Scandal - Survival of the Fittest - Review: "The Results Are In"

Scandal is finally back after an 8-month hiatus! Whoo hoo!

So how is everybody? I hope you’re as ready for this new season of Scandal as I am. Who knew that there’d ever be a day when I’d rather sit through a never-ending B613 monologue than to deal with the current political climate in which Americans find themselves? You know your world is jacked up when the murk of Scandal is considered your happy place.

Nevertheless, our show is here and the new season doesn’t bother waiting for you to settle in before setting off an explosion. Literally. “Survival of the Fittest” starts with a flashforward of Huck and Quinn trudging through the woods in search for something. Quinn is yammering on about marriage while Huck is trying to focus. He shushes her as they near their target location. They are looking for a yet unknown woman. Before they can get closer to the cabin, which was their target location, the cabin blows up. BOOM!

The People Have Spoken

What we see next is a rewind back to the day before, which is election night. We have thankfully been spared the four months of campaigning after the Republican National Convention and have instead been tossed right into the tail end of election night. The Mellie Grant camp has their eyes glued to the television as they all wait for the results of one county in California. Of all the places in the country that one would expect to be up for grabs, California doesn’t typically come to mind, but on Scandal, California is apparently a swing state.

Say that again with me, people: California is a swing state.

The county that has the power to place California’s 55 electoral votes in either the column of the Democrat or in that of their state’s former first lady is San Benito County. Given the precipice off which the result of the election is hanging, the energy at Grant Headquarters is somewhat subdued. There is chatter, but it is largely drowned out by a reporter on one of the three TVs who proclaims San Benito to be too close to call.

An antsy Olivia suddenly pronounces to the room that if anyone among them hadn’t already voted, that they should do so now despite the fact that they had won Virginia. I’m going to assume that Olivia was in a mild state of panic when she said this because if votes from California are already being counted, then polls countrywide would be closed, yeah? Am I reading too much into this?

Soon after Olivia’s pronouncement, Fitz comes into the room to inform the masses that the California Attorney General told him that they are up in San Benito by 2,000 votes. Everyone but Olivia erupts in cheers. She instead appears momentarily stunned before she shakes herself out of it and looks over at Jake and (new) Vanessa; the latter of whom is downing her God only knows nth glass of champagne. Things don’t seem to be particularly sweet in that garden.

Why did Olivia turn towards Jake upon receiving this news? Is there something yet untold that that was cluing us in to or was that merely an opportunity to provide a glimpse into the Moss-Ballard relationship? Both maybe?

An excited Mellie pulls Olivia into a reluctant hug as it hits them all that Mellie is about to pull this thing off. Or so they believe. Olivia puts on the fake smile for Mellie but is clearly troubled over something. She isn’t reveling along with everyone else over this information, so you know something is up.

As soon as Mellie releases her, Olivia makes her way over to another room across the hall to meet up with her team. She asks Huck and Quinn what they can tell her about San Benito, but Quinn turns to Charlie to ask him.

Wait, Charlie?! As in B613 Charlie?? He works for OPA now?

Olivia asks him to confirm what was told to Fitz regarding San Benito and he can’t. His response to her inquiry was a “Two thousand? Wow.” Not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear when you’re this close to victory...or failure.

Having received the information she was looking for, Olivia turns to the main room and looks out at those who are watching the news with anticipation before she turns away from them back towards the hallway. Fitz spots her and then proceeds in her direction. He grabs what appears to be whisky on his way over and hands it to her as he begins to tell her about how Mellie believes it would be a great idea to have him introduce her as she is set to give her victory speech. Before Fitz can finish his sentence, Olivia swiftly knocks back the liquor.

Perplexed, Fitz wants to know what has happened, but Olivia says nothing. At least not verbally. She instead stares at him and he soon comes to understand what the problem is and it isn’t good.

Moments later, it is reported that Frankie Vargas has surprisingly won San Benito County, which means that he is the next President of the United States. All in the room are stunned. Mellie looks damn near catatonic for a moment, but then she comes out of it and sets her campaign staffers to work. There has obviously been some kind of tampering in San Benito, she tells them. The race is far from over.

During the announcement of the projected winner, the reporter made a curious statement about Vargas. She referred to him as the “Comeback King” after he had experienced “one of the greatest setback in political history.” What exactly was this setback and why wasn’t he expected to overcome it?

Meanwhile, Olivia is nowhere to be found. Of course, Fitzgerald is the one who notices and goes out to search for her. He finds her in a crouched position out in the hallway where she is having a moment alone over the results. Upon reaching her, Fitz tells her that Mellie needs her and that Mellie won’t accept defeat unless Olivia is there to see her through it. Olivia impatiently tells him that she needs a minute, but he continues by telling Olivia that she did an admirable job running a historic campaign.

Olivia isn’t in the mood to hear any of this as she hops into a stand and once again tells him that she needs a damn minute! She is trying to rein in her disappointment over this loss, but six foot two just had to show up with his platitudes. And his understanding persona.

Finally succeeding in silencing him, Olivia can’t immediately bring herself to look directly at him as she struggles to get emotions under control. When she finally does, she only manages direct eye contact for a few seconds before the wall comes crumbling down and she drops her head into his shoulder.

Olivia, however, doesn’t allow herself to remain there for long as she quickly pulls away and returns to the room to handle the task at hand.

Now for those who weren’t wondering, that was a one minute moment. If you’re a die hard gladiator, you’ll know what I mean. I won’t elaborate on it further other than to suggest for you to refer to episodes 106, 309 and 318 if you need a refresher. Meanwhile, I’m going to insert this here reaction gif:

I need to know what has transpired between these two in the months between 521 and this episode because this is NOT where Olivia and Fitz were when we last saw them. More on this later.

We flash to Abby asking Vanessa where her husband is. She at seems confused by the question as she fills her glass with more champagne, but then replies that Jake left and that she has no idea where he went.

Hmm. This woman is a lush and Jake’s disappearance is odd. The election isn’t yet conceded, so where did he go?

Upon Olivia’s return to the room, Mellie starts to tell her about all of the things that she has set in motion to contest the election results, but Olivia informs her instead that Mellie is going to have to call Governor Vargas and concede the election! *record scratch*

Mellie is confused by this and replies that there is still legal means by which she can reverse this, but Olivia tells her that there isn’t and that the longer she waits in conceding, the more time she gives the press to come up with reasons as why she is delaying the inevitable. Mellie tells her that the difference in votes is only 4,000. Olivia counters by telling her that in an hour that margin is going to widen, and she again instructs Mellie to call Gov. Vargas. Voters chose to go with the other team. Team Mellie Grant lost.

Welp. So much for the predictable storyline some believed we were going to get.

Mellie is shell-shocked and so is everyone else. The room is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop on the carpeted floor. Olivia eventually dials up the Vargas campaign and hands Mellie the phone. She then walks a numb Mellie through the phone call, hastily scribbling down one word after another as prompts to what Mellie should say to Vargas. Mellie utters what she needs to, but it is as if the words are being pulled out of her with a tow truck.

Damn. That blows. Not because I was expecting a different outcome (because I wasn’t), but because after spending two years of your life campaigning for the highest job in the land, coming close and then losing in this manner has got to sting. That said, the ticket of Vargas-Beene was far more qualified experience wise than Grant-Ballard, and I’m actually a little peeved at fictional America for allowing the election to be this close.

Let’s not bother digressing about real America.

As Vargas takes the stage to the cheering of his adoring supporters, we flash to Mellie and Olivia nursing their pain in the bathroom. Mellie is in the tub while Olivia is on the floor, and they are sharing a bottle of champagne between them. Neither can believe that Cyrus is about to hold public office, that he is set to become VP of the United States. Olivia apologizes to Mellie for losing the election, but Mellie rejects it and instead thanks her for all that she has done. She offers Olivia her hand and the two of them have a moment. It’s a nice moment, one that I never thought I’d ever see transpire between these two women. Ever.

I don’t know what has happened over the course of the four months since we last saw everyone, but Olivia apologizing and then Mellie responding in the manner that she does caught me off guard. Olivia isn’t known for admitting fault and Mellie hasn’t been much for graciousness, especially when it comes to Olivia.

Their moment is interrupted by exclamations coming from the main room. The both rush out of the bathroom to catch what was transpiring on television along with everyone else. Francisco Vargas has been shot on live broadcast! The freakin’ President-elect has been shot! Holy moly!

Back at the White House, the press briefing room is going crazy. And who is at the podium? Marcus Walker. Say what? First Charlie is working with OPA, now Marcus is at the White House. How did we get here, people?

Over in the Situation Room, Fitz being updated on the Vargas shooting. David Rosen informs him that the FBI found the shooter hiding in the bushes a mile away from the spot of the crime and also retrieved the weapon. (This sounds super easy to me. I’m suspicious.) Jake eventually shows up to the party with additional information, and Fitz remarks that it is “nice of the National Security director to show up on a matter of national security.”

Ouch. Was that a dig? If so, was that merely in response to the urgent situation or is there more to it? And again, where did Jake disappear off to earlier?

Anyway, Jake shares the intel that he has and it seems to suggest that the suspect acted alone. As Fitz is telling the group that he would like hourly updates, he gets a red folder handed to him. A quick glance at it prompts him to send Abby to the hospital in Pennsylvania where Frankie Vargas was taken.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Abby is quick to take charge. She rattles off instructions to the lead Secret Service agent in charge as how she wishes to have that floor of the hospital restricted to only essential personnel, agents and herself only. They are to become an island. No cell service, landlines or Wi-Fi. The agent gives her an indulgent smile and says to her that he’s sure that she has some security clearance but that this a high level operation, and that this is his team.

This man obviously has no idea who Abigail Whelan is, which is frankly surprising. She interrupts him mid spiel to let him know that she doesn’t have some clearance. She has ALL the clearances. This is THE high level operation and that SHE is the one in charge now. Abby tells the man that if he has a problem, he can take it up with his boss and their boss...all the way up to her boss who occupies an oval-shaped office. His tune changed after that.

Back in Washington, Olivia and company have returned to OPA and are watching the news updates on Vargas. Quinn remarks about how she can’t believe that the shooting took place, and Charlie says to her that the bright side is that the two of them can finally take their Caribbean trip. LMAO!! Weirdo.

Huck pipes up then to say that he voted for Vargas who would have been the first Latino president, and that he would’ve been great. Quinn corrects him on his use of past tense and reminds him that Vargas was still alive. For now.

Olivia later makes her way over to the White House and corners Marcus in his office. He knows that she has come for information on Vargas., and she knows that there is the statement that he gave the press and then there is the truth. She is looking for the latter. In trying to convince him to share what he knows, Olivia tells him that she’s his friend.

Chile, bye. She’s whose friend now? The same Olivia who had treated Marcus as if he was the red-headed black child of OPA?

Marcus saw through her though. He knew that he was dealing with Olivia Pope and not Liv. Before he goes to tell her the truth, he wants to know how Mellie is doing and Olivia informs him that Mellie is upset over the loss. Marcus eventually shares with Olivia that the situation with Vargas is dire. Vargas was hit a number of times, but the fatal shot was the one that hit him in the side of the head.

The First Monday After the Second Wednesday in December

Back at the hospital, Vargas passes away with his wife by his side. Abby surreptitiously confiscates Mrs. Vargas’s phone while she cries over her husband’s body, and then presumably informs Fitz of the latest development. We then see Fitz meeting with David in the Oval, and he would like to know the legalities surrounding who would be the next POTUS in the event that the President-elect dies. Fitz is sure to reveal nothing as to Vargas’s status and insists that he’s merely asking in a hypothetical sense.

David said that it could be Cyrus though he isn’t technically the Vice President-elect just yet. Vargas-Beene may have won the popular vote during the general election, but that isn’t exactly what elects them. It is the electoral college. (Yay, electoral college!! #sarcasm) If Vargas-Beene had already been elected by the electoral college, then yes, Cyrus would be president, but given the fact that they weren’t? Well, anybody who qualifies can be president, David tells him. Because there is very little precedent to go by, the answer as to who is to be the next occupant of the White House now falls in Fitz’s hands.

Say what??

After learning of Vargas’s fate, Olivia heads over to where her dastardly father is working on fossils and what not for some private collector. Olivia has come to ask Rowan if he was responsible for Vargas’s death. Rowan tells her that this incident is actually a gift to Olivia, which could give Mellie a legitimate chance at the Oval. Olivia is appalled by the suggestion and asks him again if he is responsible for the shooting. Rowan denies involvement, but who really believes him? Not I, says the cat.

Olivia doesn’t believe him either. He tells her that he actually thought about killing him, calling it a genius move, but he didn’t do anything since Olivia made it very clear to him that she didn’t want his assistance. She counters by saying that she didn’t need his help, and Rowan hits her back by bringing up the fact that she lost San Benito County. He goes on to say that she had the election right in her hand and that she let it go. He goes on to ask her how it is that she allowed that to happen. He wants to know how it is that she allowed Cyrus to beat her, referring to her as being smarter, faster and stronger and yet she’s the loser.

Rowan really knows all the right buttons to push with Olivia and she falls for it every time. You’d think by now she’d have found some way to shield herself, but nope. She came there to confront him, but she instead has the script flipped on her with Rowan making her out to be this weakling who doesn’t behave as the predator that he believes her to be.

Olivia is heading for the exit as Rowan states that Cyrus outplayed her during the general and that he also outplayed her when he paid an assassin to kill Francisco Vargas. At that, a stunned Olivia stops her retreat and turns back towards Rowan. She is visibly shaken by what he has just alleged, and Rowan uses that opportunity to punch her some more. He refers to her show of emotion as a weakness to which she can attribute her loss.

Sigh. I’m so tired of Eli Pope. So very tired.

He goes on to plant the seed in Olivia that Cyrus Beene was the one who had Vargas killed. I say plant a seed because we have been here before. Remember when Rowan had Fitz’s son killed? Remember how that was first pinned Maya and then on Jake? This man is all about smoke and mirrors, and right now, I am suspicious.

Of course, what he does say about Cyrus isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. After all, Cyrus did set up a shooting in order to raise Vargas’s public profile, and he admitted as much to Olivia in last season’s finale. That said, Cyrus is also the guy who believes in Vargas as if he is the Second Coming. He truly believed in the man and what he stood for, so given the little that we have so far, I’m skeptical of what Rowan has to say even if he is right about Cyrus Beene being loyal to Cyrus Beene. Additionally, this is just too convenient.

Rowan goes on to tell her that Cyrus has always been the most dangerous predator (not himself apparently), and that her refusal of his help in San Benito cost her the election. Now, he says, she has chance to right her ship and get herself back into the Oval. He places his hand on her cheek and she knocks it away in disgust.

“Survival of the fittest, Olivia.”

Armed with what Rowan has told her, Olivia returns to OPA and reviews footage of Vargas on stage with Cyrus. The latter is seen stepping away from Vargas moments before the first gunshot goes off as if he knew that it was coming. Quinn is aghast at the thought, but Huck points out that Cyrus did set up the Harrisburg shooting, so having Vargas killed wouldn’t be a stretch. (Something that I’m sure Rowan knew when he presented this to Olivia.)

Olivia instructs her team to find any link whatsoever that can connect Cyrus to the shooter. Later we see her arrive at the East Wing of the White House where Mellie is visiting with Teddy. Once Teddy is out of the room, Mellie guesses from Olivia’s expression that Vargas is dead. Olivia adds that she believes that Cyrus is responsible, a rather reckless thing to share given that she has zero evidence to substantiate this.

Mellie at this point is so done. Olivia tells her that they need to discuss strategy, but Mellie wants nothing to do with it. Making a play for the Oval while Vargas’s body is barely cold is detestable to her (whoa), and she points out to Olivia that it could have easily been her up on that stage. Mellie says that while sitting there with Teddy, all she could think is that the presidency is cursed. She doesn’t want the four more years anymore. It was this very presidency that robbed her of her son, her marriage and also led to Fitz getting shot. Mellie says she is going to Santa Barbara to go lay on the beach. She’s just all kinds of nawl to this life.

Olivia is trying to get through to her that it is critical that they make the right moves in order to improve their chances of being successful in claiming the presidency, but Mellie remains emphatic about her desire not to press on. Olivia, however, snaps back that she isn’t yet ready to quit the race. Sooo….is Olivia even in this because she believes in Mellie or is she using Mellie to achieve the goal that Rowan has programmed her to believe that she wants?

Back at the hospital, Mrs. Vargas is demanding to get her phone back so that she can inform her children that their father has died. Abby holds firm in her refusal, but does eventually place a phone call to Mr. President to plead with him to inform the public of Vargas’s passing. Fitz goes on to explain why he isn’t doing that until he can figure out the succession path. The country needs to know that there is a clear path to continuity, otherwise there will be chaos.

Abby is certainly in an awkward position with having to be the one to deal with Mrs. Vargas, but Fitz has it worse with having to figure out who to choose to proceed him. He could go with Cyrus, but America voted for Vargas and not Cyrus directly, and going with Mellie would open him up to accusations of nepotism, especially when she lost the election. Oh, what to do, what to do.

While in contemplation, Charlotte interrupts to say that Olivia was wondering if he had a moment. He instructs Charlotte to patch Olivia through, but she’s actually present in person and not on the phone. Fitz is quick to figure out that Olivia already knows about Vargas and that she is there to “advise” him to go with Mellie. Olivia remarks that Mellie would be the best choice for the country and that Fitz has to choose her because the other guy tried to kill his way into the presidency.

Here Olivia goes again with the leveling of unsubstantiated accusations. When Fitz asks her for proof, she just stands there looking like a dummy. She has nothing and Fitz is in disbelief. Olivia insists that she is right on this, that she just has to be. Fitz tells her that 150 million people voted for Vargas and not Mellie, and Olivia quickly points out that none of that matters now since Vargas is dead. Who the next president will be in now in his hands.

Okay now, pause. One hundred and fifty million people voted for Francisco Vargas. As in one-five-zero million. They cast their vote for ONE candidate. So in this fictional world of Scandal, every eligible voter in the United States got off their asses and went to the polls. Can they pass on their secret to voter engagement to those of us who live in the real world? Asking for a friend.

Olivia tells Fitz that she’ll get him the proof he needs as long as he promises to delay making a statement until then. Fitzgerald tells her that she has until morning to get him the proof. That’s it.

Back at OPA, the gang is still looking for a link between Cyrus and the shooter and are coming up empty. There aren’t any suspicious deposits in his bank account either. Charlie learned from the shooter’s coworkers that the man did not like Vargas, but Quinn can’t believe that the guy pulled this off alone with him pulling from three long range shots with no misses. Charlie tells her that the guy was an avid hunter who was a regular at the gun range and designed his own scopes. Huck suggests that they check out the FBI tip lines and 911 calls, but Charlie poo poos that. He’s not up for going through all of those messages. He’d rather escape to the Caribbean with Quinn. Too bad for him since the 832 messages that Huck retrieved from the tip line is the only thing they have going for them.

Back at the White House, we see Fitz come out to join Mellie out on the Truman Balcony. He remarks that he was told that by the chef that Mellie didn’t eat dinner, but Mellie says that she isn’t hungry. Following a pause, Mellie apologizes to him, explaining that for the longest time she had been resentful of him and him occupying a presidency that he didn’t even want. She had considered him to be weak and spoiled for not desiring the very thing that she had long craved.

Now with some perspective, Mellie has come to realize how wrong she was about the Office and about Fitz. She tells him that, “you aren’t weak. You just aren’t power hungry. I never realized that. I’m sorry.” Well, ain’t that some truth right there. Praise the gawds for perspective.

In response, Fitz tells Mellie that she shouldn’t make him out to be this good person; that as a man of privilege, him wanting power is a like a “drowning man wanting a bath.” Ha! So damn true. This doesn’t negate what Mellie said, but his point is just as valid.

As a white, straight man who happens to be the son of a wealthy former governor and Senator, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III isn’t lacking in the power department. He didn’t need to seek what he already had. Ten points to Fitzgerald for recognizing his white male privilege.

The conversation continues with Fitz remarking on how he is tasked with choosing who the next president. His legacy hinges on this, he tells her. After all the stolen elections, they are once again faced with one that may not be chosen by the people. When asked what he plans to do, he tells Mellie that he doesn’t yet know. He then goes on to say to her that she can walk away from the presidency if that’s what she wants to do. No one but him would know of her decision. Mellie finds his consideration to be sweet, but she tells him that she does indeed want the Oval.

Back over at OPA, Quinn informs Olivia that they found absolutely nothing on those 832 voicemails. Olivia doesn’t believe that there is nothing, but all available evidence suggests that the shooter acted alone. Quinn is trying to get her to accept that there isn’t anything more to this, but Olivia is adamant. Cyrus killed Vargas to make himself president.

Is this Olivia’s gut talking here or is she stubbornly holding on to the bone daddy tossed her because this would get her back into the White House? The woman is on my nerves in this particular moment. She’s there barking out a diabolical image of Cyrus plotting his entire Cabinet and contacting delegates to secure their vote while they themselves are doing nothing to stop him. She’s outchea sounding crazy with her circumstantial yet unfounded ramblings.

Next thing you know, Olivia is off to Pennsylvania. She has arrived at the hospital to speak with Cyrus. She is stopped at the door, but Abby waves her in. Olivia is in a hurry to get to Cyrus, and when she finally sees him, she is taken aback. Contrary to what she thought he was doing, Cyrus was standing in a semi-dark room in shock. He was covered in Vargas’s blood. Abby says that Cyrus has been in that state since he arrived and hasn’t spoken a word. Abby’s voice fades into the background as Olivia watches Cyrus and realizes that she’s had it all wrong.

Olivia is soon back in the Oval (I know Philly isn’t that far from DC, but is she teleporting?) and she apologizes to Fitz for having wasted his time, saying that she is embarrassed by how convinced she was of Cyrus’s role in this.

Olivia apologizing twice in one episode has got to be some record. And this particular apology to Fitzgerald is unique in that she also admits how this moment makes her feel about herself. Olivia and fault admittance isn’t a combination that we usually see join forces, but I’m totally here for it. Live long and prosper, introspective Olivia. Live long and prosper.

Whoever thought that we’d see Mellie AND Olivia separately apologize to Fitz for being wrong about something? What kind of fresh heaven have we strolled into? Do clue us in, Shonda.

Fitz tells Olivia that he had wanted her to be right because she’s “always right.”

If this man doesn’t quit with the foolishness. The woman is NOT always right, and I’m going to need him to quit saying this. The last time he said such rubbish was when they broke up in 509 and talmbout how they tried.

Anyway, Fitz figured that if Olivia turned out to be right, then the choice for who would be the next president would be made for him, but now he’s back to where he was. He asks Olivia what he should do, and Olivia refuses to give him an answer. In any case, he already knows what she is going to say. She tells him that because of her bias, he is going to have to make that call alone. Fitz says that he doesn’t want to fix another election, which prompt Olivia to say to him that he already knows what he needs to do.

The Next Leader

We next see Fitz speaking with Cyrus at the hospital. He first speaks to the loss of Vargas before continuing on to the task at hand. He asks Cyrus to promise him that he will uphold Francisco Vargas’s legacy, be honorable, always put the country above all else and be better than Cyrus is and better than Fitzgerald was. Cyrus is not quite sure where this speech is going until Fitz informs him that he is handing him the presidency.

The following morning, Marcus comes to the East Wing to see Mellie. She believes that he has come to tell her that Fitz was about to announce the death of Vargas, but Marcus tells her that he’s doing that with Cyrus by his side. Mellie is caught unawares by that and is visibly disappointed in the decision.

Oh and was it just me or was there an undercurrent there between these two?

Back at OPA, the band is packing away the various pieces of their investigation into Cyrus and the shooter. Charlie wants to know what’s next on the agenda, and when Quinn says that that is up to Olivia, Charlie again brings up the trip to the Caribbean. The two get to arguing about the timing of said trip when Huck interrupts them to point out that they are at a place of work. He tells Charlie that Quinn doesn’t want to go on the trip because she’s a workaholic and is afraid of the ocean, and then he tells Quinn that Charlie wants to take her on the trip because he’s looking to propose. Flabbergasted, Quinn starts panicking a bit and asks Charlie if he even has a ring. He says that he meant to get her one but then they got wrapped up in the whole 833 voicemails thing.

As he rambles on, Huck interrupts to say that there were 832 logged voicemails, but Charlie says that no, there were 833 on the call log of the FBI server. Charlie doesn’t even miss a beat as he continues on with his proposal to Quinn and asking if she would be game to build a nice little home with him. Huck has to raise his voice in order to get Charlie to pass him the call log. Ut oh.

Over at the White House, Fitz is announcing the passing of Vargas while the gladiators are informing Olivia of what they have discovered. Someone hacked into the system and deleted a call. They haven’t yet been able to access the message, but they managed to get the phone number of the person who made the call. Last known location of the cell signal was from some cabin that the woman owned.

Huck and Quinn go off to see if they can find this woman at said cabin. We are now at the flashforward point that we saw earlier in the episode. Just as Fitz states that Cyrus Beene would be the right man to continue forward in Vargas’s place, the cabin blows to smithereens.

Back at OPA, Olivia is worried about Huck and Quinn since she hasn’t been able to get through to their respective cell phones. She’s expressing this to Charlie who is trying to remain focused on what he was working on. She tells him that something is wrong, and she becomes frustrated when he doesn’t immediately stop what he’s doing to call Huck and Quinn as she wants him to. She turns away from Charlie in aggravation just as Huck and Quinn walk into the office. Their phones were damaged, but then were able to find the woman in question. Her charred right hand with a ring on it anyway.

The fact that Quinn had this hand in her bag…

It is at that moment that Quinn finally decides to agree to Charlie’s proposal. Olivia is completely confused as to WTF is happening right then. LOL!

Just as Charlie is set to embrace Quinn, his laptop dings. He has successfully retrieved the deleted message. The now dead girl was calling from the park at which Vargas was shot. The shooting had just happened. She says on the voicemail that it was Cyrus Beene who killed Frankie Vargas!

Oh hell. Why does this still feel too neat though?

Armed with this information, Olivia goes over to see Cyrus. She pretends as if she is there to offer her condolences, but she really came to let him know that she is aware of him killing Vargas and that she is going to prove it. She then turns and leaves like a damn boss.

I want to cheer Olivia on, but this feels like a misdirection. I’ve watched enough Scandal to know that things aren’t always as they appear. They tend to toss red herrings in your path to throw you off to what’s really going on, so I’m hesitant to bite on this Cyrus as the murderer bit. As I’ve already said above, it’s just too convenient, too neat. There has got to be more to it.

By the end of this episode, I had more questions than I did answers on anything. Here are some of the questions that I have:

• Now Olivia has something to chase after, will she try to woo delegates to Mellie’s side or will she leave that alone since Fitz has already thrown his support behind Cyrus?
• What was the situation that Vargas had to overcome in order to be crowned the “Comeback King”? (Y’all get the “comeback” reference, yeah?)
• What is the state of Olivia’s relationship with Fitz? As of the season 5 finale, they were in this strange space where they were friendly yet not quite back at a place where they were totally comfortable or even trusting of each other. What has changed in the four months since? There has clearly been a shift in that dynamic.
• How did Marcus end up as White House Press Secretary? What happened with he and Mellie? They appear to be on good terms, but there seemed to be a strain there. Maybe? The last time we saw them, they were about set to jump on each other. So what happened?
• How did Charlie come to be part of OPA and why? Olivia is literally running B613-lite with this group.
• What is the state of the Moss-Ballard union and why is Vanessa drinking like a fish?
• Where did Jake disappear to on election night? Is this a misdirection or a legitimate clue to something more to come?
• With the assassination of Francisco (rest his soul), will we see his brother Alejandro again? I expect that he’d show up with whatever dirt on Cyrus he was able to dig up.
• Speaking of assassinations, where is crazy ass Tom Larsen? After Cyrus unceremoniously dumped him, I can’t imagine that Tom isn’t somewhere plotting his revenge.
• And what exactly is Eli “Rowan” Pope up to? What does he have on his agenda aside from the routine torment of Olivia?
• Also, will Olivia break out of this toxic cycle that she has been in with her father since Jesus was a boy? Does Shonda ever plan to liberate this woman?

Now on to you guys. Did this episode prompt any questions for you? Any guesses as to who is really responsible for Vargas’s death? Share your questions and guesses in the comment section below or you can share your theories with me on Twitter.

That’s it for this recap/review of episode 601. I thank you for joining me for yet another season of Scandal. See you all next week!