Scandal: Where The Sun Don't Shine

Last night’s episode of Scandal can only be described using one word: INTENSE.

Just like the preview said, “Ain’t no winter finale like a Scandal finale.” Trust me they didn’t tell ONE lie.

Let’s just get into last night’s episode shall we? Now listen I am still reeling from the ending of last night’s episode so if I forget something blame my mind and not my heart.

KILL CARDS

After what transpired last week, (I know there wasn’t a recap but it was my birthday weekend so I should get a pass. Real gladiators know what happened anyway), Rowan issued a shutdown protocol for B613 which meant that Jake, Quinn and others were on a kill list. Jake found this out after killing a man who was after him and finding a card with his face on it in the man’s pocket. Meanwhile, the search for Papa Pope had continued in earnest and as a result they found Mama Pope, who had been kept in the infamous hole. Maya sees her daughter and expects to be freed from custody.

Not so fast, Mrs. Pope.

Olivia is really only focused on getting her father. As she put it, the goal is to “hunt him, find him, kill him.”

After Quinn finds out about the kill cards, she leaves the OPA office to find good old Charlie. They have sex in the car and later at his home where she finds her own card in his pocket. He was supposed to kill her but claims he decided not to. Honestly, I am starting not to hate Quinn as much as I did in the previous seasons but I am still not down with this whole Quinn/Charlie or even Huck/Quinn thing for that matter so let’s just gloss over this part, ok?

BITCH BABY

Didn’t I tell Cyrus to stop messing with Michael? I did, right? Of course I did. Well stuff hit the fan in this episode. As expected, courtesy of Liz, pictures of Cyrus and Michael were leaked to the press. After an emergency meeting and Fitz confirming that they would fight this, Olivia offers a solution. Cyrus and Michael must marry so she can then spin this scandal (no pun intended) as a love story for all of America to enjoy. Cyrus, who ordinarily would love a perfect spin, refuses to tarnish James’s character and says no to the deal.

As a result Cyrus hands in his resignation, one that Fitz very reluctantly takes. In that scene we can definitely see the connection between these two. In a lot of ways Cyrus has always been Fitz’s backbone. He has always, and still is, willing to do the dirty work for him because as he has said before he “serves at the pleasure of the President.” Strip away the titles and job duties and these two really do have a bromance and in that moment Fitz hated to see his friend, the formidable Cyrus Beene, seemingly so down and out.

By the looks at my twitter feed last night there were a number of you who didn’t like this scene. That’s your business but I loved it. The term “bitch baby” I believe was coined by Christina a few seasons ago on Grey’s Anatomy and last night on How To Get Away With Murder someone used it. It’s definitely a ShondaLand word and is here to stay.

I got a little sidetracked but the reason I loved the scene was because it was a great example of Cyrus and Olivia’s relationship. They do not always agree and and in an instant Cyrus can turn on anyone but in the end they are sort of an anchor for each other. These two (along with Mellie) have given the most for Fitz to be able to live comfortably on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they have an understanding that they have always done and will continue to do what is necessary for him to stay there. While very different, they are still so much alike. They are both ruthless, cunning and wield power like no other. Though at times they have found themselves on different sides of the fence, they always meet back in the middle and they motivate each other. Aside from Fitz, Cyrus has the most trust in Olivia. Remember that scene a couple episodes where he told Abby off? Exactly.

Only she could have motivated him like that.

POPE VS. POPE

Another Scandal episode, another Pope showdown. Once again Olivia comes home and meets Papa Pope in her home. This time he has a glass of wine and an old Stevie Wonder record at her dining room table. This is getting beyond ridiculous at this point! I told Olivia to get better security! I’m sure she has concierge in her building, are they being paid from her unwanted visitors to not let her know they’re there? Is there a back entrance that we don’t know about? With all that is going on, at the very least Liv needs to unlock her apartment door with one hand and have the dang glock in the other leading the way. Too much is going on around here, you can’t be too relaxed!

Olivia makes note of the fact that she knows he can’t really disappear and be a normal person because he is not “normal” Well you don’t say? Of course we know there is nothing remotely normal about Rowan. Papa Pope does not wish to hear any more from his ungrateful daughter, he is still pissed that she would “send in her clan of good ol’ boys” to kill him. Did I mention that at this point in the scene he had taken out his gun and forced her to have a seat? No? Well he did. As he goes on one of infamous rants, he placed the gun on the table and eventually Liv reached for it and aimed it at him.

Hold on.

Stick a pin.

This is where I became irritated with Liv. Did she really think that he would put the gun down even for a second if it was loaded, knowing the feelings his daughter was harboring for him? Come on now, Liv! You should have known it wouldn’t have been that easy. And indeed it wasn’t.

She went to pull the trigger but nothing happened. The gun was empty.

Rowan is beyond wounded. When he realizes she did pull the trigger and would have willingly killed him he let out a strangling cry. Even though he put the gun out there for her to take he never really thought she would do it. He gave her one last chance and she failed.

P.S. Kudos to Joe Morton! He plays the hell out Rowan Pope. Every single scene with him is just television gold. He delivers his lines in such a methodical way that it gives me chills at times. Brilliant actor!

GONE GIRL

In the end, after confirmation that the President would not attack West Angola, VP Andrew walks into Fitz’s office at the same time Jake pays a visit to Liv. Olivia is annoyingly chipper when she answers the door for Jake. She just wants to eat burgers, drink wine (beer for Jake) and dance to old records. A little odd given the times but we’ll deal. We were all waiting for the other shoe to drop though. We KNEW something big was coming and boy did it.

Just watch the final scene unfold:

Hold the phone. Hold the damn phone. THEY KIDNAPPED OLIVIA! THEY REALLY KIDNAPPED OLIVIA CAROLYN POPE!

It’s about to be smoke in the city. Imagine how every one is going to react to this news. Did they not think this through? Did they forget who they were dealing with?

But aside from Fitz and Jake’s reaction, imagine how Huck is going to react! Huck is about to start peeling people back like grapes to get Liv back.

Huck is going to catch a body, Quinn is going to catch a body, Fitz is going to catch a body, PAPA POPE is going to catch a body; Everyone is going to catch a body!!

Let’s not even discuss how Papa Pope is going to react to this… Unless of course he is in on it too. His words are going to haunt all of them now. He did tell her to try and live a life with him not continuously watching over her. I knew something bad was going to happen to her but I didn’t think it would be this drastic THIS quick. Well, once Jake went into the room I figured a sniper would take a shot at her or something but I didn’t think they would actually kidnap her.

Even worse? We have to wait until January 29th to find out about Olivia’s whereabouts.

Elsewhere in the episode David learned through interviewing Abby about Cyrus’ scandal that she sleep with Leo (#mandown). Huck presented his ex wife with his B613 files, that Quinn got from Charlie, to prove he’s not crazy as she thinks. Mellie also found out about Andrew sleeping with Liz, which made for a fantastic scene between Liz and Mellie later on in this episode.

Gladiators stay strong! We’ll be back soon enough

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Natalya

Natalya is an Account Manager by day and an editor and author's assistant to passionate creatives by night. When she is not adding to her enormous book collection or stationery supply, she is catching up on her favorite television shows.

Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.

You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.