This post contains SPOILERS for all aired episodes of Scandal, including last night's Season 2 episode 8, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
OMG, so did you see #Scandal last night? Yeah, I know it’s called Scandal, but really I can’t type it without the hashtag. It’s sort of a habit after being on twitter last night—#Scandal #AskScandal #WhoShotFitz.
So much to get into 140 characters! Well, as soon at the show came on, a brief but gentle hush came over Twitter because when it’s Scandal, you have to gird your loins and gather your wits because things are about to go fast.
There was breaking news: Fake reporter dude was doing his best I’m-not-Brian Williams and reporting that there was a shooting, but the president was not shot—oh wait, no, the president was shot. Uh-oh. Dang it!
Then it was the president AND the press secretary.
**********SPOILERS**********
Cut to footage from last week’s episode where President Fitz “The Mack” Grant is exiting his car looking lovely, with his pregnant wife Mellie “Cold as Ice” Grant by his side and his mistress Olivia—aka Livie aka The Gladiator Pope—looks on from the wings with her date—what’s-his-name, aka The Rebound Guy—when all of a sudden shots ring out.
They show Fitz, Mellie, and the secretary going down in super slow mo. But wait…
Where is Huck?
Next we’re in the hospital, Mellie is yelling to check on her husband and we hear doctors yelling at Fitz from behind a curtained off area that he is not allowed to die. Oh, no, Fitz you can’t die!
The curtain is pulled away and Fitz is wheeled into surgery but first we get a glimpse that he has been shot in the head. Oh noes!
Livie goes to the room where they were triaging him and notices a bloody flag pin on the floor; she picks it up and has a flashback. Liv gave him the pin. It was Eisenhower’s—sweet.
Turns out, Fitz wears the flag pin to his inauguration and when it’s over comes into the oval office to find Olivia there. She’s all “well, hello, Mr. President” and he’s all liking the sound of that. He also likes the romantic boom-boom look of her in the oval office. Olivia says stop they can’t do that there. But Fitz says they sure can. They can even do it on that there desk. And do it they do. Eisenhower’s pin is back in the game!
But then it comes up during Fitz’s morning jog with the not-so-Secret Service that there are cameras in the oval office. Whoops! Tapes are erased and Fitz needs to find another spot for his trysts with Olivia. Inspiration strikes and it’s off to Camp David to prepare the State of the Union! Three cheers for the red, white, and blue! Fitz rides again.
Flash forward, and the press secretary who was shot didn’t make it. Turns out in another bit of flashbackery she was Olivia’s old assistant and brought up a little pesky voter fraud thing to Olivia before she quit her old post in the White House. Hmm, funny how it’s her that got shot, too.
And really, where is Huck?
Well, now the secretary is gone and Fitz is still in surgery and there is a hard praying vice president just dying to park her butt in the big chair, but for now she will be happy landing in the White House lawn. After VP Sally Langston lands on the White House lawn and tries to just slide into the president’s spot, chief Cyrus Beene rips her a new one and has her removed. But she is not giving up.
Another spectacular Olivia flashback, this time where she is pacing in the rose garden and Fitz comes up to her. There is a Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemings reference and Fitz is not having it. Olivia says how she feels small and like the waiting mistress belonging to Fitz, but he stuns her—and all of us—yelling “I belong to you!” Twitter gasps and explodes just as Olivia’s face crumbles, along with her heart.
Back in reality Fitz is not waking up and The VP is still pushing so Olivia pulls out the big guns and calls in Mellie, who is shaken and upset at the hospital with Fitz. But though she may be pregnant, upset, distraught and despise Olivia, Mellie pulls it together and tells Olivia to “get me something to wear.” Then she holds a press conference saying the president is still the president.
It seems they may have pulled it out for now, but Fitz is still not waiting up. He’s of surgery and unresponsive. The VP is almost gleeful.
Then there is creepy oil dude Hollis, and Olivia is in his face. Turns out he was behind that explosion that killed all those people and got Quinn in all that hot water and he’s got something to do with that election rigging. Oh heck.
Another flashback to the pin. The President has taken Olivia to see the Constitution. The real deal. She is impressed. Then he’s taking press pics with Mellie and the pin is missing. Cut to another not-so-secret service guy with no poker face and Mellie is not happy. The next thing we know Olivia is being confronted by Mellie in the hall who kindly gives her the pin. Mellie tells her it was found with the Constitution and pretty much said serving the president was her job.
Next then you know the President has given his State of the Union address and is returning to the Oval Office and that desk and then there is the pin—along with Olivia’s resignation.
Back to the present, and not-really-Brian-Williams with breaking news: The President has still not come around and the VP is bring sworn in. What!? She can’t even pretend to look somber. Both Olivia and Millie are by Fitz’s bedside. They place the flag pin next to his hand. *sniffles*
More breaking news: Authorities now have a suspect they are looking for. He’s average height, dark hair and has a crew-cut.
More flashbackery from the shooting and we flip cam to the gun and to the hotel room and the shooter.
Damn Huck! I didn’t want to face it all dang blang episode but now I guess I have to. What a freaking #Scandal!
Kwana Jackson—aka K.M. Jackson—is a writer of women’s fiction and contemporary romance. Her debut novel Through the Lens is on sale now. She can be found on most days at her blog kwana.com and at any moment on Twitter talking about everything and nothing at all under the handle @kwanawrites.
