Scandal Moments and Conversations: “Molly, You in Danger, Girl” 

Even if no one’s going down for Defiance or killing a Supreme Court Justice, there is some karmic retribution going on in D.C. Cyrus’ marriage is not in a good place — his husband can’t even look at him without seeing a liar. James can’t forgive or forget his husband’s confession. Fitz is miserable. He’s trapped in a loveless marriage where they’re forced to act like the perfect couple. And he feels he can’t trust anybody. Plus, he’s feeling guilt over what he did to Verna. He’s in a bad place.

As for Olivia, she’s depressed. Sure things with Jake are encouraging but unbeknownst to her, her every move is being watched…by him. These are not enviable positions to be in. And in true Scandal fashion, everything gets turned on its ear in the matter of forty minutes.

“Molly, You in Danger, Girl” is not only the best title of an episode ever, it features more of the intensity and insanity we’ve grown accustomed to with this show. There are some real moments, some crazy ass moments and then at the end, we finally get Olivia and Fitz in the same room again. FINALLY.

We Need to Know: Is Jake a good guy or a bad guy? Does he wear a white hat?

This show is keeping me guessing as to whether Jake’s a good guy or a bad guy. I know that’s what Shonda Rhimes et. al. are intending and I know that they are just doing their job. But, man, is it frustrating not knowing.

Jake says he’s protecting Olivia. But in the beginning of the episode, when he took out the surveillance cameras from her place, I thought he had come to his senses. But then Huckleberry Quinn arrived at Olivia’s to check for bugs and the like. Right after Huck and Quinn left, Jake was back reinstalling the equipment. SO CREEPY.

He and Olivia made love. And it was hot. But my feelings about this are such a mess because 1. He’s such an enigma. 2. We don’t know what his agenda is. 3. Fitz and Olivia rule my world so anyone else coming in and messing with that is a problem. 4. When Olivia found out Jake was spying on her, she ended up in the hospital with a concussion. And now she doesn’t know what to believe. He’s asked her to lie about knowing him (which means lying about knowing him intimately). Things have to be as confusing for her as they are for me.

Relationship Recap: Abby and David Rosen

Raunchy sex aside, Abby and David are a couple I root for. It doesn’t matter that their relationship is twisted, I like those two together. David says he can forgive a lot but he can’t be with someone he can’t trust and who can’t admit to stealing the Cytron card. But the way she tore into his apartment after she realized he might still be in danger proves she’s not only having meaningless sex with him. She still loves him. And I will continue to root for these two until they can get their act together.

Fitz & Cyrus Moments of Goodness

Moment of Goodness 1: Fitz and Cyrus in the Oval Office

Fitz makes sure to let his Chief of Staff know that he knows Cyrus is currently shacking up in a hotel and is on the outs with James. But while he’s being a friend to Cyrus, you can tell he has Olivia on his mind. He always has Olivia on his mind:

Fitz: “Don’t give up on him. If you love him. Just…don’t give up.”

That was a real moment between Cyrus and Fitz that hasn’t happened for quite a while. It was nice to have Cyrus back in Fitz’s inner sanctum again.

Moment of Goodness 2: Fitz confesses to Cyrus that he killed Verna

The confession was unexpected but I’m so glad he went there. The show isn’t skipping over this monumental thing that he did. And revealing this secret to Cyrus is even further proof that he’s finally forgiven his friend.

Fitz: “Would she forgive me? If she knew?”

Cyrus: “There are things we don’t tell them. Things we never tell them. Things we bury. Things we hide. That’s the job. You did something, sir. It doesn’t mean…you don’t deserve to be happy.”

Tony Goldwyn and Jeff Perry continue to impress every week. Goldwyn has the power to crush hearts with the way he delivers his lines. He can be a cold and mean monster one second and the next, a vulnerable little puppy. Meanwhile, Perry’s Cyrus is such a pit bull. Love them both.

ScRant of the Week (courtesy of writer Chris Van Dusen)

This is a two-person ScRant (Scandal + Rant). Dan Bucatinsky gets in on the action with Perry as Cyrus suggests couples therapy and James is all ‘I don’t think so.’:

Cyrus: “Why can’t we go?”

James: “Because couples therapy is for people who have normal marriages and normal problems and we don’t have either. What do you want me to say when they ask me what our issues are? That — that it really gets under my skin when he does things like…like steal the covers. And he leaves dirty dishes in the sink. And he – rigs national elections! Therapy requires telling the truth. And you don’t tell the truth, Cy. You lie for a living. You are a liar.”

Cyrus: “I told you the truth.”

James: “Yeah, you made me beg you and fight with you…”

Cyrus: “I told you the truth. I told you and now I’m paying for it. You want the truth from me? You make it worth my time.”

James: “Make it worth your time?”

Cyrus: “You love me anyway. You don’t use it against me. You don’t keep a list of my crimes. You wanted to know who I am? This is who I am. Defiance is who I am. This is me. This is who you married. This is who you love.”

James: “I got on the stand in front of the grand jury and I perjured myself. You made me perjure myself.”

Cyrus: “I never made you perjure…”

James: “You made me. You told me the truth and you gave me a baby. You bought my soul and I didn’t have a choice!”

Cyrus: “You had a choice!”

James: “I didn’t. What was I supposed to do? What choice did I have?”

Cyrus: “You had a choice, James. You could have put me in prison. You could have brought down the White House. You could have chosen justice. You chose love. You chose me. You chose our life. You chose yourself. You chose your own happiness. And that’s not sitting so well with you now. Now, it’s just inside, rotting deep inside, this choice you made. It’s not so much the choice, it’s the fact that you now know you’re capable of making that kind of choice. That’s what’s keeping you awake at night. And you can pretend it’s me. That I’ve…infected you with…all my bad, bad ways. But it wasn’t. You had a choice. You did this. This is the man you are. And guess what? I love you…anyway. Because that is the man I am.”

James: “I wish you didn’t tell me. When I asked about Defiance. I wish you’d just lied to me. I wish you’d let me believe that…I wish you’d lied.”

Cyrus and James “discussions” in the bedroom are fast becoming my favorite scenes to watch.

Badass Alert: Long live Huckleberry Quinn

“It’s in the details, Zeke.”

The character of Quinn has totally been rejuvenated thanks to her taking on apprentice duties. Yes, she’s the student and Huck is the master. She’s excelling at the art of investigation and being sneaky and resourceful and being badass. Loved her working that storage unit guy:

Quinn: “Listen, Zeke, darling has a law degree from Stanford and the Chief of Police on speed dial. I sat outside here for an hour and watched three ladies enter with two gentleman, each of whom departed with a spring in his step and probably $200 poorer. So I suggest you go ahead and let darling take a look at the damn security cams.”

Plus, Quinn’s there for Huck. She found him in that storage unit. Poor Huck. He can’t catch a break. He’s been beat up and battered way too much this season. He’s curled up in a corner and has shut down. I know Quinn will be able to reach him. If not, then it’ll be Olivia.

Favorite Quote

David: “Gladiators in helmets, right?” Harrison: “Suits.”

Dear Show:

Olivia Pope needs to hire David Rosen. He just fits. And the inherent conflict that comes with employees having differing ethical beliefs will be hella interesting to watch play out. Shonda Rhimes, please let this happen.

Tina Charles
TV Goodness

Random Thoughts

• What did Cyrus hire Charlie to do?
• Who is the mole?
• I don’t want this season to end. Can it keep going on all summer?
• Molly wasn’t just in danger. She’s dead. And then we see Charlie in the same episode. Interesting. Don’t know if there’s any sort of connection.
• That last look on Olivia’s face when Fitz hugs her. No words. I have no idea what it means. But she kind of look scared, confused, tired, angry — so many emotions.
• Oh and the awesome title: “Molly, You in Danger, Girl.” That’s a Whoopi Goldberg line from the movie Ghost. And you know who starred in Ghost, right? Scandal‘s very own Tony Goldwyn. Love this connection. Now I want to know if they named the Scandal character “Molly” just so they could title this episode.

Here’s a crushing thought: Scandal doesn’t return with new episodes for three friggin’ weeks. What are we supposed to do until then? Scandal returns Thursday April 25 @ 10/9c on ABC.