Scandal righted itself in the Season 7 premiere by making it Olivia Pope’s world

The A.V. Club

The season premiere, says Ashley Ray-Harris, “gives us the sexy political manipulation we’ve loved about Scandal for six seasons. But, ‘Watch Me’ gives us something else we wanted: an alternate reality where the world is run by a woman. It ups that fantasy by making that leader a black woman. Scandal is an escapist fantasy where anything can be fixed with the right threat or sexual encounter. Season six tried to address the reality of Trump, but it slowed things down and didn’t make sense in the show’s world. The season seven premiere leans into fantasy and the resulting monologues and fights are already an improvement. “