Scandal had the nerve to take a two week break as if they didn’t just come back from an 8-month hiatus, and then they went and gave us an episode that was heavy on Jake Ballard? That’s just the kind of episode I needed to get back into the show!
Anywho, Jake notwithstanding, “They All Bow Down” was a solid episode. Along with answering some outstanding questions, the revelations within led to even more questions! This episode was a pivot point, meaning that it reveals to the audience that what we have seen thus far is but a prelude to the story arc that the show is moving into.
As I’ve already stated, this episode was Jake heavy. It wasn’t quite to the level of “Til Death Do Us Part” (518), but it was close to the shenanigans pulled in “Honor Thy Father” (418) where the audience was led to believe that Jake was out to harm Olivia. While there was some similarity to those episodes, 605 felt in some respects emotionally close to “No Sun on the Horizon” (313). You’ll see what I mean by this in a moment.
Starting off with a flashback to the first night of the RNC, a broadcast of the Liberty Report is on and Sally Langston is commenting about how excited the base is over the pick of Jake as Mellie’s running mate. Vanessa watches the moment with pride before remarking to Jake that she finds him being vice president to be “hot.” Jake, on the other hand, isn’t at all excited by the hoopla as his wife is. He’s knocking down liquor and is responding to Vanessa as if he’d just been told that his dead puppy is going to be buried in his abdomen.
Vanessa is at a loss as to his lack of excitement. She wonders aloud if this is him trying to play it cool and then she points out that this is a historical moment that is meant to be celebrated. When she insists that he talk to her about what’s going on in his head, Jake asks her what it is that she believes that he should be excited about. Is it the four months that he’s set to spend campaigning on the road or the possible 8 years that he’ll have to remain on Olivia’s leash and taking orders from her.
Okay, pause. Whose fault is it that Jake is on Olivia’s leash? Nothing was stopping him from walking out on her when she ordered him (in 521) to put on his tie and get out on that stage. He could have turned her world upside down by leaving her in the dust, but he didn’t. He stated outright that this was not the life that he wanted and yet he went along with it. Why? Because he felt he owed her? Now he’s raging about being controlled by her while at the same time allowing it to happen.
Vanessa is rightfully confused by this outburst of his. She points out that Jake loves Olivia, that she’s his “sister” and he cuts her off by saying that Vanessa doesn’t know Olivia like he knows her. (That’s a loaded statement.) Jake soon apologizes for his frustration over the situation and Vanessa tells him that she wishes that he’d talk to her about what it is that is going on with he and Olivia. (Girl, that won’t ever happen.) Jake says in response that Vanessa doesn’t understand, that it is Olivia who has the power. Vanessa cuts him off to tell him that it is HE who has the power now and adds that it was he who was on the stage and that it is he who America will be voting for come November, not Olivia.
“Once you have the Oval, you have the power. And once you have the power, they all bow down.” -- Vanessa Moss Ballard
Go on and be his cheerleader, Vanessa! You are real wifey material. And frankly, Jake doesn’t deserve you. (I half expected her to break out into a full on recitation of “Money, Power, Respect” by the Lox.)
Jake and Vanessa get into frisky business as Sally’s broadcast morphs into present day. We are still at 73 days till the inauguration. Sally wonders as to what the electors will do when they convene in January now that Cyrus has been arrested for murder. She teases that this question will be posed to the Ballards when they come on to her show for an interview.
Flash over to Olivia with Jake in the Liberty Report green room. She’s prepping him on how to handle Sally should she wish to delve into specifics. He is to pivot to talking about he and Vanessa, and her “Democrat dynasty” as Jake put it. (I peep the use of that pejorative, Shonda.) Olivia explains to Jake that it is necessary to exploit Vanessa’s background so as to encourage Democrats to vote Grant-Ballard. In addition to that, she tells him that the Ballards are eye candy that people love to see. They make people happy, and this translates into “political money.” Jake more accurately describes it as a “political lie.” He remains apathetic, but he’ll do as told.
Quinn interrupts the conversation at some point to confer with her boss. When Olivia steps out into the hallway, she asks if Huck had been able to locate Vanessa. (Where is Vanessa?!) Huck is still working on that, but that isn’t why Quinn is there. She wants to know what it is that they are planning to do about Cyrus. Apparently, this is a discussion that they have had before as Olivia says to Quinn that the money in Tom’s account would have come from anywhere and for any number of reasons. She adds that Cyrus is in jail for murder and that he isn’t their client. Their client (Mellie) needs Vanessa to be found so that she can be prepped for her interview with Sally. Olivia then tells Quinn to not bring the Cyrus situation up with her again.
UGH! This woman ought to be kicked in the throat.
While what Olivia says is indeed true about the money and about Cyrus, her crew has dug up enough to throw a monkey wrench into Tom’s confession and the FBI’s case against Cyrus. Olivia opting to not act in good faith and at the very least present this to the White House says to me that Olivia is about winning at any cost. Sure, Cyrus is guilty of a number of things, but standing by while he gets sentenced to die for something that he didn’t do?
There was once a time when doing such a thing would nag at Olivia’s conscience. She’d try to justify her actions, but that justification couldn’t erase the fact that she still did the deed. Recall Defiance and hold on to it for a minute.
Anyway, Olivia is walking through the set of The Liberty Report and is reassuring Mellie on the phone that the Ballards are going to nail their interview with Sally when Quinn again interrupts. This time it is to inform Olivia that Huck has found Vanessa. Olivia now has to tell Sally that the Ballards will be unable to make their appearance on her show. Sally disbelieves what Olivia is selling her (for good reason) about Vanessa having the flu and says to Olivia that if this is another one of her stunts to mask the fact that something is afoot in the Ballard household, she intends to uncover it. Olivia says that nothing is going on aside from the “bug.”
That soon proves to be a lie (duh) as the next sense reveals. Olivia and Quinn arrive on location to meet up with Huck who tells them that the Secret Service arrived before the police could and blocked off the road entrances. No press had been seen either. Vanessa, who has crashed her BMW is drunk and disheveled. The back of her dress is unzipped and she is stumbling about in complete defiance of the SSA who has asked her to take a seat. Vanessa expresses her glee upon seeing Olivia and she says to her that she would have kept her hands on the wheel but that she was a bit “preoccupied.” What she was preoccupied with is some young buck who is seen righting his zipper. He says to Vanessa that she is crazy and Vanessa says to him and then to Olivia that she “ain’t sorry.”
LMAO! Is Vanessa having a Lemonade moment?
Now back at OPA, Jake arrives and Olivia gives him a quick rundown of what has happened as they walk town the corridor leading to the conference room. Once there, Jake demands to know what Vanessa was thinking before he turns to her SSAs and dismisses them from the room. The guy that Vanessa was with was the 23-year-old bartender of the bar that she had been at. Jake says he’ll go handle the guy, but Charlie already beat him to it. Bartender has been paid off and will not be a problem. Cameras at the bar have been handled (by Quinn) and Vanessa’s car has been incinerated. Olivia tells Jake that everything is under control.
It is at this point that Vanessa quips that Jake should listen to Olivia as he always does and sarcastically asks why he should stop doing so now. This remark sends the Ballards into a full on argument that Olivia tries to calmly quell, but neither are listening. Something has changed in this relationship from where they had been during the first night of the RNC.
As the argument continues, Vanessa is particularly affronted when Jake calls her disgusting. He adds that she is “nasty and spiteful and exhausting, but most of all disgusting.” In response, Vanessa launches one of her stilettos at Jake’s head. Too bad her aim was off.
That act leads Olivia to be more forceful in handling the situation as she directs Vanessa to sit down and shut up. Olivia then directs Jake into her office, but he instead leaves for his day job and tells Olivia that Vanessa is now her problem to handle.
Flashing back to two days following the vice presidential debate, Olivia is working in the OPA conference room while Jake is out in the corridor bidding Vanessa goodnight. The couple were still quite affectionate towards each other, a moment that Olivia witnessed before making herself turn away.
Once Vanessa is gone, Jake joins Olivia in the room and addresses her as “boss” as he asks her (with no small amount of sarcasm) of what it is that he has done today to screw up the campaign and what he has to do to be better tomorrow. (Sounds like Olivia’s been cracking that whip.) Olivia assures him that he actually did well and was impressed by how he handled the meet and greets that day. Jake’s response: “well, you say ‘dance monkey’, the monkey dances.” He then proceeds to ask the “boss” what’s on the agenda for tomorrow.
This constant reference to her as “boss” isn’t lost on Olivia. It is obviously having the intended effect, and Olivia asks Jake to stop with the “smiling pod person” act and to also quit the whole “boss” business. Jake obliges by shifting to calling her “ma’am.”
Now annoyed, Olivia slams shut the laptop that he was working on, which gets Jake to turn towards her and state whatever conversation she wants to have with him should already be had because he is “late from getting away from [her].” Oh, damn.
When asked what it is that she wants him to do, Olivia says that she would like for him to stop behaving as if she’s a villain for turning him into a “world leader.” (Say what?) To that, Jake tells her this:
“Olivia, I’m fine. I’m on board. I’m not acting you’re a villain. I’m just not paying attention to you. You don’t matter to me anymore.
“It’s you. You feel like a villain. You joined the family business. Went Team Pope. Became daddy’s little girl all the way, and now it seems cold and dark in all your gooey places. Too bad for you.
“You want to win your precious White House? That’s the price...boss.” -- Jake Ballard
LMAO! Where is the lie though? After treating Jake like shit and making it clear that he is nothing more than a means to an end for her, she’s expecting him to interact with her as he had before he realized that that he doesn’t mean much to her. She’s seriously bothered because Jake won’t be nice to her!? Chile bye.
But then Olivia uses the one weapon that she knows will work on Jake regardless of what he says about no longer caring. She cues up the faux tears and give this spiel about how she needs and has to win because “there has to be a point...some higher purpose.” She goes on to add that this is her opportunity to run a clean election so as to redeem herself of Defiance. There has to be a reason as to why she has done what she has to not only him but also to herself.
Oh, she’s passionate alright. And she’s got those tears that never fall shining in her eyes. And like a simp, Jake succumbs. So much about not caring.
Now I don’t doubt the sincerity of Olivia’s words. She has expressed this in the past (in addition to feeling as if she owes Mellie), but I do recognize her motivation for stating this and in the manner that she does to Jake at this particular moment. It is, after all, much easier to shape material that is malleable than it is one that is intractable. Working with him will now exclude his ever present sarcasm and constant reminder that she has essentially turned into mini Rowan.
A Shift in the Force
Flashing forward a bit in the flashback, Jake is being questioned by Vanessa (who is nursing a glass of wine) about the shift that has occurred between himself and Olivia. She remarks that Olivia is now back on Jake’s good side and she wants to know what has changed. Jake is short on patience and says to Vanessa that it is she who encouraged him to get along with Olivia until after the election. Vanessa points out that Jake and Olivia are doing more than just getting along.
A thought occurs to Vanessa then and she asks if Jake is sleeping with Olivia. Jake’s response is one of offense, and Vanessa tries to get him to understand where she is coming from. She points out that he talks to Olivia about everything, but he won’t talk to her. Jake rebuts by stating that Olivia is “family”. Vanessa agrees, but she reminds him that she herself is his wife and as such, she is now his family. The two of them are a team. She is supposed to know everything about him.
Sigh. I’d ship these two if it wasn’t for the fact that Jake Ballard is such a sociopath. Everything about his existence is a literal lie. Vanessa believes that the man grew up in Ohio, for God’s sake! (He’s from Indiana.) She’s got loads of questions about his life that she has no answers to. She married a man that she doesn’t know a damn thing about. Who does that?
Does anybody outside of Rowan know all there is to know about Jake?
Frustrated by all of the questions that Vanessa is shooting at him, Jake shouts at her that she isn’t the one that he wants to talk to, which stuns her silent. Instead of giving her any answer, he pours more wine into her glass in dismissal. Before leaving the room, Vanessa turns back to him to express her incomprehension over how Jake can be so open with this “sister [he] never had” but can’t be open with her. Jake orders her up to bed, but she won’t budge. She demands answers and again asks if he is sleeping with Olivia. Given the fact that Olivia is a “famous mistress,” Vanessa considers the question a valid one.
When Jake tells her that they aren’t having the conversation, Vanessa refuses to go to bed until they do. Seeing that his wife won’t let this go until she gives her some answers, Jake opts to leave for another part of the house.
Recall Vanessa’s drinking on election night? It would appear that Jake on the campaign trail in addition to the change in his relationship with Olivia is what has led Vanessa to finding comfort in alcohol. It’s quite sad that Jake enables the habit by pushing more in her direction in an attempt to shut her up. Reflex from what he may have witnessed as a kid with his parents?
Back to present day, Olivia brings coffee over to Vanessa who is laid out on the couch out in corridor of the OPA suites. She initially rejects the offer by stating that she doesn’t drink coffee, but then tells Olivia to leave the coffee on the table when Olivia is set to walk away with the cup. Olivia isn’t particularly amused.
Taking a seat on the table, Olivia remarks to Vanessa that the accident could have been a lot worse than it was. Vanessa could have killed someone or herself. She then goes on to say that if Vanessa needs help with her drinking, there are places where she can be sent that no one will even know about. Olivia appears to be truly concerned, but Vanessa isn’t buying it. She believes that Olivia is trying to get her out of the way so that Olivia and Jake can quit sneaking around.
Olivia is caught slightly off guard by the accusation but listens as Vanessa goes on about how she’s waiting for Olivia to give the speech that she has no doubt given to the “hundreds of other wives and girlfriends of the men [she’s] snatched away. Oh, come on. I want to hear how you justify all the vile, vulgar things that you do.”
Ah hell nah. Did she just call Olivia a serial homewrecker?
I ain’t even gonna lie, y’all. I laughed.
Now until and unless it is otherwise stated, Olivia has knowingly only gone spread eagle for one unavailable man. Let’s not get carried away there, Nessa.
But Vanessa wasn’t done. Oh no.
“I bet it’s good. Worth its weight in gold, but I’m not sure how tight it can actually still be, what with all the miles you must’ve put on that thing by now.” -- Vanessa Moss Ballard
Oh.
Now Olivia was not having THAT! Oh hell to the nizzah! Olivia gets to her feet then and says to Vanessa that she’s going to pretend as if all of what she just stated is because Vanessa is still drunk, and Vanessa responds by saying that SHE’S going to pretend that her husband’s “whore” isn’t seriously in her face.
Chiiiiiile. This woman was asking for death. She is lucky that all she got was Olivia slamming her ass up against the wall. If a steel chair had been handy, Vanessa would’ve been on her merry way up to saying hello to Jesus. You good and crazy.
Olivia dared Vanessa to say one more thing, but Vanessa was too damn scared to even move. Yeah, you done tried the wrong bitch.
Hearing the commotion, Huck steps out of his office to ask if everything is okay. Assuring him that it is, he returns to his office and Olivia starts away from Vanessa. Before Olivia could get far, Vanessa apologizes and says that she isn’t being herself. All she wants is her husband back. She shares that she and Jake were good, that they were working, that he was becoming his own man. At some point, he suddenly quits on them and on himself, and Vanessa says that it is because of Olivia.
Before Olivia can interject, Vanessa states that Olivia isn’t the only other woman in Jake’s life. She says that Jake is cheating on them both, but Olivia assures her that Jake isn’t cheating on Vanessa with anybody. Olivia tells her that there is no way that he is given that she has been with him every moment on the trail (not exactly reassuring, Liv) and that Secret Service is always with him. Vanessa scoffs and says that she knows for a fact that some woman had been texting him on election night. She adds that Jake has been staying out with this woman every night ever since that evening.
This information is news to Olivia. Vanessa states that she wanted to believe that it was Olivia that Jake was running off to, but the two of them had been in the same room on election night and she had been watching Olivia that day. It hadn’t been Olivia who texted Jake.
Olivia speculates that maybe the reason why Jake ran off on election night was because Vargas was shot, but Vanessa said that he left BEFORE it happened. Jake had departed right after the election results had come out.
Flashing back to election night, the moment of the announcement of the winner is replayed, but this time we are given Vanessa’s perspective. Standing with Jake, she quips that “family” failed Jake and his “little sister” couldn’t deliver the victory. Such a spiteful thing to say, but I cackled nonetheless. Scandal really is going hard with this siblings business.
Jake offers no commentary as his cell phone buzzes with a message. Without a word to the wife, he starts for the exit. Vanessa manages to get his attention long enough to ask him where he is off to. Again ignoring her question, he tells her that the “liquor cabinet is that way.”
Wow. A real gem, that Jake Ballard.
Flashing forward, Olivia points out that Vanessa had been drinking and therefore can’t accurately recall what happened that night, but Vanessa says she remembers because it was when Abby came by to take her campaign away. Jake had been long gone.
Flashing back again, we see that Jake emerging from the back of the hotel they were in to find Rowan. Rowan tells him that he’s been watching Jake explore his newfound “freedom” without him, though his freedom isn’t truly real since he is tethered to the “lovely leash” that Olivia has him on. Rowan tells him that all of it would have been worth it if they had pulled out a win in the election, but as things presently stand, Olivia failed.
Jake flips this around to say that it is Rowan who truly failed. He tells Rowan that he should have killed him when he had the chance (HELLO!), and that whatever it is that Rowan is up to that has brought him there, Jake says that he will come after him.
Amused, Rowan states that with complete certainty that Jake won’t be doing shit. You can see the bravado drain from Jake’s face because he, too, knew he wasn’t going to do squat. He then asks Rowan why he is present, and Rowan tells him that he came for him specifically. The world, he says, is about to be turned upside down and that when it is righted again, Jake will be vice president. That, however, depends on whether Jake does his part.
Wait a second. Did Rowan know that the shooting was about to occur??
Rowan extends a binder out to Jake who doesn’t immediately take it. He wants to know what it is, and Rowan tells him that it is time for Jake to take what is his and come home. Jake hesitates for a moment but eventually takes the binder from Rowan. That’s some serious programming that this man is under.
Unearthing Secrets
Flashing toward, it is later in the evening and Olivia has escorted Vanessa home. Jake opens the door and Vanessa silently heads directly upstairs. When Jake inquires as to Vanessa’s state, Olivia says that she should be okay, and she also lets him know that the Liberty Report interview has been rescheduled.
Following a pause, Olivia says to Jake that she wishes that he had told her that he and Vanessa were having problems. Jake asks her if that would have made a difference and he doesn’t believe her when she says that it would have. Olivia tells him that it would have mattered if it was something that could end up affecting the campaign, that it would be better that she know about it in advance. Jake gives her a nonchalant “okay” and says nothing more.
Olivia then goes on to not so subtly ask if Jake has anything that he wishes to share with her. He’s like, nope. He poses the same question to her and she’s like, nah. Nothing to share.
This exchange is as warm as a frostbitten pinky toe.
Later that evening, Jake is seen working on his computer and he is looking into Olivia. Vanessa comes down and Jake closes his laptop to keep her from seeing what he is working on. Vanessa tells him that he ought to take a break and she proceeds to attempt to seduce him, but Jake isn’t interested. He instead gets away from her touch and tells Vanessa that she needs to get some sleep. Vanessa asks if Jake intends to ever stop punishing her for what happened. She apologizes for messing up and tells him that he is right about the drinking, but that she doesn’t have a “problem.” (Girl, you’ve got serious problems.)
Vanessa goes on to say that the election, her father dying and Jake leaving all the time left her alone. Jake cuts her off by stating that she was “needling” again. Vanessa asks him if he truly believes that their problems is solely on her and he tells her that he does because “she’s the only one that cares.”
Wooooooooow.
Vanessa doesn’t deserve this shit. Don’t even come at me about how Jake is doing this because he isn’t in love with her. Even if one isn’t in love with another, that doesn’t give you license to treat the other person like trash.
Stunned by Jake’s statement, Vanessa is in tears as she wonders aloud at what it is that she has done to make Jake hate her. She wants to know if she is really that “horrible or if [Olivia] is that much better.” She then instructs Jake to tell her what is is that Olivia does that she doesn’t and she’ll start doing it for him.
Damn. This moment is sad. Vanessa really is in love with this bastard and she is desperate to do whatever to get them back on solid ground. It would also appear that she wasn’t completely convinced that Olivia hasn’t been shagging her husband. Welp.
Vanessa then confesses that she had intentionally driven the car into the tree because she wanted to feel something. This statement manages to get Jake’s attention and changes his demeanor towards her. He goes over to her to console her. He tells her that none of what is happening is her fault and asks what it is that she needs from him. She tells him that what she needs is to know him, that she deserves some answers.
For a moment there, you think that Jake is going to her answers, nope. When she lies her head down on his lap in anticipation, Jake contemplates ending her life! His fingers are on her neck and he looks set to do some spy type business when he chooses instead to leave her be.
Jake then proceeds to tell her in that creepy, trance-like voice of his (that he used in 313) to tell her that he can’t answer any of her questions because he has done many things in his past that would not only scare Vanessa, but would also prevent her from looking at him the same way ever again. He then adds that if Vanessa has to drink herself to sleep at night because she believes that she doesn’t know him, he can only imagine what she’d do to herself if she did.
Vanessa gets up from him to ask what it is that he means by what he was saying, and he tells her that if she is able to understand and accept that he doesn’t talk about his past because he can’t, then the two of them will be unstoppable as a team. Vanessa draws the correct conclusion that everything that Jake has told her about himself up to that very moment has been a lie. Welp.
The next morning at OPA, the crew is trying to piece together Jake’s whereabouts on the night of the election and the days following. The BNC called the election at 11pm and Jake showed up at the Situation Room at 1:30AM. He is then tracked back to the NSA at 2AM. He is next at the WH at 10AM for a briefing. OPA is unable to account for 9 hours within the time period that they are evaluating, but then they are able to use his cell phone to pin him to a particular location. They get an image of him on a camera coming into DC from Virginia around 9:15am. Where is he coming from?
Quinn has an idea.
Flashing back to the recent past, Huck and Quinn are seen heading towards the cabin that they believe Jennifer Fields is in. This time around, we see Jennifer within the cabin and she has just been spooked by some thud from outside. She goes to investigate and is relieved when she finds nothing, only to turn around and find that she is no longer alone in her cabin. She has been accosted by Jake!
The next shot is of a lifeless arm with a ring on one of its fingers, and Jake is seen rigging some explosive within the cabin. He can hear Quinn yammering on about this marriage business and he takes a peek out of the window to gauge their distance. He quickly activates the bomb and then walks out the back of the cabin before it explodes into bits.
Oh and I totally supposed to believe that Jake walked calmly away from an exploding structure without being blown forward by the sheer force of it or being hit by flying debris.
Back to present day, Jake’s photo is now up on the wall at OPA and Olivia is in serious contemplation as to that fact. Asking the gang what it is that they know so far, and the three get to summarizing what is known thus far about the situation. Francisco Vargas was shot and killed on election night; Tom confessed to shooting Vargas for Cyrus; someone paid Tom to falsely confess and blame Cyrus; Cyrus is innocent; Jake was at the cabin the morning that Jennifer was killed.
Olivia adds that Vanessa says that Jake has been out every night since the night of election, and that if they are able to piece together where he has been on those nights, they could pull these pieces together. Huck chimes in then that he had picked up a satellite phone in the woods that could have been Jake’s, but Quinn counters that it could have just as easily been Jennifer’s. Olivia orders them all to keep a close eye on Jake. He isn’t to take a step without them knowing about it.
Elsewhere, Jake is seen sneaking into some motel room.
Back at OPA (looks like a different day), Huck and Quinn have confirmed that the satellite phone detected was indeed Jake’s. Olivia wants to know how they can be sure, and Huck says that he was able to trace the signal to Jake’s house, to the NSA and to some motel room. Apparently, Jake has been to that motel 11 times since the election. Charlie suspects that maybe Jake has been running his operation out of there.
Olivia orders the gladiators to go check out the hotel when Jake is being interviewed by Sally. Surprised to hear that the interview is still on, Quinn asks if Vanessa is on board with it. Olivia says that she isn’t yet, but she will be.
Flashing over to the Ballard house, Vanessa opens up the door to Olivia with Mellie. Olivia has brought Mellie over to have a chat with Vanessa who remains adamant about not participating in the interview. She tells Mellie that Jake and the campaign is draining her. Mellie proceeds to commiserate with her, telling that that she knows what it’s like to stand by and prop up a man that she knows that she is smarter than. (Here we go...) She tells Vanessa that she has been in her shoes before and knows exactly what that’s like, but Vanessa tells her that Jake isn’t like her father who was some junior congressman that she was supposed to get married to. She says that Jake is the man that she wants to spend the rest of her life with, and that what she wants is to be happy.
Damn it all to hell.
Mellie informs her that being happy isn’t something that you can just BE. Vanessa needs to know what it is that she wants to do with her life in order to figure out what it is that is going to bring her happy. Impatient over the fact that Vanessa can’t articulate what it is that she wants, Mellie declares that Vanessa is “asleep at the damn wheel.” She goes on to tell her that she is suffering in a marriage with a man she cannot stand with no idea what it is that she wants to get out of it. Mellie tells her that Vanessa won’t find happy until she does the job that is necessary for her to attain it. What Vanessa has to do, according to Mellie, is keep in mind that she is married to a man whose duty is to America and as such, Vanessa must sacrifice by being the wife that Jake needs. In the meantime, Vanessa must figure out what it is that she wants so that will serve as a constant reminder as to why she is sacrificing for Jake today.
Vanessa wants to know if Mellie is happy, and Mellie responds by saying that she’s about to be POTUS! She isn’t married, she has nobody to prop up who is inferior to her and she can smile or not whenever she pleases. Vanessa needs to just suck up the pain now and run the world later.
Anyway….that little speech gets the job done.
The Pivot
Vanessa is knocking the interview out of the park with Jake by her side. Meanwhile, Quinn and Charlie are at the motel to check out that room, but there isn’t anything there. It is completely cleaned out. Quinn tells Olivia that it was as if Jake anticipated their arrival.
While Olivia is on the phone with Quinn, Jake approaches and Olivia has to end the call. Olivia puts on a false smile, but Jake immediately lets her know that he is aware of what she’s been up to. The smile on Olivia’s face immediately disappears and then she asks Jake what it is that he is hiding. He says that he could ask her the same question, but then he found what it is. Confused as to what he is talking about, Jake pulls out a folded sheet of paper and hands it to her and says “so much for making a president honestly.”
Ut oh.
Olivia is shocked by what is on that sheet and this leads her to seek out Rowan. She announces her presence in his lair by reading out the numbers to the Swiss account that was set up in her name with a wire transfer to Tom Larsen that makes it look like she paid Tom to set up Cyrus. She believes that Rowan is the one who did it, but he looks completely clueless as to what she is talking about.
This kind of setup isn’t Rowan’s modus operandi. He would come directly at Olivia with his threats and typically, those threats involved him causing harm to those that she cares about, not to her specifically. Olivia jumped to the only logical conclusion that she could in the moment, but if she had thought about it, Rowan being the one to link her to Tom Larsen didn’t make a lick of sense.
Rowan snatches the paper from Olivia to examine it for himself. While he’s studying it, Olivia says that she trusted him and that she allowed herself to be convinced by him that Cyrus Beene killed Vargas.
Girl, if you don’t have a seat. Rowan didn’t have to do much to convince you of anything. You took what he told you and ran with it.
Olivia is going on and on before Rowan turns to her to tell her to stop talking. She continues to ramble until her father instructs her more emphatically to shut her trap. He tells her that Mellie is now going to become president so Olivia ought to stop asking questions that she doesn’t want the answers to. Olivia watches him for a moment and catches on from his demeanor that something more is going on. She is set to ask more questions, but Rowan orders her to leave.
Rowan is left looking about and fiddling nervously with the paper in his hand upon Olivia’s exit. This can’t be good.
Later on, we see Rowan joined by some mystery woman. She waltzes right it and wants to know why Rowan has summoned her.
Wait. Who is you, ma’am? And why is Rowan asking you why you linked up the Swiss account to Olivia??
The woman says to Rowan that the link to Olivia was just “a little insurance policy” to ensure that Olivia’s conscience doesn’t get the best of her since she was at one time quite close to Cyrus. She adds that Olivia has these “self-destructive tendencies” to go after truth and justice, so this was done to guarantee that Olivia will remain in check.
Hmm. I don’t know how that plan would have worked if Olivia didn’t even know that such a link existed between herself and Tom. Besides, Olivia’s “truth and justice” moments have its limits as we have seen with her telling Quinn earlier to never again bring Cyrus up to her.
Rowan tells mystery lady to not play games with him, that he doesn’t intend to stand by and allow anybody to threaten Olivia. The woman turns back to him to inform him that Olivia has served her purpose in delivering Mellie, and as far as “they” see it, Olivia is now expendable.
Rowan tells mystery lady that he isn’t going to stand by and allow anything to happen to Olivia, and the woman informs Rowan that Olivia has served her purpose in delivering Mellie to “them”, and now that her job is done, Olivia is highly expendable. She adds that it could be argued that Olivia is actually a liability and should be dealt with as such, so every breath that she takes from here on out should be considered a “gift from on high.” She adds that Rowan would do well to remember that.
The woman’s threats against Olivia ends up silencing Rowan’s protest. On her way out of the door, she repeatedly reminds Rowan that Olivia’s continued survival is dependent upon her charity towards Rowan. Every breath, she says. Every. Breath.
Now hold on a heavenly hot popcorn minute. THIS woman has Rowan of all people on a leash? SHE has Rowan shook, cowering like a beat dog? Who is this “we” that she refers to? Why is it that they want Mellie in the White House? WHAT IS GOING ON?!
Is this association with Rowan a recent development or does it go back? If it does go back, how far back are we talking? Olivia’s kidnapping back? Fitzgerald’s assassination attempt back? Defiance back?? I NEED ANSWERS!!
Elsewhere, Olivia is exiting her car in the parking garage to OPA when Jake gives her a scare. She starts to speak about the money that he uncovered, but Jake silences her and orders her to follow him. Off they go on a ride and Jake doesn’t want to tell her where it is that he is taking her. He’s answering none of her questions. At some point during the journey, he takes her phone and tosses it out of the window.
Seeing that they are driving out to the middle of nowhere, Olivia wants to know where it is that they are going and Jake still refuses to answer any of her questions. At this point, I’m sure Olivia is having a mini panic attack. She doesn’t know where she is, Jake is acting strange and she is without her phone.
To fill the silence, Olivia goes on to state that she didn’t pay Tom to set up Cyrus. She says that it was Rowan who did it, but she doesn’t understand why. All she does know is that Cyrus will get the death penalty and she will get the Oval, but getting the Oval in this fashion isn’t what she wants. She goes on to say that this isn’t who she is, but if she helps Cyrus, she is going to be implicated in having set up Cyrus to take the fall.
Though all of this, Jake says nothing. Soon they are driving along a dirt road and then come to a stop. When Olivia asks to know their location, Jake tells her that he has a confession. He instructs her to follow him out of the car, but she prefers that he makes his confession while they are within it. Jake then goes all creeper and says to her that the first rule to self-defense is to never get into the car.
Ah shit. That mini panic attack that I said Olivia must have been having activated her flight response, but she couldn’t get out of the car. Jake tells her that without no phone or any other recourse, she has no choice but to do as he says.
Soon after, Olivia is seen walking through the woods with Jake behind her. He’s roughly pushing her ahead as she asks him of what else it is that has to confess to aside from him having killed Jennifer Fields. She wants to know if he also killed Vargas. Olivia demands that he give her answers.
Jake tells her that Jennifer had to die, so he killed her. Olivia wants to know why and he tells her that it’s because Rowan asked him to do it. Olivia is asking a boat load of questions and all Jake says to her is that Jennifer had to die.
While continuing to push her ahead, Jake says to Olivia that he really did try with Vanessa and to be a good person. He says that she offered him another way, but he couldn’t ignore who he is, which is one who is trained to obey and accept every mission that he is given. To kill. So he obeyed when Rowan gave him the mission to kill Jennifer. He says that it was the first time that he’s felt like himself, like he knew who he was.
Um, okay.
As he is speaking and attempting to open the door to some cabin, Olivia is standing there looking terrified af. The girl couldn’t run if she wanted to. She refuses to go into the cabin with Jake, but he drags her in anyway. Olivia pleads with Jake to let her go, but he tells her that he has another confession first. He tells her that he obeyed Rowan’s orders to the letter. Jennifer had to die, he repeats yet again. The girl had to disappear. On paper anyway.
Wait, what?
While opening a door to some room within the cabin, Jake finally reveals who it is that he has been meeting at that motel room since election night. He turns on the light to reveal that Jennifer Fields is alive and well.
HUH?! But… she’s alive?! Who, what, why?
Whose body was in the cabin? How come no one conducted a DNA test to confirm that the body found in the cabin was indeed Jennifer’s?
Why would Rowan order Jake to kill her? Was that an order from the mystery woman? Was Jake to kill Jennifer or to “kill” Jennifer? Why is she still alive? Is she part of this whole thing? If she isn’t, how did she come to inform that Cyrus was the one who killed Frankie? Who in turn deleted her message from the FBI server and why?
Since Jake didn’t kill her, why make Olivia believe that he truly did? Why the creeper behavior and rough treatment?
If there is anything that this episode has reinforced, it is that Jake Ballard is meant to be a soldier and nothing much above that. He said to Olivia that Vanessa helped him realized that he is a man who is meant to take orders. Is this something that he has come to accept about himself? Will he now move into a space that allows him some measure of happiness following this moment of clarity? If so, what does this mean for Olivia? Will she soon find such a moment that will pull her off of the hamster wheel she has been on since at least S3?
As for Rowan, has he been nothing more than the man behind the curtain? Has this mystery lady (and her associates) been pulling Rowan’s strings this whole time? Hopefully, the next episode will shed light on this association. This episode had me all kinds of discombobulated.
Who do you think the mystery woman is and why do you think she and her people want Mellie in the Oval?
That does it for this recap/review of Scandal episode 605. I thank you for reading! Share your thoughts in the comment section below. You can also share your theories with me on Twitter.
See you all next week!!
