live like together, and obviously they're very happy, and he's just like shuffling the photos and getting more and more angry and desperate and sad and multuous in the storm and sadness and depression and hatred and.

All underheath him.

And he does such a freaking great job. Quinn and Huck have so much together in this episode. Oh, it's vintage Huckleberry.

Quinn is what it is?

It really is. You are brilliant in this episode. Your fucking work is so good that first time you walk in the into Huck's office and you say hey, Huck, like super like bubbly and happy. I forget what you said.

Whatever you want to punch her in the face?

What's that drug? Can you believe that? To use drugs sometimes to knock people out for like ten hours? What's it called? And Huck is like, what are you talking about? And then he gives her the name of the drug, M ninety nine, and he's like, or a torphine a torfe.

Which it's the same thing. Is that a real drub?

But I don't know. I don't know, But Katie and then you, Huck answers you and you're like, oh cool, that's crazy. Can you believe that? And then this camera stays on you and you walk out and you go from a smile to like a look of like I fucking hate or I'm figuring this shit out. Oh it's so good. It's so good?

Do you think?

So I watch it and I'm like, oh, Vey is mir like she was doing yo.

But also, Katie, this was an eating moment for me. For Huck when he's eating that sandwich, Oh my god, wait.

Oh see that's funny.

I didn't even fucking I've watched this episode twice now, never even saw that you were eating a sandwich because clearly I'm a narcissist and was only looking at my own performance.

What are you eating and in what scene?

Oh it's a sandwich. It was probably a turkey on whole weep toast with lettuce, tomato, mao. Sometimes I would say mustard because Mayo would fuck up my stomach sometimes, so if I was shooting but and they put some chips on the side, that that dairy situation.

You know you loved a HOGI Huck loved a hogy.

He loves Who doesn't love a hogy?

Everybody loves a Hogy, But I feel like he's one of the few. You don't love a hogy?

Oh? No, no, I love a Hobey. Yeah. Yeah, I'm saying I don't not love a hogy.

Yeah, because I feel like Huck probably, out of every character on Scandal ate the most sandwiches.

Oh, because they would always be like, what do you want to eat? I mean, I guess the sandwich or a burger is always the most practical on set. But I would always be like a sandwich, a turkey sandwich, and I would get so excited.

Okay, then what the hell happens? Okay?

So Quinn Huck have so much, so many good scenes because Quinn is on the case. She is on the case of trying to figure out how she could have been put out, drugged and taken from pedal lum in California to Washington, d see with a new identity, and she's going to figure it out. And she's like playing two sides of a coin where she's going into Huck's office and being like, how would you drag a person and how would you get a person out? How would you get him on a private plane?

How would you She has this, Yeah, she has a super strong feeling that Huck was a part of it, which I think is it's the first time you kind of see into Quinn's brain and you're like, oh, she's fucking good. That's why Olivia, Yeah, saved her, and why Olivia has her on her team because you're figuring all this shit out.

I do like that that's kind of smart in this episode, Like, yeah, yeah, I think that Quinn. I think that Olivia definitely saves Quinn because she feels bad that she ruined her life and Jesse Tyler does and all of that. Yeah, But I do also think that, you know, Quinn is slowly proving herself with her gut. But in this episode is the first time you're like, oh, she ain't stupid.

Yeah yeah. And and Huck too, I think, is kind of like thrown for a loop. I feel I feel like he's like, oh shit, like is she really putting all this shit together? Because he knows obvious that he's the one that did all this stuff to her, which we find out later. Right, we kind of see all the stuff that she's talking about play out in real time, right in a flashback.

We see in flashbacks that Huck was the one that was outside of the apartment, you know, that was at the motel, threw her over his shoulder.

That's when I shoulder Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm sorry.

I was like I just kept I remember thinking, please, just don't fart or ship yourself when you put it because you guys, but not because you were because I just was like, oh fuck, don't fart and don't ship yourself.

To hoist me. I'm more the same height pretty much.

I'm five sixty five seven and I remember the same weight, to be honest, especially at that time. Yeah, yeah, up your own body, put it on your shoulder and walk a while and sling me in a car that is not safe.

I don't know why you do that, wild I did it.

It was and I think also people that have done that know that that way of carrying someone is the easiest way to carry someone. That's why people do it.

True.

I think because the weight sort of levels out in a way where you don't feel it that much. I could be mistaken, but I believe that's the case. But that whole time, I was thinking, don't fart, don't start, don't shit, don't fart. Oh god, did you ever fart? On set? I farted, So there was times I'd be like, oh, I just started. I don't nobody realized that.

No, I think I'm just getting into my public farting age.

Yeause you were forty.

On Scandal and I was thirty, so I just think my life. But was like, I just no, I'm noticing it like older people just don't care.

You don't care as much about yeah yeah yeah.

But you're also you drank so much like tea and which is really good for your stomach, So I think you're your stomach was always in a good place.

Party person as it is. I'm just not like I think you either are or not. I've never and every I can't believe the amount.

Of farts we've talked about on this episode.

One My God, people are gonna love it. People are gonna.

There's a book everybody poops everybody parts.

I'm not like that farty and some people are just like I fart a lot, Like there's just like a lot of farting going on.

I'm not listen. I'm not that guy that's like, bro, I just like I don't fart in front of people, and I'm like, hey, g and crack up like other guys. No, I only do it. I mostly doing when I'm sleeping. I'm a big fartist posting Mikey's like you were farting it up last night, or or if I fall asleep in the living room, people be like, girl, you just you were. I was like what?

And I get so embarrassed each other either, but like so many people in my life, like he'll kill me whatever. My brother is like, I refuse they him and his wife have been together for seventeen years and they part of each other. He goes, I refuse to live in a prison, That's what he says, where.

I can't let and it's very unhealthy. I'm not uld you're supposed to.

Like, but Adam and I do not far in front of each other in a prison.

Well, I feel like I'm in a I don't know, I don't know I'm But Mikey's like he doesn't even ge, just like we'll be having a conversation and just be like, oh and continue talking, and I'm like, we'll be right back, guys.

Okay. There's a lot of Quinn and Hawk.

There's also just such beautiful moments of Harrison and Abby are the ones who are really outside the crazy Harold Pearce's mansion, and they're the ones who are really working the case. They're trying to get him committed for being insane, and they're the ones that are like on a stakeout and they're eating chips and talking about their life. Because Harrison is the one that old Abby like, you shouldn't be with David Rosen, He's not a good dude, and sort of led her to the lie that David Rosen

They have that slow dancing scene that is.

Yes, the sweet, it's the best. They have also have that moment where Abby is sleeping and Harrison is listening to her voicemail on her phone. I was like, what are you doing? Like but I mean that wasn't a sweet moment, but it was an interesting moment. But that dance when they dance together, Oh, it's so good.

Ella Fitzgerald playing playing in the background.

Yes till the day I or something like that. Yes, she has the most.

It's such a beautiful choice. The two of them are just so lovely. And he's like, you're gonna find a good dude one day, Abby, and you're like sitting there just dying inside because you're like, David Rosen was that good dude?

Yeah? I know, Well she'll find her way back to him. She'll find her way back.

Spoiler and only like how Abby can like that that right before her, the crying tears that are welled up in her eyes.

I mean, she's just absolutely.

And we've got James is like all over defiance, all these this is why Scandal, so really, all of these fucking storylines are going on at one time. We've got Harold Pierce with Abby and Harrison and his like hot hot new baby baby wife girlfriend who he marries in the episode.

That's an amazing part.

Great, they're sending.

Him in a doctor because he's sick, and they actually send him in a doctor of theology to officiate the fucking wedding. So now Harold Pierce is married to the little baby playboy Bunny. Then and then you and I are like in the office and I'm sniffing out the

Yeah, and James is like.

Wait what this sounds exactly like all the ship that David Rosen has been telling me.

And this is really freaking me out. I feel like this is not.

And in that scene, seeing the faces of Verna and Cyrus and Melly, how because they all know obviously that they stole the election, And when Fitzman mentions Defiance, because you know, he he says in that in that in that scene, how all the red states stayed red, all the blue states stayed blue. And then it was that Defiance, which was supposed to be a blue state because he fits is Republican, right, and then it turned red and oh, it's such a great scene.

And he's like, that's why you don't believe in polsters.

Yes, and there we put you in that white house.

Yeah, this is all just a lie.

But then of course James is like, oh shit, there's some truth to this, like Rosen is onto something. Let me jump in on this and figure this out, figure fucking Defiance out and Cytron and all of that.

It's so good.

This episode is so fast and the most amazing part of the episode. And well, are there any other wait, hold on, I'm looking at my notes, I'm looking at my yeah, yeah, Edison, Okay, James is off in Defiance. After that, he's like working on the voting machines. He's like playing sleuth. He's like going through every single voting machine and trying to find the cartridges and the cards

And Dan Bugatinsky does such a good job.

He really does. That's why he won the Emmy. He won the Emmy, right, he.

Won the Emmy for Best Guest Star that Year, Guest Star Performance.

The Emmys we got were Dan Bucatinski Guestar Performance, Joe Morton Guest Star.

Yes, and I think and I think Kate person dominated.

She might have gotten nominated the I know the show got nominated for for like the NAACP Awards and for did we get nominated for SAG? We did? We went to the We went as a cast to the SAG Awards. Didn't we want to know? Maybe not.

Kerry got nominated for Best Actress Emmys and Golden Globes but didn't win. But honestly, in my opinion, just paved ways for viol like right after you know. But yeah, So we figure out that he's got hardcore proof that the election was rigged, and.

Live tells Edison she's all in.

Yeah.

Edison gets voted to be the Senator Majority Leader and he's like, come on, let's go to the President's birthday gala as my date.

And he opens the door and could Carrie look fucking hotter?

Oh that dress? That dress god.

Beautiful or the makeup, the bag? Ah, she's like evening Senator and it's like so cute.

And they're in the limo and it's like they're a real couple and they're so adorable together. At the same time, they're cutting to Fits and Mellie, who are also in a limo heading to the same party, and Mellie's acting like a weirdo. She's like, I just really don't want to go, and I want to go and I want to be She's got a really weird feeling.

And I was just going to say, it's I think that's an interesting thing. I feel like in a lot of situations like that, people people have talked about having gut feelings like that, like Oh, I'm not getting on this flight. I don't know why, but I'm just not getting on and then the plane goes down. She had a feeling something bad was that never was going to happen, you know, Oh God, do that I.

The last plane ride I was on, like last week. It was the worst turbune I've been on probably ten thousand plane rides. It was the worst turbulence I've ever had. And I was like, I'm gonna do I'm going to survive this.

It was.

I was getting thrown around as if I was on a fucking roller coaster?

Are you kidding?

No? And I was like, my kids thought it was hilarious, but I was.

They didn't care.

You were like, oh, like refusing to sit down, and I'm like holding them down, and the the flight attendants are bearing down that I mean, no one was allowed. It was awful for hours, not just like a little stink. It was like five or ten minutes. It was horrendous.

Oh.

I was in the back of the plane.

Steerage by the toilets, getting flung around.

It was awful. And I was like rinking, why again, were drinking?

Didn't have some wine? They weren't.

Yeah, because they couldn't even be up or about It was fuck fucking terrible anyway, So, yes, Melli has a really bad feeling. But wait real quick before this part, Quinn figures it out. Yeah, she comes in and she nails it. She's like I called the flight records, and there is a flight record that, uh, there was a private plane that was flown from Petaluma to Washington, d C.

And it's like.

Ding ming, we got it. Yeah, so we figured out how Quinn Perkins is no longer Lindsay Dwyer and she's Quinn Perkins.

And then what is what is Huck's reaction there? I don't remember what is he is?

He does he like, didn't I already tell you? I don't watch you in the scenes.

I only watch my admit.

I think Hawk gave some sort of classic amazing Garamau Hawk reaction where you're doing three things, No, you're doing three things at once.

You're a little I watched this episode like five times and I'm like, how do I not remember that moment? Like, what was Huck's reaction to that?

Got moments and scandal, I mean, for a forty two minute show, it is.

Chocked so many fucking moments.

So she's saying, don't get out of the car, don't get out of the car, don't get out of the car and they get out of the car.

And he's like, sometimes you can't get everything you want, which is a line that she says to him earlier. And she's just like devastated, like ugh, and he gets out of the car.

He's like, buck up, I don't always want to do everything I have to do either. Yeah, and we're going and he gets out of the car and bang, h shot.

What thehuck? What the remember? Isn't that the hashtag that started like in the next episode A couple of episodes down, Yeah, I.

Forgot about the hashtag. What the houck? Geez? You blinators and your hashtags were genius.

Y'all were good.

And I'm going, I can't believe they shot the president.

I was talking to a writer about Scandal and they were like they they told me the moment they realized that Scandal was absolutely genius was they were talking to friends and they were saying at the time, they were like, you know, this show is going to be so awesome at some point down the road, you know, I could see them even like shooting the president. And he was like and then it happened that night, wow, meaning like he just was like, Scandal was never afraid of story.

It was like, yeah, we were fucking.

In it and going one hundred and ten million miles an hour with big choices and making big swings from this.

It was unpredictable. It was unpredictable, which is what keeps the show going. I think that's what keeps people coming back, right, and.

Even seven, So that's that's fourteen episodes of this show have been made and aired and we just shot the president.

Yes, yeah, but even for us, right, we were always like, fuck, we don't know what. I don't know what's going to happen to my character. They could kill me off always, you know, you hope they don't, but anything can happen. That's what made it so exciting.

Yeah, when he gets shot, it's Tom Verica did such an amazing job. Doesn't it feel like fucking frightening? And it feels like you're there. It feels like you're like in the crowd, like it.

Feels how he did that.

I don't know enough about shooting to know you're director that I am, but it felt like you're there.

Yeah, and it's fucking it just gets catches you off guard. It's Oh, it's so good, It's so scary. It's so scary when you see him get hit and then he falls and.

Then like she's like screaming and there's like multiple shots, and I'm when we have Tom Verica on I've we have to ask him about the Trail, which was his first episode in season six episodes of season one, and then we have to ask him about how he shot this scene because I I think it's done so well, Like I love that it's not close up unfits, like it just really feels like I imagine scarily what a shooting would feel like in a public place where there's a lot of people.

Yeah, God, could you Oh man? I was thinking to Kate, I was like, I wonder what Jackie O NASA's was feeling in the car. Did she have a weird feeling because you know, women have really good intuition and good gut instincts, So I was I was thinking about that. I was like, I wonder if he had any sort of odd feeling like before they left their the house or or what have you. If she was like, oh, this doesn't feel right. I wonder I wonder you know. I mean, I don't.

Know, but I feel that way now every time I'm in like public group settings. It's like if something ever like, I'm just it sucks. I hate that I have to feel that way, but I totally do. Remember did you and I when we were in d C. Didn't we go to one of the stops when we did this, Like we talked about it on the Tony Goldwin guest episode where we did like a big nighttime tour of DC and we stepped all the monuments. Didn't we stop at the booth theater where Abe Lincoln was shot?

Oh? Yeah, we sure did we Did we have photos in front of you?

Yes? Yeah, Like that's insane.

And that was back in the day they were fucking assassinating presidents.

I just I can't, I can't.

Oh yeah, I just think this episode is so great and everyone, as per usual, does look great.

And our guest stars are so good. Y'all got to go and watch the Bad Seed, like and Rudy. I'm gonna do the same. I'm gonna fucking watch Rudy. I'm so sorry for lying you guys, and and whataby.

Tuna fun facts from the episode M ninety nine, The drug that Quinn learns about from Huck is the same drug that Dexter uses when he knocks out his victims.

Did you watch Dexter?

I watched a little bit. I watched. I did like a la carte situation with Dexter. I would have watched an episode here and there, but I never watched the whole series three. But I loved the episodes I watched. I mean, it was great, He's so good. I was also thinking watching the episode, I was like, oh shit, like I was. I was so into watching James figure out the cytron and defiant situation, and I was like, why did I not? How is this all so new to me? And I think it was because whenever we

The same way, like, there were so many parts of the episodes where I would be just buried in my phone.

That we would missing Yeah.

Tweet Twitter, tweeter Twitter, speaking of tweeters, tweet twitch tweet speaking of tweeters, Guys, some of the scandal tweets of the time.

Right, Well, let's see Donna Harold at Donna j Harold. She says, just check the liquor cabinet. My patron is missing, either Fits or for to one one has been there? Who's four one one has been here? Bastard's hashtag scandal.

Wait, Fits didn't drink patron?

I know drank, didn't fitz whisky? He drank whisky.

Yeah, yeah, Donna Harold, but whatever, You're cute. Lou Velli Creole at Lovely Creole on November twenty ninth, twenty twelve. Can Live keep her game face on throughout scandal? Will the President punch Lives new boo in the face hashtag scandal.

I don't think. Oh, did Fits and Edison ever have a scene together?

I don't remember. I don't remember. But also I don't know if we talked that that moment where Olivia realizes that Fits endorse Edison, right, in a sense, he sort of endored, which is the sign that he's let Olivia go. Oh, the look on Carrie's face and her acting in that scene. It was so good.

It's okay for him to be the Senate majority.

Yeah. Yeah, so Big Bob at b s, I'm not listen. Big Bob tweeted, I may get my man card pulled for this, but I'm addicted to Scandal and I'm not going to rehab. You shouldn't, man, you shouldn't. Let's see Patrick Swainey, Patrick sweezy but not so. Scandal went and got superbly thrilling while I had my back turn there fucking aces this show like a sexy and murderous The Good Wife. Yeah. I never watched the.

Watch that's Christine Baranski.

Right, Yeah, who I love. But our shows better. Never what I said our show's better. I've never seen it either, but I have a feeling our show's better.

I feel so much better.

Miss original it, Miss Masila says hashtag Scandal so good. Olivia and the President should defo be together.

I don't get that.

Vanity Smurf yes, says So I'm trying to come up with a drinking game for Scandal. What should the rules be?

My drinking game with Scandal was whenever anyone, says QR recognition software.

Well.

We ever, when we.

Were on set and we were doing like a big episode that had a lot of hacking. Anytime that anyone said QR facial recognition software, you had to drink.

Oh my god? Was it often? I guess it was? Right.

Yeah, there was a few episodes where I feel like you. They're much later on, it's like you. And when Josh Molina became one of us for like a second, Oh yeah, a lot of QR facial recognition software, which I have no fucking clue what the hell.

That is, but drink everybody.

Next episode is called Happy Birthday, Mister President.

Happy. Oh that's better. That was really good.

Well, and then in this next episode we're gonna see everything that happens after the president gets shot.

Happy Birthday Mister President is so amazing, guys. Obviously, G and I could talk for fuck ever. So I hope you guys are finding this entertaining, informational, breaking up the monotony of your day.

We love It'll be a prisoner at home and let those parts out, let that gas outs rip.

And I don't even take.

My own advice, guys, what's same?

You know, who are the prisoners in their own homes me.

And g Gues, Me and Katie.

Thank you guys so much for listening. We love you. Stay tuned for more.

I love you guys.

Thank you and 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 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.

Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, visit the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you subscribe to your favorite shows.