Huck and Jake conduct a quick file steal from Olivia's dad, which is barely successful. Huck will look over everything they've collected later.
Josie meets with Olivia, and explains her situation after sending away all staff and Josie's younger sister, Candy: she gave birth at the age of fifteen and gave the child away. There are only a few people who actually know about this, and two are already dead, meaning the team can have an easy assignment of getting everyone to keep quiet if they can stand Montana long enough to do the job. The doc is dead, the best friend and cousin were bribed easily, and the baby daddy, who definitely peaked in his teens, was properly extorted into avoiding blabbing at the last second as the TV News crew was literally parked outside with Cyrus' butt boy about to blow the story. One question: who's paying for all the briefcases of $10,000 cash? Josie? How does a consultant list that as a reimbursable, and can Josie use it as an income deduction?
Olivia is back to dinners with Dad, which are going well because Olivia has given up on her Dad ever being a decent human being, which makes it so much easier to be in the same room with him. Plus, Dad is still paying.
Meanwhile, Cyrus and Mellie interview a smarmy toad named Bergan to lead Fitz's election campaign. Bergan, after strolling around the office in heaven at all the famous stuff he's never seen before, let alone touched, condescendingly tells Mellie and Cyrus that Fitz's chances are horrible, and not just because of the Moral Majority. Fitz has a problem looking like he's got anything done or even wants to be the President anymore- he looks like a loser to Bergan. There are also a few choice words about Mellie out of Bergan's mouth, but Mellie takes them in stride. She puts up with Fitz, doesn't she?
While traipsing around Montana, Abby is on her cellphone constantly with David, who is still in the show for some reason. At least now he has something real to do with the characters by dating Abby. David needs a date for the WH Correspondents' Dinner, and Abby is doing her best to get out of it. David, honey, a girls needs her space. The group easily does their jobs, even after telling Quinn that she is grounded from any field work or contact with the public on Huck's orders. Quinn doesn't take being shut out well.
We cut, briefly, to the right-wing Tea Party nu job VP complaining about being on the sidelines while her husband complains about having to entertain some foreigner with a golf match. Oh, poor babies. Anytime you two want to trade your lives for some working-class couple struggling to pay their bills, just let me know.
The attending RN at the birth of Josie's baby 30 years ago is more than happy to respect Josie's privacy, and doesn't know what all the fuss was as Josie's mom made sure the baby was well taken care of anyway. When the gladiators look confused, the nurse tells them the real secret.
As the gladiators wrap up in Montana, Quinn is sent to return all the used merchandise, which the storekeeper points out when she won't take it back. Quinn points out that the equipment has been upgraded, but still only gets store credit. Wow. Yeah, sounds awesome. Quinn is determined to be pissed until she looks back over her shoulder and sees that this store sells guns. Even my eyes lit up at them. Quinn is candy store happy. But how will she get one home to DC? They're flying back.
Fitz meets with Rowan, Olivia's dad. Fitz wants Rowan to tone it down a notch, maybe not kill so many people all the time, especially not people Fitz served with. Rowan is adamant, as he always is. The killing will only stop when the truth cannot get out about Project Remington. Fitz tries to smooth things over by inviting Jake over to play b-ball, and talk him out of asking questions. Fitz is also pretty clear: only Fitz gets to have an illicit affair with Olivia. My god, is there anything Fitz doesn't think he's entitled to? Jake comes home even more convinced they should be digging into Remington and Fitz. He calls Huck to go over what they know so far: turns out, that Fitz was not the pilot in a top-secret mission to Iran decades ago called Project Remington, some other poor schlepp was. However, Fitz was stationed on the same aircraft carrier that the Remington crew returned to. So Huck agrees to do some more digging - if he didn't go to Iran, where did Fitz go all those years ago, and what did he do?
Fitz meets with Cyrus. B613 must be disbanded, or at least defunded. Cyrus freaks out that the org's name has been mentioned with cameras and tapes rolling in the Oval Office, and has a hushed, whispered convo in which he informs Fitz that the last guy to notice B613's funding and do anything about it was found the victim of an apparent suicide. Cyrus warns Fitz that assassination is what Fitz has to look forward to if he messes with Rowan.
Dead guys can't do the right thing, Mr. P
Abby is still stalling with David to get out of going to the Correspondents' Dinner with him. But he catches her fibbing about still being in Montana, and goes off in a huff, with Abby not willing to tell him why she won't go with him.
Olivia meets with Josie, who confesses that Candy is not her sister, but her daughter, raised by Josie's mom as her own. Josie is adamant that Candy does not know and must never know. Period. Olivia informs Josie that this will come out eventually, it's just a matter of time, and Josie should address this head-on. Olivia asks Josie just how much Josie wants to be President. Josie confesses that she never even expected to be in Congress, she just was a little outspoken after getting out of the military. She doesn't budge with Olivia. She's not willing to lose her sister's trust and respect to be elected President. That all changes once the Democratic Debate begins, and some asshole pointedly looks over Josie while going on about morals. Josie, flustered at first, regains her confidence as she tells the audience that, yes, she gave birth as a teenager, and gave the baby up for adoption. She posthumously thanks her mother for supporting her during the difficult time, and then tells the moderator to continue the debate. Candy, realizing who must really be her mother, walks off. Fitz, Mellie and Cyrus are watching the whole exchange convinced she's now the candidate to beat, if they can even manage to do that. Josie walks off the stage after the debate, notices Candy is gone, and fires Olivia.
Yeah, sure you got me on the baby - now watch me win this debate anyway....
Now it's time for fun, and beautiful dresses. And really fake smiles. And people scheming behind the scenes. Olivia lines up Jake as her date for the Dinner, telling him she used to vet Fitz's jokes before, and it's obvious she wishes she was still doing this. So guess who should call right before the Dinner, and have a warm and tender convo about what jokes he should tell tonight? As Fitz and Olivia have the only tender moment of the show, Mellie overhears, reminded once again how little she means to her husband. However, Mellie puts on her game face for the Dinner, and before the Dinner, she even surprises Mellie by inviting her to a private confab where she asks Olivia to run Fitz's campaign, on the ground that it will reinvigorate Fitz to recapture the old spark he had in the first election. Olivia offers to think about it. Mellie then goes back into public to laugh at Fitz joking about how she'll monitor him during the campaign to make sure he doesn't cheat again. Someone needs to tell this woman that divorce is NOT the end of the world. VP woman literally locks herself in the men's room with Bergan, and takes advantage of the solitude to ask Bergan if she could win the Presidency as an Independent. Bergan doesn't dismiss her chances, and actually seems intrigued at the idea.
Question of the week: Is Jake hotter in a sweaty t-shirt:
Oh hell, I'll take 'em both
Jake leaves Olivia at the Dinner, angry that it's really Fitz she wanted to see. As correct as he is, a gentleman still at least gets a lady home, and one has to wonder who the fuck rasied this guy. At least Olivia gets a phone call from Harrison telling her to come to the office, so I guess someone cares about her. David gets back to his place after going to the Dinner alone, and finds Abby dressed up in formal wear. She explains to David that she did want to go, but couldn't face her ex-husband, who was also there. David says they should at least pretend to be normal people and tell each other these things instead of hiding things from each other.
Olivia gets back to her office to find that Harrison is with Josie, and Josie has changed her mind. Candy is still angry at being lied to for 30 years, but Josie feels that with time and some real honesty from her, Candy and Josie could reconcile. And Josie admits that Olivia was right- it was better to be honest, and present it as something she did to correct a mistake and give her baby the best life it could have. So now there are two job offers on the table. Olivia tries to turn Josie down, who tells her to sleep on it instead. Harrison thinks Olivia is insane. Josie is offering to pay to keep the lights on, and Olivia is turning her down? We see Olivia walk past Quinn, at her desk, and looking guilty as she unpacks the gun the store in Montana shipped out to her. She is obviously enthralled, and has learned nothing from Huck's lectures or her down time.
I'll say it: I love Josie. She can admit she's wrong, about having sex way too young, she can be honest and positive about something that was no one else's business in the first place, and she can admit she was wrong to Olivia. She seems to be an actual, decent human being who'd like to be President if she can get elected without selling her soul. Which means, that by season's end, she'll either be evil or dead.
Jake gets home from leaving Olivia to Huck in his apartment, sitting on the floor in a corner. Huck has found three little tidbits from breaking into Rowan's and some other databases. One: Iceland is within the travel distance that Fitz could have gone while Remington was in action; a passenger airplane was destroyed in Icelandic airspace, killing all aboard; and Olivia's mom was one of the dead from that airplane. So, of course, again, we see Jake and Huck at Olivia's door with bad news.
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