Scandal – Mercy

By: Nicole Dintelman

Last week on “Scandal,” Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi) met her maker when Samantha Ruland (Zoe Perry) beat her to death with a golf club. We’re betting Mellie (Bellamy Young) won’t be one of those presidents that like to play a lot of golf after witnessing that go down. By that last statement, you’ve probably figured out that the Electoral College voted Mellie to be President over Cyrus (Jeff  Perry), who was fully exonerated of the murder of Frankie Vargas (Ricardo Chavira) and released from prison. However, that combined with the support of Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and Luna Vargas (Tessie Santiago) was not enough to get Cyrus the Oval. Fitz also had Rowan Pope (Joe Morton) picked up and brought to the White House so team bad guys thought he had been arrested. Olivia was so pleased that Fitz did this, she gave him a little something special and it looks like #Olitz is back on, shippers rejoice!

This week episode picks right up in the Presidential bedroom with Olivia waking up next to Fitz. At first, it seems like she’s not really sure if she’s happy about what she’s done, but she dresses and goes to see her dad in the cell in the basement, not giving it another thought. Rowan is not really pleasant, to say the least. Rowan feels like he needs to run, not hide out in the White House. Fitz comes in and kisses Olivia and asks Rowan how he’s doing and Rowan tells him to call him “Mr. Pope.” Apparently, the two would rather have a pissing contest than figure out a plan. Fitz tells him that he’s free to eat and walk around, but he’s going to be shadowed by two very capable looking secret service looking gentleman. Rowan then kicks them out and screams at them when they don’t leave. Grouchy old man.

Abby (Darby Stanchfield) is having boyfriend drama of her own making. Leo (Paul Adelstein) is getting on her nerves. Poor Leo, he’s really trying, but Abby just isn’t having it.  Luna Vargas is on TV telling everyone that no one wants Mellie as President because they voted for Frankie. That will surely make everyone feel better, said no one ever. Charlie (George Newbern) confronts Huck (Guillermo Diaz) because he thinks that Quinn (Katie Lowes) still has feelings for Huck. Huck is dumbfounded by this because he’s not sure what Charlie is talking about. Jake (Scott Foley) takes David Rosen (Joshua Malina) out to where he buried Elizabeth and reminds him of the importance of what they’re trying to do, you know to take down team bad guys.

Samantha is in Mellie’s office giving her new a new cell phone, new tablet, and even a shiny new assistant so they can keep Mellie in line. Mellie may be the new President but Samantha and Mr. Pais (David Warshofsky) are the ones in charge now.  Mellie asks if everything will explode if she steps out of line and Sam lets her know everything but the assistant will, Bridget likes knives. Hey, at least she has a sense of humor, right? Or was she not joking? Mellie gives Sam a list of people she would like in her cabinet, however, Sam isn’t hearing of that. Sam tells her she has a much bigger vacancy to fill.

Theodore Pais comes to visit Olivia to let her know that Jake is no longer suitable for Vice President and shows her a video of Jake covering up the murder of Elizabeth North. Olivia calls his bluff and tells him to release them. Pias tells her their list for VP is a short one, it’s him. Olivia tells him that she plans to destroy him and everyone close to him. Huck asks Olivia what they’re going to do and Olivia tells him she has no idea. Jake tells her that he’s not going to resign, he’s supposed to protect Mellie. Olivia tells him that he will still protect Mellie as head of the NSA and if he doesn’t resign they’ll kill him. Jake says he’d love to see them try.

Abby lets Quinn know that they’re on for today. What’s the plan? Tell us! Quinn goes to tell Huck that she needs help with Jake’s press conference and Huck asks where Charlie is and Quinn tells him that he didn’t come home last night and he’s in fact MIA. Jake gives a press conference that he is not going to serve as Mellie’s VP, but will stay on as head of the NSA. David is still sleeping with Sam and calls someone to let them know when she leaves to head to the White House. Our question is, don’t they have David’s office bugged, too?

Sam gives Mellie her statement to read to the press about who her VP is going to be and they make a stop off in Fitz’s office first. Fitz tells Sam that he knows who she is and what she’s done. All of the sudden Secret Service officers bust in and say there is a drone in the White House air space and they have to lock down the building. They usher Sam and Abby to a locked room in the basement and everyone else somewhere else. We think this must be the plan! Sam demands to contact Mellie because she has no cell service and the Secret Service agents let her know that she doesn’t have clearance for that.

Mellie is taken to a room where Fitz, Jake, Olivia, Cyrus, Marcus (Cornelius Smith, Jr.) and David already are. Mellie is freaking out and demands to know what is going on. They tell Mellie that it’s their drone and they’re taking her back from team bad guys. Huck is the one flying the drone with Quinn being a back seat driver. Quinn is also trying to get a hold of Charlie who is dodging her calls. Quinn tells Huck she can’t figure out why Charlie won’t answer her calls and Huck tells her it’s because Charlie thinks that she and Huck have feelings for each other still. Quinn is a little dumbfounded at this and they both change the subject when Huck lands the drone on the White House lawn.

Rowan is brought to the secret meeting room where everyone is gathered because Olivia thinks he can help them figure out how to get Mellie back. He announces when he walks in that he shot Frankie Vargas and asks who they want him to shoot next. That’s one way to enter a room we guess. Rowan wants Fitz to tell him that they need his help; however, when he does Rowan tells him no. Rowan says he won’t help them because it’s a suicide mission. Cyrus tried to get Mellie to name him as her VP, a unity ticket, sounds like a plan right? Mellie doesn’t think so.

Mellie says this all started when they said yes to Defiance and if they had just said no back then none of this would be happening. Marcus wants to know what Defiance is, of course, he’s ignored. Cyrus tells Mellie to shut up and if she had just conceded like Olivia told her to they wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe Olivia’s vision should have come true, these two bicker like an old married couple. Rowan calls them all worthless and Fitz tells him that the only reason he’s still standing is because of Olivia, he wanted to throw him in prison. Rowan tells Fitz the only reason the only reason he spared him is because he wanted to sleep with Olivia, he wanted to throw a dollar at a stripper. Wait did he just call his own daughter a stripper? Jake has to stop Fitz from going after Rowan.  

Rowan says that everyone in the room has finally admitted that they lost and Olivia gives everyone a five-minute break. Fitz tries to talk to Olivia and she refuses to talk to him. Cyrus goes to see Rowan and takes him to the bar in the basement for a stiff drink, while a bomb squad investigates the drone on the lawn. David Rosen thinks there is something wrong with him because he always ends up with women who are psycho. Fitz tells him that he always thought he should fall for a woman who wears headbands and cardigans, but he thinks they’re boring. Fitz tells David there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s just attracted to women who push him and challenge him.

Cyrus didn’t just take Rowan for a drink. He has ulterior motives, but Rowan is too fast for him. Cyrus raises a knife and Rowan flips around with a broken bottle top. Cy tells him that the country needs Frankie Vargas, that he needs Frankie Vargas. Rowan tells him he’s sorry for his loss and goes back upstairs. Olivia tells Jake they need to get back to work. Jake asks what they’re fighting for and asks when she started sleeping with Fitz again. Jealous much? Olivia calls him as much as well as weak and pathetic, then she apologizes. Olivia tells him she didn’t have time to nurture his feelings because she has to save Mellie.

Marcus asks Mellie how she’s holding up and Mellie tells him that the gun is to her head. Marcus tells her that he won’t let anyone hurt her. Mellie asks him if he thinks she did the right thing fighting for the Oval and Marcus told her that she’s going to be the President and she’s going to change things. Mellie isn’t an easy sell, but Marcus tells her that she’s a leader and they need her to do her job. Cyrus gets emotional looking at a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt while walking back to the room, not sure what that is all about, maybe it’s the booze.

Mellie has decided she’s ready to fight. She wants to name her own VP, she offers it to Cyrus and he tells her no, he doesn’t want it. We’re pretty sure an hour ago he did. Olivia tells her that it has to be someone pure, someone not afraid, and someone who will not back down from the fight. They all leave the room pretty happy, not sure who they decided on. Olivia calls Quinn and tells her to stand down, it will be over soon. Huck tells Quinn he knows where Charlie is and Quinn finds him and hops in his car and tells him that she loves Huck as a friend, but loves him as a husband and wants to marry him.

Sam is getting pretty ticked off because she’s still stuck in the bunker with Abby. Abby is pretty happy with herself because she knows what’s going on. Mellie then comes on screen to make her statement on who she’s chosen as her VP. Mellie has chosen Luna Vargas as her Vice President! Wow! An all-woman ticket? Only on television! Sam is really upset, then Olivia comes in and tells her that she took Mellie back. Sam will now be their prisoner. Sam starts to tell her of all the mistakes she could have made, but Olivia stops her and tells her that the mistake she made was to try to take on Olivia Pope. They take Samantha away and Olivia asks Abby if she’s ready for a fight and Abby says it’s the least she can do. We think so too Abby. We’re still mad about the whole Huck thing, not sure when we’ll get over it.

Hopefully, next week we’ll see how Pais is taking this new turn of events and if Olivia and Fitz are okay. She was pretty cold with him this episode. See you then!