2. It's Smart
It seems strange to consider this just a significant point, but really let's face it - there'sa lot of television out there nowadays that is just so insultingly stupid. We know it's stupid, they know it's stupid and yet for some reason (it's easy, probably), they keep on making these repetitive shows that have nothing good to offer.
Scandal is the opposite. It always offers topical, insightful and intriguing case-of-the-week material that wrings every inch of controversy out of the problem that Olivia and her cohorts must tackle each week. From a closeted soldier's murder accusations to a young senator's indiscretions caught on camera to the murder of a young woman who traveled in political circles, there's never any clear-cut solutions, any measure of pain and sacrifice unexplored.
Scandal is a show about the things we do because we have to, the sacrifices we make. In the end,
Scandal succeeds because it is an intelligent show, never shying away from the easy storylines or the light, frothy side-stories that might fill the duration of an episode or constitute a character's arc. Everyone here is smart as hell and they certainly never let you forget it.