Olitz, which is Gladiator-Speak for Olivia and Fitz, now that they are definitely on again. We see them in her apartment, putting clothes on after sex that I hope was good, because it needs to make up for the blow-out screaming match they're having about Jake. Fitz is furious that his wife Mellie even suggested it, and he's mad at Olivia for taking Mellie's advice. Heaven forbid your wife and your mistress coordinate, Fitz. They'll make sure to conflict more.
Note the well-placed furniture, right over the baby bump
Fitz is furious. He wants Olivia as a mistress and a campaign manager, but he wants her all to himself. So he throws a tantrum without actually proposing any solution to the problem of Olivia's public reputation. So she puts her foot down, definitively and without any room for argument. She wants to run Presidential campaigns. She can't afford to lose her reputation (remember the season premiere?). Her employees can't afford to lose her reputation. And she wants the satisfaction of running a campaign without rigging the election at the end. So she's in, and she's doing this. In a way Mellie never did during her marriage, Olivia sets boundaries for Fitz. She sets the ground rules: she's not a trophy, or a prize. She doesn't "belong" to anyone. She is her own person and gets to decide what's in her best interest. Not. Fitz.
It goes great until they realize who heard the whole thing:
Jake's favorite part of the job
The awesome thing about a super-duper top secret security clearance is all the awesome stuff you learn about your friends. And lover.
David Rosen, US District Attorney extraordinaire, is just waking up to Abby telling him she loves him. He doesn't say it back. Not even a "I love you, man." Weak.
We flashback to about fifteen years ago, listening to Fitz and Mellie argue. Notice the contrast with Olivia's fire and firm refusal to back down. Fitz is screaming at her because Mellie neither wants to spend any time in his father's company plus she won't allow Fitz to touch her, let alone have sex with him. You and I can easily see that something happened that shouldn't have. Fitz, clueless and self-absorbed, is wholly caught up in his first election. His wife is supposed to fuck him and appear wherever he goes. If she doesn't, she owes him an explanation. When she won't tell him anything (it was the deal with father so he'd play nice with Fitz, remember?), Fitz acts as if it's the end of the world. Like the first argument, this one also has an unfortunate audience: new VP candidate Andrew Nichols, at the time helping Fitz with his first election.
Harrison is getting his shit together after fucking Adnan Salif. Who presents Harrison with a huge suitcase of cash, and asks him to get it where it belongs. Harrison tries to refuse, but Adnan brings up something called "Clearwater", and hints that insider trading is the least of his past. So we later see Harrison dialing Fitz Grant's campaign headquarters, offering to make a donation. So Adnan is funding Grant? What does she want?
Mellie starts the day in the briefing room where Fitz's campaign staff will meet, but first she has to confront Andrew. She makes it clear that Andrew really can't hope for anything from her. She's married and a mother and the First Lady and Andrew is not allowed to screw that up for her. He tries to reassure her, but it's not very convincing. Olivia and Fitz appear, separately, and she starts the meeting with news that some journalist has a story of drug use at the governor's mansion during Fitz's first campaign. Specifically, that Andrew took some painkillers without a prescription. The team at first wants to kill the story, or discredit it, but Andrew cops to it, with a story about a bad back and no time to fix it or stop campaigning, and no desire for his medical condition to be news. Olivia likes the idea of Andrew stepping up and being refreshingly honest, but she'll work on killing the story all the same. Mellie catches up to Andrew in the hall, asking him not to sacrifice his career over this. He's nonchalant about going down.
Back at her headquarters, she puts Harrison and Abby on it. The Gladiators discuss where the story could have come from, he checked out in all their research. The main suspect is Leo Bergen, VP Sally's campaign manager. But Leo's worked against Andrew before. He would have used the story years ago. Notice how possibly non-prescribed drug use at the governor's mansion is only important as a useful story, or something to be buried. At least, we think that's it's sole importance. Olivia, remembering that her dad is out for Fitz, wonders if it's Daddy Pope who found the story and leaked it. When she goes back to her office, Huck appears. With coffee. That Olivia doesn't drink. Huck disappears and Olivia gets to business. She calls Jake, with no real apology for fighting over fake dating him earlier, just a request that B-613, which he heads, investigate Daddy Pope. Jake balks at first, since he's not on Fitz's campaign. But he gives in if it means neutralizing Daddy Pope.
Jake gives the assignment to Charlie, who is enjoying breakfast in bed with Quinn. Jake repeats that Quinn is not getting involved, and Charlie turns out to be a loyal company man. He turns down Quinn's help even though the thought of all the hacking she can do turns him on. Charlie's grown on me. I have to respect a man who loves his work. We go back to Jake, who gets a huge folder plopped on his desk with ridiculously top secret super duper Justice League stuff. Including the info that the White House has a B-613 member who will make himself known to Jake. And soon.
David Rosen isn't liking his work today. Or at least, isn't liking one particular aspect of today's work. Cyrus has reached out to the journalist who raised suspicions about Daniel Douglas' death, offering her a totes awesome interview with Fitz, so he can get her to divulge the identity of Publius, her source. When Cyrus tells James about the plan, the look on that boy's face should have been all Cyrus needed. Instead, James gets it together to suggest that maybe he, a fellow journalist, should do that. Cyrus can be a little, well, intimidating. Cyrus is fooled. But James finds a way to secretly meet with David and whine and cry like a baby about how he's scared and going to die anyway. David, to his credit, calms James down by telling him that the journalist, Vanessa Something, doesn't even know who Publius is.
Olivia tries to scare another journalist into ditching the Andrew Nichols drug story. She's got a lot of threats, but brunette reporter chick is not scared. She's got rock-solid evidence and she strides away from Olivia. So, Olivia goes out to dinner with Daddy Pope, trying to get him to admit that he leaked the story. When that doesn't work, she storms out of the restaurant to find....
Quinn, spying on Charlie while he spies on Daddy Pope. It's a good idea to be Charlie's back up. But wouldn't Charlie know all Daddy Pope's tricks by now? Olivia walks right up to Quinn, alone in her car, and begs her to return to her old job at OPA. Quinn turns her down flat, telling Olivia that in addition to all the torture, Huck licked her face. Okay, maybe that is a deal breaker, but Olivia gives it another try, offering to help Quinn dig herself out of whatever hole she's in. Quinn insists that she's doing her own digging, and pulls out a gun. Quinn, near crying, threatens to shoot Olivia, so Olivia leaves her, still thinking Jake has assigned her to the Daddy Pope case.
We flashback to Andrew, wrapping things up at the governor's mansion late, and finding Mellie passed out on the living room floor. He struggles, but gets her to the nearest toilet and pumps her stomach. Old school.
Back at OPA, Huck appears again, and brings Olivia coffee, again, before she goes home. Where she is in the middle of a lovely white wine and popcorn meal when Jake lets himself in. She tries to confront him about Quinn. He's surprised to learn that she's working on any B-613 business, and tells Olivia so. He then berates Olivia for having only white wine and popcorn, and insists on real food and beer as the price of his charade. He then takes off his shirt to go take a shower, wash off all the secrets, and have pretend sex with Olivia. I don't see the problem. I have pretend sex with Jake all the time. In fact, I'm having pretend sex with Jake right now!
VP Sally meets with good ol' boy Hollis Doyle, who has learned absolutely nothing after the escapade of his atrocious daughter and her really sick greed. He agrees to make a huge, ridiculously huge, donation to Sally's campaign, in exchange for naming the Energy Secretary. And he wonders why his daughter cut off her ear for money. Hey, she learned from the best that you do what you gotta' do. VP Sally, mentally in and out as she is reminded of killing her husband, agrees. Turns out, Hollis's playing Leo Bergen. Hollis goes to Cyrus, and let's him know that VP Sally is willing to let him name the Energy Secretary. The whole bit with VP Sally was just to give him leverage with Cyrus, who grudgingly gives him what he wants if he'll donate to Fitz's campaign.
James and David meet under a bridge. Vanessa Something has asked to meet with Publius. James can't out himself (as an informant). So David offers to go instead. David also suggests that he release the original, taped phone call between Cyrus and VP Sally. Then, the information will be public, and the pressure will be off Publius.
Abby and Harrison catch up with the doc who will crush Andrew Nichols' career with the drug story. He's stubborn, but he lets slip an important point: the drugs were for a her, not a him. So, Andrew is covering for someon. Let's see, who just took some drugs at the governor's mansion. We cut to another flashback, hopefully the last one, where Andrew tries to get Mellie to tell him why she would want to kill herself. Unlike Fitz, he actually shows some concern for her and desire to at least give her some comfort. So, Mellie gives Andrew the joyous news: she may be pregnant with her father-in-law's baby after he raped her. Mellie can't even call it rape, she says he "forced himself on her", instead. Andrew takes it all in stride, and confesses his secret: ever since he was her knight in shining armour, he can't stop thinking about her, and how much he wants to help her all the time. Mellie, a little flustered that someone might actually care about her, turns him down as gently as she can.
Mellie has the nerve to approach Fitz in his office, offering to solve some problem for him. He doesn't have time for whatever she has to say. He only has time to berate her for solving his Olivia problem. Once again, without providing any alternative solution, he bites her for feeding him. Mellie is clearly more hurt at his contempt for her initiative, even when Olivia ends up agreeing it's the best idea, than whenever she finds him making out with Olivia. She takes it well, leaving Fitz to his terrible twos.
Olivia, back at her office, figures out who the drugs at the governor's mansion must have been for as Huck appears, offering her still more coffee. Olivia, who is definitely not over the face-licking reveal from Quinn, learns that Huck is trying to make amends for torturing Quinn, because he knows she's angry about it. Huck attempting to explain how he's just trying to be normal reminds me of a five-year-old reciting poetry he doesn't understand.
Olivia tries to tell Huck that coffee isn't going to do it. Huck, after confessing that he's learned to be afraid, very afraid, of angering his boss, reminds Olivia that he's here because sometimes Olivia has to show who's the boss with her clients' enemies. And so she has her very own monster. But she left some slack in the leash, and Huck strains at his leash. He ate someone. But he's a monster, and monsters eat people. At the end of last season, Olivia tried to end her personal and professional relationship with Fitz because of the horrible things they did to save Fitz and his Presidency. Now, Olivia is right back in his office and in his pants. And Huck is going on about eating people.
Olivia is reminded, again, how petulant and spoiled Fitz is. As they finish going over poll numbers, and Olivia reports that the drug story has been killed by telling the network the story was bought, Fitz decides he's had enough work for the day. Notice how he's too busy to talk work with his First Lady, and too tired to talk work with his mistress. Who does he talk about work with? Oh, yeah. Cyrus. Anyhoo, we leave them just when Fitz wants Olivia to tell him if she feels anything for Jake.
Olivia tries to confront Mellie about the drug story. Olivia has realized that it's Mellie who took drugs that night, not Andrew. And, she's realized that Andrew is covering for Mellie because he loves her. Or something. After having the nerve to tell Mellie not to have an extramarital affair, she gets schooled by Mellie, who insists that she's always been faithful to her husband, and Olivia might want to avoid comparing the two of them. Ever. Again.
Fitz and Mellie are dressed all fancy because he's got a fundraiser with.... Hollis Doyle! Andrew is having fun at the podium, working the crowd, when Fitz sees the guy who funded his election rigging four years ago. He angrily demands in furious whispers on stage that Cyrus refund the donation and kick Hollis to the curb. Little does Fitz know, even though Cyrus does, that he's pretty much sending Hollis down the hall to VP Sally. Guess who Fitz will blame when that happens? Definitely not himself, that's who!
Jake hauls Quinn into his super secrete B-613 office (in fairness to him, Quinn already knows where it is from before), telling her he doesn't want her in B-613. Quinn, in her best impression yet of a teenager, starts sexting right there. When Jake points out how rude that is, Quinn directs him to his email, where Jake finds.... proof that Daddy Pope and Leo Bergen had a chat in public. The link Olivia asked him for, insisted was there, Quinn found. Guess she's not such an amateur, is she? Will Jake keep her work for him a secret, a little behind-the-scenes helper he keeps in his back pocket? That's what I would do!
We find out what Harrison's donation to the Grant campaign was all about when Adnan Salif introduces herself to Cyrus. Watching her completely useless feminine wiles on a gay man are amusing, but she also knows to get Cyrus where it counts. She tells him that she's just recently made a big gift to Fitz, and more can come. Since Hollis Doyle will be funding VP Sally, Cyrus needs a new big pocket, and Adnan is offering to scratch his back. Cyrus is in such a good mood that he lets it out to James that he's having Publius taken care of. He knows about the meet-up with Vanessa Something, and he's arranged for Publius to be taken care of before he can meet with her. James leaves a frantic message on David's voicemail.
Which David doesn't get. When he gets kidnapped outside the cafe where he's meeting Vanessa, he leaves Abby a heartfelt voicemail, telling her he loves her too and he's sorry he's only saying it now. Good thing his girlfriend's been tapping his phone lately. You never know when she might need to kidnap you to save you from Charlie. So, does that mean that David's going to have to tell her that Daniel Douglas' death wasn't heart failure? And that he has no proof? Will Abby use it against VP Sally, or bury it to protect Cyrus (and therefore, Fitz?).
Jake is still at the office when one of Fitz's Secret Service Agents shows up, one we've seen a zillion times before but now we'll have to learn his name, with a flash drive showing everything that happened at the White House that day. Including Fitz and Olivia discussing whether she feels anything for Olivia. Jake is all ears, only to find out she doesn't know. That's certainly worth all the intrigue, right?
Andrew and Mellie bond a bit over a room full of First Lady portraits. With them looking on, Andrew tries to kiss Mellie, Mellie pulls back and is about to leave when she turns around and kisses him. Once. And leaves. Will Mellie be content with just that kiss? Is this a show about people content with breaking the rules once? Andrew touches one of the portraits, just to let Jackie know that he's here for her.
Andrew's been a doll for the last fifteen years. Professionally loyal to Fitz, even while he pines for the guy's wife and knows a horrible secret about Fitz's son. Personally devoted to Mellie, so much that he'll throw away his career to hide her suicide attempt. He's been so helpful. And you know, on this show, when someone is amazingly helpful, there's always a terrible reason why.
It's been a long day and a fabulous party. Adnan is just settling into her room, talking to someone sitting in the corner. It went swimmingly. They're in as major financers of Fitz's campaign. So, Adnan is a middle-woman for an even bigger villain....
Abby and Harrison catch up with the doc who will crush Andrew Nichols' career with the drug story. He's stubborn, but he lets slip an important point: the drugs were for a her, not a him. So, Andrew is covering for someon. Let's see, who just took some drugs at the governor's mansion. We cut to another flashback, hopefully the last one, where Andrew tries to get Mellie to tell him why she would want to kill herself. Unlike Fitz, he actually shows some concern for her and desire to at least give her some comfort. So, Mellie gives Andrew the joyous news: she may be pregnant with her father-in-law's baby after he raped her. Mellie can't even call it rape, she says he "forced himself on her", instead. Andrew takes it all in stride, and confesses his secret: ever since he was her knight in shining armour, he can't stop thinking about her, and how much he wants to help her all the time. Mellie, a little flustered that someone might actually care about her, turns him down as gently as she can.
Mellie has the nerve to approach Fitz in his office, offering to solve some problem for him. He doesn't have time for whatever she has to say. He only has time to berate her for solving his Olivia problem. Once again, without providing any alternative solution, he bites her for feeding him. Mellie is clearly more hurt at his contempt for her initiative, even when Olivia ends up agreeing it's the best idea, than whenever she finds him making out with Olivia. She takes it well, leaving Fitz to his terrible twos.
Ummm.... I think what you meant to say is...your welcome?
Olivia, back at her office, figures out who the drugs at the governor's mansion must have been for as Huck appears, offering her still more coffee. Olivia, who is definitely not over the face-licking reveal from Quinn, learns that Huck is trying to make amends for torturing Quinn, because he knows she's angry about it. Huck attempting to explain how he's just trying to be normal reminds me of a five-year-old reciting poetry he doesn't understand.
The farmhouse lingers, though averse to square/ With the new city street it has to wear
Olivia tries to tell Huck that coffee isn't going to do it. Huck, after confessing that he's learned to be afraid, very afraid, of angering his boss, reminds Olivia that he's here because sometimes Olivia has to show who's the boss with her clients' enemies. And so she has her very own monster. But she left some slack in the leash, and Huck strains at his leash. He ate someone. But he's a monster, and monsters eat people. At the end of last season, Olivia tried to end her personal and professional relationship with Fitz because of the horrible things they did to save Fitz and his Presidency. Now, Olivia is right back in his office and in his pants. And Huck is going on about eating people.
Olivia is reminded, again, how petulant and spoiled Fitz is. As they finish going over poll numbers, and Olivia reports that the drug story has been killed by telling the network the story was bought, Fitz decides he's had enough work for the day. Notice how he's too busy to talk work with his First Lady, and too tired to talk work with his mistress. Who does he talk about work with? Oh, yeah. Cyrus. Anyhoo, we leave them just when Fitz wants Olivia to tell him if she feels anything for Jake.
Baby bump hide #2!
Olivia tries to confront Mellie about the drug story. Olivia has realized that it's Mellie who took drugs that night, not Andrew. And, she's realized that Andrew is covering for Mellie because he loves her. Or something. After having the nerve to tell Mellie not to have an extramarital affair, she gets schooled by Mellie, who insists that she's always been faithful to her husband, and Olivia might want to avoid comparing the two of them. Ever. Again.
Wait, you actually think I'm a slut, too?
Fitz and Mellie are dressed all fancy because he's got a fundraiser with.... Hollis Doyle! Andrew is having fun at the podium, working the crowd, when Fitz sees the guy who funded his election rigging four years ago. He angrily demands in furious whispers on stage that Cyrus refund the donation and kick Hollis to the curb. Little does Fitz know, even though Cyrus does, that he's pretty much sending Hollis down the hall to VP Sally. Guess who Fitz will blame when that happens? Definitely not himself, that's who!
Jake hauls Quinn into his super secrete B-613 office (in fairness to him, Quinn already knows where it is from before), telling her he doesn't want her in B-613. Quinn, in her best impression yet of a teenager, starts sexting right there. When Jake points out how rude that is, Quinn directs him to his email, where Jake finds.... proof that Daddy Pope and Leo Bergen had a chat in public. The link Olivia asked him for, insisted was there, Quinn found. Guess she's not such an amateur, is she? Will Jake keep her work for him a secret, a little behind-the-scenes helper he keeps in his back pocket? That's what I would do!
Yes, I text during job interviews. Sue me.
We find out what Harrison's donation to the Grant campaign was all about when Adnan Salif introduces herself to Cyrus. Watching her completely useless feminine wiles on a gay man are amusing, but she also knows to get Cyrus where it counts. She tells him that she's just recently made a big gift to Fitz, and more can come. Since Hollis Doyle will be funding VP Sally, Cyrus needs a new big pocket, and Adnan is offering to scratch his back. Cyrus is in such a good mood that he lets it out to James that he's having Publius taken care of. He knows about the meet-up with Vanessa Something, and he's arranged for Publius to be taken care of before he can meet with her. James leaves a frantic message on David's voicemail.
Which David doesn't get. When he gets kidnapped outside the cafe where he's meeting Vanessa, he leaves Abby a heartfelt voicemail, telling her he loves her too and he's sorry he's only saying it now. Good thing his girlfriend's been tapping his phone lately. You never know when she might need to kidnap you to save you from Charlie. So, does that mean that David's going to have to tell her that Daniel Douglas' death wasn't heart failure? And that he has no proof? Will Abby use it against VP Sally, or bury it to protect Cyrus (and therefore, Fitz?).
Jake is still at the office when one of Fitz's Secret Service Agents shows up, one we've seen a zillion times before but now we'll have to learn his name, with a flash drive showing everything that happened at the White House that day. Including Fitz and Olivia discussing whether she feels anything for Olivia. Jake is all ears, only to find out she doesn't know. That's certainly worth all the intrigue, right?
Andrew and Mellie bond a bit over a room full of First Lady portraits. With them looking on, Andrew tries to kiss Mellie, Mellie pulls back and is about to leave when she turns around and kisses him. Once. And leaves. Will Mellie be content with just that kiss? Is this a show about people content with breaking the rules once? Andrew touches one of the portraits, just to let Jackie know that he's here for her.
Andrew's been a doll for the last fifteen years. Professionally loyal to Fitz, even while he pines for the guy's wife and knows a horrible secret about Fitz's son. Personally devoted to Mellie, so much that he'll throw away his career to hide her suicide attempt. He's been so helpful. And you know, on this show, when someone is amazingly helpful, there's always a terrible reason why.
It's been a long day and a fabulous party. Adnan is just settling into her room, talking to someone sitting in the corner. It went swimmingly. They're in as major financers of Fitz's campaign. So, Adnan is a middle-woman for an even bigger villain....
Criminal plotting is totes fun!
It sure is, little grasshopper. It sure is....
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