Scandal – Adventures in Babysitting

By starrymag | November 9, 2017

By: Nicole Dintelman

 

 

This week on “Scandal” was all business. Well,maybe a little pleasure for some. It picks up where last week left off. Liv (Kerry Washington) is interrogating her father after she took his dinosaur bones away. She wants to know why he insists on making things so hard for himself. She says she doesn’t enjoy punishing him. What a turn of events! We’re still shocked at the way she bosses Rowan (Joe Morton) around. She truly controls his entire life. When Rowan tries to explain himself, Olivia shuts him down immediately. She tells him that speaking to her is a privilege. Oh, snap! Olivia tells Rowan that anything he does is a privilege and she’s taking them away until he can behave himself. We kind of feel bad for him. She tells her father to tell Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) to go home. Fitz doesn’t take the news well. He decides he’s going to talk to Olivia. Rowan tells him that’s a bad idea. If he does that he will lose the privilege of speaking to Olivia at all.

 

Mellie (Bellamy Young) gives an address to the nation about the troubles in Bashran. She wants to use the military to reinstate President Rashad. Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. Curtis Pryce (Jay Hernandez) immediately goes after Mellie on his show for her decision. Olivia reminds Mellie that they knew the numbers wouldn’t be promising. The preliminary numbers show that the American people do not want a war.

 

President Rashad (Faran Tahir) tells Mellie that he thinks he should return to Bashran and face his opponents. Mellie talks him into staying but only if his niece Yasmine is protected. Quinn (Katie Lowes) and Charlie (George Newbern) bring Yasmine to QPA. They confiscate all of her electronics. When they tell her she won’t be going back to school she doesn’t take the news well.  Quinn assures her that everything is going to be okay.

 

Jake (Scott Foley) is meeting with the Armed Services to go over strategy for Bashran. Olivia tells Jake that there may be an easier way. She wants to use B613 to take out one of the leaders of the rebels in Bashran. The other side would be blamed for it ending the takeover. Jake tells Olivia that he told her being command would get easier.

 

Olivia runs into Fitz when he’s leaving Mellie’s office. He tells her that he’s sorry it’s come to this. Olivia asks him what he’s doing and he tells her whatever is necessary. Olivia is furious. She wants to know if her father gave him her message. When Fitz tells her that he got the message and he’s staying, it looks like her head may explode. Olivia asks Fitz what he told Mellie. Fitz says he told her everything.

 

Mellie is astonished that Olivia killed Luna Vargas. Olivia tells Mellie that Luna wanted her dead. Liv says that it’s her carries the burden so Mellie doesn’t have to. Mellie doesn’t see it that way. She tells Olivia what’s done in her name is as good as her doing it herself. Mellie reminds Olivia that it’s only them. Her words used against her. Olivia tells Mellie that she was protecting her. Mellie tells Olivia to shut it down. Immediately. Mellie tells Olivia to get her her war and if she ever hears about B613 again she will not be so forgiving. Nice to see Mellie taking charge.

 

Charlie tells Yasmine that he incinerated her phone. She immediately begins to cry. She says that she never asked for their protection. Fenton Glackland (Dean Norris) arrives at Cyrus’s office to shadow his meetings. Cyrus (Jeff Perry) is meeting with Congress to get them to vote for the way. Fenton is in the corner on his phone and Cyrus thinks he’s not paying attention. The phone beeping is quite annoying. Cyrus should have been a car salesman. He can talk people into anything.

 

Rowan is alone in his workshop when Olivia storms in. She tells him that she gave him one job and he failed. Fitz went to the White House and told Mellie everything. Rowan finds this funny. Rowan asks her what she wants from him. Olivia says that she told him what to do. Rowan tells her that he did her bidding with nothing in return. Olivia asks him if he wants to be rewarded for conspiring behind her back. Rowan screams: “I want my bones!” Well, okay then. Olivia tells him that everything about him makes her sad and refuses to give his bones back.

 

Quinn is still trying to plan a wedding in the midst of the Bashirian drama. She tells Huck (Guillermo Diaz) to get the flowers. Huck says that he doesn’t think the florist likes him. We can’t really picture Huck in a flower shop. Quinn tells Abby (Darby Stanchfield) that she’s on Yasmine duty. Abby informs the team that Yasmine is gone. Quinn wants to know who was supposed to be watching her. Charlie says that he stepped away to write his vows. Yasmine was crying and he wanted to give her time alone. Quinn is not happy.

 

Huck says that it won’t be easy to track her because they took her phone. Yasmine texted someone from Charlie’s phone so it may be a bit easier to track her with that. Jake meets Fitz for a drink. Fitz tells Jake that he can talk freely with him and he wants to know about Olivia. He knows they’re working together on B613. Jake tells him to stop asking questions. Jake tells him that Fitz is wasting his time being in DC. Jake says that Olivia is a lost cause. Fitz can’t save her. Well, that meeting didn’t go well.

 

Olivia asks Curtis to let President Rashad be a guest on his show. Curtis tells her that she can’t call him up whenever she wants and expect him to do everything she wants. Olivia tells him that she’s sorry that things are not going well between them. Olivia asks him which side of history he wants to be on. Curtis has President Rashad come on his show. Curtis is very hard on President Rashad but the President can handle himself.

 

It’s obvious that Mellie is infatuated with President Bashran. Olivia goes to let her know that Cyrus made a lot of headway on the Hill, but Mellie doesn’t want to hear anything Olivia has to say. Cyrus is still meeting with Senators and Fenton is still on his phone. Cyrus lets him have it finally. He tells Fenton that if he wants to play video games he should go home. Fenton tells him that he’s not playing video games. He has an algorithm to tell him if things are a good venture. He tells Cyrus that the war is a crappy product. Cyrus asks what he suggests and Fenton tells him if he sells the country a crappy war they will never buy another product from him again.

 

QPA finds Yasmine. She was at a rest stop with her girlfriend. Yes, we said girlfriend. This girl is everything that the people of Bashran are fighting against. Yasmine says that she didn’t have a choice. They were not even going to let her say goodbye. Quinn tells her that if they found her anyone could have. Yasmine clearly doesn’t understand the severity of the issue at hand. Quinn tells Yasmine that she’s put Jillian (her girlfriend) in danger, too. Quinn tells the girls that they’re going to stay put until she figures out what to do.

 

Cyrus tells Olivia that they don’t have the votes for the war. Congress is split 50/50. Olivia says that it shouldn’t be a problem because he gets the deciding vote. Cyrus tells her that he’s going to vote no. Olivia asks Cyrus what he wants to vote yes. Cyrus tells Olivia that the country doesn’t want the war. Olivia tells him that if he doesn’t vote the way she wants she’ll make him pay for it. He doesn’t want her as an enemy. Cyrus tells her that he’s still her friend but the war is a loser and America doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want it.

 

Liv is ticked off so she decides to go take it out on Fitz. She asks him if he got an update and tells him they’re not going to get the war. This means they won’t get the treaty. Fitz tells her to sit down. Olivia asks him when she ever listened to him. She asks him if he feels good running to the principal’s office to tattle on her. Fitz says that he does. He tells her that somewhere she lost her white hat and he’s just handed it back to her. Olivia asks him if he just thinks that she’s turned into some power hungry boss bitch that can play and use the President like a pawn. She says that she’s been doing that for years – ever since she put him in that office.

 

Olivia tells Fitz that she’s sorry, but he can’t come back and buddy up to her father and worm his way back in. Olivia asks him what it’s going to take to get him to leave. Fitz says that he’ll leave when he sees someone he recognizes – when he sees Olivia Pope again. The news is reporting that Mellie doesn’t have the votes while Mellie is still trying to talk into President Rashad into staying in the U.S. She tells him she’s asking him not to die.

 

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for happens – President Rashad kisses Mellie. Mellie breaks away suddenly before things get too out of hand. These two were about to get down! President Rashad leaves her office and leaves her breathless. Olivia is at QPA to tell Quinn that she needs them to keep Yasmine a little bit longer. Quinn offers her a cheeseburger to take her with her now. Quinn tells Olivia that Yasmine ran away, but they got her back. Quinn explains that everyone is upset with her because she’s sending Jillian back to school and ending the lover’s rendezvous.

 

Quinn says that she blames herself because she didn’t treat Yasmine like a client. She didn’t ask her what she wanted. Olivia Pope 101. This gives Liv an idea. Cyrus invites Fenton to stay and have a drink with him. This surprises him but Cyrus tells him that he owes him one. Cyrus tells Fenton that he’s come to admire him and he thinks he might actually be good in politics. Fenton answers that with a kiss. It seems like everyone in the White House is making out tonight!

Olivia goes and asks Mellie what she wants. Mellie tells her that she went behind her back and Olivia tells her it won’t happen again. Olivia says that in order to help her she has to know what Mellie wants. Mellie tells her she wants President Rashad. She wants him alive. She wants him. Mellie says she also wants the treaty. She wants America to feel safe again as she wants the world to feel safe again. Olivia suggests they build a campaign to get America on board but Mellie tells her they don’t have that kind of time.

 

Mellie says they need to do something now. Olivia asks Mellie what she’s saying. Mellie says she’s not saying anything. She’s the President. Mellie tells Olivia that she doesn’t need to know any of the details. Olivia tells her to consider it handled. President Rashad goes back to Mellie’s office at her request. She tells him that she’s arranged him a flight for the following day to Turkey. She says it’s safer for him to return to Bashran through Turkey.

 

Mellie tells President Rashad that he’s returning to Bashran as President. He asks her how she did it and she says she can’t get into details. President Rashad tries to kiss her again and Mellie backs away. She says he has his country but so does she. Quinn breaks the news to Yasmine that she has to return to Bashran with her uncle. He feels that she’ll be safer there. Quinn asks Yasmine what she wants. Yasmine says that she wants to be herself and she wants to be with Jillian.

 

Quinn says the only way for those things to happen is to return to Bashran with her uncle. She can help change her country. Quinn says that if she stays in the U.S. and runs off with Jillian someone will find them. Quinn tells Yasmine that she either risks both their lives to be together now or goes home with her uncle and have a future.

 

Olivia tells Mellie that there’s one more thing she needs her to do. Fitz runs into her leaving Mellie’s office. She says she’s sorry it had to come to this. Mellie tells Fitz to go home. Go back to Vermont. Mellie tells Fitz that speaking to her is a privilege – one that he’s lost. She tells him that all communication will now go through her office. Fitz is speechless at this turn of events. Mellie dismisses him like old news.

 

Olivia apologies to Curtis, but he tells her that he made a mistake. He was attracted to her, but he mistakenly thought she had human qualities. He doesn’t like her. Well, we guess that’s over. Quinn and Charlie take Yasmine to the airfield to catch the plane with President Rashad. Yasmine apologizes for not making things easier on them. Quinn tells Yasmine that her country will be lucky to have her. Quinn and Charlie watch Yasmine walk to the plane and get on it. Then it explodes. We’re left waiting until next week to see how all of this is going to play out for Mellie and company. We’re guessing it’s not going to go easy for anyone.