Scandal Review: Robin (Season 7 Episode 8)

The question Scandal fans have been asking since the final moments of the fall finale arrives! Scandal Season 7 Episode 8, “Robin.” wastes no time giving us an answer regarding Quinn’s fate. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure I believe it, and not just because of how the episode ends!

“Robin” is a long eulogy for a character that has been the audience’s vehicle into Olivia Pope’s world. When Quinn took over OPA, it felt like she had completed a journey. Now, it feels bittersweet to watch this character leave, as we watch each member of QPA mourn in their own way.

Overall, this is the perfect ensemble episode. It’s one of those episodes where everything is about something and at the same time about anything but that something. The moments leading up to the funeral allow each of the characters to have their own vignettes, showcasing different relationships, while still circling the bigger picture: Quinn is dead.

The moments leading up to the funeral allow each of the characters to have their own vignettes, showcasing different relationships, while still circling the bigger picture: Quinn is dead. The moments are subtle and light-handed while still serving up a healthy dose of angst.

There are even a few stand out speeches where a certain character oratorizes. It feels like a beautiful tribute to a book that isn’t quite finished.

Still, if we have to see a send-off, it’s hard to imagine a better one than the funeral. The funeral the QPA representatives chose for her felt right for a character that has gone through such a transformation over seven years. The unique nature of the funeral kept the funeral from getting trope-y and still felt genuine.

These scenes really provide a juxtaposition between the happy memories everyone has of Quinn and the darker edges of her character.

While the episode feels heavy with grief, there is something that feels so off about this scenario, and  the tip-off comes in how the opening scenes are shot. When Scandal Season 7 Episode 7 “Something Borrowed” aired, I wrote about how I didn’t believe that Quinn was killed in the basement, mostly because of the last line, when Eli’s asks: “You want to see the body?”

Curiously enough, when we see Eli dispose of the body at the start of this episode, and he pulls back the tarp, we don’t see a face. We never actually see a body. Instead, we need to take the word of a coroner and hints like the hairpin to draw the conclusion that this is Quinn.

While everyone at QPA is mourning Quinn, and for the entire hour, I was sitting there reticent to believe that Quinn is actually dead. Maybe my disbelief is supposed to mirror what Huck, Abby, David, and Charlie are going through. Maybe the absence of a body is what these characters are feeling.

Maybe that’s the level of uncertainty they too are going to have to live with for the rest of their lives.

In the back of my mind, I keep thinking about the Scandal Season 6 arc where Huck gets shot, and then the writers let us sweat a little regarding his fate while they revealed what Abby was really up to.

It looks like Scandal is getting ready to do something very similar with Quinn’s arc this season. And for that reason, I just won’t believe it until I see it.

This is one of the reasons why I wasn’t surprised with the final reveal! When Charlie goes to Eli and asks to “come in from the cold” and rejoin B613, and hears the baby crying, I can’t help but feel a spark of hope that maybe Quinn is alive.

After all, the autopsy report of the body in the car did say the victim was pregnant. Which begs the question: what really happened in that basement?

What did you think of this episode of Scandal? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Scandal airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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