Scandal Finale Recap: Olivia Battles Papa Pope – and Finally Chooses Her Man

The finale of Scandal gave us a happy ending – and a cliffhanger that will have us spending our summer wondering if a fan-favorite character lives or dies. 

The Gladiators took down B613, if not in the way they'd originally intended. Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) finally picked her man. And Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) won her election but lost her husband. 

That's right, Olitz shippers: Season 4 ended with Liv and President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) locked in a steamy kiss. 

• The episode opened with Mellie speaking to Rowan (Joe Morton), who posed as a billionaire donor with the hilarious name Damascus Bainbridge and an oddly Southern lilt to his accent. But, once the room cleared, he revealed his true intentions: showing her photos of her trysts with the vice president and evidence of Remington, the secret operation from last season that had Fitz shoot down a plane, killing 300 innocent civilians. Rowan blackmailed Mellie, telling her that, unless she wanted him to air their dirty secrets, he needed a list of names. 

• Meanwhile, the Grand Jury proceedings about B613 were going great. Jake (Scott Foley) testified. David (Joshua Malina) doing his duty as attorney genetal. Could justice finally be served? Of course not: Huck (Guillermo Díaz) rushed into the OPA offices, bringing the Gladiators to a gruesome crime scene. Every single grand juror sat dead inside a bus, massacred. The court papers were destroyed. There was no B613 to take down – every record of its existence was gone. 

• Olivia went to her mother, a.k.a. Maya Lewis, a.k.a. Marie Wallace (Khandi Alexander), to ask for tips on taking down Command. But Mama Pope just laughed scornfully from her cell, telling Olivia to stop being so self-absorbed. "Did we not give you enough hugs?" she cracked. (Um, considering Olivia was raised by a terrorist and the leader of an illegal shadow organization, PROBABLY NOT.) Olivia decided to report Rowan to the CIA. The director ordered Rowan's arrest. 

• Papa Pope paid Cyrus (Jeff Perry) a visit, reminding the chief of staff that he owed him a solid. So when the CIA director confronted him about B613 overstepping its bounds for decades, Cyrus bullied her into submission, arranging for Olivia and Jake to be taken into police custody instead. 

• Fitz threw Mellie an election day eve party and, for the first time not in a flashback, showed genuine love and respect for his wife, admitting he'd taken her for granted. "The past year has been a complete revelation for me," he said. "As a team, we've never been stronger." It only took 24 hours for the love fest to unravel. As Mellie gave her victory speech the next day, Liz (Portia de Rossi) let it slip to Fitz, telling him all about the "donor" and how she was responsible for the jurors' assassination. He was disgusted. We'd call it "trouble in paradise," but the first couple never really had a honeymoon phase. 

• By threatening to kill Abby (Darby Stanchfield), Cyrus blackmailed David into getting Jake and Olivia to recant their testimony and sign an affadavit agreeing they'd never discuss B613 again. Mama Pope made an even better deal: In exchange for her silence, Cyrus handed her a get-out-of-jail-free card. Bad idea, you guys! This woman chewed off her own wrists to escape capture. She means business. 

• Quinn (Katie Lowes) refused to admit defeat, pointing out that they still had the $2 million Huck stole from B613 as evidence. That gave Olivia the bright idea to frame her dad for embezzling the Smithsonian. The cops arrested him, and Olivia admitted he was right: You can't take Command. But you can take down the man he was pretending to be, "an old, innocent, dottering Smithsonian paleontologist." 

• Quinn stormed into Huck's office, armed with a gun. She recognized his handiwork on the bodies in the morgue: He killed the grand jurors for Command. He insisted he didn't want to, that he had to protect his family, but for once, Quinn wasn't buying it. "I am done defending you," she said, pointing the pistol at his head. "Do it," he begged. "Please, Quinn, do it." 

• Mellie and Cyrus celebrated her win in the Oval Office, already scheming about her presidential bid but Fitz stewed in the background. "You think I'd let you be president after what you did?" he yelled. Mellie pleaded with him that she sacrified her morality for him, for their team, but he kicked her out of the White House, firing Cyrus, too, for his part in it. His next chief of staff? Liz, for whom things fell together a bit too perfectly. 

• Olivia and Jake got back to her apartment, and she was all ready to pop bottles and (presumably) break out the popcorn – but Jake wouldn't go inside, saying he completed his mission to take care of her but "went over the line." "I am in love with you, but you are in love with him," he said. "You want what's yours? Go and take it." 

• And she did, surprising Fitz on the balcony of the White House for a long-awaited kiss as "Here Comes the Sun" played in the background. Get it? THEY'RE STANDING IN THE SUN – what she tried to do with Jake by fleeing Washington on an island getaway during last season's finale. This time, we hope the light shines on Liv for a little longer. 

Pitch Perfect 2: The Barden Bellas are back with an encore-worthy sequel

Competitive a cappella groups score points for snazzy reinventions of the recognizable, but sequels rarely try for such innovation. And soPitch Perfect 2, the sparky enough follow-up to the surprise musical comedy from 2012, doesn’t stray from the original. What we have is an update that is tighter, slicker and fine-tuned in more ways than one – no doubt music to the ears of the fans of a flowering franchise

Crass zingers fly, songs have more verve and, a-ca-casionally, familiar characters show growth. And by growth, we’re not talking about Fat Amy’s expansion.

Then again, we are. Although Anna Kendrick’s Beca is again the lead here (as the chief arranger for Barden Bellas, an all-girl college a cappella group), Rebel Wilson’s sassy Fat Amy fills up more screen time. In fact, she shows way too much in the sequel’s opening moments, descending from the rafters during a Kennedy Center performance. The wardrobe malfunction leaves no wonder to the Aussie’s “down under,” and the Obamas in the private box – stock first couple footage is used – are left wincing from the vaginal mishap.

The Bellas, who snagged a national championship in Pitch Perfect as freshmen, are now seniors and three-time defenders. As a result of Amy’s unfortunate exposure, however, the troupe is thrown off a victor’s tour, with no chance for a fourth straight title.

As soundtrack choices are mindful of the storyline, the downturn of the Bellas is accompanied by Mika’s bouncy Lollipop hit from 2007, about trying too hard and ultimately being let down. But the girls are not flat for long. Stripped of their national tiara, they decide to shoot for a world title instead.

And there’s your narrative, skimpier than a Beyoncé gown and so standard: redemption, twee-glee style. (Or Rocky style: The lead singer of German antagonists Das Sound Machine is a female Ivan Drago, albeit one whose intimidating sexuality unnerves Beca to humorous ends.)

The way back to respectability is a road of fun. We have plenty of one-joke characters, and there’s Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins back as the pithy broadcasters. Higgins – who knows his way around Christopher Guest-mode comedy and whose Owner of a Lonely Heartdinner-table performance in The Break-up gets a big “yes” as the greatest a cappella moment in cinematic history – is particularly hilarious as the riotously racist and merrily misogynistic commentator. He sees the successful all-gal glee clubbers as an “inspiration to all girls across the country who are too ugly to be cheerleaders.”

Banks, who also makes her feature directorial debut here, is strictly second banana. She’s also unadventurous behind the camera. A trip to Copenhagen for an outdoor festival – A Cachella, perhaps? – is dealt with dismissively.

But make way for the clumsy underclassman Emily, played by Hailee Steinfeld (all grown up from True Grit). She ushers in a new sensibility – original songs instead of covers – and finds a willing collaborator in Beca, an aspiring music producer looking for a voice of her own. Likewise, the rest of the harmony-happy graduating class considers its next steps, too.

As for the film, it doesn’t try too hard to distinguish itself from its predecessor, hitting the notes it needs to hit while pushing a girl-power – we hear Beyoncé’s Run the World (Girls) – agenda. Although it works well as an encore, the likelihood is that this thing isn’t over until the Fat Amy zings again.

NEWS/ The Vampire Diaries Boss Breaks Down Elena's Heartbreaking Goodbyes, That Cliffhanger and Season 7 Plans

Oh. My. God.

Did you make it through The Vampire Diaries season six finale alive? Because we sure didn't. Executive producers Julie Plec and Caroline Dries killed us.

Not only did we have to endure all the nostalgic and heartbreaking goodbye scenes between Elena (Nina Dobrev) and all her loved ones as she prepared to enter a 60-70 year "sleeping beauty" coma thanks to Kai's (Christopher Wood) spell linking Bonnie (Kat Graham) to her, but we also had to watch as Alaric (Matt Davis) lost his new wife Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) and tried to shoot himself in the head and Tyler (Michael Trevino) had to kill his dying girlfriend Liv (Penelope Mitchell) to trigger his werewolf curse to save his own life.

Phew. This was like the scariest horror movie and the most gut wrenching romantic drama all rolled into one. We were left a blubbering mess by the end of the hour, drowning in a puddle of our own tears. Dead.

And that's not to mention that final scene: Mystic Falls, completely trashed and abandoned at some mysterious point in the future. What. Happened?! We had to getTVD boss Dries on the line immediately after watching the finale to get as much season seven scoop as possible.

Mad Max: Fury Road review: Don't miss the best film of 2015, starring Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy

There are two sorts of people who are eager to watch Mad Max: Fury Road — those who harbour a lust-fuelled interest in Tom Hardy, and geeks who have been waiting 30 years for the follow-up to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The rest might wonder what's the big deal about a reboot that has hellish jalopies and Charlize Theron at her most unglamorous.

Here's the answer: Mad Max: Fury Road could well be the best film that will come out of Hollywood in 2015. Skip it because you don't care for dust, grubby men, almost-bald women and/ or action movies, and you'll have missed greatness.

It isn't as though Mad Max: Fury Road is a perfect film. For one, it doesn't linger long enough on Hardy's delicious pout. The only time the actor is shirtless, it's because he's a prisoner being brutally tattooed, which isn't quite what makes hormones surge to fever pitch in too many of us. Speaking of pitches, the film does does have, for no logical reason, a crazy guitarist whose job is to twang mightily while an army attacks a pack of renegades. The music is great, but the guitarist is just odd. Most seriously, the almost unrelenting whiteness of Mad Max's world is deeply disappointing. The only non-white member in the cast — from leads, supporting actors and extras — is Zoe Kravitz, who has a fantastic name ("Toast the Knowing") but little to do.

However, chances are you will not notice any of this while watching the film. Mad Max: Fury Road is a gripping action adventure set in an unspecified future. In this ravaged world, water is likened to a drug. Oil is precious and humans scavenge off other humans. Max (Hardy) is taken prisoner by a group who follow a leader named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, under a ghoulish muzzle, wig and geisha-white face paint) who controls the oil in the region. It's a ferociously martial and masculine society, in which boys are vying to be the most violent of alpha males. When Max does manage to escape, his only hope lies with a group of women who are escaping Immortan Joe. Led by Furiosa (Theron), who was once Immortan Joe's trusted lieutenant, the women's plan is to take refuge in the distant Green Place.

It doesn't sound like much of a plot, but director George Miller manages to make this basic story of underdogs being chased by big, bad guys teem with ideas and nuances. From climate change, the dangers of superstition to feminism, it's all in Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller has experience in lending depth to stories through storytelling. This is the man who wrote Babe and directed its sequel, as well as the two Happy Feet films. Clearly, Miller has a fondness for journeys undertaken by not-quite-normal characters.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a bit of a departure from Babe and Happy Feet, but consider this film carefully and you'll see it does stay true to some basic tenets of the kiddie film genre. First, the premise of the film has to make you care for the film's heroes. Second, for the fantasy to be convincing, the setting must look magical enough to make the audience catch its breath from time to time. Third, the soundtrack should be excellent. Fourth, there should be a message. Mad Max: Fury Road may be for grown ups (and teenagers), but it ticks all these boxes. You care about Max, Furiosa and the other women from the moment you realise they're escaping the horrific Immortan Joe. Namibia's glorious landscape and CGI come together to create unforgettable sights, like the sandstorm that moves like a tsunami of dust rather than water. The metal-rich soundtrack with keening electric guitar solos matches the fury of the film perfectly.

And finally, the messages. Almost every second of Mad Max: Fury Road has snarls, stunts, violence and mayhem, which Miller uses with masterful skill to talk about serious issues with subtlety. The wasteland setting is both beautiful and hostile, reminding us of how vulnerable humans are and how immense and adaptable nature can be. Climate change and ecological crises are very real issues in this film. Through Immortan Joe and his war boys, Miller presents a scathing critique of machismo and patriarchy, revealing how misguided and destructive it is to reduce women to birthing vessels. The "prized breeders" whom Furiosa frees are literally held captive in an enormous safe, but they're resilient and more than capable of surviving in the unforgiving wild. The film also urges you to confront problems, rather than run away from them.

Yet for all this philosophy and idealism, there's not a soapbox in sight in Mad Max: Fury Road. The dialogues are few, which means there's no chance of tuning out. Instead, Miller uses action sequences to develop character and relationships. For instance, the first time Furiosa and Max are in the vehicle together, their distrust of one another is palpable. It's when they have to fight Immortan Joe's men together that they swiftly develop a rhythm that makes shooting at the enemy seem almost balletic. By the end of that firefight, Furiosa and Max are a team. You can tell from their body language — and that's great acting, because in reality, Theron and Hardy were not even on talking terms during the film's shoot.

Hardy is fantastic as the troubled but determined Max and even the geeks will accept he is an improvement upon Mel Gibson. He's also able to inject humour (which is fittingly dry, given the landscape) into the film at the most unexpected moments. However, for much of its two hours, Hardy isn't the only one in the limelight. There's a scene in the film that sums up the balance of Mad Max: Fury Road. At one point, Max grabs a gun and tries to shoot an enemy who is a distance away, but closing in dangerously fast. He misses once, twice. Furiosa doesn't take the gun from him. She just kneels behind him, saying nothing. He hands her the gun and the camera's focus shifts to her. She aims, resting the barrel on Max's shoulder, steadying the weapon. And then she pulls the trigger. Mission accomplished.

Theron — one of the few humans who can look sexy despite being comprehensively covered in rags and without an arm — is magnificent as Furiosa. In a lesser actress' hands, this character could have been reduced to an Amazonian caricature like Xena the Warrior Princess, but Theron layers Furiosa's intensity with tenderness and melancholy. She's not flawless, but she's strong; even when she's on her deathbed. One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking moments in the film is when the one hope Furiosa was clinging to is wrenched from her. She falls to her knees and howls with painful, furious despair and misery. Under and around her warrior-strong body, which still refuses to crumple, flame-coloured sand shifts and dances gently, as though in mourning.

For a film that's set in a wasteland and full of inhumanity, Mad Max: Fury Road is astonishingly hopeful and fun. Perhaps this is because there's redemption in it for almost everyone — for Max despite his madness, for Furiosa despite her singlemindedness, for the warboys despite their cruelty. But most of all, there's redemption for Hollywood and its action extravaganzas. With Mad Max: Fury Road, Miller shows that if done right, even the most crassly commercial of genres can be powerful, idealistic and cinematic. Action can be nuanced without losing its fun elements. Sure, it might take 30 years to come together, but by George, Miller's done it.

Coronation Street legend Anne Kirkbride to be honoured with Outstanding Achievement accolade at the British Soap Awards

Anne Kirkbride is set to receive the Outstanding Achievement gong at the British Soap Awards for her role as Deirdre Barlow.

The Coronation Street legend, who passed away in January after a short battle with cancer, will have another moment to shine during the ceremony, which is due to be held at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on Saturday.

It is sure to be an emotionally-charged moment as Bill Roache, who plays the late soap star's screen partner Ken Barlow, will present the accolade to Anne's real-life husband, David Beckett.

The gesture marks only the second time in the 16-year history of the event that an award has been given posthumously.

It is, however, the first time that a posthumous gong will be given to an on-screen performer.

A Corrie source told Mail Online: 'We're delighted such a well-loved and respected actress is being honoured with this Outstanding Achievement award.

'Anne created such an iconic soap character who was part of our lives for over four decades.'

The late actress could end up securing two gongs during the course of evening, which is due to air on Thursday 21 May.

Anne has been nominated for Spectacular Scene of the Year for her exit performance, which saw her throw a trifle around the Barlow household.

The cast and crew of Coronation Street, along with its millions of viewers, were left devastated at the start of the year when Anne passed away in January.

And in an upcoming episode of the ITV drama, fans will soon see how Deirdre's close family and friends learn that she has passed away from a suspected aneurysm, according to latest reports.

The Sun’s TV Biz claim that Deirdre's loved ones find out the tragic news after they throw a surprise party to welcome her back to Weatherfield.

Viewers will reportedly see local resident, Bev Unwin reveal that the much-loved character died ‘peacefully’ in her garden before making a return to the cobbles.

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Paloma Faith and Stanley Tucci for Peter & Wendy

She will be joined in the modern day re-imagining of JM Barrie's classic Peter Pan tale by Stanley Tucci, who will play Captain Hook.

Scottish actress Laura Fraser – who was in the final season of Breaking Bad - will play Mrs Darling, while newcomers Zac Sutcliffe and Hazel Doupe have been cast in the lead roles.

ITV's Director of Drama, Steve November, said: "I'm delighted to be bringing JM Barrie's classic story of Peter Pan to ITV.

"This wonderful interpretation by Adrian Hodges is faithful to Barrie's original, but adds a new and unexpected dimension that makes it feel as though we are hearing the story for the first time.

"We're thrilled to have such a great cast on board to star in this exciting new drama."

Jamie Oliver, Hugh Jackman rap on Food Revolution Day song

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Jamie Oliver has put down his frying pan and picked up a microphone — all in the name of his new food education project.

To mark Food Revolution Day, the British chef appears in a Band Aid style music video rapping alongside actor Hugh Jackman, Paul McCartney and several other international stars including Ed Sheeran, who wrote the song.

“My name is Jamie Oliver and I’m here to say, I want to talk about Food Revolution Day,” Oliver raps.

“Half the world is starving, with too little to eat, and the other half die, from being obese.

“If you haven’t got a clue, about the mess that we’re in, the answer is in the words that we sing.”

Oliver’s Food Revolution Day wants to get compulsory food education put into schools to fight childhood obesity and diet-related health problems in young people.

A Change.org petition has been created to drive support for the project, gaining over one million signatures so far, and shared by famous faces including Matthew McConaughey to Usain Bolt.

On the petition Oliver writes, “We’re currently facing a global obesity epidemic, with 42 million children under the age of five either overweight or obese across the world. The bottom line is the next generation will live shorter lives than their parents if nothing is done to rectify these alarming stats.”

“If you can help me get millions of people to sign this petition, we can create a movement powerful enough to force all G20 governments to take action.”

The campaign has also got social media users writing on their hands and taking ‘sign it selfies’.

Jackman raps in the video: “Come on everybody, do the right thing, sign the petition”.