Scandal season 4, episode 11 found Olivia being released from captivity — but not in the way anyone expected.
All of Olivia’s loved ones teamed up to try to save her, but in true Pope form, she managed to save herself. Fortunately for viewers, the excitement concerning her return to safety is just getting started.
Let’s get to the recap!
As if Olivia wasn’t enough to worry about, Fitz has a couple of new problems on his hands right at the top of the episode. The Secret Service barges into the Oval Office to tell the president they’re going to be keeping an extremely close eye on him. If he makes any wrong moves, Olivia will be beheaded. All of these orders are obviously set up by Vice President Andrew. In other words, “Don’t try to save Olivia without going to war with West Angola.”
Backed into a corner, Fitz calls Andrew and demands to know if Olivia is alive before he orders the war Andrew wants. (He should’ve also demanded that Olivia be given buckets of wine — girl is stressed!) So, Ian sets up a camera in front of Olivia and makes her film a video proving she’s still breathing — albeit unsteadily. For extra fun, Ian makes Olivia demand the war.
Meanwhile, Olivia Pope & Associates are leading their own charge to find the boss. Huck breaks into Lizzie’s house and threatens to kill her unless she finds out from Andrew where Olivia is. She goes to the VP and is shocked by the kidnapping plan — but he insists they stick with it because it’s what’s best for the country and the party, apparently. (It’s a weak excuse, but it’s better than some convoluted plot line involving B613.)
Olivia’s proof of life video is brought back to OP&A for analysis after Fitz hands it off to Jake at Olivia’s apartment. (According to Tom, this is the only place that’s free from Secret Service coverage — but why? It doesn’t make sense. Also, spilled wine glass update: It’s still on the couch!).
Lo and behold, Olivia threw them a clue in the proof of life video: Huck and Quinn realize the glass she drinks from was purposely brought in front of the camera so Ian’s reflection would appear on screen. Clever!
They start trying to figure out who this mystery man in the reflection is, but they’re interrupted by a woman walking into the office played by Marla Gibbs. “Where’s the black lady?” she demands.
OP&A’s attempts to figure out who the mystery man is fail, so Huck breaks into Lizzie’s house again and — in an amazing scene — lays himself right next to Lizzie’s sleeping daughter. When Lizzie walks into this hilarious/disturbing situation, Huck reveals he’s brought his tool box so he can get some answers.
That same night, Mellie steps out on the White House balcony and asks Fitz what’s bothering him. He comes clean, and is convinced he’s going to have to kill Olivia because no good president would start a war over a woman.
Mellie, surprisingly (?), tells him to go to war anyway. This comes in light of Mellie admitting earlier in the episode that she’s been sleeping with Andrew. It was something Fitz did not need to hear today, but it ultimately served an important purpose.
And so, Fitz announces the war. Olivia is in shock that he would go through with it (“Who’s the puppet now?” Ian asks her).
Fitz heads back to the Oval Office and finds Andrew waiting for him. So, now that the war is on, when is Olivia coming home? Ah, it wasn’t that easy, Fitz! Andrew tells him that wars take time, and they’re not about to welcome Olivia back.
And then, finally, some good news: “Where’s the black lady” lady comes back to OP&A and reveals her purpose in the episode: She’s the friend of Olivia’s neighbor, who viewers know was killed last week. “Where’s the black lady” lady tells them she’s gone missing, which inspires OP&A to break into the apartment and search for clues related to Olivia. After finding the ring Olivia hid under the rug, thus confirming she was there, they use the apartment’s router to figure out who was using it, and they eventually connect it all to Ian. Sadly, Ian was still too smart for them — they’re still unable to track him down.
Lizzie goes to Mellie to reveal some troubling news: Huck severely beat her the night he slept in her daughter’s bed and will kill her if they don’t get Olivia back. After some back and forth, the ladies quickly realize Andrew isn’t going to give up Olivia for anything, so Mellie goes to Andrew herself.
They aren’t the only women trying to solve this mess. In her holding cell, Olivia convinces Ian to sell her. Why? He would get a ton of money for her since she has so much influence over Fitz, and she would get freedom. It’s a win-win! “Do you want to be a babysitter or do you want to be a boss?” she asks Ian.
Back out on the White House balcony, Cyrus has finally figured out the secret messages that Fitz has been trying to send him without the Secret Service noticing. Mellie steps out to relay some news, too: She slept with Andrew to grab his cell phones, which the VP was using to call Ian.
The cell phones are handed over to OP&A, and they track Ian’s location down to an airport hangar outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. David Rosen orders a drug raid led by Jake so they can break into the building (but only after David was promised he be credited with saving Olivia Pope. Week to week, he has some of our favorite lines).
They infiltrate the hanger. Sorry, guys, you’re too late… she’s already left with Ian.
Previews for next week reveal that Olivia will be sold on a much darker version of eBay, which will allow her to be sold for over $1 billion.
Start saving up, and you too can own Olivia and Fitz next week!
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