Scandal
Pencils Down
TV Flash files “Pencils Down” as hour 84 of 124 in the TV Flash guide — Scandal (2012–2018) on ABC, season 5, episode 15, aired 2016-03-24, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E15: listed hour 84 of 124 in the Scandal guide, hour 15 of 21 in season 5. It aired 2016-03-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “I See You” (S05E14). Next is “The Miseducation of Susan Ross” (S05E16).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When Mellie makes a very public faux pas, Olivia must decide how far she'll go to fix it. Meanwhile, the Gladiators learn valuable intel about Jake's new love interest, and David Rosen seeks advice about his love triangle with Liz North and Susan Ross.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pencils Down sit in the Scandal guide?
S05E15 is listed hour 84 of 124 — hour 15 of 21 in season 5, season 5 episode 15.
When did Scandal S05E15 air?
Pencils Down aired 2016-03-24 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Season one, white hat on. The gladiators and the D.C. romance operatics are the engine from the jump; later years stack twists rather than reboot.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Olivia Pope and her gladiators clean up D.C. disasters she half-created — white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center of network drama in a way primetime had not sustained for decades. Seven seasons of #TGIT fixer chic. Political pulp as Thursday religion, representation stakes included, subtlety optional.
April 5, 2012, ABC Thursday: a white hat walks into a disaster she half-created. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope at the center of network drama in a way primetime had not sustained for decades. Gladiators, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Tony Goldwyn's president, Jeff Perry's Cyrus, Columbus Short, Darby Stanchfield, the firm keeping the pulp operatic. Political soap meets romance at full velocity. Max will call #TGIT a social chart. **It was appointment television with a hat.**
Filed against
- Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope made Scandal a Thursday national sport — Shonda Rhimes fixer chic, white hats, soapy twists, a Black woman at the center of network drama primetime had not sustained for decades. Seven seasons of #TGIT. TV…
- Tony Goldwyn as President Fitzgerald Grant
Tony Goldwyn’s President Fitzgerald Grant made Scandal’s White House a romance and a crisis at once — Olivia Pope’s gladiators, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center of…
- Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
Columbus Short played Harrison Wright on Scandal — Olivia Pope and her gladiators cleaning up D.C. disasters she half-created, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes putting Kerry Washington at the center of…
- Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan
Darby Stanchfield’s Abby Whelan worked Scandal as Olivia Pope’s gladiator with a reporter’s leftover nerve — white hats, soapy D.C. twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center; Stanchfield is the…
- Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins
Katie Lowes's Quinn Perkins worked Scandal's gladiator shop from the inside — Shonda Rhimes #TGIT fixer chic, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Seven seasons of D.C. disasters Olivia Pope half-created. TV Flash files…
- Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene
Jeff Perry’s Cyrus Beene worked Scandal like a gladiator in a gray suit — Olivia Pope’s D.C. disasters, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes putting Kerry Washington at the center of network drama. TV Flash…