Scandal - S3E7 - Everything’s Coming Up Mellie
Previously on Scandal, ‘Icarus’
Today, Mellie is filming an interview, leading the host and camera crew through the east wing of the White House. She’s doing that fake happy thing she does so well.
Fifteen years ago, Mellie was a newlywed in bed with her husband, who was trying to get her pregnant despite his loudmouth father calling him to get out of bed.
What was so important? Senior Grant wants Fitz and Mellie to meet Cyrus Bean, the Kingmaker. He will make Fitz governor of California and, one day, president of the United States. It’s important to note that fifteen years ago, Cyrus was a werewolf.
Quinn’s dumb ass is at the range with Charlie and she’s disappointed to learn that he’s now a PI tracking a cheating husband.
Olivia is on her way out, wearing a fierce black and white coat, when the Fitz Batphone rings. She walks out without answering, but runs back in and picks up the phone. Fitz says he has to hang up if she doesn’t say something because he has to know it’s her before saying anything else. She speaks and he says he’s worried about her and he loves her. She tells him he doesn’t get to worry about her anymore and I’m like then why the hell did you answer the phone? He tells her to stay away from Jake because he has a price on his head, he’s dangerous. Olivia tells him that Rowan is the one who’s dangerous and he wants to know how Liv knows Rowan. Liv points out, again, that they are strangers and he don’t know everything about her either. So there.
At the office, Olivia tells the gladiators that their new client is her dead mother and then fills them in on everything, including the fact that Fitz shot down the plane on her dad’s orders. She says they don’t have to be involved because it’s dangerous, but you know how they do. Over a cliff and shit.
Back to the interview, Mellie is forced to explain why she considers California her home state when she’s from North Carolina and it boils down to, “I consider home to be wherever Fitz is.”
Fifteen years ago, Cyrus is advising Fitz on how to win the state of California and it relies heavily on running on his military experience and painting himself as a war hero. Fitz refuses despite his father’s insistence that he “do as he’s told,” and walks out.
At the White House, Mellie is annoyed that she has to do this interview to win over the public’s heart when Fitz is the one who cheated. Cyrus is all, dems the rules. He’s more concerned with finding the perfect hooker online so they can try and get Sally’s husband caught up in a scandal. Mellie helps him pick the perfect one - girl next door look, but a freak in the sheets - and then Cyrus arranges for Sally to be out of town during an upcoming White House event. Mellie plants a seed of her own telling Sally that an aide claimed that her husband got a little grabby with her. Sally quickly shoots that down saying that the aide must be lying. Later, she warns her husband that they’re very close to getting what they want, but he needs to behave.
James is worried that he’s being shut out because he didn’t get the interview with Mellie and Cyrus tells him to take it up with the press secretary. Quinn tries to connect with Huck, saying he should give her credit for calling that there was something going with Olivia’s dad, but he brushes her off again.
Quinn, please go sit your ass down somewhere.
When she does shit her ass down, they start to work the case and discover that the flight Olivia’s mom was on was delayed, it had 330 people listed, but only 329 were on it, and the Congress subcommittee tasked with looking into the crash was led by Fitz’s daddy.
Fifteen years ago, Fitz’s dad yells at him for joining the Navy to begin with. He accuses him of doing it to run away from him, and then he ended up signing up for black ops missions, which led him to shooting down that plane, which led his daddy to covering for him. He should be grateful for the war hero lie. Mellie rushes in to say that Cyrus is about to quit, but the two ignore her to keep fighting. She rushes out to keep Cyrus from leaving. He says he doesn’t hold hands and wipe noses. He doesn’t deal with drama because he has enough of that at home with his wife. So, Cyrus had another beard? See what I did there? Mellie balks at the idea that it’s her job. She’s a partner in a law firm for goodness sake! Cyrus tells her if she wants to be the politician’s wife, she’s gonna have to act like it. She tells him to come back tomorrow and guarantees that Fitz will be ready.
Abby tells Olivia that they’re tracking down the gate agent who checked in the passengers on her mother’s flight and then she gives Olivia a hug whether she likes it or not. Abby and Harrison interview the gate agent who says a passenger was removed from the plane by a federal agent when the plane was on the tarmac. She didn’t see who it was, but remembers the name: Omar Dresden. She told the NTSB investigator about it, but never heard anything else about it. They learn that Dresden’s family thinks he died on the flight.
Quinn is watching Charlie as he stakes out the cheater. He catches her, slams her up against a wall, and kisses her. Later, he calls her at the office and asks her to hang out with him that night.
Mellie is embarrassed when the camera crew expects to find Fitz in his office waiting for his nightly visit from Mellie and Teddy, but he’s not there. She tells Cyrus that Fitz better show up for the interview the next night. Not just be there, but show up. Cyrus isn’t sure Fitz will.
Fifteen years ago, Big Jerry is getting drunk and lamenting about what a good father he is to Mellie. He tells Mellie about Operation Remington and what Fitz really did. He says that flight had a dirty bomb on it so they shot it down. Those people were already dead, but the public wouldn’t want to hear that they did what they had to do. He says Fitz is too sensitive to ever win. Then he starts to touch and grab Mellie, and ends up raping her on the couch.
I have serious issues with this scene which I will address on tonight’s podcast. Not happy. Not even a little bit.
Mellie yells at Fitz in the Oval Office. He wasn’t there for her, he’s never there for her. He shames her and makes her beg for scraps when all she has ever done is fight for him. She tells him he doesn’t have to love her, but he could at least be her friend and show up for her instead of being a stranger and that seems to get to him.
After being raped, Mellie tries to sneak into the shower, but Fitz wakes up and insists that she get into bed with him. He wants to go home the next day and forget about being governor. Then he says he wishes his father would just apologize to him. Just once.
Mellie’s speech must have worked because Fitz not only shows up for the interview the next day, he defends her when the interviewer starts to attack her for going public about Fitz’s affair. He shuts.that.shit.down.
Quinn is with Charlie on his stakeout and they make out in the car. Then he enlists her help in drugging a guard while he disables some security cameras. She does it, by stabbing the man in the hand, but when she tells Charlie the coast is clear, he doesn’t answer the phone. The man she stabbed starts foaming and bleeding at the mouth. Quinn freaks out and runs out.
The morning after Mellie’s rape, she sits down to breakfast with her father-in-law and tells him not to mention it when he tries to apologize. She tells him he’s going to tell Fitz whatever he needs to hear. When he calls Mellie an asset, she corrects him and says, “I am his wife.” Back in present day, Mellie and Fitz are preparing to attend the function where Mellie and Cyrus plan on setting up Sally’s husband when she tells him he was smart to go on the attack, it was a good choice. He says it wasn’t a tactic, he meant every word.
During the party, James wants to talk to Cyrus but he cuts him off saying James didn’t get the Mellie interview because he blew their first one and he let Josie Marcus make a fool of him. James cuts in that he got fired. Later, Mellie and Cyrus realizes that Sally’s husband isn’t interested in the hooker they got because he’s gay.
While the Fitz’s agent reports in on Olivia, Jake calls Olivia to tell her that the man who drove the stairs to the plane, their only link to Dresden, is dead and we see he’s the guard who Quinn killed. Quinn is an alley trying to call Huck when Charlie approaches with video of what she did and tells her she’s in B613 now.
Fitz’s agent reveals what he knows about Maya’s death and says that he only found one pic of Eli Pope, from his Smithsonian badge, and Fitz realizes that Rowan is Olivia’s father. Meanwhile, Rowan is going through high security to go visit a prisoner, Omar Dresden. When he enters the cell, he tells a figure under the covers, “Our daughter has been asking questions about you.” And we see that Mama Pope is alive.
Fifteen years ago, Mellie learns that she’s pregnant and we all know that baby is mostly like Big Jerry’s.
