SCANDAL Recap: It Is Always Darkest Before the Dawn

We open this week’s Scandal with Jake laying out what it means to be a part of B613. At one point he says there is, “no sun on the horizon…” which is the title of this episode. It’s a bleak and yet comforting speech. B613 asks you to do things no one in the real world could even imagine and there is a lot of blood but B613 also becomes your family.

One of the main things happening in this episode is the first presidential debate. Sally vs. Fitz vs. Reston. You all remember Reston, right? He is who Fitz beat the first go around for president. He also killed the guy that was doing his wife – and got away with it last season I believe. Anyway, In order to get Sally out of her “The Devil Made Me Do It” doldrums Leo flies in her pastor. They walk into find Sally going a little off the rails in debate prep. She isn’t quoting scripture, unless there is a passage I forgot about that goes something like, “Time for the slaughter piggy piggy. Time for the slaughter you filthy cloven beast.” Leo looks beside himself and he should because Sally ends her rant with, “Yum yum crispy piggy, yum yum” It’s a little like an exorcism movie.

Olivia is with Rosen, Huck and Abby listening to the taped phone call of Cyrus cleaning up the Daniel Douglas mess. Rosen tells Liv James is helping him with the investigation. He actually says, “James is just as committed to this as I am.” Oh you can’t be that naive. I can almost promise you by the end of this James will have changed his mind. Why? Because he has been showing signs of cracking for a few episodes now. Funny, the thing Olivia is most upset about is that Cyrus didn’t come to Pope & Associates to clean up the murder.

Olivia takes herself right over to Cyrus’s office. She tells him she knows about Daniel Douglas and Cyrus responds he has it under control. Olivia looks less than convinced if her laughter is any indication. When she stops laughing she tells Cyrus the presidential debate is a lineup of murderers. Fitz, Sally, Reston – they have all killed someone. Cyrus tells Olivia they can’t tell Fitz about this, they have to keep it a secret. Olivia just once wanted to run a clean, open, honest race. Doesn’t look like this will be that race.

Over atB613 aka Acme Limited Jake is telling Poor Quinn she is now the receptionist. She has to pay her dues. Poor Quinn gets mouthy because that seems to have worked so well for her thus far. She wants a mission and a gun. Jake tells her to answer the phone in a sweet voice and pretend to sell the person paper. That’s what Acme Limited does, sell paper. Jake also warns her no more freelancing with her boyfriend Charlie. She has the nerve to cross her arms and I think I heard her huff.

That night Olivia shows up at Jakes apartment. He is surprised to see her as he can’t remember the last time she was there. I think I remember and I think it involved some hijinks on the kitchen counter. Olivia brought dinner and she is talking faster than normal. When asked she tells Jake she doesn’t want to talk about what is bothering her. She really just wants to drink her bottle of wine, eat her fries and relax with her fake boyfriend. She wants to know if Jake can do that. In response he says he sold 1500 reams of paper today. Oh that Acme Limited must turn quite a profit. He even quips they are making him employee of the month. Olivia smiles. He breaks character for a moment to say he is through the looking glass now at B613 and there are days he really wishes he just sold paper.

Now I’m generally Team Fitz and that is mostly because I like how intense that relationship is. Would I like it personally, absolutely not, but on TV it works for me. That being said when Jake looks at Olivia and says, “We could run, we could just disappear. We could run you just have to say the word.” I found myself leaning into Team Jakes territory. I may have sat forward and said (out loud) “RUN WOMAN!”

At her silence Jake pours her another glass of wine and says one last time, “Run away with me Liv. Save me.” She downs her wine, turns to him and says, “Take advantage of me Jake.” I see no fault in this plan and I am really looking. He doesn’t either and wastes no time pulling her in for a kiss that looks like it will lead other places. Side bar: Guys you don’t have to look like Scott Foley to get a girl to swoon, but it seriously helps if you put your hand on her face the way Jake did with Olivia. Take notes. End side bar.

Leo gets back to Sally’s where she tells him she has to confess to the world so the Lord can hear her. She needs to see a sign of the Lord’s love and the only way she figures that is going to happen is if she makes a public confession. I almost feel bad for Leo. He heads straight over to Cyrus’s to try to get the debate pushed out. Give him time to reason with Sally.

Rosen and Abby are in bed and Rosen is trying to figure out what Olivia is doing by staying out of this whole Daniel Douglas thing. Rosen wonders out loud, “What would Olivia do?” and then snarks, “That should be on a bracelet.” Abby isn’t at all amused. She wants Rosen to leave it alone, let it go. This is dangerous and he could get hurt or killed. He apologizes.

That night James stops by Cyrus’s office to find Cyrus stressed. Cyrus tells James the best part of him loves James, maybe the only good part and to remember that no matter what happens. That really freaks James out, so much so he calls Rosen to meet up. Cyrus telling him he loves him means something bad is going to happen, he wants to go public now. James proposes a meeting with Rosen, James, Vanessa (reporter) and the NSA chick who made the recording of the phone call in the first place.

He isn’t wrong about something bad happening. In some other well lit park Cyrus meets with Jake. He tells Jake he wants him to kill Sally. Jake’s first question is does Olivia have anything to do with this. Cyrus says no, now lend me Charlie. It’s like an extreme version of your neighbor wanting to borrow a cup of sugar. Can I borrow you assassin? I’ll have him back by dinner. Anyway, Jake says no, he isn’t there to protect Cyrus or even Fitz really. He is there to protect the republic. Cyrus tells Jake that this is republic business; the people can’t know they elect murderers. “Faith in government will be dead.” I’ll give Cyrus this, he did one of his great fast talking speeches, and it should have worked. Jake however is not swayed or even remotely impressed. He stands firm.

The next morning at B613 Poor Quinn goads Jake. Explain to me how this is helping? She says Charlie and Huck never had to pay their dues. Correct me if I’m wrong but Charlie and Huck were military and then B613. Poor Quinn’s claim to fame? Olivia saved her after she was accused of murder. That doesn’t make you a badass, that makes you badass adjacent. Poor Quinn doesn’t care what I think and continues on telling Jake he will never have Olivia’s love. She has him fooled if he thinks he is part of Olivia’s Gladiator family.

In another attempt to reason with Sally, Olivia goes to visit her. Upon seeing Olivia Sally say, “The devil at my doorstep. My last temptation.” Now that is where I would turn and leave. Olivia choses to sit down though and hear Sally out. There is an actual moment when Sally compares her situation to that of Jesus. Let me repeat that – Sally compares her life to that of Jesus.

Fitz gets a call from Olivia. She asks if he remembers Vermont. We all do! The point is they promised to never lie to each other again. With that she tells Fitz about Sally and Daniel Douglas. She tells him everything, Cyrus and Mellie covered it up. Then she asks a favor. Because nothing segues into a favor like your wife helped cover up a murder. Olivia’s favor is asking Fitz to throw the debate.

After she hangs up Jake stops by with dinner. He wants to talk about Sally and Daniel. She says she can’t. Jake makes a Vermont like plea – he wants them to stop keeping secrets. She is silent for a moment and that is all Jake needs. He says it’s too late; she is standing with “him”. Jake is obviously hurt and decides he had better leave. He says it’s time he did his job as she is clearly doing her.

The next day Jake is at work when Poor Quinn knocks at his office door. She is there to apologize, she crossed a line yesterday. YOU THINK!?!? Jake however is fresh off his disappointment with Olivia, he tells Poor Quinn she is done paying her dues. They have a real job for her to do.

It’s debate time and Leo is trying one last ditch effort to get Sally to forgo this confession while Olivia is still trying to talk Fitz into throwing the debate. She says Sally just needs a sign that God has let her back into his good graces. Fitz says he won’t throw the debate – end of discussion.

Looks like Poor Quinn’s mission is to break into Pope & Associates and make copies of everything they have on the Daniel Douglas murder. Poor Quinn brings all the intel to Jake. Jake looks at the intel and calls Secret Service Double Agent Man Tom into his office.

As the debate starts Fitz actually temps Sally to confess, bringing up her husband and his death while a very worried Cyrus looks on. We see Tom watching as well, when he sees Sally start to look like she is going to lose it he makes his way up into the scaffolding where he has a rifle hidden. We hear Jake tell him, he has one opportunity to make this shot before the rest of the Secret Service turn their guns on him. Just when it looks like Tom will have to take the shot, Fitz steps up and gives Sally the sign she needed. He “accidently” said he was proud of his personal failings. She falls for it.

The next day Leo is gloating, because he’s just that guy in Cyrus’s office when there is a high pitched buzzing sound. When Leo leaves Cyrus tracks the sound to the picture frame where he finds the bug James planted.

Olivia finds Fitz in the Oval Office. It seems like he is looking for an apology but what he gets is a speech from Olivia about how no secrets means he gets to know what goes on in order to keep him in office and it isn’t pretty. She tells him there is no Vermont, it isn’t how she wants it to be, or how he wants it to be but they need to stop pretending. Just be, and with that she pulls him in for a kiss. I can’t remember the last time she initiated anything.

James gets home to find Cyrus already there. Cyrus tells him he knows it was him that talked to the reporter. Cyrus takes the blame though; he says he did this when he used James. James starts to cry and Cyrus might have actually apologized. It’s such a foreign thing to hear from him I’m not quite sure.

Unfortunately for Rosen and associates James gets to their clandestine meeting, which for some reason is on a corner of a very well lit street right out there for anyone to see. Sure it’s night time but really? James tells Rosen he is sorry but he is pulling out of this. He was angry and as it turns out he just wanted an apology. I wonder who could have predicted this? Hmmmm? Anyone? Obviously not Rosen.

While James is getting there we flash back to the beginning of the episode where Jake is talking about B613 and how it becomes your life. Then we see Jake walk up to the four people meeting and he shoots the reporter and the NSA lady before turning the gun on Rosen and James. One more shot rings out as it fades to black.

Scandal airs 10/9c on ABC