'Scandal' returns, heavy on character and light on plot

One of fall's most highly anticipated TV shows is back. "Scandal" (2012-present) is a key part of ABC’s Thursday night lineup. The show's season four premiere returns with the twists and turns that mark every episode of the series.Season three left the gang on a cliffhanger, as Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) left the country with her beau, Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) in an attempt to flee the nastiness of American politics. Olivia’s father pulled the strings nearly all of season three, leaving the President with a dead son and a second term.

At the start of the new episode, Olivia is not quite the war-waging gladiator that she has been in previous seasons; part of this is due to guilt -- she believes her mother killed President Fitz Grant’s (Tony Goldwyn) son. The series doesn’t seem to function as well without Olivia Pope acting like Olivia Pope, but thankfully by the end of the episode, Olivia seems to get her old fire back.

The question here is where precisely the series will go next. One of the pitfalls of wildly popular and highly anticipated TV shows is the possibility that the creators and writers will extend the series farther than it should actually go. Since it is still quite early in the series, it’s hard to tell whether the "Scandal" creators will have another great season planned, or if the season will flop entirely.

At the start of season four, Olivia Pope & Associates is broken up due to Olivia’s departure. Most of the characters are in new positions, though none of them seem to like the direction their lives are taking. Olivia Pope’s arrival back in Washington, however, is sure to shake things up again. When Olivia returns to Washington upon hearing the news of one of her OPA colleages' death, her team is fragile and feels betrayed. This is the first time that the team has been fractured, and the dynamics between familiar characters have changed, giving the writers an opportunity to further character development while the plot takes a backseat. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, as character development is so crucial for a show like "Scandal" that taking a breather and focusing on their relationships and emotional evolution will mark a welcome change.

For instance, Fitz and Mellie (Bellamy Young) are emotionally broken, just having lost their son. The series hints at even darker undertones. Mellie mentions that Fitz had tried to commit suicide in the two-month gap while Olivia was away. It seems that the presidency and the loss of his son have changed Fitz, and perhaps not for the better -- he is no longer a frivolous, laughing man. Rather, his seriousness leads him to channel renewed effort into his job as he tries to turn the government around and get things done.

This change, of course, has political ramifications already brewing beneath the surface. Fitz’s political maneuvering and attempts to reach across the aisle and nominate a Democratic attorney general instead of sticking to a Republican is starting to alienate his own party. Lizzie Bear (Portia de Rossi), the head of the Republican National Committee, warns Cyrus (Jeff Perry) of impending political fallout from the new presidential actions. Her character is fresh and engaging, and one to keep an eye out for in upcoming episodes.

Meanwhile, new intrigues are cropping up all over the place. Olivia is reminded of why she left: the corruption and the decay of the American government were hard for her to handle. Even though this season seems to be focusing more on the characters, there are the potential beginnings of a truly terrific plot. So far, it’s been an interesting start to the new season, and hopefully the edge-of-your-seat thriller show that has delivered so many times will deliver again.