As the term of Fitzgerald Grant III starts to see the finish line, the race for his successor heats up on Scandal.
All new couples fight
It was obvious from the sneak peek last week that Mellie and Olivia would have some issues to work through as their new partnership got off the ground, but Mellie called it off after their first really tough conversation. Evidently under the influence of too much Chinese food (Liv’s coffee table is covered in the evidence), she tells Liv she thought of her as “just a phase,” and a “plaything.” Definitely abrasive, but Olivia can’t even bring herself to talk about her part in the matter, which we find out in a later scene is one of Mellie’s frustrations with her; she never fights it.
Eventually, of course, the dream team reunites. Sharing a mason jar full of Mellie’s special juice, the two women sit on the floor and discover that the missing ingredient to Mellie’s book is confessing her fear of living without Fitz, and gaining power out of that realization. After this drunken best friend time, the two release some of Mellie’s book early, and Mellivia’s ship sails strong. There are sure to be tough times ahead on the campaign trail, but Mellie knows exactly what she wants, and Olivia knows exactly how to get her there.
Union rings and freedom fries
David, however, still doesn’t know anything about what he wants. Liz says the same thing about Susan as she seduces her way into more time at the White House. Bribing David with her feminine wiles, she tells him she has no intention of her legacy ending as a VP chief of staff. This ends with Susan and David on the cutest date ever at Gettysburger, having shut the restaurant down completely. David pushes Liz’s presidential agenda, but when Susan reveals to him she doesn’t believe she has any more to give, he finds himself in a moral bind.
It’s unclear if he really believes Susan would make a good president, but he certainly thinks she’s a good person, and (finally) his conscience makes an appearance. Prepared to talk Liz down the next day, and armed with the strength of a thousand suns from his adorable kiss with Susan, she stops him in his tracks by letting him know Susan intends to run, and begins undressing accordingly.
A damn good article
It was hard not to like Lillian Forrester immediately: clever and personable, with a chip on her shoulder. Fitz realizes this as well, and before any writing can get done the two of them agree to go to dinner. Cyrus is less than thrilled; he was against the idea of a journalist coming in the first place (with his history, it makes some sense, actually). Trying until the end to help Fitz accomplish and see past his always raging hormones, he attempts to put focus on getting more done before they leave the White House.
Of course, Fitz ignores him, and so Cyrus does the logical thing and goes drinking. He chances upon Mellie at the bar, and they briefly reconnect before he begins giving her campaign advice, and Mellie informs him the job is filled. She mentions how they “made” Fitz, and Cyrus irritatedly leaves her to drink alone. Lacking a candidate, and worse, a drinking buddy, Cyrus resigns himself to a new cause with which to donate his time and experience: a Democrat.