‘Scandal’ Murder Victim Speaks Out: ‘I Don’t Think [SPOILER] Deserved To Die’
Last night’s Scandal episode killed off a major character, and successfully killed all of our emotions. Keep reading to see the actor’s reaction to his shocking death.
It’s hard to believe that one of our favorite characters has left the White House for good, after being murdered on last night’s March 20 episode of Scandal. And guess what? He can’t believe it either! The actor speaks out about his shocking send-off, and let’s just say, he was not expecting it.
James Novak Killed Off ‘Scandal’
Last night Scandal started off with a bang — literally — and we don’t feel too good about it. Cyrus’s (Jeff Perry) main man, James Novak (Bucatinsky), was revealed to be the victim of the prior episode’s gun shoot out cliffhanger.
Of course, we knew there would be a chance that a character would be left dead, but we didn’t actually think it would happen. (After all, President Fitz was shot before and he made it out alive!) But the first minute of Scandal last night showed a very dead James, followed by an emotional wreck-worthy episode flashing back through Cyrus’s memories of his true love.
We love that the show paid tribute to Dan’s character — he is the only actor to have won an Emmy from the series, thus far — but we hate that he was killed off. And killed by none other than Jake Ballard. Really, Scott Foley?! Why? There go your chances with Olivia (Kerry Washington).
Actor Dan Bucatinsky Speaks Out About James Novak’s Death
Clearly we are far from happy about James’s brutal send-off, and turns out, the actor behind him feels the same way.
“I don’t think he deserved to die,” Dan told The Hollywood Reporter. “Whether he deserved or brought it on himself, I don’t think he deserved to die.”
He went on to say that he was completely stunned when he received the news that his time on Scandal was coming to an abrupt end.
“It was really hard to take; I pulled over to the side of the road and was in shock. It was a tough pill to swallow and took me a long time to wrap my head around. I started going through the five stages of grief: anger, denial, bargaining. I sent an email to producers playing out some thoughts I had. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t tried! Then I entered the sadness stage; I kept thinking about James’ glasses, pockets squares and daughter, Ella. I started to feel the sadness of the death of the character.”
Dan did make sure to tell The Hollywood Reporter that he feels honored to have played such a great character. “I sat in an office two hours before the table read and wept as I read that episode with all the flashbacks, the dancing sequence and the final moment,” he recalled. “I can’t complain. As an actor who has to die on a show, I feel honored to be in an episode like that.”
And how did his Scandal cast mates react to the sad, sad news?
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as we read that script at the table,” Dan said. “The biggest gift, among the many Scott gave me, was unbelievable compassion on the night we shot the final scene in the street. It was hard. The next eight days was shooting that episode. I was mad, confused, annoyed and sad. But it played out as such a beautiful episode about Cyrus’ coming out as he loses his first authentic love and remembers how he loved a man for the first time. I’m very proud of this episode.”
We are glad that Dan’s proud of his work (rightfully so), but we wish he’d remain on the show. Gladiators, will you miss James Novak on Scandal? Let us know what you think about James being killed off.
— Elizabeth Wagmeister
More ‘Scandal’ News:
- ‘Scandal’: A Fan-Favorite Character Gets Shot In A Shocking Cliffhanger
- ‘Scandal’ Recap: Mellie & Andrew Finally Give In To Temptation
- ‘Scandal’ Recap: Mellie Gets A New Love Interest