u/Electronic_Item915

cyrus was right when he said she was upset that she lost the friendship. that she knew they were not in love but she thought they were a friendship/partnership and him publicly humiliating her by putting forward his affair with olivia negated this. it was especially bad because she was starting her term as senator of virginia and she would not be taken seriously as a woman whose husband is going out with someone who used to be a close advisor.

i think after all the demands mellie asked were met by fitz this made her angry. she felt shocked he caved because it meant he wanted to get rid of her fast, and she felt she put in her time to deserve more thought from him. she thought there would be more resistance on his end, and she would be able to buy time for her marriage.

one thing i think is interesting is she tells olivia to make sure she knows what she was fighting for when she did not seem to take her own advice. she talked about how she felt numb being a first lady, and she used her hooch to feel alive, but when fitz gave her the out in the divorce, she was furious and accused olivia of stealing her life, and sleeping in her bed. it just seemed as if she was talking out of both sides in order to figure out which side prevented the divorce from whoever was listening.

thoughts?

olivia and fitz were left alone. it’s kinda obvious they used him as an instigator, but for various reasons he had no chance to be endgame.

I keep thinking about his story and it doesn’t seem he has one outside of the triangle ? even fitz was president most of the series.

could he have pivoted to something else, or was there just no canvas for Jake? hes sort of just there in season 7 when olivia dumps him.

i noticed that when you go to shondaland, strongblacklead, mainstream articles, etc., and even things like actors on actors, they really only talk about fitz and olivia. when i began watching the show last summer, i didn't know jake existed as a character, but he was a significant love interest for olivia.

the end result is kerry washington only talks about olitz, only engages with tony goldwyn, discusses acting with tony, does appearances with tony, and somehow scott foley never comes up. i also noticed that when the DNC event came up in 2024, they forgot to ask bellamy young, when she was a President on this show too.

i think it makes a lot of jake fans upset because sometimes when they spotlight fitz and olivia's story, at the absence of jake and olivia, they go on the comments writing "team jake," because it's the only time they seem to be heard.

does anyone find it odd that what is culturally relevant to the show seems to be in contradiction to what is popular on this board? does this bother fans of jake or even mellie that it seems as if pop culture overlooks their contributions to the show? i don't mention cyrus because he felt more peripheral.