It’s the fallout after President-elect Frankie Vargas was killed during his acceptance speech. And the big question remains, who killed him? Before Scandal can answer that question though, “Hardball” flashes back to Mellie’s campaign trail and some events leading up to Election Day. Meanwhile, Abby and Fitz work to close the Vargas murder case, while Mellie has a big decision to make.
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What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Before there was Election Day, there was a campaign trail. After Mellie accepts the Republican nomination for president, she celebrates with her campaign workers, and Olivia notices sparks between Mellie and Marcus. Olivia warns Mellie to stay away, as nothing should distract her from her main goal of taking the White House. However, a few weeks later, Marcus is prepping Mellie on throwing out the first pitch during a Nationals game, on the empty baseball field, at night. Sounds like a date night to me. But as things heat up, Mellie walks away before they kiss.
The night of the first pitch though, Mellie can’t hold back. She gives in to her feelings and hooks up with Marcus. She later confesses to Olivia that she hasn’t felt this happy and in love in years. It’s clear that Olivia is not happy, as she knows the relationship will distract Mellie from the campaign. She plants the seed in Mellie’s head that Marcus could just be climbing a ladder to a more powerful position. Olivia then asks Abby to offer Marcus a job in the White House that he can’t refuse. Abby is disgusted with Olivia, but does it anyway. And, of course, when Marcus tells Mellie about his new job as White House press secretary, Olivia’s words come back to her and she tells Marcus off.
Tracking a Killer
In present day, Olivia tries to convince Fitz and the FBI that Cyrus killed Vargas. However, FBI Director Angela Webster says her team has been investigating the campaign worker’s cabin — the one who called in the tip about Cyrus — and they haven’t found anything of substance. Fitz considers the case closed, and tells Abby to work on getting a confession from the suspect, Nelson, who they have in custody.
During an interrogation, David tries to get Nelson to confess, but Nelson denies any connection to the murder and refuses to confess. Abby calls in the big guns, Jake, to eventually get a confession out of Nelson, much to the dismay of David and Angela.
Olivia won’t let up though. She sends Huck, Quinn and Charlie to the cabin to gather evidence, but the FBI has packed it all up. Later, she distracts Angela with drinks as the team gets the evidence right out of the office. Drinks take an awkward turn when Angela tells Olivia she’d be open to dating Fitz; with Olivia’s blessing, of course.
An Offer To Refuse
While all the investigations are going on, Fitz puts Mellie and Cyrus in a room, and tells them to come up with a plan to unite because America is falling apart. Mellie taunts Cyrus and asks if he’s going to kill her. He doesn’t take the bait, and instead suggests that she become his vice president. She scoffs at the idea and walks out. In the White House halls, she runs into Marcus, who sees she’s upset. When he tries to comfort her, she tells him he doesn’t have the right too because he didn’t choose her.
Mellie calls Marcus after she gets news from David and Olivia that Nelson confessed. She tells him about the VP offer, and he thinks it would be good for her, but also alludes that it would be good for them to be together, as he says he would always choose her, it was Mellie that didn’t choose him.
After Abby gets the confession from Nelson, she heads to see Mellie and tells her how Olivia got Marcus the press secretary job to break the pair up. Mellie runs to Olivia and says she’s done with her, as she’s ruined every relationship she’s ever had.
Once Mellie “fires” Olivia, Olivia calls off the investigation into over 5,000 hours of video footage on the campaign worker’s computer. Despite that, Huck keeps looking. After the funeral for Vargas, where there are a lot of dirty staredowns between Olivia, Mellie and Cyrus, Mellie goes to see both Fitz and Marcus. As she waits for both of them, she walks into the Oval Office, where it’s clear that she still wants to become president, not vice president. So Mellie leaves and runs to, yup, you guessed it, Olivia again. While she’s there, Huck tells Olivia he found a video that could prove Cyrus killed Vargas.
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What Does It Mean?
Olivia runs the footage to Fitz, who is on a date at the White House with Angela. She plays the video for everyone. On the video is an argument between Vargas and Cyrus, with Vargas threatening to put Cyrus behind bars once he becomes president, saying he won’t let Cyrus get away with what he did. Fitz then asks Abby to contact David.
So, what does this all mean? While it seems that Cyrus ordered a hit on Vargas, it’s possible he could have been set up. In fact, at this point, perhaps it was Olivia that is setting Cyrus up. She has wanted back in to the Oval Office since she left Fitz. And it’s always been clear she’s not the best person, as she does “what she has to do” to do her job. The reveal that she broke up Marcus and Mellie is just another example of that.
I do find the Mellie and Olivia friendship exhausting. First, they are best friends, drinking and laughing in her office, then next they are yelling at each other and “breaking up.” Only to be back together again.
I don’t like the road Abby is going down. She is getting just as evil as Olivia. Her asking Jake to get a confession was what she needed, but it’s clear it wasn’t done by the book. And it’s funny to see David Rosen still trying to do right, even though Fitz, and the White House, just do whatever they want.
Do you think Cyrus is being set up? What did you think of the Marcus and Mellie relationship? Are you also tired of on-again-off-again Mellie and Olivia? Who do you think should become president on season six of Scandal? Let us know in the comments below.
Season six of Scandal airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC. Want more news? Like BuddyTV’s Scandal Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
