The (Mis)education of Olivia Pope, part I

When I began making this video it was supposed to be all about "Fuck yeah, Olivia Pope!" but as I got deeper into it, this vid turned really dark really fast. Kind of like the show, come to think of it.
What I thought this fan vid was supposed to be was about Olivia's love for Fitz and politics. Instead, what it turned out to be about Olivia's love of power and how this power aspect shows in all her relationships. Even her love affair with Fitz is explored through this lense and how she managed to access power by using him. (That's not all there is to Olitz, of course, but only one aspect of their relationship for the purpose of this vid.) How did she end up like this? Why, by the courtesy of Rowan of course. He did create Olivia in his own image, after all.
Since Shonda tends to write about normal life in abnormal conditions, that's usually the point of view I look at her work. The abnormal here is B613, of course, because none of us viewers are the member of a super-secret agency here, I bet. (Or are we? Hmmmm....) I can't relate to B613, it doesn't resonate with me in any way. The normal thing, the thing that does resonate about Olivia and Rowan is that parent/child relationship where the parent puts all their hopes and dreams on their child, kid's own dreams to be damned. We've all witnessed the pressure some parents put onto their kids to be better than they ever were - if not even lived with this pressure in our own lives. We're all "conditioned" by our parents to some degree, and to become aware of it can be a lifelong journey - assuming we will ever gain that much insight on how we're being influenced by them in the first place.
In Liv's case, her complete lack of self-awareness and her lack of understanding how Rowan influences her is staggering. She's reacting instead of acting as an aware individual. Her white-hatting and her need to save everybody (except herself) is basically her behaving like a rebellious teenager who's giving the finger to her old man. Her need to take down B613 is her basically sticking it to her dad. Her current thirst for power is what Rowan wants her to want. Sure, she's showing some signs of growing up, but she's growing up to be Rowan, not herself. The way Rowan reacted to Liv killing Andrew was as if it was inevitable step for her. Because sure, what better way to bond with your daughter than over murdering people?
When at the finale of season 5, Jake said to Olivia "We can do whatever we want. That's real power, not this other crap.", Liv's reply was straight from Rowan's mouth. The thing is, Liv can't do whatever she wants, because she's being constantly triggered by Rowan. She doesn’t have a choice, not yet. To me Olivia's journey isn't about with whom she'll end up with but whether she will become aware of herself and thus, aware of her dad's influence in her life. If she wants any happiness with anyone, she needs to be able to function in an adult relationship like an adult. Fitz was 100% correct when he said during their 5x09 fight how "she wasn't capable of being in normal relationship. Someone capable of being normal". When in episode 5x21 Jake asks Liv to hop on the normal train: "C'mon Liv, dare to be normal!", what he's asking is her to break free from their dad's conditioning. Since "normal" and "mediocre" are practically curse words in the Pope household, that really didn't go down well with her.
Right now she "wants" power because Rowan has groomed her to become the next Command. Although, the old man has to understand that for that to happen, Liv needs to kill him. That's the only way you become Command, and stay that way. Since she is his finest creation molded in his image, he might get what he wants. I only hope she'll be able to break free of that mold and become her own person one day. Maybe then she might even be able to live in a normal relationship.

SONG: Jay Z ft. Rihanna - Run This Town

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