Scandal 2.09 Winter Finale Review – Night of the Living Backstabbers

Oh. My. GOD!!!! That was my reaction during every act in tonight’s midseason finale of Scandal, which did not let up on viewer’s necks during the entire hour, adding pressure with each passing second. You would think that Huck himself was here torturing the hell out of me as I watched every backstabbing turn and revelation play out on my TV screen. Luckily, no food was spilled or wasted in the viewing of this episode, but my soul on the other hand? It checked out before the end of the first act.

However, one reveal turned out the be the breath of fresh air I needed after a week of suffering: Huck did not shoot Fitz! (YAY!). But that didn’t mean a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things, because his girlfriend Becky turned out to be the culprit and a more deadly spy than Huck. In short, the girl is scary.

But Becky wasn’t the only horrifying diva or divo that emerge tonight. As the title of this recap/review states, it was the night of the living backstabbers among the Scandal players and relationships will never be the same once the show resumes its heart-stopping torture come January 10th. So what were the top “Oh My Damn! Really?!?” backstabbing moments of the night? Let’s count ’em off…

Backstabbing #1 – Damn, Really, Becky?!? That’s How You Feel?

As stated above, Huck did not shoot President Grant. Thank. God! However, he was set up by none other than his new girlfriend, Becky, who is just as much a cold-blooded killer as he is. The question of “who hired Becky to make the hit?” was raised, but it was quickly put on the back burner once we saw how hurt and confused Huck was once the situation became crystal clear. And let’s not even begin to talk about the murder of “Huck’s family,” innocent people who definitely didn’t have a clue about why they were picked to be massacred. Becky is lethal and whoever hired her has to be just as twisted as she is.

Huck’s only sense of “normal” was also shot when President Grant took those three (four?) bullets and I wouldn’t be surprised if this mess won’t push him further into his personal enclave within his mind. If the previews are any indication, he will go through hell and back before he gets there.

Then there is Olivia, who probably feels responsible for this entire scandal. When Huck asked to check into Becky’s past, Olivia didn’t put as much thought into it. Now, Fitz is in a coma that he might not make it out of, Huck is public enemy #1 (and Olivia Pope and Associates might be indicated as well), Sally Langston is the President of the United States, and an innocent family was brutally murdered. Now, don’t get it twisted. I’m not putting all the blame on Olivia at all, because this plot was well-planned in advance. However, she will probably feel put the above list of calamities on her shoulders, because she’s the lynchpin. She’s the focal point. She’s the one her closest allies will look to and ask, “What the hell happened, Olivia?!” and she will not have a ready answer. This is Olivia at her weakest. She’s vulnerable and, frankly, I’m hella scared for her going into these back nine episodes, because if you think it’s messy for her now? I’m just going to leave it at that.

Backstabbing #2 – Wow, Madame President Langston! So You Mad Huh?!

Where do I begin when it comes to “President” Sally Langston, other than calling her a ‘straight-up you know?’ The woman has no class, nor does she have any right to be sitting in the President’s chair now, practically erasing his legacy, which was felt strongly by the absence of a scene featuring Tony Goldwyn and Bellamy Young to assure viewers they were still in the picture. That betrayal will hopefully come into play later, because the American people should see just how power-hungry Langston really is for her to systematically attempt to keep President Grant in the past tense.

Now that Hollis has his claws in Langston, the White House has become basically a house of horrors, haunted by the nefarious antics of the former VP’s power. Her anger will be like fuel for Hollis to play with, and we all know if there is one thing Hollis knows, it is fuel. With that said, I have a feeling either Langston will do something to piss Hollis off and he will show his true colors, or Langston and Hollis are in cahoots with one another and probably planned this entire assassination to get to where they are now. I wouldn’t put it past these two snakes, but I could be proven wrong in January.

Backstabbing #3 – Cyrus, Go Easy on Him. He’s Your Husband…

When Cyrus discovered James’s duplicity, I just knew that his husband wasn’t going to be long for this world. However, Cyrus, who clearly realized James didn’t blow the whistle on the voting scandal, thought he could solve the problem with a baby. A baby, y’all. Like that was going to solve everything. Cyrus, man, that was a big mistake. Big.

James wasn’t going to do much, or anything, about what he discovered in Defiance, Ohio, because it could have affected his husband’s well-being. He didn’t know if Cyrus was involved or not, he only knew that there was a tampering of the votes in that community. So why did he betray Cyrus if he was willing to hold a secret that could rock the free world? Because Cyrus presented him with a baby, which 1) would effectively mean James had to resign from his White House press position to take care of the little tyke and 2) insulted James’s intelligence. Again. By this time, Cyrus has fooled James more than twice, so the other Mr. Beene is about to go to war and get a bouncy, fat baby in the process. Checkmate!

With that said, James better look out, because he’s playing with a beast who would probably eat kids and his own husband for breakfast.

Backstabbing #4 – Verna, You’ve Lost A Lot of Cool Points With Me, Ma’am…

It pained me, pained me, to see Verna be stripped of her hardcore veneer by the slime that is Sally Langton. Verna did all she could to become one of the most powerful women in Washington, D.C., so to have some power hungry bigot take it all away must have been a razorblade laced pillow to swallow. But it pained me even more to see Verna backstab Olivia in order to maintain that seat on the Supreme Court. Everything I loved about Verna was shot at that moment as well, and I really can’t see her redeeming herself fully in the eyes of Olivia (if she finds out). Also, I’m pretty sure Langston took Verna’s treachery-tainted information to only stab her in the back with it later; meaning that despite Verna’s desperate betrayal of Olivia, she still will be expunged from her seat once Langston drops those scandalous bombs on her.

While these backstabbers were having a field day playing Brutus among the political elite, there were some aspects of loyalty throughout the episode that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

– Olivia’s journey throughout this episode was complete and utter hell, but she stuck with her family until the end. In fact, after watching last week’s telling episode of how twisted Liv’s White House family became during the first few months in office, it’s a no-brainer why she left that life behind. She hasn’t even been back long enough and the messy behavior has already become the status quo. Hopefully, Olivia’s White Hat will be brought out to clean up the gunk that exploded all over the place once those bullets took down Fitz.

– Harrison not giving up Huck, despite 1) the Feds were already cuffing the man and 2) Huck man handling him earlier, was a sign of true loyalty despite when the chips were down and egos were bruised. Harrison is always down for the cause, which is why I would require for him to be at my side in a crisis. In fact, when Scandal ends some seasons from now, it should be Harrison who either inherits Pope and Associates or begin his own crisis management team. I would prefer the latter, because Olivia Pope doesn’t need to go anywhere.

– When it came to President Fitzgerald Grant and whether he would come out of his come, the word “if” was unmistakably present, with Olivia and Cyrus making it known for the VP and everyone else who had a doubt Fitz wouldn’t open his eyes again. While my politic science knowledge is fuzzy, I hope there will be a loophole that will help reinstate Fitz as the Commander-in-Chief, because I just can’t with Sally Langdon. I. Just. Can. Not.

– Finally, there is Abby and David. If that wasn’t one hell of a “Thank You” Abby delivered to Mr. Rosen, I don’t know what is! Their chemistry is ridiculously amazing and their pseudo-reconciliation scene proves just how awesome that coupling has become. Shonda Rhimes made a spot on choice by going “Hmmm, Darby Stanchfield and Josh Molina seem like they could light a country up if their personalities clashed.” Thank you, Shonda, for whatever went through your mind when you decided to pair Darby and Josh together. You hit gold, ma’am!

Now the wait begins and January 10th, while it is less than a month away, is still an insane amount of time from now. What will you Gladiators do between now and then? Are you happy that Huck is innocent, yet upset that he got royally played? Sound off below! I love all the responses!

 Photo Credit: ABC