The original post: /r/television by /u/James-Samuel17 on 2026-02-15 12:19:57+00:00.

She was magnetic and captured Olivia’s pride and vulnerability very well. I mean, I’ll argue every actors have some ticks that are annoying in their acting abilities but it’s not all Kerry is. You really have to look elsewhere than on the sub of her own show to see people appreciate her because she seems to be pretty loved outside of here. The scene where her and Fitz fight, both actors do an amazing job, but Kerry just owns the scene just like Olivia do. When she screams/growls at him and he visibly backs up a little, it’s so good. Also, after her killing of Andrew, the way she’s looking at Abby is genuiely chilling. And as for season 7, I loved the little moment of when her father tell her that she can’t have it both ways and she visibly looks terrified in a moment but then let her ego takes over. Some people say she cries a lot BUUUUT have you seen her life and her parents, those guys are not the best to have as parents to say the least and her turn to the dark side in season 6/7 makes PERFECT sense (she was going down that rode the entire series, I have no idea where you guys have been). The scene “Speaking to me is a priviledge” is incredible because of how well Kerry executes it. She gave Olivia life and I can’t imagine someone else playing her. I don’t know, she’s like a Tony Soprano type of character and the show clearly hold her responsable for the awful things she did, the characters around just hopes that she will choose good but they make no illusions on her darker impulses. She became iconic because of those flaws, not in spite of it.

Season 7 in itself was a bad season but Olivia’s characterization was never a part of why. Her decline made sense. From her parents to her personality and the world surrunding her, she was bound to become what she became. The show NEVER hid the flaws that Olivia had. In the beginning, yes she was helping people, but the show made a point to showcase that her morals were flawed and her own power could corrupt her. As the show progressed, Olivia’s white hat started to fade and the characters around her saw it. She tried to convince us and herself that it didn’t but all the other characters could see it. Her father’s return in season 3 was like the beginning of the end. At the end of season 1, Fitz ask her “who are you right now ?” and she responded that she was the woman who got him elected. It’s a small moment but tells us a lot about who Olivia is. She fixes people and that gives her importance. I know it because I’m like this. I know how to manipulate, scheme and get things my way, and it gives me a sense of importance, something her mom clocked about her two times.

Olivia also undergoes huge traumatic events that kinda re-shaped the sense of morality she tried so hard to hold on to, the most changing being her kidnapping that clearly defined a lot of who she became afterwards. She felt violated and hopeless like she’s never been and tried so hard to gain power and control after it. Olivia turned into an antihero and again, the show was never shy about it. It’s like Tony Soprano in The Sopranos. In the first few seasons, his charisma and overall struggles kinda covered his bad persona but as the show unravalls, it becomes clear that he’s not a good person. To be clear, Olivia was never as bad as Tony, but in the later seasons her overall high up sense of self started to become anxious rather than empowering. I mean, herself at the end of the show is telling everyone that they are not the hero of this story (btw, I hate how people had the NERVE to gather to wave a finger at her during this arc when a lot of them used her a lot during the years and made a lot of worse things than her). Even the town had a negative impact on her and it’s explored in the early episodes of season 4, when she’s considering wheter or not she should stay because this town is doing nothing good for her. The white hat is clearly off when season 6 finale close and season 7 begins with Olivia in black clothing, which was clearly intentional to showcase that she’s not the same anymore. Kerry Washington is stellar through the entire show.