SCANDAL Recap: An Innocent Man

Now – before I get into this week’s recap I have a comment about the episode from two weeks back, an episode I’m ashamed to admit I just watched about two hours ago. Does anyone else have a problem with this Jake story line? Correct me if I’m wrong – Last season Rowen told Fitz that Olivia’s Mom killed Jerry. When he told this to Fitz he was given his job back as Command in exchange for killing Momma Pope. Something he failed to do but reported to the President that it was taken care of. So why in the world is everyone so quick to believe that now Jake did it? Does no one else in Scandalville remember last season? Or at least wonder why Command is slipping up with his deductive skills?

Oh and while I’m at it – I just finished last week’s episode. How ironic is it that Jake is taunting Fitz about his relationship with Olivia while being “arrested” when Fitz tried to do the same thing to Rowen when he had him in custody last season? And honestly people the speed at which you are so ready to believe Jake is Jerry Jr’s killer is shocking and makes me question your general intelligence.

I suppose I should get to what you are actually here for: A recap of this week’s episode…

Remember how Olivia used to swim to work out her stress? Well now she swims in her dreams and intertwines that with images of herself in bed with Jake and then Fitz and to top off all the crazy she sees her Dad. Not a good sign when your Dad is in your sex dream/nighmare. Also it seems Olivia dreams with 70’s music playing, just like in her real life. Oh and Abby spent the night. She seems to finally be over her I’m better off without you rhetoric. She suggests Olivia call Fitz for information about Jake. That’s also a new one for Abby I think.

Over at the White House it is revealed that former President Cooper passed away that morning. Mellie, looking less like drunk, homeless Mellie and more like put together bad ass Mellie informs Fitz. She takes in his appearance of pajamas and bruised hands and asks if she should get him some fried chicken. She’s got jokes. Know what that means? She’s back!

While the news talks about Cooper’s life (he like Grant was shot during his time in office) we see Olivia doing a walk down a cell block that would make Beyoncé jealous. She is visiting Carnahan. He is the attempted assassin of Cooper all those years ago. He surprise surprise insists he is innocent, set up, framed. Now that Cooper is dead Carnahan wants the bullet that was somehow lodged in Cooper’s head this whole time taken out so he can prove it wasn’t him.

Cyrus is still doing Michael and he is still wearing that hair that should have its own name it is so ridiculous. Michael is still working for RNC Lizzy and he tells her about an email he read on Cyrus’s phone. One that talks about bases the White House is going to close. RNC Lizzy is intrigued.

Abby heads into work and goes straight to the Oval Office. She tells Fitz she wants to talk about Jake. Fitz gets self-righteous and uppity with her, calling himself the Commander in Chief. Because who doesn’t like to talk about themselves in the third person? Abby however stands her ground. ”I’m not asking the Commander in Chief. I’m asking the married man who used to sleep with my friend what exactly he has done with the man she is currently sleeping with…if you love her at all do her the curtesy of telling her what the is going on.” She hightails it out of the office leaving Fitz standing in silent thought.

Huck is at OPA playing computer games, something Quinn isn’t too amused with. She wants to know where he is with the key they found in the dead girls stomach. He hasn’t really narrowed down where the key is from. Quinn doesn’t have much time to chastise him though because Olivia needs her. She wants Quinn to find everything she can on Carnahan. The team goes to work. They decide Carnahan might actually be innocent. The only way to know for sure though is to get the bullet out of Cooper’s brain. Now stick with me here, the only way to get that bullet is to have Carnahan charged with murder. OPA will argue that the bullet lodged in Cooper’s brain for all these years caused the stroke that killed him. Therefore Carnahan is a murderer by proxy. He thinks about it for a few moments before agreeing.

Mellie does the First Lady thing and meets with Bitsy, Cooper’s widow. They smile through sad faces for the cameras and hug. As soon as the cameras are gone Bitsy drops her nice old woman act. She admits to Mellie, without being asked mind you, that Cooper would screw anything with a pulse. Mellie’s ears perk up.

RNC Lizzy takes to the press to talk about Cooper’s passing and uses that opportunity to drop her base closing rumor. Cyrus can’t figure out how she would have known about that. How indeed Cyrus, how indeed. I wonder if he has considered all the secrets his hair could tell? Probably not. He seems more concerned with chastising Abby for her little outburst to Fitz. Something she calls Olivia to admit to. While she is on the phone with Olivia there is a knock at the door. Olivia goes to open it to find Fitz and his many Secret Service men standing there. Apparently Abby’s talk worked.

Olivia wants to see Jake, she says there is no way he could have killed Jerry. Fitz thinks her judgment is clouded. This coming from a man that, if he is being honest, is having Jake detained partly because he slept with Olivia. Fitz shows Olivia all of the evidence against Jake, mostly all from Secret Service Agent Man Tom’s interrogation. She insists she needs to see Jake so he leaves and she does the only rational thing, she chugs a glass of wine.

Because she spends all day paying hookers and scheming, RNC Lizzy runs into Mellie in the hallway of the White House. She would be ever so grateful if Mellie could deny, to the public, on the record, any rumors of bases closing. That way Fitz will be painted into a corner. Mellie is impressed with how smart Lizzy is but she isn’t going to help her.

At OPA Olivia puts her plan to get Carnahan charged with murder into motion. She plants ideas with a few reporters and gets people riled up. Quinn comes up with a hashtag #JusticeforCooper and everything. How quaint. It works; Rosen publically announces he is going to charger Carnahan with murder.

Mellie is trying to plan the State Funeral for Cooper but Bitsy doesn’t really care, she says it doesn’t matter who speaks and says what. Bitsy then tells Mellie how she was the one that did all of the things her husband is credited with, peace accords, tax codes, etc…and all she will be remembered for is being the wife of a man who did something with his life. It’s sad but true. Mellie can clearly relate to this.

While that is going on Command and Fitz are meeting in the Oval Office. He is there petitioning Fitz to have Jake turned over to him. That doesn’t bode well for Jake. Fitz says Jake is going to be tried in court, found guilty and executed before the world. Command can barely contain his disappointment. Then he tells Fitz Olivia should see Jake, let her see him for the murderer he is. This is the part that gets me; Fitz says that he fears Jake could manipulate Olivia into believing he is innocent. Really? You think Olivia Effing Pope is so weak or that Jake is so pretty that he could manipulate Olivia. Now if he is really innocent, which we know he is, then maybe she could follow facts, hunt down leads, etc…but be manipulated? That is saying something about Fitz’s raging jealousy and his perception of Olivia that is not flattering.

Quinn, with everything else that is going on, is still trying to figure out what locker the key from Caitlin opens. Huck however is not helping her, much to her annoyance. He is too into his computer game. Welcome to the last few of my relationships Quinn.

In court where Rosen loses the bid to have the bullet remain in Cooper’s head he sees Olivia. After court is adjourned he calls Olivia out. She manipulated him into filing murder charges against Carnahan. “Hashtag you want to screw me.” Poor Rosen. He never learns how tricky Olivia can be.

Fitz has taken what Command said to heart and has Olivia picked up and brought to the bunker where Jake is being held. She sees Jake, beaten and bloody. She can’t get within three feet of him though so all she can do is stand there. Jake knows things aren’t going to go his way so he saves any talk about his innocence. “My word isn’t going to change anything.” He asks Olivia to listen while he tells her about an account he has. The money from which he wants to have Olivia give to his Mom when he is gone. Then he says something really sad, “We both know in the end you aren’t going to choose me and that’s OK…Not choosing me is OK.” He makes her repeat back the bank account number and then turns away while Fitz watches from the other side of the one way glass.

Now that they are BFF’s Bitsy and Mellie are drinking on the balcony of the White House. Bitsy says it was a good thing her husband fooled around, gave her time to run the country. Mellie is again hearing something she finds thought provoking.

What I am about to tell you next is what happens when Olivia is too busy having disturbing sex dreams to focus on her work…Carnahan did it. He did shoot Cooper. Only he didn’t kill him and no one remembers the almost assassins. So he bided his time and then played our dear Olivia into helping him irrefutably prove it. Now he will go down in history with the likes of John Wilkes Booth.

When she goes to tell Rosen, he gloats, as he should. She asks him not to give Carnahan what he wants, no death penalty, give him life in prison. Olivia, despite having messed with Rosen earlier ask for a favor, she wants him to help Jake. Rosen says too late, he has been transferred from DOJ jurisdiction.

We see what that means when Command sits down and taunts Jake with his fate. “True power hides in plain sight. I played this President like a fiddle to get you back in my possession.” It’s really too bad Fitz isn’t listening in now. Only this isn’t the end, Olivia is waiting for Fitz in his office. Fitz blames Jake for ruining any chance he and Olivia had together. He stresses it more than how Jake killing his son effected his family. I want to be appalled but then Olivia uses it to her advantage, because as I’ve said before she is tricky. She say the one thing that would for sure put an end to any hope or possibility would be handing Jake over to Command. Fitz hears nothing else she says, all he can keep repeating is, “Is there hope?” She says there is and walks out.

Outside the White House Bitsy addresses the press about Carnahan and how he won’t take away from all of the great things her husband did. Mellie takes this moment to seize her own power. She makes a statement about how Fitz, being a Navy man, would never take action to diminish the Armed Forces. The rumors about base closures are untrue.

Cyrus watches this speech on TV and is pissed. He calls Abby to bitch at her for being incompetent and not finding the leak. Only she has done some sleuthing of her own. She found out about Michael and she informs Cyrus (and his hair) that he might want to, “…take a look at your own backdoor…” pun intended.

So – that computer game Huck has been playing? He is playing against his son. Anonymously but that is why he has been so consumed with it. That makes more sense and Huck’s ex is none the wiser.

Quinn finally finds the locker. She opens it to find hundreds of pictures of Olivia. That is what Caitlin and the other chick whose name I can’t remember were killed for. The people behind the murders wanted these photos back so no one would know they were after Olivia.

Fitz pays Jake a visit to inform him he is being transferred to super max where he will spend the rest of his life, “Consider it a gift from the woman we love.”

As the episode ends Olivia is really swimming when her Dad shows up. He can’t believe she would cross him. I can’t believe he is so shocked. She looks him right in the eye and says, “You might be Command Dad, but I have weapons at my disposal, weapons you can’t possibly possess.” And with that she swims away.

Two more episodes left before the winter finale. Should be interesting to find out what they have planned.

Scandal airs 9/8c on ABC