By Marcus Jones
Via Metro New York
If you saw the preview for this week’s episode of “Scandal” following “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” you were probably excited to see Olivia handle a suicide bomb threat. Well, while there was plenty of action in this week’s episode, the results were less explosive.
It all started with a mother coming into Olivia Pope and Associates to find out what happened to her son who she believes was wrongfully killed by the FBI after being labeled a terrorist. Funny that they did not really question her story considering a government coverup is kind of the norm for the Gladiators in suits, but the thing that was sketchy was the random amount she paid and the mention of a visit to the hill.
Ever the storm chaser, Olivia decides to run to the Capitol to see what her new client is up to. Meanwhile at the White House we see a new guy casually try and sneak into the Oval Office to talk to the president about “Remington.” Obviously, this man’s plans crashed and burned, but he was lucky enough to have Cyrus release him. Question is: what is “Remington” and why is it taking so long for “Scandal” to give us any clues about it?
Anyway, Olivia goes to Capitol Hill, sees workers running out and takes that as a sign she needs to see what all the fuss is about. Of course, people are leaving because Mary Nesbitt (her new client) is wearing a bomb vest and holding a Congressman hostage.
Throughout the hostage situation Olivia employs all her skills to handle it, and by that I mean complaining about it to all the powerful men in her life. While it was pretty badass to see Olivia open up the window to be in the line of fire, it would be nice for her to stop running to Fitz for help. Good thing it did not work this time — even better when Jake could not convince them to slow their roll on, you know, handling a domestic terrorist attack in the Capitol (honestly what did Olivia think Jake would help with?).
In the end it took Abby and David Rosen to convince Fitz to tell Olivia the truth. Mrs. Nesbitt’s son was a CIA operative who was in so deep with Al Qaeda that the FBI honestly thought they were killing a terrorist. This was not information the mother could know because it would put the lives of her son’s colleagues at risk, so to end it Olivia gave up, lied to the mother saying her son was a terrorist.
Mrs. Nesbitt not only exploded with anger, but pushed Olivia and the congressman out the room to literally explode. The whole bomb situation was actually surprisingly tepid, but what followed were some of the best scenes this season.
If you are a fan of “Scandal” who did not see this episode, you need to watch it just to see Mellie’s drunken speech to Fitz. While Fitz thought Mellie was sad to see Olivia not die, she turned and said she was drinking in celebration because “As long as she’s alive, she’s your Achilles’, which makes her my weapons. I can pull her strings to make my puppet husband dance.”
It has been said before that Mellie is not exactly the fan favorite, but she has been on fire this season. Unfortunately, while she shines, Harrison gets the short end of the stick with the episode’s worst line, “Not cool. You’re going to get a very bad rep in the hostage-taking community!” Also, Baby Huck fizzled at hacking the FBI, while real Huck failed in his attempt to kill Papa Pope. Yes, Huck was all killed out, but it was because Papa Pope left him a present in the trailer that was a single blade razor and the guy who infiltrated the White House earlier handcuffed to the table.
While whatever Remington is remains hazy, it is very clear that everyone — be it Olivia, Huck, Jake, or even Fitz — are all powerless to Papa Pope.
Marcus Jones is a staff writer. Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.
