SCANDAL Pace (S2 Spoilers): Early screening of the season 2 premiere offers Scandalous teasers

September 12, 2012 — After an exclusive screening of ABC’s ‘SCANDAL’ season 2 premiere episode at last night’s 2012 PaleyFest: Fall TV Preview Party panels in Beverly Hills, Calif., many media outlets have offered up some SCANDALous teasers to satisfy GLADIATORS until the sophomore season debuts on September 27th in a couple of weeks.

Check out some of the choice tidbits from two media outlets below.

ABC’s ‘Scandal’ returns on Thursday, September 27th at 10/9c.  Be sure to check your local listings.

10 Focus Points on the ‘SCANDAL’ Season 2 Premiere (courtesy of Bags Hooper, BuzzFocus.com)

The freshman season of Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal may have been brief, but it was easily one of the best mid-season starts of 2012. Heartbreak, conspiracy, love triangles, murder and backstabbing were all tied together in one deviously scintillating package.

Now that Season 2 is here, along with a digital screener, I’ve had the pleasure of “sitting on edge” once again. Rhimes has deftly whipped up a new start to this intriguing – outside-the-letter-of-the-law – crisis drama on Capitol Hill.

Without giving away any major spoilers, here are 10 Focus Points to watch out for in the premiere:

– Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) is now a series regular. If you were weary of the First Lady’s motivations in season one, get ready to be dumbfounded in season two. Mrs. Grant harkens back to the days of Sherry Palmer on 24 – minus the nuclear threat.

– Remember that stunning freeze frame with Quinn (Katie Lowes). She is most definitely not who she claimed to be. The truth will have startling implications that will ripple throughout the course of the season.

– We lost our favorite Lost actor. Henry Ian Cusick, who played Stephen Finch, is no longer with Olivia Pope’s (Kerry Washington) team. He served as Olivia’s confidant when it came to relationship issues – because Olivia had a lot of those when it came to the President. Without Finch, Olivia is even more a woman alone, with her own council and rulebook.

– One of our cast members will get a delightful (or maybe not so delightful) new nickname. No spoilers. You will hear it in the first ten minutes.

– Viewers will need to continue to hold their hands on that DVR rewind button. The fast-paced dialogue doesn’t skip a beat. You will need to pay even closer attention this season to pick up on all the subtle jokes as well as those quick turns in an Olivia dialogue battle. Harrison (Columbus Short) and Huck (Guillermo Diaz) have a great exchange.

– Sex and political scandal is still in fashion in Scandal Season 2. And, that’s got Abby (Darby Stanchfield) excited.

– We can look forward to a shift in the relationship between Olivia and David (Joshua Malina). David is putting on his man pants in this season to stand up to Olivia. Our favorite crisis manager may have built up a wall, but expect David to target that wall with a solid offense.

– President Grant (Tony Goldwyn) continues to show off his true colors. Seriously, what does Olivia see in him? The President will get a chance to expose his chauvinist side in the season 2 premiere. Truthfully, he just comes off as a jerk.

– Olivia’s got a dirty new secret. If you thought the presidential affair was a scandal (and that fact that the president’s wife knew about it the whole time), then get ready for something major. Rhimes has laid the seeds for a potential new character as well as the fallout once that character comes to light.

[SOMEWHAT SPOILERY]
– Last season, we learned the truth about Huck’s dark side. We’re going to get even deeper into the origin story of Huck and Olivia as well as the other members of Olivia’s team. Expect trust issues to arise at the home base.

Don’t expect any of the cover-ups to stop. The only thing that solves a good cover-up is another cover up. And, right now, it looks like we’ll be sifting through piles of proverbial “political shit” when Scandal returns.

Scandal Season 2 Premiere: 8 Teasers! (courtesy of Miranda Wicker, TVFanatic.com)

Having just enjoyed an early viewing of the Scandal Season 2 premiere, I have two words for you: TOTALLY AWESOME.

The political drama from Shonda Rhimes is nearly back, offering up an episode on September 27 that is just as juicy as any from its first season. How so?

Here are some teasers from what you can expect from “White Hats Off.” Consider yourself very much spoiler warned…

• Who IS Quinn Perkins? We won’t be kept waiting with the answer to that question. While none of us got it exactly right in the season finale Round Table, a couple of us were close… ish.
• Melly Grant, the First Lady? How about “Melly Grant, the Great Manipulator.”
• Get ready for more verbal sparring between the two White Hats: Joshua Malina has been promoted to regular so we’ll be seeing more of U.S. District Attorney David Rosen.
• Speaking of David Rosen, he and Olivia are the very definition of “Frenemy,” with an emphasis on “enemy.”
• We’ll get an explanation for Stephen’s (Henry Ian Cusick) exit, which I know fans will appreciate. He didn’t just disappear.
• A politician who can’t keep his pants on. The show is set in D.C., right?
• What would Scandal be without tension between Olivia Pope and the President she loves but can’t have? Expect at least a little of that sprinkled into the season.
• You’ll never see the last scene coming. So many questions will be raised in those closing moments. When your jaw hits the floor, be sure to pick it up, okay? After all, we need to meet back here to discuss the episode the night it airs.

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