S06.E07: A Traitor Among Us

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

After discovering new information about the assassination of Frankie Vargas, Olivia makes a shocking decision and asks Huck to complete one of the most difficult tasks yet.

[Fairlily26]

I think i might be done with this show. 

Ive hated Abby from the very first season and now I know I hate this show. Why is it, that every time I find a show I like, it ends up absolutely horrible after season 3?

Makes me glad that the shows Ive watched  in the past never last past season 4 and remain excellent shows.

[chick binewski]

WHAT? OK, Scandal actual surprised me this week in the early season shout-at-the-screen good kind of way. It's been a long time.

So I'm hoping this is some kind of set-up within a set-up because otherwise it just feels like they made Abby insane in order to make Olivia's insanity look normal. 

[slade3]

I've also hated Abby since season 1, so I'm okay with this twist. When it seemed as if the villain might be one of Olivia's friends, I was hoping it would be Abby. I just hope someone else isn't pulling Abby's strings.

I was pretty sure Meg was a bad guy. I decided if Huck managed to hurt or kill her, she would be innocent, so as soon as he let her go, I knew Jennifer Fields was dead.

I doubt Huck is dead. Scandal always goes for head shots when they want to kill a character. Meg shot Huck in the chest. I guess Huck will be out of commission for a while. That's probably why

Spoiler

he isn't in any of the promotional stills from episode 9.

Overall, I thought it was kind of boring - focusing on one character doesn't work. And while I'm still hoping Olivia will grow on me again, tonight's episode was not the night. Wow, she was awful. But the twist at the end made me curious so I'm looking forward to episode 9, which is 2 weeks from now. I am not interested in next week's Abby-centric episode.

Edited March 24, 2017 by slade3

[slade3]

Can someone explain the camera that Huck found behind Sandra's ear? Who would have put there and why didn't they remove it before dumping her body?

[Guest]

I didn't watch the whole episode but I saw the last 20ish minutes. Probably a sign I really need to quit the show when the only two things I've liked all season have been watching Mellie lose and the possibility of Huck being dead.

[bobbyjoe]

My husband put it best tonight when he said "the last few episodes are what happens when the writers have just completely given up."  I could practically hear them in the writer's room checking their watches, playing Angry Birds, and making grocery shopping lists between every line of dialogue and every single nonsensical thing that happened this episode.

[UGAmp]

This season had been so boring but I sure was paying attention the last few minutes. I was pretty sure Meg was bad. The camera seemed to linger on her hands shaking when she came over to Huck's to "celebrate". And then they were going over the top with how much Huck has changed. Could this really have be his swan song? doubt Huck is dead but he is one of the not so great actors on the show. But everyone's acting isn't that great these days because it's just. so. bad. 

And I have zero recollection of Becky. I gather she used to be a love interest of Huck's and probably entered up being b613 but I have NO memory of her.

[Fairlily26]

33 minutes ago, UGAmp said:

This season had been so boring but I sure was paying attention the last few minutes. I was pretty sure Meg was bad. The camera seemed to linger on her hands shaking when she came over to Huck's to "celebrate". And then they were going over the top with how much Huck has changed. Could this really have be his swan song? doubt Huck is dead but he is one of the not so great actors on the show. But everyone's acting isn't that great these days because it's just. so. bad. 

And I have zero recollection of Becky. I gather she used to be a love interest of Huck's and probably entered up being b613 but I have NO memory of her.

Becky, the actual shooter of Fitz  and set Huck up for the fall. Also, she killed his "family". Huck was watching a family with two daughters and a mom and dad, the grandmother came over for sunday dinner..

Huck met Becky at AA, he asked her what her real name was after getting arrested while trying to kill her and her answer was "Does it matter?"

I hate Becky, mostly because she killed innocent people  who had no idea who she or Huck was.

[UGAmp]

30 minutes ago, Fairlily26 said:

Becky, the actual shooter of Fitz  and set Huck up for the fall. Also, she killed his "family". Huck was watching a family with two daughters and a mom and dad, the grandmother came over for sunday dinner..

Huck met Becky at AA, he asked her what her real name was after getting arrested while trying to kill her and her answer was "Does it matter?"

I hate Becky, mostly because she killed innocent people  who had no idea who she or Huck was.

Wow! That does ring a bell. Thank you! :) Couldn't have placed that actress if you paid me but the plot you outlined sounds familiar. Thanks! 

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't know if I really buy Huck being dead-dead. The last time the show actually got me was when Jake was left for dead and then they revived him and I was kind of pissed off about it. Plus, Meg was all, "he won't remember you had any part in this" to Abby, so whatever the hell that means. I take every death with a grain of salt on this show..which probably is bad form for the writers. Like..If I'm questioning a death scene here, your shows getting ridiculous. And not even ridiculous funny like when Olivia murdered someone with a chair. That was damn laughable. This is kind of like, eh.  And yay a whole episode about Abby for next week. I bet we're going to get Quinn and/or Charlie episodes too. 

Listen..I've said it before, they are doing these types of episodes for KWs benefit, which I totally get but, it's affecting the story for me. Not that there's a great one, hell it's been a while for a great one, but.. this really just takes me out of it. The one character episodes don't work for me at all.  

And now the show is going to try and fake us out by having Abby be somewhat of the mastermind plan? I doubt it much. Abby is chess piece like everyone else has been thus far, I highly doubt we are ever going to get a real answer on who the head masterminds of this plan are. 

Also, where the hell is Fitz? Is TG taking time off too?

Wasn't this show fun once? I feel like it got stupid when Olivia got kidnapped by randoms and I totally forget why but I remember it all being about nothing really important anyway and it never made any sense. This show is so stupid now.

Edited March 24, 2017 by WhosThatGirl

[Artsda]

I don't get it, or if I want to know if I get it. Abby was involved in Cyrus's framing & had Vargas killed?

[slade3]

2 hours ago, Artsda said:

I don't get it, or if I want to know if I get it. Abby was involved in Cyrus's framing & had Vargas killed?

It wasn't clear to me whether she was involved with the entire assassination plot, or just making sure Jennifer Fields was dead.

I remember how desperate Abby was to make sure Cyrus didn't get the death penalty - which was a big sign, I guess, that she was involved. But she could also be working for Fitz or Mellie.

And I still think there's a chance the "eyes on Olivia" are not Meg's. It was a bit obvious when Meg was all "I'd like to see Olivia face-to-face" so I'm going to speculate that Meg was a last minute hire by Abby to kill Jennifer Fields after Huck told Abby Jennifer was still alive. The actual mole is probably Charlie.

3 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

And yay a whole episode about Abby for next week. I bet we're going to get Quinn and/or Charlie episodes too. 

The promotional pictures for episode 9 are Charlie-heavy, so I'm going to take a wild guess that 6x09 is a Charlie-centric episode with a lot of Quinn. This leads me to believe the big reveal in that episode will be Charlie is the real mole and takes Olivia hostage, or tries to kill her and fails when Quinn arrives.

And I'm sure Huck is alive. Jennifer got a head shot; she's gone. Huck got a chest shot; he'll probably be in a coma for a few episodes. Scandal is never subtle and, in my opinion, shoots way too many characters in the head. Jake always gets people in the forehead. So do most of the other agents. It's horrible. What I hope doesn't happen is the bad guys keep Huck in a makeshift hospital and all of OPA begin to believe he was the mole. That would annoy me.

6 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

My husband put it best tonight when he said "the last few episodes are what happens when the writers have just completely given up."  I could practically hear them in the writer's room checking their watches, playing Angry Birds, and making grocery shopping lists between every line of dialogue and every single nonsensical thing that happened this episode.

I actually believe the opposite. I think - like the writers on The Walking Dead, who also wrote a bunch of character-centric episodes the first half of this season and seemed surprised when the ratings started dropping - the Scandal writers think they've done something new and edgy. I remember reading an article about this season and they said at one of the table reads, the cast cheered. People working on these shows are in such a bubble and I'd be willing to bet they were all clapping each other on the back when they filmed that twisty ending with Huck.

[Emma9]

A few episode ago, when Fitz slapped Abby down hard in front of his girlfriend and David for speaking about the death penalty on his behalf, the camera focused on on her tight little smile in a very 'that's it, you've finally pushed me too far' way. So I would have been surprised if she didn't end up plotting something.

I suppose it's possible that she was working for Shadowy Secret Cabal even before that, but it felt like a very deliberate shot to me at the time.

So...since there were no flashbacks in this episode, a significant amount of real-time elapsed, making this seem like a good occasion to ponder what the hell is going on with Cyrus? Has he even been released yet? Exonerated publicly? Considering that he was still technically the president-elect at the time he was arrested, what's going on with that?

And why isn't the entire country losing its damn mind over all this? 'Vice-President-Elect's Lover Shoots President-Elect!' 'Oh, No, He Totally Didn't, Our Bad!' The most we got was the comment this episode about how 'the rest of the country has moved on', which really? Moved on from an assassination that now doesn't even have a culprit to point to? Moved on from a frame job of the guy the current president stood beside and endorsed as successor?

Not to mention Cyrus himself. Mr. 'You think I'm giving in and committing suicide, nope, I'm actually about to sic a cannibal on you' learns that instead of the assassination being carried out by Tom-gone-rogue, he was framed and the people who really killed Vargas are still at large, and what? Goes 'Huh, that's funny, but Mellie's already done her victory dance and all, so I guess I might as well just wave the white flag and go lick my wounds'? Suuuure.

See also: Liv eating humble pie at the end of the episode with regards to her father and Huck. Maybe while she's at it, she could brainstorm about whether she's made a false accusation with nearly devastating consequences against anyone else recently.

 

Quote

I've said it before, they are doing these types of episodes for KWs benefit, which I totally get but, it's affecting the story for me.

I still don't quite see how that works. Olivia's the only one who hasn't been left out of the majority of the episodes this season.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Emma9

[vibeology]

2 minutes ago, Emma9 said:

I still don't quite see how that works. Olivia's the only one who hasn't been left out of the majority of the episodes this season.

She hasn't been left out since she's the lead and that would probably be hard to do, but she's nowhere near as heavily featured as she has been in the past. I would bet she is only working half the shooting week on episodes like this rather than the whole thing like she would have last season. It's a smart way of keeping Olivia at the centre of the story without needing KW to film every day.

I hate it, but I get why they're doing it. It's absolutely insane to me though that someone like Joshua Malina is picking up a regular paycheck for what was surely one day of shooting for this whole episode. No Mellie or Fitz but since they're both regulars they both got paid too. It's pretty sweet for the actors but it does suck as a viewer. I watch this show for the cast but when guest stars eat up huge chunks of time every week it's pretty disappointing. I don't care about Meg but I saw far more of her tonight than I did Mellie. Same last week with Rowan's girlfriend. Or the week before with Jake's wife. I don't care about those people.

[abbey]

11 hours ago, slade3 said:

Can someone explain the camera that Huck found behind Sandra's ear? Who would have put there and why didn't they remove it before dumping her body?

I don't pay as close attention as I probably should, but this is the theory  I came up with last night.  I think Rowan/Eli put it there.  It is evidence that he is being coerced by threats to Olivia's life.  I think it was Charlie who made a comment when they were gathered around Sandra's plastic wrapped body that they found it in an old B613 (whatever it is called) dumping ground and he was surprised that they were still using it. At least that is what I think he said.  So Rowan dumped it there hoping that one of Olivia's people would think to look there, find the body, and then find the camera.  That way Olivia would have to believe him as she would now have proof  that they are using her well being to control him.

[Primetimer]

And other employment-related questions as we discover yet another angle on the Vargas assassination.

View the full article

[slade3]

22 minutes ago, vibeology said:

She hasn't been left out since she's the lead and that would probably be hard to do, but she's nowhere near as heavily featured as she has been in the past. I would bet she is only working half the shooting week on episodes like this rather than the whole thing like she would have last season. It's a smart way of keeping Olivia at the centre of the story without needing KW to film every day.

I hate it, but I get why they're doing it. It's absolutely insane to me though that someone like Joshua Malina is picking up a regular paycheck for what was surely one day of shooting for this whole episode. No Mellie or Fitz but since they're both regulars they both got paid too. It's pretty sweet for the actors but it does suck as a viewer. I watch this show for the cast but when guest stars eat up huge chunks of time every week it's pretty disappointing. I don't care about Meg but I saw far more of her tonight than I did Mellie. Same last week with Rowan's girlfriend. Or the week before with Jake's wife. I don't care about those people.

I know I keep bringing up The Walking Dead, but it's the only other show I'm watching regularly and I'm surprised how similar the current season is to Scandal. So many episodes were dedicated to new characters and that show didn't even have a pregnancy to contend with. It really lessened my desire to watch and I'm not even watching the episodes live anymore. I'm pretty sure Olivia and the others will get back to normal by episode 10, but that's a long time to expect viewers to stick around.

I'm not sure how else Scandal could have handled KW's pregnancy schedule, but wasn't season 3 16 episodes to accommodate her pregnancy, too? I don't remember episodes being dedicated to minor characters though. Maybe they'd had more notice about her pregnancy then.

3 minutes ago, abbey said:

I don't pay as close attention as I probably should, but this is the theory  I came up with last night.  I think Rowan/Eli put it there.  It is evidence that he is being coerced by threats to Olivia's life.  I think it was Charlie who made a comment when they were gathered around Sandra's plastic wrapped body that they found it in an old B613 (whatever it is called) dumping ground and he was surprised that they were still using it. At least that is what I think he said.  So Rowan dumped it there hoping that one of Olivia's people would think to look there, find the body, and then find the camera.  That way Olivia would have to believe him as she would now have proof  that they are using her well being to control him.

Thanks, Abbey. I think this is a good theory, but I'll have to rewatch the scene because I thought the first part of the video that Olivia watched showed the moment Eli/Rowan first learns about the project and is really excited about it. Wasn't that before he noticed the cameras and learned of the Shadowy Cabal? I don't remember much about Rowan's episode now so I can't remember if he kissed her before or after he figured out she was working for someone else.

I should probably pay closer attention to what Charlie's been saying, too. I feel as if we're going to be hit with some double or triple agent type stuff.

[abbey]

Yeah that was how I remembered the scene but I wasnt watching that closely (not enjoying the show show like I used to) so some of my details might be wrong.  Will be interested in hearing some other theories!

[Kathcart]

Please tell me that was not really supposed to have been a camera buried in Sandra. Right? It was just some kind of audio device and when Huck listened to what was on it, we saw the scenes he was listening to but he didn't. Right? Because otherwise it is just too f-ing much to believe, in a show that is already too f-ing much to believe.

The acting on this show has always been pretty bad IMO but dayummm if Evil Abby wasn't hilariously bad. It was like she said Ooh, I know: I'll make my eyes all squinty and my lips disappear -- that will come across as E-VIL.

I wouldn't say I am currently hate-watching but I am definitely currently "for-crying-out-loud-watching."

[thewhiteowl]

I liked this much better than the Cyrus and Poppa-centric episodes. Huck is interesting to me. Becky was awesome, how she suckered him in with just a few sentences.  And he still didn't quite get it.  

As for the camera thingy, I figured that once the amazing hacker Huck had the frequency and info from it he just hacked into the cameras at the place Eli works. No big deal. Lol.

I am actually interested in how Abby comes to be working with the big secret scary organization that has the great Eli under their thumb. I know she wants to be Liv but damn,  Liv is the most miserable person ever. Why would she want to be that?

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

See also: Liv eating humble pie at the end of the episode with regards to her father and Huck. Maybe while she's at it, she could brainstorm about whether she's made a false accusation with nearly devastating consequences against anyone else recently.

Ha!  The show is working overtime this season to convince us how stupid and gullible its main character is.  If this were a comedy show, that might be a good plan.  But this isn't (at least it's not supposed to be) a comedy, it's a serialized drama, so constantly turning your main character into an easily-fooled wrongheaded doofus is a baffling decision.  What works for Michael Scott shouldn't work for Olivia Pope.

[reggiejax]

From the recap:
 

Quote

 

Why hasn't anyone killed Rowan yet?

This is the burning-est of burning questions. Up until now, though, there was no excuse other than "He's Liv's dad (even though he's a monster)" and "He's somehow brainwashed a bunch of people into being contract killers." At least now we finally have a reason: if Rowan is killed, the shadowy organization pulling his strings will kill Liv.

 

Maybe it's just me (though I doubt it), but it seems that the added bonus of Liv being taken out if Rowan were murdered would be plenty incentive to knock off the old windbag.

The reveal about Meg (?) would only be surprising if one had never watched a TV show before. And let's face it, Scandal is a strict adherent to Roger Ebert's Law of the Economy of Characters. They have never introduced a new character whose sole purpose wasn't to move the plot along.

Abby turning out to be the big bad was a bit surprising, but only because they had heretofore portrayed her as being a Liv wannabe, and a failed Liv wannabe at that. A few episodes ago Abby was too dumb to keep Fitz new girlfriend, the FBI Director, out of the loop regarding the investigation into Vargas' assassination, which predictably led to Fitz getting an earful about Abby's lame power plays. Now we are supposed to believe she is behind the whole thing? Gimme a break.

And I'll believe Huck is dead when I pry the syringe full of crazy knockout drugs from his cold dead hand.

[slade3]

Did Olivia apologize to Huck after she watched the video of Eli? I think this is a mistake the writers make with her - she rarely says "thank you" or "sorry" to her team. I assume the backstory on this is that she was raised to believe these simple words show weakness, but I'm embarrassed every time someone does something risky for her and she just walks away or barks an order.

Isn't Abby a Democrat? She wouldn't want Vargas killed. I think the theory that the Shadowy Bad Guys (I really wish we knew their name) have something on Abby and are forcing her to do this may be (kind of) right. I mean, I fully believe she would try to hatch some twisted plan that goes awry in order to become a bigger, badder Olivia Pope, but would Abby really agree to the assassination of a Democratic president like Frankie Vargas? Something truly sick must have happened to her to make her go along with this.

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, bobbyjoe said:

Ha!  The show is working overtime this season to convince us how stupid and gullible its main character is.  If this were a comedy show, that might be a good plan.  But this isn't (at least it's not supposed to be) a comedy, it's a serialized drama, so constantly turning your main character into an easily-fooled wrongheaded doofus is a baffling decision.  What works for Michael Scott shouldn't work for Olivia Pope.

No kidding. After Vargas was shot, Liv went to her Dad and he was all "Cyrus did it. Duh!" and Liv completely believed that with no real proof. Then when the Cyrus story started falling apart, Jake's wife was all "Jake's been missing a lot. Give me some wine!" and Liv was immediately suspicious of Jake. Then Jake tells her "Um, I have an actual witness who says Rowan tried to frame Cyrus. I think you know what that means!" and Liv was hellbent on having her father killed without further investigation. But when Huck tried to offer up his theory with just as much proof as any of the others, Liv shuts him down and assumes it can't be true. What? How can she be so gullible and willing to believe any theory thrown at her except the one offered by Huck, who is the only person offering theories who is actually loyal to her above everything. Dumb Liv!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, slade3 said:

 

Isn't Abby a Democrat? She wouldn't want Vargas killed. I think the theory that the Shadowy Bad Guys (I really wish we knew their name) have something on Abby and are forcing her to do this may be (kind of) right. I mean, I fully believe she would try to hatch some twisted plan that goes awry in order to become a bigger, badder Olivia Pope, but would Abby really agree to the assassination of a Democratic president like Frankie Vargas? Something truly sick must have happened to her to make her go along with this.

Abby is COS for the sitting Republican president, so I'm sure she's at least currently a Republican (since party affiliations are so fickle on this show). Also, she/Fitz were working pretty hard to get Mellie elected.

5 hours ago, reggiejax said:

From the recap:
 

Maybe it's just me (though I doubt it), but it seems that the added bonus of Liv being taken out if Rowan were murdered would be plenty incentive to knock off the old windbag.

 

Absolutely!

[Vyk]

5 hours ago, slade3 said:

Did Olivia apologize to Huck after she watched the video of Eli? I think this is a mistake the writers make with her - she rarely says "thank you" or "sorry" to her team. I assume the backstory on this is that she was raised to believe these simple words show weakness, but I'm embarrassed every time someone does something risky for her and she just walks away or barks an order.

I think her stare at Huck after she watched it was supposed to be her (silent) apology to him.  Huck already knew she was sorry for not believing him.  To him, she doesn't really have to say the words.

[slade3]

1 hour ago, Vyk said:

I think her stare at Huck after she watched it was supposed to be her (silent) apology to him.  Huck already knew she was sorry for not believing him.  To him, she doesn't really have to say the words.

Thanks. I'd still like to hear her say it. During my recent rewatch of all the seasons, it was something that really stood out to me.

1 hour ago, deaja said:

Abby is COS for the sitting Republican president, so I'm sure she's at least currently a Republican (since party affiliations are so fickle on this show). Also, she/Fitz were working pretty hard to get Mellie elected.

I remember when Olivia had to "chastise" her for judging their Republican clients. That Abby would never approve of the assassination of Vargas, no matter who she was working for. Even trying to get Mellie elected, she would have never approved.

[KaveDweller]

6 hours ago, vibeology said:

How can she be so gullible and willing to believe any theory thrown at her except the one offered by Huck, who is the only person offering theories who is actually loyal to her above everything. Dumb Liv!

Well, Huck is a bit crazy. The other people are all mostly sane and just liars. But Huck is actually crazy. I think Olivia thought he believed he was telling the truth, she just doesn't trust his judgement.

[nara]

23 hours ago, slade3 said:

Can someone explain the camera that Huck found behind Sandra's ear? Who would have put there and why didn't they remove it before dumping her body?

 

11 hours ago, abbey said:

I don't pay as close attention as I probably should, but this is the theory  I came up with last night.  I think Rowan/Eli put it there.  It is evidence that he is being coerced by threats to Olivia's life.  I think it was Charlie who made a comment when they were gathered around Sandra's plastic wrapped body that they found it in an old B613 (whatever it is called) dumping ground and he was surprised that they were still using it. At least that is what I think he said.  So Rowan dumped it there hoping that one of Olivia's people would think to look there, find the body, and then find the camera.  That way Olivia would have to believe him as she would now have proof  that they are using her well being to control him.

I thought it was a tracking device and Huck hacked into it to see where she'd been and found the recording device(s).

I actually enjoyed this episode and Huck's confusion.  He's been tortured so many times that he's paranoid and then paranoid about his paranoia. Although I guessed that Meg was a baddie, I was wondering if she met with that lady in public knowing that Huck was following her and wanting to mess with him.

[cali1981]

I had to watch the shooting sequence again. Meg did not shoot Huck in the main chest area. She hit him twice off to the side of the chest and a third time in the side of the abdomen. Meg is a pro who knew exactly where to shoot to avoid an immediate fatal injury.  They'll have to have Huck call for help or have someone find him before he bleeds out.  So Abby is now a murderer?  Scandal is teetering on the edge of the rails right now.

Edited March 25, 2017 by cali1981

[NJRadioGuy]

I just kept thinking that at least Huck wasn't stupid enough to confront Eli Pope at the train-entrance end of the platform in what sure as hell looked like the Zoe Barnes Memorial Subway station. Huck is no Frank Underwood, and that's who I watch when I want a good political thriller, with Designated Survivor a runner up because, well, Kiefer Sutherland. Scandal has become a check-your-brain-at-the-door show that's entertaining if you don't even pretend to take it seriously. S1/2 were great but ever since it's just been a fun ride with some magnificent performances by Bellamy Young from time to time, thrown in for good measure.

 

I'm with the others here re Huck: He's MostlyDead, not All Dead. And I think we're about six to eight episodes away from Charlie ending up in a landfill and Huckelberry Quinn pulling each other's teeth out in the sack.

[Happytobehere]

On 3/23/2017 at 10:14 PM, slade3 said:

I've also hated Abby since season 1, so I'm okay with this twist. When it seemed as if the villain might be one of Olivia's friends, I was hoping it would be Abby. I just hope someone else isn't pulling Abby's strings.

I was pretty sure Meg was a bad guy. I decided if Huck managed to hurt or kill her, she would be innocent, so as soon as he let her go, I knew Jennifer Fields was dead.

I doubt Huck is dead. Scandal always goes for head shots when they want to kill a character. Meg shot Huck in the chest. I guess Huck will be out of commission for a while. That's probably why

  Reveal hidden contents

he isn't in any of the promotional stills from episode 9.

Overall, I thought it was kind of boring - focusing on one character doesn't work. And while I'm still hoping Olivia will grow on me again, tonight's episode was not the night. Wow, she was awful. But the twist at the end made me curious so I'm looking forward to episode 9, which is 2 weeks from now. I am not interested in next week's Abby-centric episode.

I'm fine with the Abby twist because Abby has shown her deep-seeded hatred for and jealousy of Olivia and her power-hungry head-tripping multiple times, and as the saying goes, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them."  It is people's refusal to do this that would cause surprise about the Abby reveal.  Just as people continue to try and believe Liv isn't utterly awful despite her repeatedly showing what a nightmare she is. (I personally could get behind the show more if they acknowledged the truth about Liv and made Scandal about her growth, redemption and return to being a gladiator via the use of the old CotW format).

I think they might go with Huck being dead because although like others, I too thought of the head shot thing, but if you go back to the shooting scene, as the scene cuts to commercial, you hear the gun go off again, which is presumably the head shot.  Additionally, there has not been a major character taken out since Harrison's death and that was dictated by the ass-holery of the actor, so I could see Shonda saying it is time for a major character to go, and they eliminated a great deal of the Huck support/sympathy when they had him go all psycho a season or two ago, so, with his back-story resolved, and not being able to really move forward with him romantically because of said psycho turn, it makes sense that his character would be the one to go.  However, the verbiage used when talking to Abby gives the show an out if they decide to have Huck be alive.  Granted the out will be ridiculous but then, so is this show.

15 hours ago, Emma9 said:

I still don't quite see how that works. Olivia's the only one who hasn't been left out of the majority of the episodes this season.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the poster meant these character focused episodes are being done for Kerry the person not Kerry's character because they have to shoot around her pregnancy, which is the reason behind the shortened season to begin with.  With each of these episode, Kerry likely did a day or two of shooting at most for each episode, and then got to leave the heavy-lifting as it were to her co-stars.

Edited March 25, 2017 by Happytobehere

[dr pepper]

I figured it would turn out there wouldn't be a mole, or else it would be someone lower in the cast ranking who turned out to have more access than anyone suspected. I did, however, think it would be cool if it turned out to be Abby for about half a second. So i was still surprised when it was her.

[slade3]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 1:17 AM, Happytobehere said:

(I personally could get behind the show more if they acknowledged the truth about Liv and made Scandal about her growth, redemption and return to being a gladiator via the use of the old CotW format).

I would love it of the show would do this. I think the audience would get on board with an Olivia who knows she needs redemption.

When Rowan killed Jake's wife in season 5, Jake did say something about Olivia preaching about white hats and not realizing she's as awful as her father.

[Good Queen Jane]

Just for the fun of it, I started to make a list of people killed in this series. They are (in no particular order): the President's pregnant mistress, the president's son, the Vice-President, the (different) Vice-President's husband, two press secretaries (one of whom was the Chief of Staff's husband), a Supreme Court Justice, the president-elect, the guy who tried to take Vargas hostage, a family Huck watched, a whole plane load of people, a whole bus load of grand jurors, Jake's first wife, Jake's second wife's father, Jake's father, a whole bunch of reporters at different times, Olivia's elderly neighbor, the people who kidnapped Olivia, one of the Gladiators (off camera), Eli's lover, and now a witness that Olivia was protecting. The list doesn't include the various clients of OPA who killed people and then hired OPA to help them (remember when this show was about Olivia helping people get out of problems?) I'm sure that there are others that I missed. No wonder I watched Huck get shot three times and just shrugged.

[Vallegal24]

On 3/24/2017 at 0:35 AM, WhosThatGirl said:

Also, where the hell is Fitz? Is TG taking time off too?

Wasn't this show fun once? I feel like it got stupid when Olivia got kidnapped by randoms and I totally forget why but I remember it all being about nothing really important anyway and it never made any sense. This show is so stupid now.

Speaking of Fitz, maybe he's the mastermind... I wouldn't be surprised. Scandal couldn't get any more silly if 3 year olds were sitting around the writers table in high chairs, scribbling the script every week. I'm willing to put money down that somehow Fitz will be blamed when all is said and done. Even though we haven't seen him for weeks - doesn't matter, he'll somehow be responsible. Just watch.

...and like you said, where's the fun? I too believe this show took a wrong turn with the kidnapping, (massive eye roll) I remember saying to co-workers the next day, "here we go with the most overdone and ridiculous storyline of all." And it has not gotten better. I don't see why making Abby responsible for Jennifer's death is of importance. Jake killed James Novak, his predecessor, and his father-in-law and he's still roaming the streets freely, yet they got Cyrus locked up for a crime he didn't commit. SMH. This is some stupid, nonsensical messy mess. Just end it. 

[WhosThatGirl]

4 hours ago, Vallegal24 said:

Speaking of Fitz, maybe he's the mastermind... I wouldn't be surprised. Scandal couldn't get any more silly if 3 year olds were sitting around the writers table in high chairs, scribbling the script every week. I'm willing to put money down that somehow Fitz will be blamed when all is said and done. Even though we haven't seen him for weeks - doesn't matter, he'll somehow be responsible. Just watch.

...and like you said, where's the fun? I too believe this show took a wrong turn with the kidnapping, (massive eye roll) I remember saying to co-workers the next day, "here we go with the most overdone and ridiculous storyline of all." And it has not gotten better. I don't see why making Abby responsible for Jennifer's death is of importance. Jake killed James Novak, his predecessor, and his father-in-law and he's still roaming the streets freely, yet they got Cyrus locked up for a crime he didn't commit. SMH. This is some stupid, nonsensical messy mess. Just end it. 

That would be hilarious. They do have to find some sort of way to keep Fitz relevant once we finally get the new president storyline all sewed up somehow. I mean he has to leave. Unless Shonda just decides scandal verse can rewrite the constitution. Which I mean.. she might. But yeah. Unless he and Liv get back together which I don't really see happening, he needs someway to be a factor.

Abby isn't an evil mastermind. She's a pawn like everyone else was/is this season. I think she's been pissed off at everybody on this show for some time and with kind of good reason. No one in the Fitz administration is ever going to respect her in her job the way they did Olivia. Especially not Fitz. He never listens to her and always chooses Olivia, and I can even imagine that would be annoying. And I'm pretty convinced she's resented Olivia since last season. Maybe even before that.

[slade3]

20 hours ago, Vallegal24 said:

Speaking of Fitz, maybe he's the mastermind... I wouldn't be surprised. Scandal couldn't get any more silly if 3 year olds were sitting around the writers table in high chairs, scribbling the script every week. I'm willing to put money down that somehow Fitz will be blamed when all is said and done. Even though we haven't seen him for weeks - doesn't matter, he'll somehow be responsible. Just watch.

 

15 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

That would be hilarious. They do have to find some sort of way to keep Fitz relevant once we finally get the new president storyline all sewed up somehow. I mean he has to leave. Unless Shonda just decides scandal verse can rewrite the constitution. Which I mean.. she might. But yeah. Unless he and Liv get back together which I don't really see happening, he needs someway to be a factor.

The sneak peek for 6x08 shows

Spoiler

that Abby met with the Mystery people to discuss funding the Grant Library. She seems thrown when they offer her 300 million dollars. So Fitz isn't behind this, unless some crazy twist reveals he sent those two to talk to Abby, which would be way too convoluted, even for Scandal, I think.

So Abby isn't the mastermind and I have to believe these people are working for someone else. Could it be the Portia di Rossi character? Or Mellie? I would love this show if it turned out to be Cyrus's husband, Michael, only because that would be a total WTF twist.

 

Someone pointed out that Abby looked really pissed when Fitz yelled at her for going behind his back and taking the death penalty off the table. What if that moment between them is really all it took for Abby to say yes to 300 million dollars to... I'm actually still unsure what her role in all this is. To kill Jennifer Fields? To set Cyrus up? Anyway, maybe she's just fed up.

I've wondered for a while now whether Fitz and Abby would hook up. It may just be Tony Goldwyn's acting choice, but the way Fitz stares at her when she walks in makes me wonder if he finds her attractive. No shade to Goldwyn, who I like, but Fitz often looks hungry when he looks at Olivia and there are moments when he looks at Abby that way. Part of me feels as if Fitz's future relevance on the show will relate to Abby in some way. I agree she is no mastermind. I think her involvement will be like Rowan's: She was approached and, unlike Rowan - who was forced to do the deed - offered money for the job. Maybe Fitz will step in to stop her from going down a truly irredeemable path.

I only managed to see a clip from Sunday's PaleyFest panel, but some people noted Kerry and Bellamy seemed very emotional and were crying. It made me wonder if the rumors are true and next season will be the show's last, or if a cast member is, indeed, moving on. I don't recall if Darby was also crying, but maybe Abby is going dark and not long for the show?

I also want to note the other reason I'm sure Huck is alive: When characters die, certain sites do "post mortems" with headlines like "Yes, [Character] is really Gone" followed by an interview with the show runner or actor. It's possible Shonda requested the sites avoid doing those pieces, but I'm pretty sure there would have been more "noise" if these TV sites really thought Huck was gone.

Edited March 28, 2017 by slade3