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It’s a good thing Olivia Pope is back in DC, huh?

She was very much needed on Scandal Season 4 Episode 14.

The controversial installment ripped a story straight from recent headlines, as Olivia Pope found herself trying to diffuse a negotiation between local police and a distraught father (played Courtney B. Vance).

The latter was guarding the body of his son, Brandon Parker, who had just been gunned by an officer.

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Watch Scandal Season 4 Episode 14 Online

Yes, the situation was very much meant to remind viewers of explosive scandals in Ferguson, Missouri and in New York city with Eric Garner.

In a bold move by creator Shonda Rhimes, Scandal tackled the hopeless, frustrated feelings of many African-Americans these days when it comes to how they are seen by those in positions of authority.

Olivia, who was hired by the police officers, spent the hour trying to protect her clients… but also trying to find justice for the father standing over his slain child.

In the end, the officer that killed Brandon was actually arrested for tampering evidence and for shooting an unarmed kid, the sort of outcome that decidedly NOT happen after the real-life incidents on which this episode was based.

Rhimes took to Twitter afterward to explain how she and her writers arrived at this conclusion.

“We had a great deal of debate about this ending.  Whether to be hopeful or not.  It was really hard,” she wrote. “In the end, we went with showing what fulfilling the dream SHOULD mean. The idea of possibility.  And the despair we feel now.

Some, of course, have praised Rhimes for taking such a stance…

… while others have criticized her for taking a political stance on a TV show.

We recommend that all watch Scandal online in order to see how the show portrayed this difficult, delicate situation. Only then can you really form an opinion.

Elsewhere, meanwhile, Fitz went about trying to find a replacement Vice President who would not be electable as President next election because he vowed to help Mellie get into the Oval Office.

And the First Lady came up with the answer: Susan Ross, the milquetoast Virginia senator that Olivia a while ago got voted into office.

Tune in next Thursday to Scandal Season 4 Episode 15 to see where the series goes next.