If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Olivia and the team are determined to bring down Peus, but as the Electoral College vote nears, the fight for power claims another victim. (Scandal Wiki)
Writers: Jess Brownell and Nicholas Nardini
Director: Jann Turner
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Now that the general election is over, it is time to move on to the Electoral College to finally decide who the President was going to be. After the last episode, everyone seemed on board to let Cyrus becoming President but we all knew that Theodore and Samantha wouldn’t go down without a fight and that was exactly what they did here.
To convince Mellie to drop out, Olivia showed her proof of everything that had happened. She acted like it didn’t matter since they technically did bast things too in the past but Olivia reminded Mellie that she didn’t want to win this way where she finally conceded.
Cyrus was cleared of all charges but it was still hard to believe for him. The first thing he wanted to do was see his daughter but Michael didn’t want him to see her. He wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind just yet. Mellie was going to cede the presidency but Olivia was a little disappointed because it was something she needed.
Mellie’s feelings changed quickly once she ran into Elizabeth North. North didn’t understand what was going on or she didn’t believe what was going on (but she at least didn’t know what was going on). She didn’t like how Mellie was backing down and thought she should be President. She changed her mind and wanted the electorates to decide who will be President.
So the campaigning resumed. North was on TV speaking for Mellie and OPA were working to fix Cyrus’ image. Olivia got Vargas’ widow to endorse Cyrus on TV. Someone else had Michael talk about Cyrus on TV. Michael didn’t believe Cyrus killed Vargas but he was still a bad guy. They had no idea who arranged it but Fitz immediately assumed it to be Eli. Fitz later visited Cyrus to give him a pep talk which seemed to work as he gave a great speech saying that he would honor Vargas’ memory as President. Eli was definitely not amused.
Webster was still consumed with the Vargas case. She was confused by Olivia’s change of heart and was wondering what she was doing at the White House. She began to make the connection between her and Larsen since they were both working at the White House at the same time. Webster had found a bank account in Olivia’s name that payed Larsen a large sum of money. She wanted Olivia arrested but Fitz thought it was because of something else which she immediately denied.
Eli was worried about Olivia so he called her in. He found a camera dead spot in his office so he could plead Olivia to stop trying to make Cyrus President. It was over. If Cyrus became President, they would kill her. If they found out that Eli no longer had influence on her then they would kill him too.
This is what people will be talking about. Mellie was called into her office by North and when she arrived, Theodore and Samantha were there. She knew who they were so she refused to work with them and wanted them all out. They claimed that they bought off the electorates so Mellie will be President. Theodore said she will work with them because she will be afraid of them. This was then followed by Samantha beating North to death with a club. Mellie appeared to get the message and if she didn’t do what they said, they would kill her children.
Mellie called Olivia in panic. Olivia believed they could still do something about it but Mellie told her there’s was no time. She wanted her to calm down and she also brought Jake, who is technically Mellie’s vice-president, to help. He vowed to be there for her for anything.
Fitz warned Olivia that she was going to be arrested but Olivia thought of this as a way to convince electorates to not vote for Mellie. Fitz wouldn’t let her go down for this when Eli was guilty. Olivia refused to be told what to do. Fitz didn’t want to lose her and if he tried to do anything to stop her, then he’d lose her. Fitz took Webster off the case and she wasn’t happy. It was because he had a suspect in custody after arresting Eli. Olivia was upset. The electoral votes were cast and Mellie won the presidency.
The episode ended with Olivia learning that Eli was not really arrested and just was just put under protective custody. Fitz claimed to do this just so they can take down the conspiracy together which apparently meant making out.
Overall, this was a great episode, full of suspenseful twists and turns, and one that finally set up the battle against Theodore, Samantha, and the conspiracy. Elizabeth North’s death was sad but she wasn’t the most important character in the grand scheme of things but it just proved that they meant business. I can’t wait to see how this battle plays out.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.