TV Jukebox: 'Scandal,' 'CSI,' 'Jane the Virgin,' more music on TV
Have you found yourself wondering, “What’s that song?” while watching your favorite TV shows? We’re here to tell you. Check out our Spotify playlist and see why these music picks clicked. (Warning for those still catching up on DVR: Spoilers ahead.)
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SCANDAL (ABC)
The song: Stevie Wonder, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”
The episode: “Where the Sun Don’t Shine” (409)
The hook: What’s more Scandal-ous? That Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) was kidnapped—or that she was wearing black when it happened? Either way, after being essentially disowned by her father (Joe Morton) on Thursday’s midseason finale, Liv chose “me” over her twisted love triangle with Jake (Scott Foley) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn). She celebrated her new liberation with a rare dark-hued ensemble and a dance party to the R&B icon’s 1973 ode to opting out of stress.
Read Kat Ward’s recap and Natalie Abrams’ postmortem
CSI (CBS)
The song: Vaults, “Lifespan”
The episode: “The Twin Paradox” (1516)
The hook: The Brit band provided ambient accompaniment and an on-message lyrical throughline (“you took what you wanted to take”) on Sunday as Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) collected evidence from the badly beaten near-victim of the Gig Harbour Killer.
REIGN (The CW)
The song: Glass Animals, “Toes”
The episode: “Terror of the Faithful” (208)
The hook: Lord Narcisse (Craig Parker) may be a dangerous, grade-A creep, but he generated serious heat with Lola (Anna Popplewell) on Thursday thanks to the Oxford, England, indie rockers’ sultry percussive number. Later in the ep, RHODES’ “Run” saw Lola console Francis (Toby Regbo) in a moment of self-doubt.
Read Madina Papadopoulos’s recap
PARENTHOOD (NBC)
The song: Matt Corby, “Winter”
The episode: “Lean In” (609)
The hook: The Jukebox regular closed out Thursday’s episode with the ominous promise: “Winter is coming.” It was a bad sign for not only Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel (Sam Jaeger) as they alternated between agonizing over signing their divorce papers and engaging in a passionate kiss, but also for the ailing Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) when he awoke in the middle of the night barely able to breathe or call out to Millie (Bonnie Bedelia) for help. Corby’s pleading track conveyed the anguish of the five-tissue cliffhanger.
JANE THE VIRGIN (The CW)*
The song: Christina Perri, “Sea of Lovers”
The episode: “Chapter Six” (106)
The hook: Monday ended on a major high note for shippers when Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and Rafael (Justin Baldoni) finally kissed, sharing what EW’s Nina Terrero deemed “one of those lingering, made-for-TV embraces that totally makes you believe in true love all over again.” Perri (a.k.a. the woman who wrote The Twilight Saga‘s love theme) was an appropriate choice for a heart-soaring piano ballad, and Jukeboxers on Twitter briefly stopped swooning to offer their stamp of approval.
GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)
The song: Ella Eyre, “Deeper”
The episode: “Risk” (1108)
The hook: After Eyre keyed up the Nov. 13 ep, Grey’s gave the British songbird repeat exposure with her dance-it-out-able ditty, which found many at Grey-Sloan Memorial docs airing their grievances during Thursday’s midseason finale. Elsewhere, Aron Wright’s “Home” backed an emotional Calzona exchange.
THE FLASH (The CW)
The song: Of Monsters and Men, “Skeletons”
The episode: “The Flash Is Born” (106)
The hook: The Icelandic folkies was fitting ambience as Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Wells (Tom Cavanagh) dug into their past and Nora Allen’s murder on Tuesday.
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (ABC)
The song: iamx, “Walk with the Noise”
The episode: “Kill Me, Kill Me, Kill Me” (109)
The hook: Thursday’s midseason finale was full of pulse-pounding moments, but it was only natural that HTGAWM‘s de facto house band underscored the most intricate sequence of the night. The thrumming, propulsive bass line of “Noise” was especially intense as Asher (Matt McGorry) nearly spotted his up-to-no-good classmates en route to burying the title’s Murder victim… well, one of them, at least. (Bonus: The ep also featured the Spacebrother remix of Phantogram’s “Blackout Days,” which TV Jukebox spotlighted a year ago.)
Read Natalie Abrams’ postmortem with creator Pete Nowalk
THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)
The song: Alison Mosshart & Eric Arjes, “Bad Blood”
The episode: “Consumed” (506)
The hook: “Bad Blood” was coursing through Carol’s (Melissa McBride) veins as Sunday’s opener flashed back to the minutes after Rick (Andrew Lincoln) expelled her from the group. Mosshart and Arjes’ glum strummer played through a montage of her breakdown and bounce-back.
Read Kyle Ryan’s recap and Dalton Ross’s chat with McBride about Carol’s evolution
THE ORIGINALS (The CW)
The song: London Grammar, “Devil Inside”
The episode: “Chasing The Devil’s Tail” (207)
The hook: Sons of Anarchy fans probably recognized the soulful voice of Noah Gundersen, whose “Poor Man’s Son” featured on Monday’s OGs, but it was the Jukebox favorites’ eerie, downbeat cover of INXS’s 1988 hit that set the stage for a contentious Mikaelson family reunion that will be nothing short of “Devil”-ish.
Read Samantha Highfill’s recap
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW (FX)
The song: Evan Peters, “Come As You Are”
The episode: “Test of Strength” (407)
The hook: The ladies of AHS have gotten plenty of play on stage during the show’s trademark anachronistic cover performances, but Peters’ Jimmy—turning in a growling rendition of Nirvana’s 1991 Freak flag anthem—got to represent for the guys this week.
*Readers’ Choice: Thanks to @lightinaugust, ?@_gichora, and @Longing2belong for their suggestions!
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