In light of tonight’s Scandal mid-season 3 premiere, here’s something to chew on: Could Olivia Pope be pregnant in these final eight episodes?
What made us offer this question to you, the loyal Gladiator, is the fact that Kerry Washington has been filming while pregnant. Scandal’s show runners have said they would not write Washington’s pregnancy into the storyline, and we know they’re cutting the number of episodes down to 18 total so the actress can be finished by the time her firstborn is due.
We also know that Scandal has been dressing Olivia in long coats and putting purses in her hands to help cover the baby bump.
But what if Scandal is lying about not writing Olivia a pregnancy storyline? Surely Shonda Rhimes and company wouldn’t tell us that it was happening ahead of time, because the show is known for keeping a tight lid on any and all plot lines. Maybe she’s wearing the long coats and holding the bags so that the people in the Scandal world don’t know she’s pregnant.
Consider this: If Olivia were to be pregnant – let’s say the magic happened in Vermont when she and Fitz put on one of the steamiest love scenes in the show’s history – it could upset several elements of the show, such as Fitz’s re-election, Mellie and Fitz’s rocky-but-stable relationship, Olivia’s relationship with Jake, etc. It would be one of the biggest surprises we’ve seen, and something the show’s viewers would love to watch play out.
If it were Fitz’s baby, it would only be a matter of time before we would see Cyrus have to figure out how to keep the pregnancy out of the media. Then Mellie would inevitably find out and be livid. It’d confirm all of her fears, but she’d still stay in office because she loves being the First Lady. There’s also the question of whether or not Olivia would help in covering up her own child. And would she raise it on her own or with Fitz? … Or with Jake?
Promos for the final eight episodes of Scandal season 3 have used big words to hype up what happens in the back half of his season. “It’s crazy. It’s crazy where we’re about to go. It’s crazy,” Washington said in a recent video on the show’s official Facebook page. Where could they be going? It has to be something entirely new and very exciting.
If Olivia doesn’t get pregnant this season, will she at some point? We have to think so. Maybe Rhimes is holding off on that plot twist until they know how many seasons they plan on creating.
In the mean time, it’ll be interesting to see how well Washington’s baby bump is covered. They did a good job of covering Ellen Pompeo’s on Grey’s, so we know it’s possible and conceivable in a Rhimes world.