This episode picks right up from the final moment of the last one, where Olivia Pope stood in front of the press and admitted to a relationship with the President of the United States.
Things start off with Abby in a panic. She is hurriedly trying to get to the Oval office to put a stop to the interview that was set up with journalist Noah Baker, where the President and First Lady will present a united front and deny the reports of an affair between Fitz and Olivia. They, of course, have no idea that Olivia has done the unthinkable and confessed! Abby had to put a stop to the interview and quick, so she enlists the help of the Secret Service. She concocts some fake security breach as to why POTUS and FLOTUS are being whisked away from the interview in progress, and has them taken to the Oval. Fitz is confused because if there were a breach, they should have been taken to the bunker, but he and Mellie soon understand why they were corralled instead to their present location. Right there on TV is Olivia and her one word confirmation that sends Mellie reeling and puts a smile on Fitz’s face.
With POTUS and FLOTUS in the clear, Abby returns to Noah and ties to smooth things over, but he has figured out what the diversion was all about. The President and First Lady were feeding him a fable about their undying love for each other at the very same time that Olivia was admitting to an affair with the President on national television. Abby asks to have the tape of the recording that had already been made, but Noah refuses. He still wants his interview, and if he doesn’t get it, he’ll be running a story with the footage that he has of the First Couple lying.
In another part of the White House, Elizabeth is instructing her minions on how to deal with any questions concerning the affair controversy. Not a word is to be said unless it has been approved by her. She is mid instruction when she spies Olivia who has somehow found her way into the White House without media detection. (How did she manage that anyway?)
Olivia is soon escorted into the Oval by Charlotte. Present in the room are Fitz, Mellie and Abby. Of the three of them, Olivia makes immediate eye contact with Fitz before even acknowledging that other people are in the room. These two crazy kids… As per usual, Mellie acknowledges Olivia with a scornful barb about how Olivia can’t seem to keep her legs closed.
*start rant* Let me just say that I am hoping that there will be a day in the near future when I am no longer subjected to Mellie Grant referring to Olivia Pope in language that reduces her to nothing more than a sexual laborer because I am beyond over it. Once you sanction the continued engagement of your husband with his girlfriend (103, 107, 305), you lose the right to use her vagina against her. You can no longer play at being the affronted wife. *end rant*
Abby informs all in the room that they have one hour to give Noah an exclusive interview of the President and First Lady or he’ll run the footage of them lying about the state of their marriage. Mellie is at a loss as to what they are to say to Noah now, and Fitz says that they should go with the truth. He looks over at Olivia as he says this and is rewarded with a pleased look from her. Mellie, however, is far from pleased. The truth? No, that doesn’t work for her. Abby tells her that they have no other choice but to go with the truth, that they can spin this in a way that has them explaining that the Grants grew apart following the death of their son. Mellie does not want to go with the truth and she blames Olivia for robbing them of the option of going with their initial plan, which was to the deny Sally’s story and proclaim the Grant marriage to be as strong as it ever was. She says she’s not sitting down with Fitz in front of Noah Baker, but Fitz shuts her down and reiterates that they have no choice. He instructs her to go to her office and wait until they inform her of when it is time to do the interview. (Did he just dismiss her like a child throwing a tantrum?) Shocked that she would be spoken to in such a manner, Mellie exits the room, but not before a little show of aggression towards Olivia on her way out.
With Mellie out of the room, Olivia speaks for the first time since arriving. She tells Fitz that before opting for the truth (option 1), there are less hazardous options that he can employ. Abby interrupts at this point to state that they are aware of their other options and Olivia gives her the side eye before continuing with what she was going to say. (Ut oh. Friendship probs.) Option 2 is that Olivia herself is tossed to the wolves and cast as the “trashy homewrecker with a long history of seducing powerful men.” Abby again interrupts and says that they thought of that, and Fitz adds that they dismissed that option. Olivia then presents option 3, which is for Fitz to admit to the affair, but remain with Mellie for the rest of his term. Fitz insists that they are going with option 1, which is to tell the truth and that they were going to do it together. Of course, he is eye sexing Olivia while he’s saying this. Abby feels a shift in the force and the tension in the room turns awkward for her. She is quick to excuse herself from the room with the reason that she’s going to inform Noah that the interview is still on.
As soon as the door closes behind Abby, Olivia immediately offers an apology for going to the press without first warning him. She says she wasn’t thinking. Fitz clearly could care less about how she did it. He’s just happy that she did. Now the two of them could proceed forward together as he had wanted them to from the onset. Olivia appears pleased that he’s pleased and next thing you know, these two are engaged in one serious game of tonsil hockey.
Meanwhile, Abby is making her way to the First Lady’s office. Abby tries to appeal to Mellie, to get her to see how this interview could benefit her as well as the President. Mellie appears to be interested in what Abby has to say up until when Cyrus shows up. Abby is surprised by his appearance, but is quick to realize why he is there. He was called by Mellie to serve as her chief advisor. Negotiations have to be made before Mellie was going to agree to this sit down interview. A harried Abby mentions the lack of time, but Cyrus kicks the poor woman out of the room while telling her that they’ll be in touch.
Focused completely on Mellie now, Cyrus asks her what it is that she wants. Not one to ever disappoint, Mellie launches into one of her fire-breathing rants about how she wants to destroy Olivia; how she wants Olivia to suffer as she has suffered; how she wants Olivia to suffer so much that Fitz suffers. That’s a lot of suffering that she hopes to see dished out. After watching her moment of rage, Cyrus tells Mellie that she needs to not waste time “being human.” Reacting emotionally is not the way to getting what she really wants. She has to think like a warrior and remain focused on her end goal, which is to become the next President of the United States.
Next scene is of Elizabeth informing Fitz and Olivia of their new interview hiccup in the form of Cyrus Beene. Olivia is sitting next to Fitz with her bare feet on the sofa and Fitz has has hand resting on her thigh. These two are just chillin in the Oval with not a care about who comes into the room and sees them just so. Hearing of Cyrus’s involvement prompts them to get to their feet, Olivia relocating herself to a nearby chair. Cyrus is working as Mellie’s advocate in negotiations. This is news to Fitz, but Olivia already knows what’s up. Mellie wants something in order to participate in the interview. Fitz isn’t having any of that. As far as he was concerned, Mellie was going to give the interview and get nothing for it.Elizabeth is quick to step in front of him to prevent him from charging over to the First Lady’s office. Being the stubborn man that he is, Fitz threatens to fire Elizabeth if she doesn’t move out of his way. At this point, Liz looks over at Olivia for some assistance. It isn’t until after Elizabeth tells Fitz to fire her that Olivia finally tells Fitz in a tone that is as calm as still water to hear Elizabeth out. And just like that, the man backs down.
Elizabeth tells Fitz that she is doing her job and is working to protect the presidency. She then asks him what it is that he is focused on, and it is at that moment that he turns to Olivia. This action seems to have the dual purpose of conveying to the audience (and maybe even to Elizabeth as well) who it is that he is focused on (duh!) and show him silently soliciting Olivia’s thoughts on how to proceed. This is one of a number of moments in the episode that shows Olivia to be the real power between the two of them. You would expect that the most powerful person in the room would be the President, but he isn’t. Fitz finally agrees to allow Elizabeth to negotiate with Cyrus and tells her that nothing is to be agreed on without his approval.
Over at OPA, Quinn is trying to manage the enormous volume of calls coming in while Huck is working to prevent hackers from getting into their computer systems. It’s all one big mess until Jake shows up and shuts everything down by unplugging every bit of technology in the room. Neither Quinn nor Huck take kindly to the act.
Huck: “Hey! Do you know what you just did? I was in the middle of delivering killer worms to the power grid!”
Quinn: “Huck, holy…. you were gonna turn off the Internet?”
Huck: “Oh, no. I was going to erase the Internet.”
He was going to ERASE the Internet?
These two were trying to find some way to help Olivia weather the storm, but Jake tells them that Olivia didn’t ask for their assistance. There is no plan. She went in front of the cameras and uttered the one word that would obliterate the only life that she knew. She followed the one rule that she demands of everyone else and that is to not lie. (Heh. This is a rather selective rule, but nevertheless…) She practiced what she preached, so that leaves OPA with absolutely nothing to do. Quinn doesn’t appear to be too fond of them just sitting and doing nothing. Jake intends to occupy his free time with vodka.
Back at the White House, Cyrus is presenting Mellie’s demands to Elizabeth and Abby. Before Mellie participates in the interview, she would like the following things:
- The President will support Mellie’s bid for the White House. He won’t just pay lip service. He’ll basically be her political bitch, present at any time that she deems it necessary for him to be by her side when she’s on the campaign trail.
- Mellie also wishes to have the exposure of Fitz’s relationship to be limited.
- Olivia is not to move into the White House.
- Fitz cannot marry her while he is in office.
- Fitz and Olivia cannot make an appearance as couple until after Mellie becomes president.
- Mellie must clear any interactions that Olivia has with Mellie and Fitz’s children
Once Cyrus is done with his rundown of Mellie’s demands, he then makes his own demands, stating that he refuses to negotiate with Elizabeth and especially not in the office that once used to be his. He says that he’ll be negotiating instead with Abby.
Abby heads off to the Oval to deliver these demands to Fitz. He isn’t too bothered by the request that will require him to be on the campaign trail with Mellie whenever she feels that she needs him, but shows disfavor over the request that he and Olivia keep their relationship discreet (aka remain in the shadows). Olivia counters him then, saying that they have to keep Mellie as happy as possible in order for them to get what they want. She tells him that based on her experience of negotiating divorces, what Mellie is asking for after twenty years of marriage is hardly anything. Fitz considers what Olivia says and then sighs his tacit agreement. He then asks Abby if there is anything else, and she tells him that Cyrus would prefer that she be the person that he negotiates with and not Elizabeth. Fitz doesn’t understand why it should matter who the negotiator is, and Olivia surmises that Cyrus is doing this to stick it to Elizabeth and simultaneously drive a wedge between herself and Abby. That last bit didn’t sit well with Abby who is taken aback at Olivia thinking that it is Cyrus who is driving a wedge between them. Emotional, Abby departs from the room and Olivia is quick on her heels.
Walking doubly fast to keep up with the much taller Abby, Olivia follows Abby to her office while asking what Abby’s problem was. She ties to evoke Cyrus again, but Abby shuts that down by telling her that Cyrus has nothing to do with why she’s upset. She is upset because Olivia had lied when she was asked point blank about her relationship with the President. Olivia offers that she was trying to protect Abby, that she didn’t want Abby to have to lie for her, but Abby counters by saying that she could have done something to prevent what was happening now had she known about Olivia’s reunion with Fitz. She could have turned off the cameras in the residence. Instead, because she had no knowledge of the relationship, Olivia left her to die up on that podium in front of the press. When Olivia tries to further defend her decision, Abby cuts her off by saying that the reason why Olivia didn’t tell her is because Olivia doesn’t believe that she is good at her job.
The look on Olivia’s face at that moment tells us that she sees what underlays the anger that Abby was directing at her. It wasn’t just about not knowing about the relationship. Abby was projecting the insecurity she has about her performance as press secretary on Olivia. In Abby’s mind, Olivia must believe that she is no good at what she does--which a lot of times involves protecting the secrets of the White House--so Olivia doesn’t tell her. It’s a sucky moment, but it was something that had to happen for Olivia and for Abby.
Back over at OPA, Quinn, Jake and Huck are good and sloshed. Jake gets a call from Olivia and goes off into her office to take it. She’s calling to check in on her people. Jake tells her that they’re drunk and she replies that she could use a drink herself. After a brief pause, she tells Jake that she believes that she made a mistake with what she said to the press. It’s sentiment similar that which she shared earlier with Fitz. Jake’s response? She only has to say the word and he’ll be on his way to get her. (Does this dude have a hero complex or does he have a hero complex? Sheesh.) Olivia tells him that she’s good. No need for rescue. And the call is over. Thank God.
Abby meets up with Cyrus to update him on the demands that the President has agreed on. In addition to what was stated earlier, Cyrus says that Mellie wants the house in Santa Barbara (one that’s been in the Grant family for generations) and demands that Olivia not take Grant as her last name. There won’t be a second Mrs. Grant if she has anything to say about it. When Abby shares this latest development with Fitz, he is none too happy about it. Olivia directs Abby to print up the agreement, which prompts Abby to give her this look that said, “Who died and made you the Queen of Sheba?” Abby then asks the President if this agreement is what he wanted and he gives his confirmation. This scene was yet another moment that shows Olivia as the conductor of the ship. She just spoke for Fitz without even asking if that was what he wanted.
Poor Abby, running up and down trying to make all of this come together. She is in the processes of printing the aforementioned agreement when Elizabeth shows up. Elizabeth wonders aloud if the White House had always been Olivia’s goal. From information she gleaned from the kill file Cyrus had ordered to be made on Olivia (301), it appeared to Elizabeth that Olivia had a pattern of dating up. She went from lobbyists to representatives to senator (Edison). She wonders if maybe Olivia broke it off with Edison because she believed she could do better (the President). Abby tells Elizabeth that they are going to have this interview and that they aren’t gathering information to use against Olivia. Elizabeth tells her that they already have the information. They should hope that they don’t have to use it.
Now see, this right here should have told me that they were going to end up using it. First Olivia mentions it as an option and now this here scene? Umm hmm.
The printed agreement is presented to Mellie by Cyrus. She flips through it and is surprised to see that THEY caved on the Santa Barbara house, and Cyrus gleefully tells her that THEY also caved on an annual $500,000 staff and maintenance allowance that he took the liberty of tacking onto the demands. A what much for maintenance and staff? What the heck kind of money is Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III rolling in that he’s able to shell out that amount of dough PER ANNUM for property maintenance?!
And did you catch Mellie and Cyrus’s use of THEY? Not HIM, but THEY. I guess Fitz and Olivia are considered a unit now. The house and the money isn’t even Olivia’s, but Mellie and Cyrus know that she door through which they must pass in order to get to Fitzgerald. This tickles me to no end.
After briefly looking over the agreement, Mellie says that she won’t sign. She can’t accept it. Cyrus is flabbergasted. No? What does she mean no? Well, apparently Mellie wants more. She doesn’t even know what MORE is, but she wants it.
Cyrus tells her that in order to get more, she has to give something, but Mellie says no, no, no. That’s not how things used to work when he was steering things in the White House. There was no compromising when he was at the helm. She accuses Cyrus of having gone soft. She tells him that he’s spent too much time chillaxing with his whore (really, Mellie?) and has lost his edge. He isn’t the Cyrus that she used to know, the animal who cared only about getting things done, and that that agreement that he presented to her was not him getting it done.
If there is one thing that Mellie is good at (other than constantly casting herself as the victim to every damn body in the entire universe), it is poking at people’s insecurities. She’s damn good at that. She makes you feel small for not meeting her expectations, which in turn prompts you to do whatever it is that she wants you to do. She’s done it to Fitz, she’s done it to Elizabeth and now she’s doing it to Cyrus. Cyrus has gone soft and he is a disappointment. When he doesn’t immediately offer a response, she rolls her eyes in disgust and collapses into a nearby chair.
“Everybody’s changed on me.” -- Mellie Grant
That’s one thing you’ve gotten right, Mellie.
Cyrus grabs the agreement and tells Mellie that he’ll see what he can do for her. He goes over to the Oval to meet with Fitz directly. No intermediary this time around. When he is granted audience, Fitz is seated at his desk and Olivia is perched on the arm of a couch on the far side of the room. To quote a tweet by Joe Morton, Olivia is “sitting, formidably, in the background, being ever so much the Queen.” This was essentially Olivia all episode, but it was particularly evident in this scene.
Cyrus comes to tell Fitz that Mellie has refused the offer that was tendered. Cyrus is apologetic, and even subservient in his manner. His demeanor is like that of a subject afraid to offend the king and his queen. He is seen repeatedly glancing back at Olivia as if he’s trying to somehow ensure that she knows that he’s not disrespecting her by making a conscious effort to acknowledge her presence. He tells them that Mellie is refusing to budge, and goes on when he receives no response from either of them. He says that they have both been gracious and generous in the negotiations, but that Mellie isn’t operating from the same standpoint as they. When Fitz responds with a lackluster “that’s disappointing,” Cyrus has no idea how to proceed. He must have realized right then that as Mellie said, everyone has changed.
Olivia at that point asks Cyrus what it is that Mellie wants, and Cyrus turns back to Fitz tells him that he doesn’t believe that Mellie will ever go for this deal. Her feelings and pride are hurt. He says that Mellie may not have believed that she and Fitz were in love, but he at least liked her and they had been a team. With his friendship taken away, Mellie is now wandering lost in the wilderness. Cyrus says that the only way to have this go away is to have Fitz take Mellie back and for him to put his relationship with Olivia on hold until after he leaves office. Fitz doesn’t look to be fazed by what Cyrus is saying, but the same cannot be said for Olivia who grabs her things and heads for the side door the moment Cyrus is out of the room. When Fitz questions her departure, she tells him that she needs some air.
This is the first time since her arrival at the White House that we see Olivia become emotionally affected by the circumstances of the negotiation. Cyrus’s words seem to have touched off that pesky sympathetic bone in Olivia Pope that makes her do nice things for people who don’t deserve it. Her attempt to seek out a moment of solitude to (I presume) consider the situation was interrupted by the discovery of Mellie in the closet of the Residence. She was rooting about in search for her stash of hooch.
“I’m looking for my hooch. You didn’t drink it, did ya, Olivia, while you were sleeping in my bed like Goldilocks?” -- Mellie Grant
She called Olivia Goldilocks…
Olivia makes a move to depart, but is stayed when Mellie tells her that it is she who will need the hooch. Mellie is going about frantically in search for bootleg liquor to imbibe. Clearly the woman was having a crisis.
How awkward must this moment had been for Olivia? For one thing, she walks up in the place with obvious familiarity only to find the wife of her boyfriend in residence. The interesting thing to me is that Olivia doesn’t at all look guilty or even ashamed to have been caught in a space that she has no business being in. Instead she’s looking at Mellie as one would a child who is lamenting the broken head of her Barbie doll.
Mellie starts to go on about how horrible it will be for Olivia once she is presented to the world as Fitz’s woman. The position of First Lady isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Olivia will find herself spending days and nights hosting galas, fake smiling, decorating a ridiculous number of Christmas trees. When Mellie reluctantly offers Olivia some of the hooch, Olivia looks at her like she’s crazy. Mellie assures her that she hasn’t poisoned it and takes a swig of the stuff just to prove it. Mellie’s reaction lets me know that like me, Olivia (who is an ordinarily sensible woman) has no business drinking anything that is stronger than rubbing alcohol.
The declination of the offer prompts Mellie to say to Olivia that once she’s part of the White House, she won’t have the choice to decline anything. No one will care about her wants and needs anymore. All that will matter moving forward is Fitz. She even ridicules any hope that Olivia may have been harboring of keeping OPA, saying that Olivia will have to forfeit everything.
While much of this was true for all the First Ladies before Mellie and also true for Mellie, this doesn’t have to be Olivia Pope’s fate. Giving up her autonomy to become a pillar that holds up Fitz doesn’t sound like something that would suit Olivia at all. As a woman who independently wields a lot of power herself, this life that Mellie describes just cannot and won’t be one that Olivia lives. I can’t imagine that Fitz would be foolish enough to expect that of her either. Unlike Mellie, Olivia has options, one of which includes her NOT becoming Fitzgerald’s First Lady at all. Duties associated with that position can be relegated to someone else. There is precedent for that. But, of course, Mellie’s projections leave Olivia with a lot think about.
Olivia later heads over to the bedroom where she comes upon Abby and Fitz. Olivia requests a moment alone with Fitz, and when she gets it, she proceeds to tell Fitz that he should go ahead and take Mellie back. Take option 3. The two of them can wait the 18 months til the end of his term to be together. (These two have been on hold for--what--six or so years now? What’s another 18 months?) Olivia’s insistence that Fitz do this clues him in that Mellie had gotten to Olivia. He demands to know what was said, but Olivia won’t tell him. Fitz believes that whatever it is has Olivia wanting to give up on them. Olivia denies that she’s giving up, but Fitz thinks that she is. At this, Olivia asks him of what exactly it is that he believes that she is giving up on. Is it on him, on them or on all that she has spent her whole life working on? In order for them to be together, for her to be his First Lady, she has to sacrifice something. This causes Fitz to think on her words, which in turn helps him figure out how to approach Mellie. After all, the sentiment Olivia was sharing with him, must have been the same that Mellie had shared with her, right? Despite refusing to tell him what Mellie had said to her, Olivia had unknowingly revealed them to Fitz anyway.
[And Olivia is just out here trying to minimize damage by sacrificing her own happiness in order to staunch the bleeding that Mellie is experiencing as if Olvia’s a gatdamn fairy godmother. Ain’t that about a bitch? Mellie would never! I have half a mind to snatch Olivia’s empathy card away from her because that thing has given me enough heartburn over the seasons.]
Seeking out Mellie, Fitz finds her out on the balcony. He seems to have figured out what to do in order to rectify this situation. The first thing he says to Mellie is that he is sorry, which startles her. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting from him. He acknowledge her feelings of abandonment and admitted that it was exactly what he did, abandon her. He says that all the hard work that she put into him, that he used it to climb up to the height that he was at now as president, and that he tended to be remiss in offering her his gratitude, so he uses the opportunity to thank her and apologizes again. Mellie then asks him if he really thinks that a simple apology is going to erase all those years that he had treated her like trash just so he can get her to sit down with Noah Baker. She mentions her sacrifices (as if we don’t hear enough about how much Mellie has sacrificed) and asks what he has ever done in sacrifice to her.
Mels, I’m sure I can think of a few recent sacrifices Fitz has made on your behalf, particularly some that eventually got you that position you now hold as junior senator of the great state of Virginia, but why should we bother with pesky little details such as facts?
In any case, Fitzgerald goes on to say that he believes that Mellie will become the first female President of the United States. He admits that it is he that broke up the team, that unlike her, he didn’t have the will to stay strong and remain committed to their relationship. (See, now at this point I KNOW Fitzgerald is pandering.) Mellie says that she thought that the two of them will grow old together and Fitz says that he believed that, too. I’m guessing that he believed this to be true sometime before their marriage went to the crapper the ten years before Olivia came into the picture, but nevertheless, the scene is quite sad. It is also a victorious one for Fitz who did what he does best. He approached Mellie with some real honesty and said all the things that he knew she needed to hear in order to get her back on board with their original plan, which was to tell Noah Baker that they were divorcing amicably. As Olivia says of Fitz (318), he’s the best politician in the game. He can charm the pants off of anybody by merely appealing to his target’s decency, vulnerability or desires. See his work with Sally (301), Harmony (418) and his debate audience (211). Mellie just got played and doesn’t even realize it.
With five minutes left on the clock, Elizabeth is giving out talking points to White House staffers and giving them instructions as to how to distribute them to their surrogates. Abby shows up at the Residence in search for Fitz, but instead finds Olivia who tells her that Fitz is down in the Oval. Abby is on her way out when Olivia stops her to apologize for lying to her. She explains that she’s not used to being on the other side of the scandal where someone else serves as the fixer and she is essentially the client. She also tells Abby that from where she is sitting, her friend is doing one hell of a job as press secretary. It’s obvious by the smile on Abby’s face that she’s happy to receive the stamp of approval from the one who is considered the “best in the business.” Awwww! The besties are back on again. Yippee!! And that’s two apologies from Olivia Pope in one episode. I’m sure that’s a record of some sort. Olivia isn’t wont to dish out I’m sorries.
Next we see Cyrus return to the Oval, and from his words, it is apparent that he believes that Fitz listened to his earlier advice of taking Mellie back. Fitz isn’t even paying attention to what Cyrus is going on about, his attention instead focused on the talking points in his hand and those who were grooming him for the appearance. He launches into some sycophantic spiel about how awesome Fitz’s second term has gone thus far and how Fitz has a chance to do even more amazing things with the rest of it now that he’s taken Mellie back. Cyrus then goes on about how he hasn’t stopped thinking of ways that he can help make the Administration better, but eventually stops pussyfooting about what it was that he really wants. He proceeds to BEG Fitz for his job back. Jesus, seeing Cyrus like this hurts my soul. Who is this pathetic person? He’s here pleading for crumbs from the adult table as if his life depended on it. I almost want to shoot the man to put him out of his misery.
Unfortunately for Cyrus, Fitz isn’t feeling particularly merciful towards him. He dismisses him by telling his former Chief of Staff that he no longer works at the White House. This response shocks Cyrus so much that he has to blink a number of times to realize what had just happened. He stares at Fitz as if he’s someone else entirely. Contrary to what he initially believed, Fitz hadn’t taken his advice. He had instead managed to persuade Mellie into going with his initial plan of announcing the Grant divorce.
Scorned, Cyrus heads over to the First Lady’s office to find her reading over her copy of the talking points. She appears to be content with the path she is about to take. That is until Cyrus clues her in on her stupidity. Mellie hadn’t gotten the “more” that she had been clamoring for. She was still left with the same bag that she had initially rejected. The realization that Cyrus was right stunned Mellie right out of her euphoria.
Later Fitz comes to get Mellie so that they can head into the interview together, but she is still in shock. As they walk towards the room where the interview is to take place, Mellie recalls what Fitz said to her on the Truman balcony and juxtaposes it against memories of times when she’s been by his side during his successes, then recalls the times when he had treated her horridly, and then recalls her rape and her son’s death. I’m certainly hoping that Mellie isn’t considering her rape by Big Jerry to had been a sacrifice for Fitz because if so, that’s just all kinds of problematic.
Before reaching the door to the room, Mellie proceeds to further. She isn’t even facing the entrance of the room. Fitz returns to her to ask her if everything is okay. Elizabeth glances over at Abby who has a smile on her face, but nevertheless looks panicked. Mellie soon snaps out of her haze and looks over at Fitz and says to him that he almost had her. At that, she heads in the opposite direction, effectively ending the interview opportunity. Welp.
Over at OPA, Huck and Quinn’s attentions are glued to the TV. Jake comes in and believe that they are paying attention to what is being said by the media about Olivia, but they are actually focused on the information scrolling at the bottom of the ticker. The Louvre (in Paris) was burning and the news wasn’t even covering it. They were too busy dissecting the White House scandal. Something about the famous museum being on fire stops Jake in his tracks. He grabs his jacket and heads out.
Meanwhile over at the White House, Fitz charges back into the Oval with Elizabeth following close behind. Olivia is informed that Mellie has changed her mind. Fitz maintains that nothing has changed with the plan, which has got to be the biggest delusion known to man because (1) they are now out of time with Noah Baker and (2) he already knows that Mellie isn’t going to go along with what he wanted her to. Mere seconds later, Abby comes in to inform them that Mellie and Cyrus have left the premises. Fitz still believes that he can salvage the situation by giving Noah an interview alone, but this is instantly shot down by Elizabeth and backed up by Olivia. If an interview with him alone had been an option, they would have sat him down with Noah an hour ago and not gone through this whole song and dance with Mellie and Cyrus. With Mellie gone, both option 1 (announcing an amicable divorce) and option 3 (admitting the affair, but remaining together until the end of his term) were now off the table.
Abby asks for permission to fix this situation herself and then looks to Olivia who immediately knows what Abby planned to to. She was going to use the only option that was available to them, the one option that Fitz didn’t want to use in the first place and that was to throw Olivia under the bus. After a moment’s contemplation, Olivia tells Fitz to let Abby go. He is reluctant, but eventually gives his permission.. She and Elizabeth immediately depart and Olivia closes the door upon their exit. Fitz believes that they are off to work some magic with Noah, but Olivia tells him that they are actually heading to the Briefing Room to use her as the sacrificial lamb. Needless to say that Fitzgerald was none to happy about this. He pops up from the sofa, which causes Olivia to do the same as she tries to reason with him. She tells him that Abby and Elizabeth are going with that option because they need a villain in this situation and it couldn’t be him.
Ignoring his the look of astonishment that she was receiving from him, Olivia proceeds to pour them both some scotch, but Fitz is like F this. He is going to pull Abby from that podium as if he life depends on it. He is already at the door when Olivia tells him to sit down. Fitz responds by saying that Olivia doesn’t tell him what to do in the Oval office. Boy, if you don’t stop with this foolishness. You know darn well that Olivia’s been telling you want to do all damn day.
Olivia doesn’t have time for his obstinance and slams one of the glasses of scotch down on the table to let him know that she means business.
“Sit there and watch me choose you.” -- Olivia Pope
Did she just utter the same words that Fitz had said to her in “A Woman Scorned” (220)? If you didn’t immediately recognize those words, I may have to look into your gladiator membership because that is a classic Scandal moment right there. That’s like saying that you’re unfamiliar with “I wanna be a gladiator in a suit” or 752 or the first time that Olivia Pope admitted that she was in love with Fitzgerald Grant! These words are significant. And to top that off was the song that overlaid this scene. Both the scene in 220 and this present one featured “You’re All I Need (To Get By)”, except they are different versions. The former featured the one recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell while the current had the version recorded by Aretha Franklin.
Shonda’s out there claiming my fangirl life with this mess. Let me just go ahead and snatch my own damn weave because I refuse to let Shonda leave me bald.
Upon hearing those words from Olivia, Fitz stands stunned by the door. Olivia stares at him, unwavering in her stance, and this prompts him to start back towards her. When he gets to her, she picks up the glass she had slammed on the table and hands it to him. He accepts it and then finally obeys her direction to have a seat. She sits down next to him and then watches him with tears in her eyes before he pulls her into an embrace. Somebody hold me!
Over in the Briefing Room, Abby is giving the press a non-answer answer as to whether the President is having an affair with Olivia. She deflects by saying that the White House doesn’t respond to gossip and rumors, but then after some noticeable hesitation, says that Olivia has a reputation for dating a long line of powerful men. When question further, Abby says that they are going to have to direct those questions to Olivia herself. This effectively throws the press back towards Olivia. She is after all who stood in front of them and confirmed that she was having an affair with the President..
Can I just say for the record that I hate this? I’m sure Olivia will eventually find some way to spin this into a positive, but this is quite the sacrifice to be making. That said, Fitz is a rich, white, powerful man who could have weathered this in any number of ways, but Olivia, while powerful in her own right, does not hold the same position in the world as Fitz does. She is far lower on the totem pole and thus more disposable by society at large, so in that regard, her as the sacrificial lamb makes sense.. Plus she had already imploded her life, so what’s a bit of slut shaming to add to the heap? How in the world is she supposed to come back from this?
In the final scene, we see Eli Pope (aka Rowan) watching Abby’s presser on TV and shaking his head in disappointment over the hot water that his daughter has found herself in. (I had hoped that I’d see this man again in the never future. How is it that never is already here?) Eli is alerted to a visitor and he is amused when he sees that it is Jake. He believes that Jake is there because Olivia needs his help, but Jake tells him that he came because the Louvre is on fire. Whatever is going on in the Louvre can’t possibly be good. Rowan mentions a “Lazarus One” (or is it Lazarus won?) and Jake says that it seems like it.
Grrrrrreat. Who the heck is Lazarus and what in the world are we about to be in for? While the White House and the American media is distracted by the personal scandal of the President, something far more sinister is unfolding across the pond. I swear, there is never a dull moment.
Thank you for reading!! Be sure to share what you think will happen next in the comments below. See you all next week!
