Tug of war
Olivia Pope is stumped: which of her suitors deserves her?
The Fixer Season 3 Thursdays (from 19 April) e.tv (*194) 22:00
Political crisis fixer Olivia (Kerry Washington) landed on the other side of the scandal fence in the season 2 finale of The Fixer (2012- current) in mid-2017 when a ravenous pack of reporters demanded to know if she was President Fitzgerald Grant’s (Tony Goldwyn) secret mistress. Uh oh! Series creator Shonda Rhimes hints, “The first episode [of season 3] leads to some very interesting negotiations between President Fitz, the First Lady Mellie (Bellamy Young) and Olivia. Audiences should remember that Mellie is smarter than what anybody gives her credit for…”
HATE-LOVE
But Fitz on the other hand may be dumber than anyone gives him credit for because it turns out in episode 1 that he’s behind the leak that put the press on Olivia’s trail. “Fitz respects Mellie’s intelligence, but they have this love-hate relationship where sometimes he loathes her but he also wants to take care of her. She is the mother of his children and he has compassion for her, but there’s no comparison to what he feels for Olivia. For Fitz, there’s not a single doubt in his mind that Olivia is the love of his life,” explains Tony honestly.
HATE-HATE
Fitz and Liv’s love affair hasn’t won them many friends – and one in particular could crush them both: Olivia’s dad Rowan (Joe Morton). Rowan despises the man who’s wrecking his daughter’s reputation in pursuit of a fantasy life with her and Tony adds with a laugh, “Rowan absolutely hates Fitz! The feud between Rowan and Fitz is going to get so interesting, so dark and so complicated.” And since Rowan runs the super top-secret B613 spy agency, he’s well aware of Fitz’s dark and dirty secrets (of which there are many), so Fitz needs to watch his back. But it’s worse for Liv – she’s getting the most devastating “I’m disappointed in you” parent speech ever in episode 1 as Rowan puts her in her place. But he inspires her at the same time – why be Fitz’s sidepiece when the First Lady spot is there for the taking? His words “Do you have to be so mediocre?” will be ringing in Liv’s ears for the rest of the season…