A fish rots from the head down: corruption starts from the top and filters downwards. If the leader is bad, the subordinates will reflect the leader’s same behavior.
Oh, Scandal. You’re cooking up one hell of a political shit storm, aren’t you? I’m almost afraid to know what’s in the pot because your penchant to do the absolute most with very little stays set at 100. Taking into consideration the number of competing agendas that are vying for the throne that is the Oval Office, I can say with a 97.52% certainty that there are going to be some bodies strewn about the streets of the fictional Washington, D.C. when all of them come to a head. This is like the network equivalent of Game of Thrones!
Well, kinda. Sorta. Okay, maybe not really, but you see where I'm going with this, right?
“The Fish Rots From the Head” showcased the different factions making moves that each hoped would level the playing field or give them advantage over the competition. One such move required the participation of the President who was paying more attention to his libido than he was to anything else. Best time to sneak a few past him, yeah?
By the end of the episode, we see that despite the respective phases in which these characters presently find themselves, they remain the people that they have always been at their core. This fact is why forward movement was possible and some good achieved. It was the teeniest bit of progress, but it was enough to leave me hopeful for the eventual re-entry of some light.
Let’s recap.
Olivia Pope, OPA and the White House
The episode picks up one month after “Wild Card” (episode 512) and starts out with Mellie sitting in her office. She’s autographing the inside of several copies of her memoir when Olivia comes into the room and remarks about the cover choice that Mellie went with. Olivia follows that by saying that she knows that Mellie didn’t call her over to discuss the book and inquires as to why Mellie called her over. Mellie wants to know what it is that they are going to do about Susan Ross, but Olivia points out to her that there is no “they” because she isn’t running Mellie’s campaign.
This is apparently not the first time that Olivia has had to recall Mellie to this fact. It also runs counter to what I’d thought was the case an episode or two ago. Thinking back on them now, Olivia never did agree to run Mellie’s campaign, but she did decide to assist Mellie with her book. I can’t be the only one expecting Olivia to eventually agree to this formally, right? I’m actually hoping that she remains on the sidelines here, but I’d be kidding myself if I thought Olivia could keep from meddling.
Since Olivia isn’t her manager (yet), Mellie solicits her advice on Susan unofficially. Olivia tells her that she’s going to have to talk to Fitz and get him not to endorse Susan. It would benefit Mellie to have Fitz remain neutral in a campaign where both herself and his vice president are vying for the Republican nomination. As sitting president and current leader of the Republican Party, Fitz throwing his support behind Susan would leave Mellie at a significant financial disadvantage and limit her access to the party leaders. Taking this one step further, it would also send the message to the public that Fitz trusts Susan to uphold and build upon the policies that he established during his tenure. It was therefore pivotal for Mellie to get her ex-husband to agree to sit this one out.
We get flashed over to some other part of Washington where Fitz is making his way down a rope line and interacting with an enthusiastic crowd. He is accompanied by his ever present agents and Abby. Along this line, he comes upon a woman who is all smiles in response to not only having just met the President but also to the sparks of mutual attraction that was flying between them. Homegirl looked like she may have been due for a new set of undies after he walked by. Fitzgerald’s pheromone game is strong. (It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a man of enormous wealth and power...with his fine self.)
Abby peeped this exchange and looked resigned to the inevitable. In the scenes that follow, we hear her voice play over them as she explains what we see play out. Fitz sees a woman he’s attracted to, he sends a signal to his people and they find some way to make the hook up happen. The women chosen are all within the circle in which Fitz finds himself, so photojournalists, fluff writers, women in government were all fair game. If you were in close proximity, attractive and willing, you would soon be in his bed. Fitzgerald is being a manwhore and I am bothered.
The unfortunate thing in all of this is that Abby has unwittingly found herself in the position of facilitator-in-chief. With the assistance of Secret Service agent Sam, Abby is serving as intermediary and has set up a system that allows for her to preemptively control the optics of the situation. When the President makes a pick, that pick is referred to as a “guest” and as a guest, the woman must be accorded respect. Once they are in the Residence, their cell phones and cameras are taken and they are given a nondisclosure agreement to sign before they can proceed into the President’s bedroom. Once their business is done, their personal effects are returned and they are shown out via the service elevator.
Thumbs up to Abby for handling all of this with the delicacy that it required and making sure that Sam understood the importance of following the agreed upon protocol. It may not be airtight, but it gives the President what he wants while allowing her some control over the narrative should any of this leak out to the public. Given the seemingly never-ending revolution of the door through which these women enter, this aspect of her work wife duties can’t be any fun, but Abby is single-handedly managing a situation that could go rogue at any moment like a real G.
And speaking of women, whatever happened to Madam Thirst Basket aka Lillian Forrester? Did Fitz grow bored with her and move on to the next? We haven’t seen the last of her, have we? I’m not advocating for her return. Just wondering if she’ll be back.
Later that evening, Sam tracks down Abby at her office and asks to have a moment of her time. Closing the door behind him, he proceeds to tell her that he received a call from some agents who were having a party that night and said party had gotten out of hand. Abby wants to know how much out of hand right and then we are flashed over to Olivia and her associates. That out of hand.
OPA is being escorted by a Secret Service agent towards a hotel suite. As they are walking down the hall, Marcus is full of questions. He wants to know if them taking on this case means that they are working for the White House despite the fact that their boss dumped the President and distanced herself from him. Quinn tells him that yes, but that they are actually doing this for Abby, so there is a difference. Abby is their client, not their boss’s ex-beau.
Once they are within steps of the suite, Quinn breaks away to bribe the housekeeper into taking an extra long break. She then proceeds into the room with the others as Olivia introduces herself and her team. Olivia inquires as to the situation and they are filled in on what happened by the lead agent. They rented the suite for the evening and things got out of control. His retelling is interrupted by a distraught woman who emerges from an adjacent room and mumbling about how she couldn’t believe that “Megan” was dead. When Huck asks who the deceased is, the head agent points to the opposite side of the room to where a dead body lies. Olivia turns away from the corpse in disgust while Quinn turn to the agent with a quip that says that he understated the severity of the situation.
We next see Huck examining the body as the head agent is relaying what happened. He says that he promised the agents a party and with it being an election year, he thought it would be good for them to have a last chance to cut loose before their schedules became restricted. Megan and the other woman (Erin) are dancing together when Megan suddenly collapses and hits her head against the glass table. Head agent said they tried CPR, but he believes that she was dead before she even hit the ground.
This agent and his cohorts get the side eye from me because of the manner by which the head agent referred to Erin. “That one”? Really? Erin may as well be a piece of furniture for all he cares. But Erin did give them the name of “Fantasia.” I mean…
Nevertheless, the very least the agent and his subordinates can do is refer to her/them by the names that they had proffered and not treat them as if they weren’t worthy of being acknowledged as human beings. Marcus certainly wasn’t down with that and is quick to check him.
Olivia, meanwhile, is sitting with her arms wrapped about her purse, looking like she’d rather be plucking out her eyeballs with a spork. She looks distracted and disconnected from the job at hand. Since the body was discovered, she hasn’t said anything, which left the answer seeking to Quinn and Marcus, a task that is typically Olivia’s. Clearly something is going on with the head gladiator.
A second agent soon chimes in with more details, stating that Megan had been “pretty messed up” when she arrived at the suite. He says that her speech was slurred and her eyes glassy. Huck confirms that Megan did indeed hit her head on the glass table as evidenced by the presence of glass shards in her head wound, and then he points out the track marks in Megan’s arms. Marcus notes that there are a lot of them, which prompts Quinn to turn to Erin to ask if Megan was a user. When Erin confirms this to be the case, Quinn then asks if what the agents were saying was also true and Erin answers in the affirmative.
The head agent then says to Olivia that news of this situation can’t get out and then adds “for the President’s sake.” Uh huh. Let’s pretend as if you’re really worried about the President and not about saving your behind.
His remark prompts everyone to turn to Olivia for directions, but she nods to Quinn to take the lead on this. Not quite sure what is going on, Quinn hesitates for a second before snapping into action. The agents are to go to a pub and stay at a particular section. She’ll make sure that a girl named Molly confirms that they had been there all night. Turning to Erin, Quinn directs her to leave and tells her that she was never in the hotel room. She then turns to Marcus and says that they are going to wipe down Megan’s phone and anything else digital, and she directs Huck to handle the cameras and the reservations database.
While she’s talking, Marcus makes his way over to Olivia and asks if they are really going to cover up what happened in that room. Olivia comes to her feet then, finally showing signs of life again, and says to Marcus that what happened in the suite was an accident and Megan was a hooker, so yes, they are indeed going to cover it up. Olivia then departs and leaves her team to handle the details.
Geez. Olivia, that was cold and dismissive, but I get it. Megan was a prostitute aka sex worker, and given the kind of controversy that’ll arise from something of this magnitude getting out, it was far simpler to “fix” it and move on. I just wasn’t a fan of the (likely unintended) implication that Megan’s lost life merited no more than the effort OPA was required to put in on behalf of their clients.
With Olivia gone, the team gets to work with cleaning, collecting, bribing and concocting. They are going to set it up to look like Megan overdosed in the hotel room alone. Marcus is troubled by the concern that the agents had for themselves than they did about Megan’s death, and he is having a hard time dealing with the fact that they are cleaning up their mess. At that point, a frustrated Quinn asks when they are going to stop hearing from the do gooder “Reverend Marcus” and tells him that sometimes they get to save the day and other times, they are doing what they are doing now. That’s the job.
Flashing over to Olivia, we find her sitting in her car where she is staring intently over at where Jake is having dinner with his girlfriend. Soon Abby opens the passenger side door and climbs in. She greets her friend, but when she doesn’t get a greeting back, she looks over in the direction that Olivia is staring in and catches the sight of Jake at dinner with his gal pal. It is then that Olivia finally speaks, telling Abby all she knows about the woman. Her name is Vanessa Moss. She’s a human rights lawyer, who does all pro bono work. She’s also a Rhodes scholar, debutante, and lawyer who graduated top of her class at Cornell.
Well, hot damn. Based on this information alone, Vanessa sounds like she’d be more for the likes of Fitzgerald Grant than for Jake Ballard. What story did he tell her exactly about his background?
Olivia adds that this present date is the ninth one that they have had over the last four weeks, and Abby glances over at Olivia with a concerned look but Olivia completely misses it since her focus is on the couple across the way. Olivia remarks on her inability to figure out Jake’s angle with Vanessa and Abby replies that the angle is obvious (Vanessa is a catch!), but Olivia doesn’t believe that it is that simple. Abby points out to Olivia that what she is doing is basically stalking Jake with the whole car and spying and deep background checks on the man’s girlfriend.
Olivia briefly glances away from her prey to give her bestie the side eye and Abby uses that as her cue to change the subject, asking about the situation with the agents. Olivia is less than pleased about having to handle a situation that came complete with a dead prostitute, and Abby promptly apologizes. She had no idea the depth of the problem. All she was told was that it was a party that had gotten out of hand.
Abby then asks if this is going to be a problem for the President, and Olivia tells her that she has the team handling it. Abby doesn’t want this mess to come out on top of all the stuff that she has had to deal with regarding Fitz and says that she doesn’t know what to do. It is at this point that she realizes that Olivia isn’t listening to her. Her focus is back on Jake.
Olivia wonders out loud as to what it is Jake could be up to and Abby answers by saying that Jake is on a date. At this point, Olivia gives her friend her full attention and reveals to her that Jake killed someone to land his job at NSA. This “date” therefore isn’t a date. Jake is up to something.
It would be nice to have some idea as to what this something may be because after three exhaustive seasons of Rowan, Jake and B613, I am far from pressed to find where I left the last damn I had for anything having to do with these characters and Olivia’s involvement with them. Let’s move this along. Please.
It is at this point that Huck informs Quinn that Olivia is tracking Jake because he is being shady, but Quinn dismisses this and says that Jake isn’t the problem. That it’s the White House and that Olivia misses it. Huck’s response: “Yeah, she misses a lot of things.”
Just then, Marcus walks into the room with a hypothetical question about the prostitute, posing to them the possibility that Megan didn’t die as the agents are saying she did. What if she hadn’t overdosed on drugs and then fell and hit her head, he asks. Quinn is so over Marcus’s inability to let a sleeping dog lie and says to him that the job is done and that they can’t second guess things now. Marcus doesn’t let up though, asking them both what if something else happened in that hotel room.
Now Huck’s interest is piqued and he wants to know what it is that Marcus is talking about. Marcus tells him that when he went to wipe clean Megan’s phone, he saw that someone else had already beaten him to it. Everything on her phone and her cloud had been erased. Quinn then speaks up to say to him that they are fixers and not detectives. Their job is to make their clients’ problems go away, not solve them.
Despite Quinn’s nonchalance about Marcus’s concerns, Huck wants to know more. Marcus tells him that he doesn’t know who deleted the information but that he intends to find out. When he leaves, Quinn tells Huck not to encourage him and his do gooder mission.
Marcus returns to the office later with Megan’s autopsy report. When asked as to why he has the report, he says to Quinn that he has it because he wanted to know what it said. He heads directly into Olivia’s office with Huck and Quinn following close behind. He starts off by telling them all that Megan’s death was not an accident. Olivia is at a loss as to what Marcus is talking about and Quinn says to her that she told Marcus to leave the situation alone, but she gets cut off when Marcus asks Olivia to just take a look at the report.
The fall that resulted to the trauma to her head happened before any drugs had entered into her system and that gives both Huck and Quinn pause. That doesn’t make sense, Quinn says. Huck then says that it does if the agents were trying to cover up what really happened. Marcus says that he knows that this isn’t their job, but he is also aware of what’s right and he says that he believes that Olivia knows what’s right as well.
The response that Marcus gets from Olivia is not the one that he expects as she tells him that what is right is that their clients trust them to fix their problems, not to investigate them as suspects. She tells Marcus to let the matter go and Quinn leaves the room, justified in her rightness. Marcus is disappointed, but he has no choice but to do as the boss says.
Over at the Residence, Mellie has arrived with Teddy and they are looking for Fitz. They head straight for his bedroom and find him standing just inside the door in wait. This kid has got to be the cutest, most adorable thing, and watching Fitz play daddy does things to my insides. I’ll spare you the details.
Fitz remarks that he wasn’t expecting them until Friday and Mellie apologizes and says that she should have called, but the kid was missing his daddy, so she brought him over. Fitz is just fine with Teddy coming over sooner than expected, but what he doesn’t know is that Mellie has an ulterior motive for bringing their child over off schedule. Mellie’s intent is to use the opportunity to talk to him about not endorsing Susan’s run as his replacement, but before she is able to do so, some chick pops her head out from the door leading towards the bathroom. Ah hell nah!
This woman is in a bathrobe and Fitz’s face is a mask of discomfort. What’s worse is that Mellie knows who the woman is. “Lisa from Treasury,” she says. Lawd have mercy. Fitzgerald doesn’t even have leave to open his mouth to try to explain himself. Talk about being figuratively caught with your pants down. If Mellie and Teddy had showed up some ten minutes earlier, who knows what they would have walked in on. Welp.
Once Lisa from Treasury is dismissed, Fitz turns to Mellie and before he could attempt to say anything, Mellie orders him to put their son down. Early visit is over. Fitz reluctantly sets Teddy on the floor after giving him and kiss and drops the boy’s bag on the floor as well. Mellie then pretends to be giving Fitz a goodbye hug and uses the opportunity to tell him that he is free to sleep with as many women--well, in typical Mellie fashion, she referred to them as whores--as he wants to, but he won’t be doing that mess around their kids. She then releases him to proceed with Teddy out of the room. Before she is leaves, she looks back at Fitz and shakes her head in disappointment.
I feel you, Mellie, but you did come at him on a day when he wasn’t expecting you or Teddy. You didn’t even give the man a head’s up so he’d get himself in proper order (and stash the hoes) before y’all came over. You invaded on his private time and now you’re mad at what you saw? That’s your fault. You were too busy thinking of how you could use your child to soften Fitz and sway him into agreeing to your plan and not taking into consideration the fact that he may have plans that you are unaware of. You may want to call next time, ma’am.
And Fitzgerald, I’ma need you to put Dick on ice, okay? You and your impressive friend are doing too much.
In the next scene, Mellie is sharing with Olivia what happened at the Residence. Olivia is like, say what? And Mellie is going on about how she had to tell Teddy that Lisa had spilled something on herself and that was the reason why she was in a bathrobe. Then she quips that Lisa probably did have something spilled on her and Olivia is like, um, too much information.
Mellie goes on to tell Olivia that apparently, sleeping with random girls is Fitz’s thing now. His agents actually help him get girls he has identified as one he’s interested in into the Residence. Mellie is so worked up about the whole thing, referring to Fitz as his “Hornyship” and Olivia cringes as she goes to claim one of the seats in front of Mellie’s desk. Mellie says that nobody knows about what’s going on because the Secret Service is covering it all up.
While she is droning on, Olivia sits in contemplation. When Mellie notices that Olivia sitting in silence with a far away look on her face, she questions if this situation was making her jealous. Distracted by what’s on her mind, Olivia belatedly replies that she isn’t. Mellie goes on to say that she’s used to him being a cad. After all, this was what defined the last six years of her life, and given the fact that Olivia used to be that girl in the robe, the last thing that Mellie needs is Fitz’s endorsement.
Mellie just casually slid that bit of shade in there, didn’t she? Olivia couldn’t even bother to care for her thoughts were far beyond what Mellie was presently going on about.
Returning to OPA, Olivia calls for her people and then all gather in the conference room. She now wants to know more about this dead prostitute. She tells Marcus to see if he can get more proof to prove that her death wasn’t an accident. This about face has Quinn asking about what happened to their rule about being loyal to their client, and Olivia says to her to just do as she is asked.
Later (that same day?) at the Residence, Fitz is in bed with one of his randoms and they are breathing harder than two bulls in heat. (Was all this forced exhalation necessary, Scandal?) They had just completed a quick and dirty, straight to the point romp and the two of them are trying to recover. The woman suddenly chuckles to herself, which prompts Fitz to ask what it is that she finds amusing. She at first says that it is nothing, but then shares that she was just thinking about how one minute she was writing some fluff piece about the White House pastry chef and the next she was in bed with the President of the United States.
Yeah, that killed the moment. Fitz says to her that he should probably get back to work and the redhead is completely understanding. They both must get back to their respective duties.
While they are redressing, she asks Fitz if he cares to comment on the rumors that Olivia is secretly running Mellie’s presidential campaign. Fitz is stunned to hear that bit of news as the woman goes on to say that a courier reached out to her editor and told them that he picked up a copy of Mellie’s book from Olivia’s apartment the month before and found the two of them chilling on her sofa like old buddies. Fitzgerald definitely didn’t have a comment on that.
I’d have pasted the Michael Jordan cry face on him at that moment if I could, but that would’ve just been cruel.
That evening, Olivia is sleeping in her apartment when she stirs a bit and then bolts upright when she catches a reflection of Jake in her closet mirrors. She demands to know what he is doing in her home, sitting at the end of her bed in the dark being all creepy ‘n’ shit. He says that he’s there to give her what she wants, but Olivia isn’t following him. He lets her know that he’s aware of her tailing him, and that as head of the NSA, no one is allowed to keep tabs on him unless he allows it to happen.
Sigh. Is it just me or does all this sound like some B613 mess all over again?
After a pause, Olivia says to him that before she calls the cops, she wants to know what it is that he is doing there, and his answer is that his presence there is for the same reason that he has been tailing him. Again, Olivia doesn’t follow and she says that she’s not going to play whatever games it is that Jake and Rowan are intent on playing this time around.
Jake then shifts the conversation over to Vanessa, asking Olivia what she thinks of her. At first, Olivia plays dumb and then she says to Jake that she just hopes that he is happy. Jake then decides to offer Olivia details about his girlfriend, going on about how she’s smart, independent, has a ridiculous pedigree that goes all the way back to one of the founding fathers. He concludes that she is perfect, but she isn’t Olivia. Then he segues into how it is that nobody can do for Olivia what he does for her.
[redacts the entire rest of this scene from my mind’s eye]
I can’t.
For a moment there, it appeared as if Jake’s stubby fingers were going to succeed at seducing Olivia back into insensibility, but she surprises him by snapping shut the Venus fly trap and telling him to stop. Jake certainly didn’t think that she had it in her to actually tell him to stop and frankly, I’d lost all hope that she did, too. I’m tired of having to rinse my eyes out with acid every time that I am subjected to this foolishness.
While Jake is shaking off the shock that she’s rejected his play, Olivia asks him what it is that he is up to, but he doesn’t respond. Instead he bids her farewell and then leaves her apartment.
These scenes between Olivia and Jake have escalated beyond the point of no return and I have quite honestly had enough of them. What exactly was this particular scene about? This mess reeks of Rowan circa season 2. I’ve seen some refer to the moment as “hot”, but all I saw were attempts at emotional and sexual manipulation. None of this shit is cute. The five fans of this ship are more than welcome to disagree with me on this point, but y’all better be prepared to get sunk.
The next day, we flash over to Quinn at her apartment with Marcus. She opens her door to welcome in the prostitute Erin, who thinks that she was called over to offer her services to both of them. They disabuse her of that assumption when they tell her that they want to know what really happened with those agents in the hotel suite. She is at first hesitant but is convinced to spill when she is told that Erin was still alive when she hit her head on the table and could have been saved had the agents called for the medics.
Flashing over the White House later that evening, Olivia is pacing in Abby’s office and she’s relaying to her what it is that her team learned about what really happened to Megan. She is really bothered by the fact that the agents chose to instead cover up their bad behavior by pumping Megan’s body full of drugs and leaving her there to die. These men are a part of the United States Secret Service! The same people who protect the President. Olivia then goes on to say that maybe because the President is using them to facilitate his sexual escapades that these agents have lost all sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Hmm. Sounds to me as if somebody’s got her white hat back on, even if for a short moment. For the second time in this episode (the first being when she went to the hotel suite), she is wearing white. Not white by its lonesome, but a significant amount of it. In the three episodes before this, white has been nearly absent from her clothes so it’s presence now is notable.
Olivia says to Abby that they need to talk to David, but Abby reminds her that those agents are Olivia’s clients, and from what she recalls from her days at OPA, their job was to fix their client’s problems, not create them. This causes Olivia to pull back her indignation and she collapses into one of the seats in front of Abby’s desk.
After a short moment of thought, Olivia says to Abby that those agents aren’t her clients. Abby is, so she is therefore under no obligation to protect those agents. What is to be done with the information that she has on those agents is now in Abby’s hands.
It is obvious what Abby’s decision is by the next scene when we see Charlotte letting Olivia into the Oval and informing her that the President will be in in just a moment. Ah suki suki now. Those two haven’t been in the same room together in 7 months and Olivia hasn’t been in the Oval for a tad longer than that.
Chile, let me just tell you how I rubbed my hands in anticipation for this here scene.
In the few moments that Olivia has alone in the Oval, she slowly makes her way deeper into the room, taking her time to absorb the space like one would a long lost love. She briefly touches a battleship replica and then proceeds to caress the edge of the Resolute Desk. She is clearly nostalgic for a time since passed.
When Fitz comes into the room from one of the side doors, Olivia turns around to face him. Fitz speaks first, telling her that it is good to see her and she says the same to him. They are awkward in this dance of pleasantries, seemingly unsure of how to navigate the new terrain on which they now find themselves.
Following a long pause that is filled with the unsaid, Olivia breaks the standoff by making light of his opening line and Fitz chuckles and asks her what it is that she would have preferred him to say, and she tells him that she doesn’t know. He then asks if he should have just gone with “hi” and she responds with a “hi” back after a brief hesitation.
Sigh. These two.
With that business out of the way and the ice officially broken, Fitz steers the conversation over to why she has come to see him. Olivia hands him a file and then proceeds to claim a seat on the sofa opposite him while relaying the situation involving some of his Secret Service agents. Fitz is horrified by the details that he’s looking at and he asks her why it is that nobody informed him of what was going on. When he asks why it is that Abby didn’t tell him, Olivia tells him that Abby has been busy handling other things, and this causes Fitz to look up at her.
Ut oh. Fitzgerald heard the judgement and he isn’t at all here for any of it. He tells her not to “go there” and she in turn tells him to not blame Abby for doing what he asked her to do, which was to keep a lid on his “transgressions.”
Lawd Jesus. Olivia, whatchu doing? What do his “transgressions” have to do with the fact that Abby didn’t tell him about his agents and the dead girl?
Olivia snidely adds that from what she hears, handling Fitz’s sexcapades isn’t an easy task and then she chuckles to herself. At this point, Fitz throws the file that he was given onto the table and sits back in his seat. He says to Olivia that the reason for her visit is related to her discovery of his “transgressions” and he asks if this term is what she and Mellie are calling what he’s been up to. He lets her know that he’s aware that she and Mellie have been hanging together, and wants to know if she is working for her. When Olivia tells him that the answer isn’t any of his business, he points out that she somehow thinks that what going on in his bedroom is hers.
Olivia denies that this is the case, but come on, man. Who brought up the bedroom mambos in the conversation?
She then goes on to say that “this” aka their personal business isn’t the reason why she came to see him. Fitz doesn’t buy it but plays along anyway. Olivia came there to tell him about the Secret Service. Well, he’s been informed and she’s free to go now. But she doesn’t leave. Instead, she says to him that she can make the whole thing go away, but Fitz will have to...yeah. She doesn’t get to finish what she was going to say because Fitz cuts her off to tell her that she is no longer allowed to tell him what to do.
Olivia watches him in silence for a moment. His response has her stunned and looking more than a little hurt. She finally gets up from the sofa and is heading for the exit when she turns around to say to him that “the fish rots from the head.” She says to him that his boys in the Secret Service are taking their cues from him and acting in reckless, negligent and selfish. He is letting things get out of hand and his underlings are doing as he’s doing.
She then goes on to ask him about what kind of example for the people who work for him, for the country, for little Teddy. Teddy saw some woman he didn’t know in a bathrobe with his father, she says to Fitz and then asks him what that is all about. Is it some kind of “Grant Family tradition”? Is this Fitz emulating what he saw Big Jerry do? Is this Fitz turning into his father?
As she’s peppering him with questions, Fitz is standing there looking like a rejected puppy, tear-filled eyes and all.
Olivia finishes off by telling him that she doesn’t give a damn about what he does with his spare time, but he ought to ask himself if this person that he is right now, if it is who he truly wants to be. Then she tells him that it was nice to see him and then departs from the Oval.
Now before moving on, let’s go back over this scene right quick. Olivia says that she doesn’t care about what Fitz is doing in his bedroom and yet she (1) was the one who brought it up in the first place and (2) just berated him for having hoes in every Washington, D.C. area code.
But she’s totes indifferent. So indifferent that her intention to not do more for her case gets flipped on its head after Mellie informs her of Fitz’s manwhoring. When Abby mentioned Fitz spinning out of control, she didn’t bat an eye, but the second she got real details about how he was spinning, she’s white hat gladiator again.
The interesting thing about Olivia’s vexation and all that she says to Fitz about turning into his father is that the two of them have been behaving like two sides of the same coin post-breakup. Olivia rightfully points out how Fitz has embraced the very worst aspects of Big Jerry and how doing so was having a negative effect on those around him, and she has been behaving similarly by returning to the dysfunction that she is familiar with and embracing Rowan.
Was Olivia pointing out to Fitz something that she has recognized (maybe even subconsciously) about herself? Are they both not results of rotting heads themselves, given the terrible fathers that they both had as life examples?
Cyrus Beene
In yet another part of Washington, Cyrus is set to meet up with Governor Francisco “Frankie” Vargas. We see him in the back of a limo and Tom is adjusting Cyrus’s tie. (The coziness has “bed buddies written all over it...as if last week’s episode wasn’t enough of a tell.) Tom asks if Cyrus is ready to execute the next phase of his plan, which is to get Vargas to agree to do appear on television, and Cyrus responds why saying that this should be a piece of cake. Tom isn’t so sure and wonders aloud about the possibility of Vargas not biting, and Cyrus looks at him as if he’s lost his mind. Who wouldn’t want to be on TV? To Cyrus, there isn’t anyone who would turn down the opportunity to be beamed out across millions of people.
Inside the restaurant, we see Cyrus sitting across from Vargas who asks him if he is worried about being seen out in public with the Democrat. Cyrus waves that off as inconsequential and says to Vargas that he isn’t a Democrat, that he is actually an American hero who transcends politics.
Vargas is plainly suspicious of the reason for their meetup. Just as he is questioning Cyrus, Sally Langston calls out to him, prompting Vargas to slide out of his chair to greet the former vice president. Sally tells him to refer to her as his biggest fan and then asks him when he intends to come onto The Liberty Report, telling him that the “Lovers of Liberty” want to hear from him. Vargas is unsure of what to say when Cyrus jumps in to point out that the man who shot Vargas was one of Sally’s fans. This prompts Sally turn to towards him and remark, “Well, I didn’t see you there, Little Cyrus Beene.”
Christ.
Sally coming through with the requisite Cyrus shade. I’m typing the rest of this from the grave.
She turns back to Vargas and says that she hopes to see him on his show soon and he noncommittally says that he’ll come on her show if he can. Once she is on her way and he reclaims his seat, he says outright to Cyrus that he won’t be going on Sally’s show because she and her 15 million fans are crazy nutjobs who vote against people like him. Cyrus agrees with his assessment, but tells Vargas that he should seriously consider going on Sally’s show. Vargas, however, does not intend to do any media, which leaves Cyrus stunned. Vargas would like to return home to Pennsylvania where he has work to do. He has an education bill that he would like to pass before the end of his term and remaining in Washington is keeping him from doing this.
Cyrus says to him that he can go on Sally’s show and talk about his education bill, that he should use the platform that he has now to draw attention to what he’s trying to do in his home state, but Vargas isn’t interested in exploiting a tragic situation for personal gain. People died that day and he was shot at. Using that to his advantage is wrong, unseemly.
Ah, Vargas. You green behind the ears politician, you. All that integrity and idealism. It’s cute. It truly is, but it sadly won’t get you very far. Just ask Fitzgerald.
Cyrus says to him that it is all politics and Vargas cuts him off with a demand to know why they were at that restaurant together and what it is that Cyrus wants from him. Being the puppet master that he is, Cyrus speaks to Vargas in a manner that he knows will resonate, telling Vargas that he has an opportunity to rise above what happened in Harrisburg and say something. He positions himself as a mere public servant who is trying to get Vargas to utilize the attention that he has for good. Cyrus tells him that it doesn’t matter if he may not agree with whatever it is that Vargas has to say, only that he helps Vargas say it.
Ha! Cyrus comes off as very sincere in his statement, but then you remember that Cyrus is an expert at manipulating people into doing what he wishes them to do by either appealing to their values or by using reverse psychology. He’s had plenty of practice on handling idealists (i.e. his deceased husband James and Fitzgerald), so he is more than capable of steering Frankie Vargas in the direction of his choosing.
Now that he has Vargas’s attention, Cyrus tells him that the least Vargas can do is come back to the White House and speak to the President about his education bill, adding that “it can’t hurt to have an ally in Washington.” So very true, but beware, Vargas.
The next day at the White House, we see Cyrus walking down the hall with Fitz and he’s telling him that he has to set aside five minutes in his schedule prior to lunch to meet with Vargas. Fitz questions if it is the same Vargas who took down the gunman in Harrisburg and is confused as to why Vargas is back in town. Cyrus answers Fitz’s questions by dismissing Vargas as a “flavor of the month” who is obviously has “someone” in his ear telling him to exploit “his act of heroism for all the political capital he can muster.”
Really, Cyrus?!
Fitz can’t figure what else it is that Vargas could want from him since he has already provided Vargas with a photo op, and Cyrus sighs resignedly in response as he says that Vargas is back to pitch his education plan. To this, Fitz says that he already has an education plan and Cyrus obsequiously nods while saying that the President’s plan is “very rational and prudent.”
Once at the door to the Oval, Fitz turns around to inquire why this isn’t something that Cyrus can handle himself, and Cyrus says that it has to be Fitz because he’s the only one who can offer Vargas the “stiff shot of political reality that he needs right now.” Fitz is to tell Vargas that his focus is on only one education plan and that plan is his own.
You guys have already figured out what Cyrus was doing here, right? Knowing what he does about Fitz and using what he has learned about Vargas, Cyrus brews up a perfect storm that will result in him getting his way as always. By painting Vargas as an opportunist who is out to exploit the President for his own personal gain, Cyrus has conditioned Fitz to respond negatively to whatever it is that Vargas has to say, which in turn will anger Vargas who had come to the Oval (on the advice of Cyrus) in the hopes of gaining a valuable ally in his quest to bring about free college education in his state. This fomented anger will then compel Vargas to agree to appear on The Liberty Report as Cyrus wanted to him to in the first place.
And it plays out in this exact manner, with Fitz being curt and hostile towards Vargas. The President refers to Vargas’s proposed education plan as an “entitlement program”, which catches Vargas unawares because this wasn’t the kind of conversation that he was expecting to have. Vargas leaves the Oval disappointed and with the opinion that the President is an asshole. Cyrus equivocates and tells Vargas that the man he just met isn’t the one that Cyrus has voted for; that the Office has changed him.
After brief contemplation, Vargas turns to Cyrus and affirms his belief in the quality of his bill. He knows that it is good and is something that the people want. He now wants to get onto Sally’s show and Cyrus tells him that he can make that happen. The two men then part ways and I am left staring at my screen like...
Bruising the egos of these two men was all Cyrus had to do to move them from one place to the other and to do so without either knowing that they were being handled. It’s brilliant really.
Later that day, we see Vargas on The Liberty Report. His segment opens up with a clip of him taking down that gunman despite having been shot. Vargas nicely pivots away from the mayhem from some weeks back to speak about the issues that matter to him. Cyrus is watching the program at home. Michael is present on the bed and is occupied with braiding the hair of a black baby doll. He is intensely concentrating on the task, too.
Cyrus turns back towards Michael to remark on how good Vargas is and Michael distractedly nods in response, his attention more on the doll than it is on the television. Cyrus gives him and the doll an odd look turning back to the program in time to catch Vargas’s dig at the President who he says had it easy with a father who was able to “grease the wheels” for him to be able to get into all of the best schools.
Yikes!! That was a burn.
Sally is in pleasant agreement with Vargas and says to him that he sounds like a potential candidate. Vargas waves that off and says that running for president isn’t what he is after. This prompts Cyrus to sit up from his semi-prone position to say to Vargas through the television that a candidacy is indeed what Vargas wants. Meanwhile, Sally is saying to Vargas that he would be a fool not to at least test the waters and he shrugs that off and says that there is no chance that he will run because he has too much work to do back home in Pennsylvania.
Cyrus is now in a panic and he gets up to retrieve his phone.This is not how this was supposed to unfold. It is at this moment that Michael pipes up to say that he likes this Vargas guy and Cyrus tells him to shut up. Now was not the time for Michael to finally decide to engage in conversation. (Haha!)
Cyrus calls up Tom and instructs him to find out why it is that Vargas doesn’t want to run for president and to find out posthaste. Once he is off the phone, Michael casually asks him who Tom is and Cyrus looks at him to find him still fiddling with the doll’s hair. He finally asks him what it is that he is doing and Michael tells him that he’s practicing Ella’s braids. When he asks Cyrus if he’d like to try his hand at it, Cyrus gives him this look at says that he may be of the belief that Michael has at some point lost his mind.
Can I celebrate the fact that white guy is practicing his braiding skills on a black doll so that he’d be able to adequately braid his black daughter’s hair? Can I?
Alright. I’m good.
And dear sweet Michael, you really don’t want to know who Tom is. Just pretend like you’ve never heard the name before, okay? Your feelings will be better off for it. Maybe even your life.
Back at work, Cyrus is walking past Elizabeth in Susan’s office when he decides to stop on in. He asks her if she has seen Vargas’s appearance on The Liberty Report and the swipes that he took at President’s education bill. Not giving him much of any attention, Elizabeth carries on with what she is doing as she tells him that everyone say the show. Cyrus then yanks at the string of yet another unsuspecting puppet as he remarks about how Susan must be sharpening her teeth for attack now that there is blood in the water.
Elizabeth finally turns to give him her full attention and asks what it is that he is going on about. Her lack of a reaction to what he had just said led him to figure that Susan wasn’t planning to ask Fitz for his endorsement at all. He calls the move smart and “well-played”. Better yet, he refers to it as them opting to go the “hairy armpit feminist route.”
And this was the moment when I rolled back into my grave.
Elizabeth plays along and only smiles at Cyrus before she exits from the room. I suspect that Cyrus (knowing the people around him as well as he does) already knew that Susan wouldn’t ask for Fitz’s endorsement but also knew that Elizabeth was savvy enough to understand that the President’s endorsement was pivotal. He managed to get Elizabeth to move, so mission accomplished.
Later that evening, Cyrus meets up with Tom who has information on Vargas. The reason why Vargas isn’t interested in running for the presidency is because of his sick daughter. She has cancer and he doesn’t want anyone to know about it. He goes to see her in the hospital as often as he can, and Tom concludes that Vargas is not going to run when his daughter is dying. Damn.
Back at Cyrus’s place, Vargas is present and he’s saying to Cyrus that he wants to go back on Sally’s show by Cyrus is telling him that that isn’t a good idea. Vargas is now confused since it was Cyrus who was encouraging him to speak to the media and now he was against it. Cyrus says to him that he made a mistake with that suggestion and says to Vargas that he is better off doing what he can do locally and taking care of his family. It’s the life that Cyrus believes Vargas wants and he says to him that it is a noble life.
Vargas points out that it isn’t a life that Cyrus chose for himself and Cyrus replies that the life he has now wasn’t really his choice. He then launches into some story about his little brother Oliver who was hit by a drunk driver on his way home from school. Oliver ended up being paralyzed from the neck down. This all happened when Cyrus was 17. He says that he was accepted into Harvard, but made the decision to enroll in a local community college instead because it would allow him to remain at home and help his mother take care of his brother. His family, after all, came first.
Long story short, Cyrus says that his brother declined the admission the community college on Cyrus’s behalf and accepted the offer at Harvard. Oliver would not allow him to sacrifice his future for his sake, that Cyrus had too much to offer to the world; that Cyrus could one day be president. He says that he has committed his life to what he does as a way to honor Oliver, as a way to honor his family.
Cyrus is hitting all of the emotional high notes and Vargas is entranced. Hell, I’m entranced!
Coupled with the music playing over the scene, this man had me clutching at my bosom even though I knew that HIS ASS WAS LYING! What was crazy was that there was a small part of me that did wonder if there was any part to this story that could have been remotely true. Got me out here feeling like Olivia when she’s looking at Rowan and trying to figure out if her instincts are lying to her about Rowan possibly lying to her.
Poor Vargas has no idea that Cyrus’s waterworks are all fake. The man is good at this shit.
On another evening, Vargas is back at Cyrus’s. He has come to bid his farewells for he is returning to Harrisburg. Cyrus tells him that it was a pleasure to get to know him and offers an apology for talking so much about his personal life. Vargas tells him than an apology is unnecessary, to which Cyrus then says that Vargas is to let him know should there be anything that he needs him to do for him. Vargas says that Cyrus could start off by pouring him a drink. As Cyrus goes over to do just that, Vargas tells Cyrus that he could also run his presidential campaign.
Oh, yeah. Cyrus has finally done it but he doesn’t seem to believe it at first. He pauses what he is doing as if trying to figure out if he had misheard, but he knew that he hadn’t. That smile on his face said as much.
When Cyrus turns back to Vargas, the governor starts to relay to him the situation about his daughter. He says that he doesn’t talk about Ana’s cancer with anybody, but that he is sharing it with Cyrus. His daughter has lived longer than any of the doctors predicted and Vargas says that he believes that she is going to live long enough to go to college and that her college will be free. He then reiterates his intention to run for the highest office in the land.
Michael interrupts the conversation with a knock on the door to ask Cyrus if he wants to tuck Ella in. Cyrus said that he would, before that’s done, he invites Michael into the room to introduce him to Vargas. After the handshake, Vargas says that he ought to be going, but before he does, he’d like to propose a toast, and he toasts to Ella, Ana and to Oliver. They all drink and then Vargas departs.
Once Vargas is out of earshot, Michael asks Cyrus who Oliver is and Cyrus tells him that Oliver is his brother. “I thought you were an only child,” Michael remarks. Ha! You are so very correct, Michael. Cyrus is an only child.
The lies that he told Vargas leaves me in admiration while also wanting me to nail Cyrus and Rowan into one coffin and tossing it into the Potomac. The deception with these two has reached toxic levels, for real.
The Triangle of Snore
We join Susan and David in bed where they are in mid conversation about endorsements. David says to her that the party endorsement is great but that what she really needs is the President’s support. Susan is hesitant and says that she wasn’t intending to ask Fitz for anything. David further stresses the importance of the endorsement, telling her that her not getting it would be equivalent to the President saying that he doesn’t believe that Susan can do the job, which would then lead to the public believing the same.
Susan responds by saying that when she made the decision to run for president, she made a promise to herself that she wasn’t going to compromise her values to get ahead. (Suze, you and Vargas are riding in the same boat, huh?) David says to her that she doesn’t have to compromise anything. The only thing that she has to do is stand there and shake the President’s hand.
But Susan’s hesitation is a bit more complicated than she is letting on. The women that Abby has been sneaking into the White House could pose a problem for Susan should Fitz endorse her and then that situation goes bomb in public. (David says to Susan that Fitz is going through a phase. LOL! I’d say!) Susan tells David that she can’t afford to be anywhere near that disaster and then remarks, “Once a cheater, always a cheater, right?”
Girl, listen. I do love you like a sister and I do understand where you’re coming from, but you’re about to learn a valuable lesson about the world that you are in. You see that self-righteous attitude of yours that creeps up whenever it comes to Fitzgerald and his extracurricular activities? It’s about to be blown all the way up. I’m sorry, boo, but it was bound to happen. You can blame this on David and Elizabeth.
We later see David entering his office with Elizabeth following, and she is not at all happy. David had just given her word that Susan doesn’t intend to seek Fitz’s endorsement. Elizabeth is a snit over this, saying that without that endorsement, they may as well be “dead in the water.” David offers to talk to Susan again about it, but Elizabeth tells him that she’ll figure out the matter herself. She then checks her watch and announces that she has 26 minutes before instructing David to take off his pants. A confused David says to her that he thought that he was in trouble and she tells him that he is, which is the reason why she has told him to drop the pants.
Alrighty. Moving on.
The next day, following a brief run in with Cyrus (see above) in Susan’s office, we see Elizabeth track down Fitz in the hallway. She tells him that Vargas has to be stopped, and Fitz is like “Frankie Vargas? We’re still talking about this dude?” Elizabeth says to him that she knows that Vargas is a hero and all of that yarn, but they need to do something to stop Vargas’s momentum with the education bill business or it’ll make the Administration look like they are “cruel and out of touch”. She proposes having Susan go onto Sally’s show and dismantle Vargas’s plan in order to put this all to bed. Fitz agrees to this plan and then continues on into the Oval office.
Elizabeth is happy because now she has a way to have Susan to do something that will get her the endorsement that she needs from the President.
Later we see Susan in her office with Elizabeth and she is upset that Elizabeth made a promise to the President about her going on Sally’s show without first speaking with her. Right at that moment, David arrives with flowers for Susan. She is happy to see him and says that he is just in time to settle a quarrel between her and Elizabeth.
Eek! Talk about awkward tensions. Poor Susan hasn’t any idea that these two are an item, let alone working in tandem to manipulate her into doing Elizabeth’s bidding.
Once David takes a seat, Susan explains to him that the quarrel is that Elizabeth booked Susan on The Liberty Report without her permission. Elizabeth says that Vargas is out there making a mockery of the President’s education bill and he needs someone out there defending it. Susan in response says that the President’s bill sucks and Elizabeth counters by saying that the quality of the bill is not what matters. What does matter is that Susan is running for president and is in need of the current president’s support. The two of them go back and forth a bit before Elizabeth drags David into the mix and tells him to back her up.
David tries to wiggle his way out of giving an opinion, but Elizabeth orders him to sit back down and Susan asks him to give his honest opinion. Unfortunately, the opinion he gives is the one that Elizabeth was hoping that he would.
We next see Susan perched in a chair on the stage of The Liberty Report and she gives the opinion that Vargas’s education bill is a dud. David, who is watching the segment from outside of the Oval with the President appears to be disappointed that Susan is being made to say things that she doesn’t mean. She’s going against the promise that she made to herself not to compromise her integrity because David gave her an opinion that she believed was in her best interest.
Sigh. David, I need you to find your balls and quickly because this submissiveness mess you have got going on with Elizabeth is shameful.
The convergence
Abby and SSA Sam are standing by the service elevator in wait for who the President’s plaything shall be but is surprised to find that the person in the elevator is Susan. She tells Abby that she had been summoned by the President, and Abby gladly escorts her in to see Fitz.
Once they are in his presence, Fitz instructs Susan to take a seat and then proceeds to tell her that he caught her on Sally’s show and thought that she did an amazing job. He then asks for her real opinion about Vargas’s education plan and if she thinks state college should be free to anyone who wants it. Susan hedges and then starts to give him the answer that she thinks he wants to hear, but he cuts her off to tell her that he wants her honest opinion. There are no television cameras around.
Susan finally admits that she does like Vargas’s plan and wants to see it implemented around the country, and this leads Fitz to ask her why she publicly torpedoed the plan if she actually likes it. Susan replied that she was doing what people were telling her that she should do, but that doing that made her feel dirty. To this Fitz says that it’s a good thing that she felt some kind of way about it because it means that she is still who she is as her core. He then asks her to do him the favor of never lying to the American public again, and she agrees to honor this.
Fitz moves on to say that he presumes that Susan did all of this so that she could get his endorsement and he tells her that she already has it. The problem though? Susan doesn’t want it and she tells him. She tries to explain the why, but he already knows the reason and she doesn’t need to explain. He knew that his trailer load of girls was her issue. He tells her that he understands, and then proceeds to tell her that she does want his endorsement and that he is going to do everything that he can to earn her trust and be someone worthy enough for her to accept his endorsement when the time comes.
Fitz and these promises to be a better man. Lord knows that he tries, but the man always stumbles. We’ll see how far he’s able to go this time before he finds himself back in a ditch on the side of the road.
Once Susan leaves, Abby says to Fitz that what he said to her was very good. She is so obviously proud of his pledge to do and be better. On the inside, Abby must have been doing somersaults because her days of regulating the President’s insatiable sex life were over.
Fitz tells Abby that he is going to need the briefing room and she goes off to handle that for him. We next see Fitz at the podium addressing the Secret Service situation. The agents have been relieved for their duties and the “jazzy snaps” show us that they had been taken into custody by the FBI.
Olivia is seen watching the briefing at home, and she struggles the hide the smile that threatens to break out on her face over her victory. She got through to him and she feels good about that. Wearing the white hat wasn’t out of vogue and her sway over Fitz wasn’t completely dead.
Over at OPA, we see the gladiators also watching the presser just as Fitz steps aside to allow David to take to the podium. Huck congratulates Marcus on a job well done, and Marcus remarks to Quinn specifically about how doing this makes one feels good. Quinn doesn’t give him a response, but Marcus is happy nonetheless.
The last scene of the episode is of Olivia showing up unexpectedly at her father’s house. He is surprised to see her and she’s taken aback by his response. He says to her that her appearance is a surprise and she reminds him that it’s Sunday night. Rowan tells her that she hadn’t before wanted to come to the house and she says to him that tonight she does. He seems to be in a dilemma as to what to do when they both hear the popping of a cork. At that point, Rowan can’t keep her standing outside of the house. She already knows that he isn’t alone.
Once she steps inside, she sees that Jake and Vanessa are present and the latter is cleaning off his coat of what I presume was some of the spilled bubbly. It’s now Jake’s turn to be surprised by Olivia’s sudden appearance and Rowan explains to them both that Olivia decided to show up for dinner. He proceeds to introduce the two women and they shake hands. Olivia then asks what it is that they are celebrating and Jake tells her that he and Vanessa are getting married.
Olivia’s face at that pronouncement was like WTF. She then forced a smile on her face and then joined in on the toast of “new beginnings.”
Olivia, you need to figure whatever it is that these people have got going on like NOW because they have just upped the ante on you.
And Vanessa, I suppose I should start planning your funeral now because you fitna die soon, which is too bad since you seem like a nice girl. But then again, I don’t even know you. For all I know, you’re in on whatever it is that Rowan and Jake are cooking up and you may not really be a descendant of George Washington.
So what do you all think is going to happen next? What were your feelings on this episode? Good, bad, in between? Share your thoughts on this episode and your predictions below.
Thanks for reading this recap/review of Scandal episode 513!! I will see you all next week.
