SCANDAL Recap: The Things We Do In The Name Of Love

Do you know what I like about Scandal? They give you answers. Sure not every answer – that wouldn’t make for good TV but enough answers to keep you happy while still guessing. This episode is the Winter Finale and the writers did a nice job of wrapping some things up.

The World’s Worst Kept Secret
We get to see Sally and Daniel Douglas have the fight that lead to his death. After calling her Shrill Sally and accusing her of needing a good looking man on her arm she truly snaps calling him her “original sin”, grabs her letter opener and stabs him in the back – literally. Covered in blood she calls Cyrus because that’s what you do when you’ve done something awful, you call Cyrus.

Cyrus of course heads over to the Langston household right away where Sally is talking about how she let the devil in. I don’t’ think she means Cyrus but while she is mumbling he is flashing back to setting up Daniel Douglas with James and the look on his face says he thinks this is his fault.

After decided Daniel Douglas should have died of a heart attack Cyrus calls Charlie to clean up the scene. Cyrus tries to coach Sally so she can pull this lie off. Sally says she needs to turn herself in to the authorities. Yeah, okay Sally, that’s why your first call was Cyrus and not the police. Too little too late if you ask me. When the doctor shows up to officially pronounce Daniel Douglas dead Sally breaks down and her grief sells the heart attack theory to the doctor. Looks like they are in the clear.

Later over at The White House Cyrus is in his office when Mellie shows up to tells him the “good news”. Cyrus sits Mellie down and tells her the whole story. He repeats what Sally kept repeating about the devil coming in. He likens himself to the devil. So maybe I wasn’t so far off when I mentioned that earlier. Cyrus says this is the worst thing he has ever done and he has done some really terrible things. Mellie tells him to pull it together, she is really quite pleased with how this all happened.

Leo stops by Sally’s to go over all the things they can now do with her campaign. Their meeting is interrupted by Mellie. She brings Sally flowers and shoos Leo out. Mellie is not even remotely subtle in letting Sally know she is aware of what happened and how maybe now, if ever, isn’t the time to meet with Leo. Mellie can barely contain her glee at having Sally “back in the fold”.

Before Daniel Douglas’s funeral Leo pays Sally another visit. Leo can’t believe she isn’t still running for President. He wants to know what happened. Sally, who seems to have lost all control, again snaps and yells that Daniel Douglas is in hell, he got what he deserved. Leo guesses that she killed him. This is really the worst kept secret ever, just ever. Leo seems madder that he wasn’t her first call than that she killed her husband.

Poor Quinn
At B613 Poor Quinn is too late, some of Commands other assets found the plane that Mama Pope took off in. This also means Poor Quinn doesn’t have a chance to kill Command. Poor Quinn flushes the syringe she had and pulls her tracking device out of her tooth flushing that too. Oh yeah, while Huck was digging around in Poor Quinn’s mouth last episode he also put a tracking device in her mouth.

When Poor Quinn’s tracking device goes off line Olivia chastises Huck for torturing Poor Quinn. Huck maintains he was doing what needed to be done. Olivia isn’t so sure – she sends Jake to find Command (he will know where Quinn is) and to take Huck with him.
I maintain that Olivia should be a little more upset that Poor Quinn killed that security guard and sold them out to Charlie for a few looks at his gun – and yes I mean it “that” way.

Poor Quinn and Charlie are still hanging out. They are like a messed up version of Bonnie and Clyde. Considering what Bonnie and Clyde really were I want you to think about that. Poor Quinn is lamenting how normal her life was last week and now here she is. Charlie calls her spectacular and asks her to stay before lying down next to her and spooning her. It’s just so creepy to me.

Later Charlie wakes up to find Poor Quinn gone. She has headed over to Pope & Associates. She goes right to Huck telling him she’s back. She wants to know what Huck has to say to her. Huck doesn’t say what I think she wants to hear. He says it if wasn’t for Olivia he would kill her right now. Huck tells her she isn’t a Gladiator anymore. I’m not sure Huck has that power but either way she leaves.

What does she do you ask? Having been excommunicated by the Gladiators runs back to Charlie. He seems genuinely glad to see her.

Command, Mama Pope, Olivia and the Men that Love Her
Olivia has the Gladiators looking into her mother’s alias Marie Wallace. She wants to know everything on her ASAP. Abby talks Rosen into emailing her Marie Wallace’s file. Marie’s file basically documents that Mama Pope was a gun for hire. She would work for whoever was paying her the most. Her last assignment was to gather intel from Command.

Meanwhile Huck and Jake are searching for Command at Olivia’s behest. Unfortunately for Command Huck and Jake don’t get to him before Fitz does. He did tell Olivia he would take care of her Dad problem. He puts Command in a concrete room, looks like the room Huck was tortured in when he was thought to be the one who shot Fitz.

Fitz sits down with Command for a chat. He wants to talk Operation Remington. Why have him shoot down the plane if Mama Pope was already removed from the flight. Of course Command can’t help but taunt Fitz. “That is above your pay grade, Mr. President.” Fitz takes another tactic; he tells Command he is screwing his daughter, every chance he gets. That’s bold. I mean he tells Command he could tell him how she tastes. Command is less than impressed. He starts a two plus minute rant about how Fitz is just a boy, a rich spoiled boy. A boy who believes he is in love with Olivia but really he is just in love with her being his way out, “a door marked exit”. He goes on to say Fitz is using the person he made to make himself a man. It’s a fabulously hurtful speech and despite saying he isn’t worked up Command is quite upset.

Huck and Jake are heading out to search for Command. I’m telling you Olivia’s attitude about what Huck did to Poor Quinn is a little too much for me. She basically asked her boyfriend to have her Dad taken out but when Huck tortures the most annoying person ever she gets all pissy about it.

Jake thankfully tells Olivia what I said last week, just because she found out her Mom wasn’t good doesn’t mean her Dad isn’t bad. Her Dad has done some terrible things, terrible things to Huck and he is still willing to go find Command for Olivia. He tells Olivia to cut Huck some slack, Command isn’t their hero he is their demon.

Jake and Huck are out searching for Command when it occurs to Jake where Command went. He calls Olivia to let her know Fitz has her Dad. Olivia wastes no time calling Fitz. She wants to speak with her Dad. Moments later she is sitting in front of Command. She tells him her theory. He pulled Mama Pope off the plane, interrogated her and learned there was a bomb on the plane. Then he made the decision to shoot down the plane rather than let it land and have the bomb kill so many more people. Except that doesn’t make sense to Olivia, her Mom wouldn’t board a plane with a bomb; she was a gun for hire. Unless Mama Pope told him there was a bomb where there really wasn’t one. She got Command to blow up a plane with 300+ people on board for nothing. That’s why Command locked her up for the last 20 years. After hearing this Fitz has Command uncuffed and lets him go.

Later Olivia gets a call from Fitz. The plane her Mom was on never made it to Hong Kong; she killed everyone on board and rerouted the plane to Mongolia.

Jake stops by Pope & Associates to talk to Olivia. He kisses her and says he came to say goodbye. “I loved you. Whatever happens next I want you to make sure you know that I loved you. I love you.”

I don’t always want Jake with Olivia but I don’t want him to leave either.

Olivia calls Command to talk to him about Mama Pope. Command says he is never going to tell her everything she wants to know. Then in true Command fashion he invites her over for Sunday dinner where they can talk about his job at The Smithsonian, etc…

Command hangs up with Olivia and heads to his office at B613, except when he walks into his office Jake is behind his desk. Guess who is the new Command. That’s right, Jake, with Fitz’s blessing, is the head of B613.

James and Cyrus
When James sees the news about Daniel Douglas he is sure Cyrus had him killed. Cyrus says he did no such thing but James isn’t convinced. In fact he goes to see Rosen. He tells Rosen his suspicion that Daniel Douglas was murdered by Cyrus or maybe Sally. Rosen reminds him what happened the last time he trusted James with a big story. He lost his career, he was ruined. He sends James on his way.

James comes home to find Cyrus getting ready for bed. He asks what James is going to do next. Cyrus says James is still the love of his life and he is still exactly who James married. You have to give Cyrus that, he is always exactly who he says he is.

James tells Cyrus that if he names James White House Press Secretary he won’t leave him. When Cyrus asks if he will still love him James says, “don’t push it”.

Spy’s Among Us
That night Olivia gets a call from her Mother. She is just calling to say they will see each other soon. We see that Mama Pope makes her call from outside the White House. So she is already back in the states, in Washington DC.

So that’s it. Crazy episode. What did you think?

Scandal is back February 27th on ABC