S03.E17: Flesh and Blood

[formerlyfreedom]

A security breach calls for an all hands on deck situation at OPA. Fitz’s re-election campaign becomes stalled and he considers going against Olivia’s advice. Meanwhile, Adnan and Maya continue to plot their next move.

 

[ToniW]

What just happened?!!! None of these people are worth rooting for! Everybody is hateful. I love this show!

[Bavct]

Mellie is Queen of the Universe.

The rest of them can eat a bag of Hell and die.  Cyrus first.

[janeta]

OK, wait--I thought Mellie knew who little Jerry's father was? And what did Abby do with Dominic's hair?

[ToniW]

She didn't know, but now, we do. Fitz is not the father.

[bittersweet4149]

She didn't know, but now, we do. Fitz is not the father.

Where's Maury when you need him?

[SenSational]

A bunch of crazy things just happened, Scandal! I feel so bad for Mellie. Here she is being berated by Olivia over a suspected affair 15 years ago, when we all know it was the result of rape by her husband's father. I think Quinn & Huck are both gross, and neither of them are remotely hot, but the parking lot scene was fairly hot. Cyrus, wtf! He's got to come to his senses and sound the alarm next episode.

Edited April 11, 2014 by SenSational

[kimberussell]

I think Dominic's hair went toward the DNA test that OPA "fixed" so that Team Sally wouldn't find anything out about young Jerry. All they needed was *someone's* hair to run it, and then the money made sure the outcome was the desired one. Which, for that one, was that Fitz WAS the father and that threw Sally off of the trail.

I can't think Cyrus is just going to let the memorial service get blown up. Even though it would take Sally, Leo and Andrew (sigh) out of the picture, it would probably also destroy most of the sitting Congress, who would be there to honor their colleague. One of those three *has* to make it through. Poor Fitz can't win an election on his own.

How long does it take for Air Force One to get from fictional Defiance, OH back to DC in time for Olivia to return to her office and see her Dad still alive? From a gunshot that likely happened while Olivia was still in Ohio?

Team Mellie for life. Bellamy Young is amazing at letting the emotions run across her face.

[GrtGzu]

Actually, Defiance is a REAL town here in Ohio....It's near Toledo....

 

[juneboy44]

This show used to be so good. Now? Just SO bad.

The Quinn/huck sex scene? Vomit!

And what is up with Jake? Olivia turns him down every chance she gets; she uses sex with him to get at his phone; she shuts down b613; she confesses her love to another man and yet Jake calls her and basically says "I still love you and still want to be with you?" The hell? Listen Jake there are millions of women that you can have (me included!) Move on!

Edited April 11, 2014 by maraleia
changed u to you

[Good Queen Jane]

Time matters not in the Scandal Universe. We are in October/November (six days before the election, in case you forgot) with nary a coat in sight. In 24 hours we have Olivia bed Jake, shut down B613, confine Fitz to the White House, find an elusive terrorist and watch Papa Pope shoot him, and have a late night phone call with Jake. In the next 24 hours, we have Fitz fly to Ohio, Olivia fly to Ohio,Olivia fly back to DC, find dying Papa Pope, and Fitz fly back after giving a major speech. Meanwhile, a Senator who died suddenly six days before the election is going to be buried four days before the election,. I don't know when we are. Where's Jack Bauer when you need him?

[astrocouldyounot]

Drunk Mellie is my favorite kind of Mellie. I am dying for her to tell Fitz and Oliva about Big Jerry. I know why she's keeping it a secret and I know why she doesn't just blurt it out, but good lord do I want her to just shout it out when they yell at her. 

If Jake and/or Charlie doesn't die next week, I will be very surprised. As much as I love Jake, with B613 shut down (in theory) and Olivia constantly choosing Fitz, he has no purpose. 

[janeta]

The Quinn/huck sex scene? Vomit!

 

Yes, gawd yes. Ick.

 

And upon further reflection, the thought occurs that maybe Olivia wanted to see if Dominic was her father; I think the lab guy told Abby it wasn't a match.  Although I agree it seems like they wanted other DNA for the pat test.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one wondering how these people could be running around in Ohio in November with no coats, and the leaves on the trees, etc etc.

I kind of want them to blow up the church with everyone in it.  Does that make me evil? -innocently bats eyelashes- I have a feeling, however, that they will manage to evac the church just in the nick of time and only a few Secret Service agents will end up as collateral damage.  Or maybe that will be the season cliffhanger:  "Who! Will! Survive!?"

[quarks]

You know, I can deal with casually letting a bomb go off at a major funeral with several guests, shooting your ex-wife's lover in front of your daughter, and bribing lab technicians to change DNA results. It's all good soapy amoral fun.  And I realize that pretty much every relationship on this show, except for David/Abby, is deeply screwed up. And even David/Abby are only ok in comparison to everyone else.

But for some reason, I can't deal with Huck/Quinn. And not just because their focus on each other meant that they missed seeing Mama Pope waltz through the garage - though, honestly, I can't see either Huck or Quinn being that careless or focused on each other given the circumstances. Seeing them make out made me feel slightly ill - I had to turn away from the screen and then go get a drink.

For the record, I have no problem with BDSM if that's your thing, and no problem with seeing it on screen - as long as it's consensual. And I get that Huck and Quinn are consensual now. But given that not too long ago Huck was pulling out Quinn's teeth without her consent -- no. No. No. I honestly can't think offhand of another TV relationship I have this negative of a response to, and I'm also watching Game of Thrones. I think the difference is that Game of Thrones is aware that all of its relationships are terrible. I get the sense that Scandal wants me to cheer on this one, and, again, no. No. No.

[kimberussell]

Actually, Defiance is a REAL town here in Ohio....It's near Toledo....

Ack! Sorry! I thought with a name like that and the role it played in the plot, it had to be made up.

[April Bloodgate]

Quuck might be the grossest couple on TV. I had to look away during the garage scene.

Agreed on the time issue. I could not believe Olivia was walking back into her office from Ohio while her Dad was still alive on the floor. And then Quuck comes (come? When you refer to two people by one couple name, do you treat it as singular or plural?) back into the office from their sexcapade after that. How long were they fucking?!

I also agree that there's no one left to root for on this show, except for David. He's not so bad. And I'm starting to come around on Mellie, just a teensy bit.

Kimberussell makes a great point about Cyrus letting the funeral blow up. There would be tons of sitting members of Congress there. Cyrus is smarter than that. But the thought of Sally dying in the explosion made me wonder what would happen in real life if one of the two Presidential candidates died 4 days before the election. Surely we wouldn't just say, "Oh, only one guy left. I guess he wins." Wouldn't we have a special election at a later date, with a new candidate? Anyone with political/legal knowledge actually know about this?

Edited April 11, 2014 by Denay

[marcee]

Perhaps I misunderstood - but as far as I can tell, we still don't know who the baby-daddy is, right? They faked the test for TeamLeo/Sally, but then Olivia gave Mellie the *real* results which we didn't see. The only clue we got as viewers was the way she hugged the file to her chest. Is that a good hug or a bad hug?

Also - Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Mellie let the words "Big Jerry" slip during the affair/DNA test 'discussion' she was having with Olivia and Olivia looked on the verge of tears. So I'm pretty sure Olivia knows about Big Jerry, but not necessarily that it was rape? Any clarification on this is welcome.

Edited April 11, 2014 by marcee

[Good Queen Jane]

Drawing on my knowledge of Ohio election law, if someone dies before the election, it still goes forward. If the dead person is elected, his/her party would choose his/her sucessor unless a line of succession is set up by law. I assume that is the same for federal law, although I can only go on The West Wing as authority (when Leo, the VP candidate, died on Election Day.)

I wonder who Sally's VP candidate is and whether he/she is at the funeral?

[KBear]

I laughed harder at this show than anything else I’ve watched this week. It’s too ridiculous to take as a regular drama. A terrorist gang is walking around DC with a plot to kill the President, but instead of the FBI, CIA and other government agencies engaged in a full manhunt for these terrorist; we have OPA, Jake, Quinn and Charlie and Papa Pope leading the charge. Why bother to engage the rest of the intelligence community when you have this top notch group doing it. I’m surprised Maya hasn’t walked into the Oval Office to have a discussion with Fitz yet; maybe next season.

If I ever see anything as horrifying as Quinn and Hulk getting it on in a garage, someone please stab my eyes with a hot poker, it would be less painful. Fingers crossed that Charlie will end this national nightmare for us. Mama Pope had the right idea just to walk past them without looking. It would have ruined her appetite for stabbing her husband.

This episode was terrible in all the right ways. I’m not sad next week is the season finale. Maybe with a break they can tighten up their writing and get this show back to season 2 levels.

[April Bloodgate]

Perhaps I misunderstood - but as far as I can tell, we still don't know who the baby-daddy is, right? They faked the test for TeamLeo/Sally, but then Olivia gave Mellie the *real* results which we didn't see. The only clue we got as viewers was the way she hugged the file to her chest. Is that a good hug or a bad hug?

Also - Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Mellie let the words "Big Jerry" slip during the affair/DNA test 'discussion' she was having with Olivia and Olivia looked on the verge of tears. So I'm pretty sure Olivia knows about Big Jerry, but not necessarily that it was rape? Any clarification on this is welcome.

I agree with your assessment of both situations.

Thanks, Good Queen Jane. That makes sense. Problems arise from the fact that, as you said, we don't know who Sally's VP is and that Sally is running as an Independent, so there's no party to choose someone to take her place.

[Tara Ariano]

Here's my post on the episode!

[Oblique Angle]

Per a quck review of Wikipedia, a lot depends on how many people in the line of succession were at the funeral. If Sally, both VP candidates, and the Speaker of the House get killed because of the explosion, the next person in line for VP is the President pro tem of the Senate who is usually the highest ranking senator from the president's party. Isn't that Olivia's old boyfriend Edison? If he were to become VP by default, DUN DUN DUN! Wonder if Liv would start sleeping with him again too just to keep him in line and off of Fitz' back.

[April Bloodgate]

Right, there's a set line of succession in the case of death of current elected officials. But I was wondering about people running for office being killed right before the election. Good Queen Jane's answer makes sense. I would guess that the death of a candidate who is then still on the ballot would garner a fair amount of sympathy votes.

[purplemouth]

Part of me was hoping Mellie would be a casualty of the bomb so I could finally give up this show. Instead, it looks like a guy she loves who actually loves her is going to die. Fits DOES take everything from her. What a bummer.

Beating a dead horse here, but Quick is gross.

Why did they use Dominic's hair for the paternity test? Why couldn't they have used David's or Huck's? Was it just a matter of "well, we need to remove trace evidence from the body anyway, lets put this spare hair to good use!"?

Also, costume designers, putting Olivia in huge coats makes her look bigger than being 9 months pregnant.

[quarks]

Technically, in a U.S. federal election, voters aren't directly voting for the President and Vice-President; they are instead voting for a slate of electors who actually go to the Electoral College and vote directly for the president/vice president. Legally these electors can put another name on the ballot; if they do this, they are called "faithless electors." In practice, this almost never happens - most electors take this duty very seriously, and break it for only really good reason. (An elector from DC did when the Electoral College vote wasn't close to protest DC not being a state yet, but that's about it for recent cases.) 

Though something like this did happen in 1872, when one of the presidential candidates, Horace Greeley, DID die after the popular vote, but before the Electoral College vote. This apparently confused everybody: some of the electors voted for Greeley anyway, and some electors voted for other people. Since Grant had won either way, it didn't really matter, but I guess this could be used as some sort of in-show precedent to have the election go forward and have Olivia "fix" the Electoral college so that Fitz can get all mopey that he's never "really" won a popular election without cheating.  I don't actually know how you would "fix" the Electoral College - as I said, historically electors have taken their job pretty seriously because it's supposedly an honor to be one of the electors and all that. But this is the same show with a top secret spy group that isn't on the federal budget so...clearly I know nothing. 

[Guest]

I'm glad this show is so over the top to be completely unrealistic, because I would have zero faith in our government if agencies could really taken down with one person's cell phone.  And that once it's down, it must be down for good. Forget the agents who are scattered all over the place.  They'll all be fine?

Huck/Quinn - I have no words. Why couldn't Mama Pope have shot them on her way inside. Just a quick bang-bang and be done with it. And them.

[Happytobehere]

Olivia is so a fool for continuing to choose Fitz over Jake. In the end, she will wind up with nothing and no one, which will be a misery of her own making, so no sympathy forthcoming from me.

I agree with others that the Maya/Dominc reveal puts Liv's paternity in question. I don't care about Harrison's paternity, at this point, he needs to be written off the show along with Quinn and Charlie. All this Adnan story has done is reveal how little Harrison brings to the show. Notice how he is the only character to get a story and have his screen time decrease in the midst of the storyline. Harrison was the weakest part of the story and his involvement was dialed back. Besides, if Rowan dies, what would be the point/pay off of the reveal. Are we to believe that Maya had him in capativity because there is no way there is a twelve-thirteen year age difference between he and Olivia.

Quinn and Huck are beyond disgusting. Why is Quinn still on this show, she is so ugh at this point, that I mute or ff through all of her scenes, and given the rest of the characters that says a lot about her.

Cyrus is so evil. I get wanting to kill Sally and Leo but they would not be the only casualties, but then again, he was okay with Defiance, killing Amanda, almost killing James, and so on, and so on.

[LittleGreyCells]

Hey guys, it's SIX DAYS BEFORE THE E:ECTION. Did you get that? SIX DAYS! Fitz has done virtually no campaigning, I don't remeber there being a convention, and there isn't even a Democrat in the race (is there?).

I guess it is pointless to expect this show to make any sense, or have any integrity. It's just a mess, and I'm done watching it.

[purplemouth]

Isn't Reston a democrat? Is he still in it?

[Marigny]

She didn't know, but now, we do. Fitz is not the father.

 

We don't know that for sure. During the speech, Olivia offered to run the tests for Mellie whenever she was ready to know. She asked her to get her the DNA samples and she would handle it privately. I'm starting to think that he will be Fitz's, though. 

Drunk Mellie is my favorite kind of Mellie. I am dying for her to tell Fitz and Oliva about Big Jerry. I know why she's keeping it a secret and I know why she doesn't just blurt it out, but good lord do I want her to just shout it out when they yell at her. 

 

 

Amen! Mellie is the only thing keeping me watching.

Perhaps I misunderstood - but as far as I can tell, we still don't know who the baby-daddy is, right? They faked the test for TeamLeo/Sally, but then Olivia gave Mellie the *real* results which we didn't see. The only clue we got as viewers was the way she hugged the file to her chest. Is that a good hug or a bad hug?

Also - Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Mellie let the words "Big Jerry" slip during the affair/DNA test 'discussion' she was having with Olivia and Olivia looked on the verge of tears. So I'm pretty sure Olivia knows about Big Jerry, but not necessarily that it was rape? Any clarification on this is welcome.

 

We don't know who the daddy is...yet. During the speech, Olivia tells Mellie the results were taken care of to preserve the campaign but, when she was ready to know the truth, give her the DNA samples and she would run the tests for her. 

 

I think Olivia completely gets that it was rape. The look on her face when Mellie said "I'm tired of being nailed to the cross that is Big Jerry," Olivia's face said it all. Nothing about Mellie's monologue indicated that this was something consensual that she now regrets and Liv picked up on that. Considering how Fitz likes to throw Liv in Mellie's face, there is no way she wouldn't have used this to bring him to his knees.  

 

Why did they use Dominic's hair for the paternity test? Why couldn't they have used David's or Huck's? Was it just a matter of "well, we need to remove trace evidence from the body anyway, lets put this spare hair to good use!"?

 

They needed a sample to send to the lab. It didn't matter who it came from but I'm guessing Dominic is the only one who most likely wasn't in the database already?

Edited April 12, 2014 by Marigny

[fauxphysician]

I've never watched GA, so I came to this show as a Shonda virgin. Got hooked by what I saw first Season, but now--Blech. It's fast becoming unwatchable. Won't even make it on to my 'hate watch list, like the Blacklist and the Following. What a waste of a great premise and an interesting Cast

[OhYouMen]

Hey guys, it's SIX DAYS BEFORE THE E:ECTION. Did you get that? SIX DAYS! Fitz has done virtually no campaigning, I don't remeber there being a convention, and there isn't even a Democrat in the race (is there?).

I guess it is pointless to expect this show to make any sense, or have any integrity. It's just a mess, and I'm done watching it.

This show is so freaking lazy about creating a sensical world. The writers are just insulting our intelligence at this point. Scandal makes The West Wing look like a documentary.  

[TheGourmez]

I was really disappointed that the man walking into OPA and making everyone go "oh shit" was Liv's dad and not Stephan Finch. I know, I know, I'm never getting Henry Ian Cusick back, but a girl can dream, can't she?

[FoxyBrown]

Just when I thought HBO, SHO and Walking Dead had deadened my sensibilities and turned me woefully jaded to any and all manner of atrocities and horrific sights, when the Quuck sex scene began, my stomach lurched. I tried to watch, but had to get up and listen from the next room instead. omg, this show...where hast thou taken me??

I don't even know who to root for anymore. While I was appalled at the actions of Papa Pope and Cyrus, there really aren't any other characters I feel much better about. They have all gone so, so far down the wrong path. The finale is next week and while I think things couldn't get any worse, I'm also confident Shonda is going to show us all how much worse is can actually get. 

[fivestone]

I enjoy watching Abby operate - she gets good lines. Otherwise, I am wondering what the hell happened to this show. Seriously, what happened? Did B613 kill it, or...? Never thought I'd say it, but I'm done after the finale. I mean, what's left? Where does the show go from here? Fitz gets reelected, and...?

[ActualSize]

If the bomb never was in Ohio, why did Marie come marching in to give her "Bring my baby back!" speech? Was it just so Olivia would find her father (or her "father") dead or dying on her office floor? If so, that's cold.

[thewhiteowl]

If the bomb never was in Ohio, why did Marie come marching in to give her "Bring my baby back!" speech? Was it just so Olivia would find her father (or her "father") dead or dying on her office floor? If so, that's cold.

Strangely, I thought it made a weird sense as much as anything does here. Maya didn't want them to keep looking for the bomb elsewhere and they could continue with their plan to blow up the funeral. Maybe?

[Tara Ariano]

I didn't get into this in my post, but if Marie marched into OPA when Liv was still ON TV in Ohio, how was Rowan still alive when she got back? I know she would have taken Marine One, but still, it's kind of far? Did Marie and Rowan just hang out and watch a couple of Big Bang Theorys and then Marie checked her watch and was like, "Stabbin' time!" and took off? 

[thewhiteowl]

I didn't get into this in my post, but if Marie marched into OPA when Liv was still ON TV in Ohio, how was Rowan still alive when she got back? I know she would have taken Marine One, but still, it's kind of far? Did Marie and Rowan just hang out and watch a couple of Big Bang Theorys and then Marie checked her watch and was like, "Stabbin' time!" and took off? 

Entirely possible, on this show. Wasn't the funeral also taking place?

[FozzyBear]

It is illegal to campaign from the White House! IT IS ILLEGAL TO CAMPAIGN FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!

I know, I know. Of all the logic holes to get caught up in, but jeez! Fundraising phone calls and satellite campaign interviews from the White House! It's not like it's an obscure law! It was a damn plot point on West Wing.