'No one's being reduced to being a device in the story': The women of 'Scandal' on the show's empowerment

Scandal has always been about powerful women, but that was taken to a whole new level in this final season, with Mellie Grant serving as the Commander in Chief.

Madame President herself, Bellamy Young, said that she admires creator Shonda Rhimes' exploration of feminine power, particularly this year.

"To get to have a female president, I'm proud," she said. "There are a few of those female "POTAE" [POTUSes] on our small screens nowadays, and I'm proud to be a part of normalizing that notion for Americans right now."

And this season's exciting storylines for women extend beyond just her character, Young said.

"To give Katie's character, Quinn, all of these wonderful storylines about being a mother, and being in charge of things, and being your husband's boss and how to navigate all of that, and watching Kerry's Olivia struggle with embracing the light and embracing the dark, no one's being reduced to being a device in the story," she said.

Powerhouse star Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope) said that she considers many aspects of Olivia to be a gift.

"I do think the most valuable things that I will have gotten from Olivia are the internal gifts that she's given me," she said. "A sense that I'm capable. A sense that my ability to love can be a great gift. A sense that I can always find a solution, no matter what. A sense of leadership. There are real gifts that playing her have opened up in me."

Katie Lowes (Quinn Perkins) said that getting to play a complex character with such diverse experiences made shooting the show a lot of fun.

"What I've loved playing the most about Quinn is that she's gotten to do the coolest stuff," she said. "I got to come on this show and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and new and ask a lot of questions. And then all of a sudden I started to torture people."

"I've driven cars and I've shot guns and I've dealt in blood and I've dealt with stunts and I've been super pregnant on the show and I've fought for my life," she reflected. "I've just gotten to do stuff that I never dreamed I would get to do."

Don't miss the series finale of Scandal on April 19 at 10 p.m. ET | 9 p.m. CT on ABC.