Good Guys and Bad Guys . . I can't tell the difference anymore

I am a simple girl. I like things to be straightforward. I am getting very confused as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in some of my favorite TV shows.

First up: Scandal.

I loved the first season. Wow. I loved the cases they took and how they solved them. This season? I'm having trouble. I'm sure I'm going to end up putting SPOILERS in here so please be ALERTED, okay? So . . . Olivia Pope who I just adored for being smart and brave and tough, but still vulnerable, did something really really terrible in the past. She is continuing to do terrible things (some to people she cares about) to cover it all up.

Now, I love stories where people do the right thing for the wrong reasons or the wrong thing for the right reasons. Those stories intrigue me and that's how this story began. She did a wrong thing for a right reason. Now, however, she's just doing wrong things to cover her ass. She suffered a terrible emotional blow a week ago and I actually thought she deserved it. I think it's probably not good when I root for the heroine to have her heart broken. Sort of reminds of why I stopped reading Nevada Barr books. I found myself hoping that the heroine got murdered because I found her so obnoxious.

Second up: Southland.

Always very gritty. Always ethically gray. The trials and tribulations of the officers in the show really resonated with me. There was a real nobility to them even when things went wrong. I was super excited to see it show back up on my DVR and then I was super disappointed in the first episode. Again, SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.

Suddenly, they're all jerks. Every one of them. There's nothing noble about hanging out with drunk, high strippers in a parking lot. What are you thinking? And Lydia, did it not occur to you that being a detective and being a single mom would be difficult? And Sammy? Control yourself. You know your ex-wife is bat sh*t crazy. Why are you letting her bait you like that? You were an idiot for marrying her in the first place. You're still an idiot.

Third: House of Cards

I've only watched one episode. It's Netflix's first (I think) original series. It's a political thriller starring Kevin Spacey. I can't tell if he's a good guy or a bad guy. I don't know if I'm supposed to root for him or against him. I do think the weird Sex and the City talk to the camera things are a little bizarre, but he does them really well. Anyone else watching this one? What do you think?