Scandal Recap: Olivia Goes All the Way Over to the Dark Side

Remember last season when Olivia Pope was kidnapped and put up for sale on a global auction block (during Black History Month, no less)? President Fitz Grant had selected his old friend, Andrew Nichols, to be his vice president, but as it turned out, Andrew had designs on Fitzโ€™s wifeย andย his job. So Andrew had Olivia…

Remember last season when Olivia Pope was kidnapped and put up for sale on a global auction block (during Black History Month, no less)? President Fitz Grant had selected his old friend, Andrew Nichols, to be his vice president, but as it turned out, Andrew had designs on Fitzโ€™s wifeย andย his job. So Andrew had Olivia kidnapped to compel Fitz to wage a war against West Angola. Fast-forward, Olivia was rescued and Huck injected a needle into Andrewโ€™s neck that induced a stroke, which rendered Andrew unable to walk or talk โ€ฆ

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

Well, in this weekโ€™sย Scandalย episode, Andrew comes back from the almost dead to exact his revenge. The episode began with a viewer-discretion warning, so you knew it was probably going to be bloody!

Abby Whelan finds out that Andrew has recovered his ability to speak, and he has spilled all the dirt about West Angola to journalist Lilian Forrester, one of Fitzโ€™s many lady friends, who is planning to run a major tell-all about it. So Olivia visits Andrewโ€™s hospital room and demands that he ask Lilian to pull the interview, but after spending the last year or two in a stroke-recovery unit, Andrewโ€™s got a story to tell and nothing to lose. Side note: Shout-out to actor Jon Tenney, who gave us one ornery stroke survivor! Olivia yells in his face, โ€œThis time youโ€™re up against me. The bitch you left for dead!โ€ย 

Abby calls a meeting with Fitz, Mellie Grant, Cyrus Beene, Elizabeth North, David Rosen and Olivia to figure out what to do. Well, everyoneโ€™s trying to figure it out except for Cyrus because Fitz granted him lifetime immunity as part of his offer to return to the White House a few months ago. Elizabeth suggests they kill Andrew, which is theย obviousย solution, but they all clutch their pearls like theyโ€™re above murder, so Abby steps up and calls the shots: Mellie is going to talk to Andrew and everyone is going to shred all evidence connecting them to West Angola.

Mellie tries to woo Andrew into submission with promises of their bright future together, but she recoils when he moves her hand down his drooling mouth and toward his pants. He asks, โ€œDo I disgust you? Donโ€™t worry. The feeling is mutual.โ€

So Olivia asks her father for his advice. Jake agrees to spy on Lilian for Olivia, but Papa Pope tells her that when her plan fails, killing Andrew is also effective. No, Papa Pope, no!

Huck sticks another needle in Andrewโ€™s neck, but this one just puts Andrew to sleep so they can transport him to an underground White House bunker. When Andrew comes to, he demands $10 million and a book deal to keep him from telling his story. Fitz and Elizabeth agree to put up the $10 million to pay off Andrew, but Andrew rejects the offer. He wants the article to run so he can take down everyone who was responsible for ruining his life.

Fitz decides to fall on his sword and Olivia enthusiastically agrees that itโ€™s the most presidential thing for Fitz to do, especially because, as she says, โ€œWe nailed ourselves to the cross so he wouldnโ€™t bleed.โ€ Olivia also smugly offers Abby a job working for her back at Olivia Pope & Associates when itโ€™s over.

Abby is not feeling Oliviaโ€™s condescending offer, so she makes a deal with Andrew that causes him to change his story to one that only focuses on Andrewโ€™s affair with Mellie. When Olivia comes to visit Abby to let her know that someone got to Andrew, Abby reveals that it was her. She says, โ€œIย run the Oval now. I donโ€™t work for you. You work for me.โ€ Then she lets Olivia know that her security pass will be revoked at the gate. Nothing good can come of Abby vs. Olivia!

So Olivia gets Jake to let her into the White House to visit Andrew to try to talk him out of it one last time, but heโ€™s more vile than heโ€™s ever been, asking questions like, โ€œDo you talk this much in bed?โ€ and calling her a cheap slut and an aging porn star. The next thing you know, Olivia has picked up a chair and bashed Andrewโ€™s head into a bloody pulp. And just when we thought she had come to her senses, she bashes his head in again!ย 

Sheโ€™s sitting on the ground with blood splattered on her face when Fitz comes and holds her. Abby is standing at the doorway totally shook when Olivia coolly instructs her to send out a press release saying that Andrew is dead and to get Lilian to stop the story. She finishes with, โ€œNever cross me again.โ€ Ouch.

In the final scene, we see Olivia walking up to her fatherโ€™s house, where he greets her with, โ€œWelcome home.โ€ Yep, welcome to the dark side, Olivia.ย 

Also during this episode, Cyrus and Alex Vargas are still having a turf war over Frankie Vargasโ€™ presidential campaign. To get the upper hand, Alex finds some dirt on Cyrusโ€”Cyrus has been sleeping with Tom, which Iโ€™ve been telling yโ€™all for weeks! Alex breaks that news to Cyrusโ€™ husband, Michael, who may or may not care, given that their marriage is a political arrangement. Weโ€™ll find out soon!

Akilah Green is a recovering Washington, D.C., lawyer-lobbyist-politico turned TV and film writer and producer living in Los Angeles. She currently works for Chelsea Handlerโ€™s Netflix talk show, Chelsea. She has also worked as a staff writer for Kevin Hartโ€™s production company, HartBeat Productions, and as a consultant for Real Time With Bill Maherย on HBO. In addition, she co-wrote and is producing Scratch, an indie horror-comedy feature film, and is a regular contributor toย The Root. Follow Greenโ€™s adventures in La La Land on her blog, Twitter and Facebook.

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