Scandal – Survival of the Fittest

By: Jamie Steinberg

The episode begins with huddled masses in Mellie’s room for election night. We eagerly await to find out who has won the Presidential election as it all comes down to one city’s results. We see Fitz, Jake (Scott Foley), Olivia and the usual suspects floating around eagerly anticipating results. Suddenly, the results are in and it seems that Francisco Vargas (Ricardo Chavira) has won.

Mellie (Bellamy Young) is not yet ready to concede and notes, “Obviously, there has been voter tampering. Make sure everyone knows this race is far from over!” Olivia (Kerry Washington) warns Mellie though that not conceding will only look poorly on her stating, “Because you’re a woman, half of them are going to call you a bitch.”

Mellie finds her way into the hotel room’s bathtub. She’s ready to drink champagne and put the election behind her. Olivia comes in and joins her, letting her know that the race was a tough fight, but that she shouldn’t be wallowing. Just then, news breaks that Vargas has been shot! He has been shot three times and is being taken to a local hospital for treatment.

David Rosen (Joshua Malina) tells Abby (Darby Stanchfield) she needs to get herself to the hospital since she is now responsible for looking after the new president. When she arrives, a security officer tries putting her in her place by saying he is in charge. He refuses to let her through to get in to see Vargas. Not one to let a man step on her, Abby snaps back, “Guess who my boss is. I’ll give you a hint. It’s a big oval.” The security officer lets Abby through.

Olivia goes to see her coworker Marcus, who had been guiding Vargas through the campaign. Marcus (Cornelius Smith, Jr.) is in shock as he was standing nearby when the shots happened. He thinks if Vargas had been shot twice, he would have survived. But the third shot hit Vargas in the face. He also mentions how Cyrus (Jeff Perry) was just as shattered by the shooting.

Back in campaign headquarters, David Rosen is meeting with Fitz (Tony Goldwyn). It seems because Vargas was just elected, he is not technically the next president yet. The president is actually named when the Electoral College votes. “Right now, we’re in the Twilight Zone,” Rosen states. He follows it up by looking Fitz in the eyes and saying, “In reality, the next President of the United States is whoever you say it is.”

Olivia gets the idea (of course) that her father might be involved in this shooting. She goes to see him and demands for him to confess to being responsible for Vargas’ death. Finally, Rowan Pope (Joe Morton) snaps. He tells his daughter, “I am your father. I am not a predator. I’m very smart prey trying to help my species survive.” Okay…Well, if Papa Pope didn’t have anything to do with the shooting, who did?

Back at the White House, Mellie is sulking on a terrace. Fitz joins her and the two have a heart to heart. She is not sure Fitz was ever really made to be a President saying, “You aren’t weak. You just aren’t power hungry. I never realized that.” During their chat, Mellie goes back and forth about whether or not she truly wants the presidency. In the end she looks at Fitz and says, “I want it…the crown…the rare air. I want it. I do want it.”

A lightbulb goes off in Olivia’s mind. She realizes Cyrus is responsible for the shooting. She knows he is the next in line to be President and snaps, “He murdered his way into the White House and we are doing nothing to stop him!” She heads to the hospital to check on him and she tasks Quinn (Katie Lowes), Huck and Charlie with finding out information on Cyrus’ guilt. While visiting the hospital, Olivia sees that he is almost comatose, despite the doctors checking him out and giving him a full bill of health. Huck, Quinn and Charlie (George Newbern) investigate Cyrus, but they have no luck. Charlie is distracted though, wanting to take Quinn on vacation. Quinn is too focused on the task at hand so Huck (Guillermo Diaz) speaks up and says that Charlie is either trying to murder her or ask her to marry him. It turns out it is the latter and the two are now engaged!

After all the hubbub, Charlie is able to focus and figures out there was a phone call that came in from someone (Jenny) reporting the shooting. The woman on the line says that saw the shooting and that it was Cyrus who did it. Huck and Quinn trace the woman’s cell and drive out to meet with her. Unfortunately, when they arrive there is an explosion and all they are able to locate is Jenny’s hand.

Meanwhile, we see Fitz meeting with Cyrus. Fitz shakes his hand and says, “I’m handing you the most beautiful thing in the world. I’m handing you America. Take care of it.” After shaking his hand, Cyrus turns to Olivia who brings him in for a hug. She whispers in his ear that she knows he is responsible for Vargas’ death. She tells him she was surprised that he was able to con people for one day that he was traumatized, let alone two. She also lets him know she is going to do whatever it takes for him to be taken down.