Scandal
Pressing the Flesh
TV Flash files “Pressing the Flesh” as hour 108 of 124 in the TV Flash guide — Scandal (2012–2018) on ABC, season 7, episode 2, aired 2017-10-12, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E02: listed hour 108 of 124 in the Scandal guide, hour 2 of 18 in season 7. It aired 2017-10-12 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Watch Me” (S07E01). Next is “Day 101” (S07E03).

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
President Mellie Grant hosts a state dinner for President Rashad of Bashran in a first step toward peace in the Middle East, and in case Mellie's charm alone doesn't work, Olivia secretly puts Jake to work so that they are armed with a back-up plan. Meanwhile, the team at Quinn Perkins & Associates attends the party in hopes to gain more high-profile clientele.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pressing the Flesh sit in the Scandal guide?
S07E02 is listed hour 108 of 124 — hour 2 of 18 in season 7, season 7 episode 2.
When did Scandal S07E02 air?
Pressing the Flesh aired 2017-10-12 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…