SCANDAL Recap: Vermont is for Lovers Too

Oh Scandal so much in one episode. Just so much.

Let’s cover the Josie Marcus story first. Over at Josie’s house there has been a break-in. A laptop was stolen, one with all sorts of political intel on it. Josie’s sister thinks it was Reston. Olivia wants to hold off making acustations until they are sure. Josie’s sister/daughter Candy doesn’t wait though. She basically accused Reston and his camp of stealing the laptop via a press conference. Olivia looks pissed. Harrison says he will handle it. Harrison gets to Josie’s house and confronts Candy. They had a plan and she messed it up. Candy is making their job harder.

Later Rosen and Abby are in bed when Rosen gets a call. Rosen’s computer guy says the laptop from Josie’s house was wiped clean the day before the break in and the only things left on it were a speech and a few donor names. There is nothing that would be of any use to the Reston campaign. Abby calls Harrison and tells him the break in was a fake and she suspects Candy. Harrison wants to believe it is someone else, mainly because he is lying in Candy’s bed with her.

Olivia calls Josie and Candy into the office. Candy doesn’t see what she did wrong. Harrison says she got caught, that is what she did wrong. Olivia says they can get through it if Josie fires Candy. Come clean before the Justice Department finds out what happened. Olivia sets up a press conference for Josie where she admits that the laptop incident was a fraud and takes full responsibility for it. Candy can only look on while Josie bows out of the Presidential race.

Let’s move on to Momma Pope and her situation. Command visits Momma Pope to tell her he is moving her to a place farther away from DC, he doesn’t want her anywhere near Olivia. Momma Pope, who’s name escapes me, wants to see Olivia. A request Command scoffs at.

Now for the gross part and I do mean gross part. That evening Olivia’s Mom chews through her wrist, through the skin and veins. She ends up in the infirmary. Obviously.

Command brings Momma Pope clippings of Olivia’s life. She wants to know why there are no family photos. Where are the pictures from the holidays’. She told him to take care of Olivia and pretty much accuses Command of ruining their daughter. Command reminds Momma Pope that if she wasn’t around for Olivia’s childhood that is no ones fault but her own. He storms off.

That night Command gets back to the infirmary to find the doctor with a needle in his neck and Momma Pope missing.

Quinn is our next topic, or Poor Quinn as I will be referring to her over the rest of the recap. Charlie drops Poor Quinn, the dumbest girl alive, at the office. Poor thing looks upset. Charlie cracks me up though. There is something about a character that is unapologetic about what they are that I just love. In real life I’d be horrified but this is TV, it’s make believe and I love that instead of giving her the, “You don’t have a choice…I own you now.” speech he says, “It’s much more fun to pretend I’m your boyfriend.” I yelled at Quinn to be careful what she wished for time after time and she didn’t listen. What is that saying about reaping what you sow?

In the office Olivia has tasked the Gladiators with finding out who killed the security guard. Poor stupid Quinn. Huck finds some security footage showing the killer walking out of the building. He thinks he can get the image cleared up, there may even be a reflection in the glass that shows the killers face. Poor Quinn looks worried.

All day and night Huck is working on the security footage. Poor Quinn says she will take over for him but Huck is fine. Then he tells Poor Quinn that he knows she does a good job, he may not ever tell her but he knows. Poor Quinn looks sadder than ever. When she gets to the parking garage Charlie is waiting for her. She pulls her Montana Special gun on him but it’s Charlie so he doesn’t even flinch. She can kill him but she will just get another handler and maybe not one that likes her. He says this while touching her face and being Charlie, I mean creepy.

The next day Huck tells everyone he can’t get an image off the security footage so no luck on who the killer is. Unfortunately for Poor Quinn she gets home to find Huck there, with a picture of Poor Quinn from the night she killed the security guard. He was able to clean up the image after all and now he wants to know who she is working for. He has all of his tools out. Poor Quinn looks scared as she should be.

Next up our scheming Cyrus is still working on trapping the VP’s husband Daniel. Cyrus tells an unemployed James he got him an interview with Daniel. James is quite happy.

Mellie and Cyrus’s plan is for James to interview Daniel. Daniel will make a pass at James. James will in turn tell him no way and with that info Cyrus will go to Sally and get her to stand down. What could possibly go wrong? Oh and one more thing, Mellie baits said honey pot by telling Daniel Cyrus and James have an open marriage. Mellie for her part warns Cyrus that maybe this is a road he doesn’t want to go down. Cyrus snarks that James isn’t Fitz, he’ll be fine.

James is over at the VP’s house attempting to do his interview. Daniel grabs James and kisses him. Then Daniel says something that I assume will be the downfall of Cyrus when it comes to his marriage to James. Which is funny if you think about it. James lied to a Grand Jury for Cyrus and this is going to be what I think takes them down. Daniel says he heard from Mellie that James and Cyrus were in an open marriage.

That night Cyrus is at home waiting for James. He paces and looks worried and pretends to be in bed reading when James gets home, well past midnight. James says it went well, Daniel really opened up. Cyrus gets a text moments later from the photographer he had spying on Daniel. The text has pictures of James and Daniel doing some things you don’t want to see your husband doing with another man. Cyrus has the nerve to get teary eyed. He pimped his husband out, what did he think was going to happen.

Last but not least is Fitz and Olivia. Olivia has been ignoring the Fitz Phone. Finally she answers it and Fitz says he just wants one hour to talk to her. She says no and smashes the Fitz Phone. Jake, who is now a Gladiator of sorts, wisely comments, “You think that’s going to do it? That won’t stop him from calling.”

Fitz goes one further then call and at Olivia’s apartment down for anything Secret Service Agent Tom informs Olivia that there is a helicopter waiting for her. I like that after everything he’s seen and done for them Tom calls Olivia Ms. Pope or Ma’am. It makes me smile. He hands Olivia an envelope with a picture in it, a picture of Command and Olivia. That changes her mind and she gets on the helicopter. When she gets off the helicopter she tells a pleased looking Fitz, “One hour.”

Fitz has had Olivia brought to Vermont. To a very pretty house that Fitz talks about like he is a little in love with it. Handcrafted this, local artist that. She says she never discusses her Father, not ever. Fitz is upset she didn’t tell him. He told her everything he could legally tell her and she…well she is a “bundle of dirty little secrets.” All Olivia can do is shake her head and say he wouldn’t have accepted her if he knew. Something he says isn’t true. He would have protected her. Olivia says she doesn’t need protecting.

Fitz starts talking about the house again and then their song starts playing while Fitz says this house is hers, or rather theirs. He had it built for them. You do remember a few episodes back where he said in another reality he would be mayor of a small town and they would have a bunch of children and she would make jam, right? Well this is that dream…he made it for them.

This is another example of how I love some things in TV make-believe that I know I wouldn’t like in real life. Their relationship just kills me. Their song playing while he talks about the life they could have/should have had just wrecks me. I know he is married and this whole thing is not right but I just don’t care. I love it.

Olivia loves it too since she rushes over to Fitz and kisses him. Then there is some more kissing and some sexing. The next morning Fitz tells Olivia he loves her and also her Father needs to be stopped. She tells him to do what he has to do. Before she takes off she tells him not to sell the house, not yet. Fitz has a very hopeful smile.

The episode ends with Olivia walking down the street to hear, “Hi Livy.” She turns around to see her Mom.

Scandal will be back in two weeks and honestly I think I need a few weeks to process everything that has been going on over the last few episodes.

Scandal airs 10/9c on ABC