Scandal - The Belt - Review: "A Way Out of No Way"

So the Scandal folks decided to slow things down a bit with this episode. It was trucking along at 20 mph before it opted for pedal to the metal with its last five minutes. HOLY MOLY! While there were a few revelations, there were far more questions raised by the end of it all.

“The Belt” starts off with us seeing Cyrus being personally escorted to federal prison by David Rosen. What follows is a sequence of booking procedures that gets increasingly humiliating from the moment he walks into the prison to when he is finally sent to his cell.

Meanwhile at OPA, Mellie is celebrating in Olivia’s office over what presently appears to be fact that she is going to be the next president. Mellie is so elated, that she decides that she’s going to dance it out. With En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind” playing, Mellie jerks around as if she’s the Tinman in desperate need of a lube. Her moves are as graceful as someone in the throes of intermittent seizures.

Olivia’s face as all of this was happening had me ROLLING!

Mellie eventually pulls Olivia into the dancing as well, and she obliges. Quinn and Charlie look in on the crazy that is happening in the office, and quickly scurry away when Olivia spots them. Excusing herself from the dancing, Olivia comes out to warn them to mind their business and let Mellie have her moment. When Quinn remarks that she didn’t realize that the leader of the free world was allowed to twerk (Ha! That definitely was no twerk), Olivia points out that Mellie isn’t president yet, so they shouldn’t jump the gun. They haven’t won anything until Mellie has actually been sworn in as the 45th, so they are all to ignore what is happening in her office.

Upon receiving their agreement, Olivia returns to a dancing Mellie. Quinn and Charlie decide that they are going to go out and celebrate what they consider to be a win anyway. Quinn invites Huck, but he declines and says that he’s busy. Once Quinn departs, we learn that Huck isn’t busy with work. He’s been watching video of Meg Mitchell, the young woman who was friend to Jennifer Fields and the campaign statistician for the Vargas campaign. She’s the same woman who Huck tracked down in a parking garage in the last episode. He is smiling to himself as he watches video that appear to had been recorded by Jennifer.

Looks like Huck has developed himself a little crush. Those don’t ever go well.

Next morning, the press have plenty of questions for Marcus that he can’t answer. He keeps referring everything to the Justice Department. Meanwhile at the DOJ, Abby barges into David’s office and wants to know if he is seriously considering the death penalty against Cyrus. A cleared throat behind her alerts Abby that Angela Webster is also present in the room. Abby gives her cool acknowledgement before returning her attention to David. Both David and Angela are saying to Abby that the case and the evidence as sufficient to support the death penalty. Abby tells David that he has discretion with regards to the sentencing, and David tells her that he is exercising just that. He explains that the American people need to see that someone who commits this kind of act will be punished accordingly. Abby tries to argue that Cyrus is not an ordinary man and thus should be given special consideration, but David believes that this is exactly why it is important for the death penalty to be on the table. It shows that Cyrus, no matter his stature, is not above the law.

Abby proceeds then to say that this isn’t about the American people but rather about the President who won’t allow Cyrus to be tried and then executed. This pops Angela out of her seat as Abby tells David that he’s going to have to make a change of plans with his prosecution. Angela interjects then to say that Abby as chief of staff is not the one who makes these kinds of the decisions, that such would come from the President. Abby then counters by saying that in that very moment, she herself isn’t only a representative of the President, she IS the President and that the prosecution of Cyrus is no longer one that includes the death penalty.

Abby Whelan is doing a little too much, wouldn’t you say? She’s speaking for the President? Does Fitz even know that she’s there? Hmm.

Back at the prison, a guard has come to take Cyrus out for his daily one hour of exercise. Cyrus was under the impression that this walk was going to take place outside, but instead, it is in a cage indoors. Cyrus is remarking about the 8th Amendment when he spots Tom on the other side of the door. He attempts to get his attention, but no such luck. The guard silences his unsuccessful yelling, and Cyrus begs to be allowed to speak with Tom since Tom is the guy whose lies landed him there. While he is mid speech, the guard spits in Cyrus’s face! Mucus and all.

Bitch, we fitna fight.

The guard then threatens Cyrus with general population where there are an awful lot of Frankie Vargas fans. Either Cyrus can make his way back to his cell in that direction or he can make it back in the direction from whence they came. Cyrus tells him that he’d prefer the latter. Satisfied with that answer and that he’s managed to subdue Cyrus, the guard barks at Cyrus to get to walking in a circle in the cage.

Back over at the White House, Abby has called Elizabeth over to get her to let Cyrus know that the death penalty is no longer on the table. Elizabeth is not game, informing Abby that she no longer works for Cyrus since he turned into John Wilkes Booth. Elizabeth then launches into a rant about how her short time representing Cyrus has turned her into a pariah, but then she switches up and says to Abby that she’ll get the message to Cyrus if Abby can work out a job for her at the White House.

Ah, Elizabeth. Always the wheeler and dealer.

Later we see Elizabeth visiting with Cyrus. She passes on Abby’s message and is set to leave when Cyrus asks her for her help. He needs to get Tom a letter and even though they are both in the same prison, he can’t simply walk over and talk to him since they are in different wings. Referring to Tom as “simple”, Cyrus believes that if he writes a letter to Tom and tells him that he loves him, that Tom will recant his confession against Cyrus. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to this, but Cyrus doesn’t have the letter with him since they won’t allow him access to a paper and pen. He promises to get it to her somehow.

Elsewhere, Huck is at Meg’s house where he has installed some new security system for her. Huck tells her that he’s going to get her new locks and replace her current windows with plexiglass to make it impossible to anyone to invade her home. Meg tells him that he doesn’t have to do all of that and asks him how much she owes him, but Huck says that he gets all of that stuff for free from work. Uh huh. That tag that he quickly snatches from the security system said otherwise. Meg then offers dinner and Huck agrees.

Meg goes on to ask about her trash and if she should secure it. She says that she hears that criminals like to go through people’s trash, and she’s concerned that the man who got Jennifer is going to come after her. Huck tells her that Tom Larsen is in jail, but Meg says that him being in jail doesn’t mean that he’s the one who killed her friend. After all, Tom hasn’t been charged with Jennifer’s murder. No one has. “Her killer could be anyone, anywhere,” Meg says.

Dun, dun, duuuuuuun!

The Wheels Are Turning

Later that evening, Huck returns to OPA and poses the question to them all: who killed Jenny? Everyone is all like, Tom killed her, duh. Jenny was a loose end who had to go. Huck points out that Tom never confessed to killing Jennifer. There is no mention even of the cabin that was blown up. The only thing that Tom confessed to was killing Francisco Vargas.

Now Olivia and company are shook. #WhoKilledJenny

Olivia instructs the Scooby Gang to be absolutely certain that Cyrus ordered the kill on Jennifer. This loose end has to be tied up for they cannot take away from the Mellie who danced in her office the prospect over her being POTUS. Not again.

Meh. Somebody’s about to be disappointed.

Back at the prison, Cyrus peeps as the guard slips something into the pocket of a prisoner, and that guard sees that Cyrus caught that. Once he departs with the prisoner, Cyrus queries the prisoner across from him about prison currency that’ll get him at least a pen and paper. The other guy tells him that some gang has turned the guard into their bitch, so he does whatever is asked of him. He then goes on to tell Cyrus to forget the pen and paper, and to instead look to get himself a belt for that moment when Cyrus can no longer take being on the bottom and wants to hang himself. Shaken a bit by that imagery, Cyrus declares that he isn’t a coward and his neighbor tells him that the two men who occupied Cyrus’s very cell before him said the same exact thing before they hung themselves.

The man then goes on to tell Cyrus to ask him what he is in prison for. Without waiting for Cyrus to do just that, he reveals that he is there because he ate his sister, mother and father. He couldn’t eat the dog though. “Only an animal would chow down on his own dog,” he said.

His tale prompts Cyrus to realize who the man was. Ralph Greenwald. His antics was sensational enough to have hit the news, huh?

Ralph tells him to figure out how to leverage Gerald (the guard) or opt for the belt.

The next day during his daily exercise, Cyrus tries to blackmail Gerald into giving him a pen and paper. Give him what he’s requesting or Cyrus will inform Gerald’s supervisor that he’s smuggling drugs into the prison. Well, that gets the guard’s attention. Cyrus tells him that if he gets Cyrus what he wants, he’ll tell Gerald how he can get his freedom from the prison gang. It’s either that or Cyrus goes blabbing to the supervisor.

Elsewhere, Huck is training Meg on self-defense. She remains as awkward as she was in the last episode when she was verbalizing her attack point before she carried it out. This time, she follows his instructions and is finally able to land a solid punch at Huck’s nose. Even though his nose is bleeding, Huck is proud of her. Weirdo.

Something about this chick makes me suspicious. Y’all recall Becky Flynn from S2? Remember how Huck met her at one of his AA meetings? She was as awkward and unassuming at this Meg Mitchell, and for that very reason, I’ve got my eye on Meg. She may end up being some covert operative who is presently playing at the innocent, incapable nerd. We’ve been here before.

Later at OPA, Quinn has found information of a car rental that Tom made the morning of the election. Huck takes the info and says he’ll use it to search traffic cams for Tom’s movements that day. After a moment, Huck in his usual Huck manner asks Quinn and Charlie how one is able to distinguish between a person being a client and a friend. While Huck doesn’t want to stay outright that the person he’s asking about is a girl, Charlie concludes that it is and asks if the person in question looks at Huck like she wants to rip his clothes off or like “she’s making a to-do list in her head.” LMAOOOO!

Having Charlie be a part of OPA has brought back the levity that has been missing from the gang for a long time. I’m still waiting for an explanation as to how he came to be a part of them in the first place, and I’m also wondering if he’s still got those side jobs going on. Charlie is loyal to no one but Charlie usually, so I’ve got a narrowed eye on him. But I digress.

Quinn brushes off Charlie response to tell Huck that if he wants to know the difference, he should just straight up ask the person.

Over at the East Wing of the White House, we see Fitzgerald reading over some documents in bed….with Angela there beside him!! Okay then. I guess it’s safe to say that they’ve taken this to the next level.

The two of them are doing homework in bed (isn’t this what he used to do with Olivia?!) when Fitz suddenly says to her that she is a gorgeous, absolutely stunning woman. Sheeeeit. I wholeheartedly agree. Just look at all that thick, velvety chocolate goodness. Girl is fine.

But she can be good and fine right outside of that bed. I’m just saying. #Hater

Yeah, yeah. They cute and whatev as Fitz says that she’s the one good thing that has happened for him in the past few weeks since everything else has just been a shitstorm of bad. Angela asks him how he’s holding up, and he tells her that his main concern is the American people. Now look at this slick mess: Angela tells him that he doesn’t have to be “stoic” with her, that as someone who puts people behind bars all the time, she knows that there are others associated with the people who are affected. Parents, siblings, friends. She then brings up what Abby relayed to her and David about Fitz not wanting the death penalty with Cyrus.

Uh huh. Was that done accidentally on purpose or am I just being suspicious about everyone’s motives? It’s probably the latter, but I’m sticking with the former because I’m stubborn.

Of course, Fitz didn’t order Abby to take the death penalty off the table. Red was acting all on her own. Now her behind is in trouble.

Over at the prison, Gerald has brought Cyrus the requested pen and paper. Before Cyrus can take it, Gerald wants to know how Cyrus intends to help him out of his bind. Cyrus relays to him that the reason why he was able to leverage people into doing whatever it was that he wanted them to do was because he had something that they all wanted for themselves: the President, the Oval Office. Cyrus says to the guard that right now, the only thing that he has going for him is access to drugs. What Gerald needs to do is find his Oval, something that the prisoners value more than the drugs. It could be food, their health, someone who snitched on them that they’d like to get revenge on. Everyone has an Oval, Cyrus tells him. All he has to do is figure out what it is.

Cyrus succeeds in acquiring the pen and paper, and Ralph claps at the victory. When Elizabeth next visits, Cyrus has the letter to give to her.

The Road Takes a Dark Turn

Back at the White House, Abby enters the Oval to find the President there with Angela and David. She’s going on about the submarine-shaped donuts that she picked up, but her boss instructs her to take a seat. It’s hard to miss that the mood is serious. Fitz outlines Abby’s interference with case against Cyrus, and Abby turns to David to ask him if he had “complained to the teacher.” That prompts Fitz to remind her that he is the President, and his tone takes Abby aback. She asks him if they can hash this out in private, but he refuses. Whatever she has to say can be said in front of the FBI Director and the Attorney General.

Welp. Abby done pissed off the President. And it’s all of her own doing. I don’t know who she thought she was or what she thought she was doing, but she has been making some really questionable decisions lately, particularly with the case. Is there something that she knows that she has yet to clue us in on? What gives?

Abby tries to explain herself, but Fitz isn’t here for it. She invoked his name without discussing any of it with him, so she is heretofore ordered to stay away from the investigation. “The Chief of Staff doesn’t make these decisions. The President does,” he tells her, and it was then that it dawned on Abby. It wasn’t David who ratted her out. It was Angela! Aw shiitake mushrooms!

Anybody familiar with Fitzgerald knows that he has a tendency to echo the words of the woman he is sleeping with. Well, that was the case when the woman was Olivia. Now here he is doing the same thing and Abby did NOT miss it. Y’all see her face!? It’s about to be on like Donkey Kong.

Back at the prison, Cyrus receives another visitor. This time it is Michael and Cyrus is surprised to see him. Cyrus inquires about Ella and how Michael is holding up, and is hit with Michael telling him that he is leaving him and taking Ella with him. Whoa there. How’d we get here?

Cyrus wants to know what the hell is going on and Michael whips out the letter that Cyrus wrote for Tom. Michael wanted to know what Elizabeth’s plan was to get Cyrus out and she showed him the letter. What the flick, LIZZY BEAR?!

Lord only knows what the hell Cyrus wrote in that letter because Michael was stunned by not only the filth in it but also by the acts described. Cyrus had never touched him in the same way as he had Tom. (Yikes!) Cyrus explains that everything in the letter is a ruse to get Tom back on their side, but Michael tells him that there is no longer an “our” in their relationship. Why Cyrus asks if Tom even saw the letters before she handed them to Michael, a disgusted Michael demands to be let out of the room. Cyrus reminds Michael that he pledged to never leave him, but Michael ignores him and departs.

Over at the White House, the President is giving a press conference where he states unequivocally that he will be asking for the death penalty in the case against Cyrus. Abby is watching it from the side of the press, Olivia is watching in her office and Cyrus is listening to it on the radio is was able to get from Gerald. That business about no death penalty just went out the window.

Soon Gerald appears at Cyrus’s cell and Ralph remarks that he believes that Cyrus is ready for that belt now. Cyrus believes that Gerald came to gloat, but what he really was there was for was to inform Cyrus that he is able to get him to go outside for some fresh air later that night. Gerald says that he figures that Cyrus deserves it after the day that he’s just had, which prompts Cyrus to break down in tears.

SOMEBODY HAND JEFF PERRY ALL OF THE GATDAMN AWARDS ALREADY!!!

But what initially looked like a kind gesture is soon revealed to be the exact opposite. Gerald found the gang’s Oval alright, and it was for them to exact revenge on behalf of Frankie Vargas on Cyrus Beene. By the time Cyrus had figured out what was about to go down, Gerald was back inside and had locked the door behind him. The gang of men proceed to beat Cyrus into a pulp. Poor dude ends up looking like Martin when he was beat up by Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns.

The beat down is followed by Cyrus being in the hospital. Michael is present and so is Olivia. Olivia’s kindness towards Cyrus is what let me know that this was a dream. Olivia hasn’t experienced much of any humanity in an age. What I did find interesting is the fact that aside from Michael, Olivia factors into this dream. She has served as the initiator of all of this, but also has the ability to make it all go away. She has also been a sorely missed friend.

Dream Michael tells Cyrus that Tom recanted his story and that the reason he claimed that Cyrus was involved was because he was angry and wanted to hurt Cyrus. The charges are being dropped. Olivia adds that the electoral college was planning to vote for Mellie, but now that Tom has changed his story, that likely won’t be happening. Olivia tells him that she will stand out of his way if he promises to make Mellie his VP. After all, he has been through enough and it was time that they all moved on.

LMAO! If I hadn’t already suspected that this was a dream, this bit confirmed it as so.

We next see Cyrus being sworn in as President of the United States with Michael and Ella by his side as well as Mellie and Fitzgerald. This is followed by Cyrus coming into the Oval Office and he makes his way over to the seal and stands upon it in disbelief. He was really the president! That is, until Mellie walks in. She remarks about a Sojourner Truth quote that lines the edge of the room’s carpet, and it is then that the dream shifts. Cyrus notices that the decor in the room is decidedly more feminine with a portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Liberty (I presume) hanging. Then he spots the Grant family pictures. So much for President Beene.

He soon comes out of his dream to find that he is still laying on the ground where he was left after he was jumped. Some hours later, he makes a call to Olivia. She accepts it and then Shonda had to just hit me in the feels with the track that they chose to play over their conversation. Any diehard Scandal fan is familiar with the tune. It was first heard in episode 216 when Fitz called Olivia after he found out that she had rigged the election. That was one hell of an emotion packed moment, and the present call is no different.

Cyrus proclaims to Olivia that he wasn’t the one who had Frankie killed. He pleads with her to believe him, that all of this is of Tom’s making. He admits to being a monster, but that he is her monster, one that she knows. After some silence, Olivia speaks up to tell him that she cannot help him. Cyrus insists that she knows the truth here and that she should trust her gut instincts.

Olivia appears to have a brief internal struggle at his words and Cyrus takes her quiet as some hope that he can grab on to. He remarks that she believes him, but Olivia counters by saying that it doesn’t matter what she believes or what she wishes to believe. She tells him that this (the murder) is too far. Cyrus realizes then that she doesn’t believe him and reiterates that he is innocent. Olivia’s response to this is that “at some point the bill has to be paid. The bill is due.”

Um, what? The man who has maintained his innocence from the beginning is telling you STILL that he isn’t the one responsible here and you’re telling him to man up and do what is right? The bill is due!? So instead of her listening to that small voice that is telling her that there is the possibility that Cyrus really is innocent, she tells him to “stop being a monster and be a man [Cyrus] can be proud of.” Really, Olivia? Girl, when is your bill going to be due?

Shocked by the rebuff that he’s just received from Olivia, he utters the horrid reality that he is going to die in prison. Fighting back emotion, Olivia says to him, “I will always be your friend, but I will not speak to you again.”

That’s colder than a witch’s tit. Damn, Liv.

The old Olivia would have hung up on him and then had an attack of conscience. That niggling doubt would gnaw at her until she looked into it to erase it. Not this Olivia. I can’t say for sure what she was thinking in the moment, but Olivia rejecting Cyrus was a selfish move. That (from my point of view) wasn’t her donning the white hat as a righteous seeker of justice on behalf of Francisco Vargas. That was Olivia using Cyrus’s past bad deeds to justify her unwillingness to consider his claim and simultaneously using them to absolve herself of the real reason why she needs Cyrus out of the way.

I’m sure there will be some disagreement with the interpretation of this scene. On one hand I’m annoyed with Olivia, but on the other, I can’t blame her for not wanting to listen. Cyrus has a long history of doing shady shit, the latest of which includes him coming up with the entire scheme to get Frankie shot in order to raise his profile. If Cyrus is willing to do that, what’s murder? Should we forget what happened to Amanda Tanner?

In any case, I find it rather convenient that now would be the time that Olivia feels that Cyrus ought to pay the piper. Would she feel the same way had the context been different? Would she had said the same things to him? I suspect not, but I guess we shall never know.

It All Comes Tumbling Down

Without a friend left in the world, Cyrus sits in his cell in dejection. Gerald brings Cyrus his tray of food and has included on it the “good” butter and extra bread. He’s being nice to Cyrus now for having given him up to those dudes. Cyrus muses aloud that he was Gerald’s Oval, and Gerald confirms this by stating that he no longer has to smuggle in drugs for those dudes.

Welp. Doubt Cyrus considered that when he was giving ole Gerald his Oval pep talk.

Cyrus says to Gerald that he now wants his belt. The guard refuses and tells Cyrus that Cyrus really doesn’t want to do that, but Cyrus begs it of him. He promises that the belt won’t be linked back to Gerald since they are standard issue, and he even offers to pin the provision of the belt on a guard that Gerald doesn’t like. Gerald counters by saying that Cyrus would be dead then, but Ralph pipes up to say that he say said guard give the belt to Cyrus. Gerald relents and tells Cyrus to not do the deed during his shift.

Elsewhere in DC, Huck shows up at Meg’s to find out if she is a “client or a friend.” Meg answers the question by kissing him. (Why are Huck’s relationships always so freakin’ off??) Middle of making out, Huck gets a call from Quinn. She’s got something on Tom. Fun time is over.

Back over at the prison, Cyrus has a folded note in his hand as he sits in thought on his bed. Gerald shows up to tell Cyrus that his shift is over and to ask if Cyrus still wants the belt, and Cyrus does. Cyrus asks Gerald to give goodbye letters to Ralph for him first, and when Gerald does just that, we hear the sound of someone getting strangled!!

WHAT IS GOING ON?!

Well, as it turns out, Cyrus has found what it is that he has that he can deliver to Ralph and that is somebody to kill. Cyrus listens to Gerald struggling with a small smile on his face for a good long time before he gets up to see what is happening for himself. Ralph has managed to get his hand on the cell key and he lets himself out while still holding Gerald captive with the belt.

While hauling a choking Gerald along, Ralph comes over and lets Cyrus out. Upon his release, Cyrus uses Gerald’s life to bargain. Ralph got promised a kill, so it’ll either be Gerald’s death or that of Tom Larsen. Which is it going to be, Gerald?

Off they go to Tom’s cell and Ralph is immediately on the attack. He smacks the shit out of Tom before he manages to get the belt around Tom’s neck. Ralph is choking the life out of Tom as Cyrus comes up to apologize for all the wrong he had done to Tom. He tells him that he’s been a good boy but it was now time for Cyrus to right his wrongs. This was Cyrus (in his estimation) paying his bill.

In the middle of trying to remain alive, Tom is able to force out that he is innocent and that Cyrus is, too!!! Startled by this unexpected confession, Cyrus orders Ralph to let Tom down. When Ralph obeys, Gerald is concerned and he says to Cyrus that he had promised Ralph a kill. That’s the moment when Ralph turns back towards Gerald and bashes his head against the door. Blood is just a spurting.

Meanwhile over at OPA, the crew have figured out that Tom was nowhere near Philadelphia when Vargas was shot. He had been hundreds of miles away in Atlanta. Since that is the case, there is no way that Tom shot Vargas. Based off of the $2 million that they found wired into his bank account, someone paid Tom to lie. They don’t know who the payer is, but what they do know is that Tom is innocent and by extension, so is Cyrus!

Back over at the prison, Cyrus is assured by Tom that he hadn’t killed Frankie and that the only reason that he confessed to doing so was to hurt Cyrus. BOOM!

Oh, oh, OH!! What a mess. So we are back to square one, aren’t we? Boy, are Olivia and Fitz about to respectively look foolish for jumping to all of the wrong conclusions re: Cyrus. This whole thing was turned into a debacle because of them, and thought it all, Abby remained on Cyrus’s side. Again I ask, does Abby know something that we don’t?

Oh and Mellie as president? LOL, okay.

Can someone explain to me why it is that Olivia and her crew are the ones unearthing all of this information? What kind of investigation did the FBI do exactly? When Tom confessed, did they not bother to corroborate his story with tangible evidence? Why is it that everyone was so eager to take his word for it when Tom is a KNOWN LIAR?! He has done this before!!!

Angela says that they have enough evidence to justify the death penalty for Cyrus and yet she doesn’t even have enough evidence to get an actual conviction. A preschooler could cast enough reasonable doubt through the holes that she’s got in her investigation. Surely the FBI has far more resources than OPA, so what gives? Angela seems to be a bit distracted by a certain man with really long feet, but ya know…

So who is behind the Vargas and Jennifer murders? I still find that phone call from Jennifer to be rather suspicious. How did she know to pin the kill on Cyrus just moments after it happened? Who then killed her to silence her? What is Meg’s role in this? Are we dealing with a new nemesis or does Rowan have anything to do with this? Questions, questions, questions.

Another solid episode from the Scandal writers.

So what did you all think? Do you believe that Mellie is ever going to be president? Are you as suspicious of Meg as I am? What do you think Abby is about to do now that she’s figured out that Angela and Fitz have something going on? How do you think the White House and Department of Justice is going to react to the latest evidence that OPA has unearthed?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below or share them with me on Twitter. You know the drill.

Thank you for reading this recap/review of Scandal episode 604! There is no episode this coming week, so see you in two!