Scandal “Run” 

When this episode begins, we get to see a new point of view of the same scene we ended with in the winter finale. Olivia and Jake are happy, and with the most obvious moment of foreshadowing Jake tells Olivia not to go anywhere when he leaves the room to grab blankets and pillows. This time, we see Olivia being taken, and we watch the red wine spill.

Then, we see the scene repeated a few times, all with different points of view so that we understand what Jake thinks is happening versus what we now know to be true.

Poor Jake running into the street in nothing but his underwear might be the highlight of the episode, by the way. As it turns out, the guys who take Olivia are very skilled. Jake even calls the kidnapping, “surgical.” They are so skilled, though, that they distract Jake with a getaway car that doesn’t have Olivia in it. Instead, she is under his nose the entire time.

The remainder of the episode shows Olivia locked up and trying to escape. She’s with another prisoner (but come on, you knew we couldn’t trust that guy, right?) and talks about how Fitz will come for her and so on.

She’s smart in her attempt to escape, filing down her bra to get to the wire and use it to open a window, but unfortunately, that doesn’t work.

It’s a vision of Abby that helps Olivia – well, sort of. First of all, Abby tells Olivia that her other visions are pretty much ridiculous. Fitz and jam making in Vermont? Where is Jake? And when did Olivia learn to cook? This is actually a turning point, because Abby reminds Olivia that her happy ending can’t be all that simple, especially now. She also points out a rusty ring that might just be able to help Olivia get out.

Okay, that’s not so simple either. Olivia sees the ring it that awful bathroom and realizes she can use the pipe to knock out one of her guards. She does just that, but she’s stopped by another one, played by Robert Baker. You remember what happened to that guy on Grey’s Anatomy, right? To get past him, Olivia knows she has to shoot him. When she hesitates, he insults her and says she has a “man’s tool” and is too weak to use it.

Have you met Olivia Pope? That’s just the motivation she needs to shoot him in the head and keep running.

The bad news is there isn’t anywhere for her to run to. Her roommate in the locked room turns out to be the leader, and his goal all along has been to learn about Olivia and use that information against The White House.

Ian: “The secret to you, you always have to save everyone.”

So, all in all, lot of interesting things happening in this episode. My problem, though, is that it feels odd when we don’t see anything going on back at The White House. We’re missing a whole host of characters here, and it feels like a transitional episode more than a mid-season premiere. In fact, it almost feels like an entirely different show. The good news is I’m certain that feeling isn’t going to last, especially based on the preview of next week’s episode.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.