This week’s episode of Scandal opens with Olivia not being sold. That’s right: her fluency in Farsi helps her create distrust on both ends of the deal, and to be fair, none are too reliable to begin with. I mean, we are talking about three abductors and people who bid on human beings who have been illegitimately robbed of their freedom. It is one of those “If you lay with dogs…” situations. Ultimately, both parts of the botched deal are played by the crisis manager and driven in opposite ways. Olivia smiles wide and, once again, reminds her loyal fans why she is the epitome of a heroine. What she did was nothing short of impressive. It is glorious to see an educated woman use her education AND combine it with street smarts.
In the meantime, at the White House, Mellie warns Andrew that he is over. He has never been a winner (and never will), and if he tries to fly any higher, he will be shot down. Unable to take what he can get, the soon to be former VP threatens the First Lady yet again about whispering to reporters’ ears intimate details about her, which, as she knows, would make it impossible for her to fly any higher, too. Andrew clearly has a death wish; there is just no way around his actions.
While Mellie thinks her affair might have costed her too much, Cyrus and Fitz are briefed about how much the POTUS’s indiscretion might cost the country, and to be succinct, it’s a whole lot; additional blood will be spilled. Even though the bid for Olivia has resumed, most outcomes lead to the US becoming vulnerable to an unreasonable degree. The President still refuses to accept that the advice to neutralize the asset, a.k.a. his former flame, is the best possible. He still wants to try an extraction. On the other hand, his chief of staff disagrees. As he has to, he sees the bigger picture and needs to bring Fitz to his senses. He tries and his speech, despite not achieving its goal, is a work of art.
On parallel damage control missions, Mellie meets Liz and asks her to do something about Andrew, while Jake talks to Huck and pleads with him so he doesn’t let his dark passenger out. Quinn also makes Huck promise that he will not spill more blood, and in an interesting twist, Elizabeth pays him a visit and asks his to join the bandwagon and silence Andrew.
Privy to the fact that her BFF is now a threat to national security, Abby trusts her gut and her eyes and is able to see what the President cannot. Cyrus has, behind the PUTUS’s back, orchestrated an offensive to, for once and all, end the dangerous situation the country has been put in, meaning buh bye, Liv.
The bid puts the Gladiators/Marie Wallace on a tie with the Russians, and by reading his kidnapee, Gus, who has been fooled before, opts not to go with the OPA team. With everyone defeated and the CIA determined to terminate Olivia, there seems to be no hope; however, Abby doesn’t give up and asks David if he has any contact with Interpol, while, Jake pays another visit to Maya, who gives him a location to poke at.
In the meantime, Huck decides to help Liz while still keeping his zero blood spillage promise. An undisclosed drug injected into Andrew’s back accomplishes that.
Cyrus and the CIA are serious about cleaning the mess surrounding Olivia, her included, and they are about to launch missiles straight to the place where she is going to be handed to the Russians. Thankfully, the chief of staff recognizes Stephen Finch among the buyers and calls off the mission. Abby, after all, came through on her end; Olivia resorts to violence and gets some revenge against Gus.
After a few sweet words, a thank you, and a declined offer to go back to work at OPA, Olivia says goodbye again to Stephen and gets on an helicopter that will put her back on American ground. She is interrogated about her abduction while news about the VP being in a vegetative state breaks.
The gladiators welcome their leader, who despite experiencing some PTSD, remains strong and asks to be alone. Seconds later, Fitz visits her and Olivia cannot forgive him for going to war because of her, which in all honesty, was marvelous.
This episode of Scandal was very consistent. From the alliances to the twists and turns, the suspense, the honest heart-to-hearts, and the Hail Mary that paid off, every piece fit into place, showing once again why Scandal has not lost any steam.
Highlights:
– This is a bit unrelated to this show, but after The Slap made, probably not even on purpose, a terrible stand about immigration, the fact that Scandal makes a point about speaking multiple languages being an asset brought some peace to Thursday night.
– Jake and Daddy Pope’s interaction was not only telling, but also smartly played. The question remains, though: how does Maya know so much? Seriously.
– Cyrus off his leash is, in my opinion, Cyrus at his best.
– Stephen being back was bittersweet but ultimately a welcomed surprise. Hopefully, we will be seeing more of him in the future.
[Photo via ABC]
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