As any O.G (Original Gladiator) knows, it can be difficult to keep up with the fast-paced world of Pope & Associates. So, now that season three is in full swing, let’s take a look at the key moments from last week’s episode to help us prepare for yet another intense hour of TV.
3.05 – “More Cattle, Less Bull” Recap:
1. Mellie invites Olivia to help with Fitz’s reelection campaign
The episode starts with Cyrus and Mellie interviewing a new guy to run Fitz’s campaign, however, he’s blunt about why he doesn’t want to take the job:
“He [the President] has a ‘his wife is a frigid shrew’ problem” “I don’t work for a loser…He looks like a loser, you gotta admit, he’s gonna lose.”
Ouch. At the end of the episode, however, he seems interested in an offer from Sally Langston (current Vice President) when she says that she’s interested in running for president again only this time as a third party candidate.
Later, in a beautifully-acted scene by Bellamy Young, Mellie goes behind Fitz’s back and begs Olivia to run Fitz’s reelection campaign. She admits that the POTUS needs Olivia politically and emotionally and she’s his only chance to win.
This may actually be true, not just because Fitz is hopelessly in love, but because Fitz pretty much only won the first time because Olivia and the D.C Illuminati (Mellie, Cyrus, Hollis Doyle, and Verna Thorton) rigged the election. While Fitz has a leg up this time because he’s the sitting President, there’s still doubt that he can actually win this one on his own.
As beautiful and emotional as this scene was, I can’t help but think back to a few episodes ago when (drunk)Mellie basically told Fitz that she would to use Olivia to manipulate him because she’s his weakness.
2. Baby mama/sista drama
At the start of the episode Josie Marcus, the democratic senator running for President, hires Olivia to be her campaign manager. The Associates do some digging and find out that Josie not only had a baby at 15, but her mom decided to forge the baby’s birth certificate and raise the baby as her own. Meaning that Josie’s 30-year-old “sister”, Candace, who is also her assistant, is actually her daughter.
Get this: Candace didn’t even know this bit of information until Josie was forced to reveal it to the world during a televised preliminary debate. The only thing that was missing from this storyline was a visit from Maury Povich.
After being forced to admit this troubling info to the world, Josie fires Olivia, but then tries to hire her again because she realizes Olivia was right in forcing her to come clean to the public. Unfortunately for Josie, Liv had pretty much accepted the job as Fitz’s campaign manager, so she had to decline.
3. Olitz phone lovin’
During all of this drama, the White House Correspondents’ dinner (aka nerd prom) is going on and Fitz needs Olivia to vet his jokes.
Even though Olivia had thrown away her secret Fitz phone, when she hears it ring, she desperately digs in the trash to fish it out and talk to him.
Fitz casually says “I love you,” blah, blah, blah. This relationship is beyond exhausting at this point.
Anyways, he mentions to Liv that he’s in the bathroom hiding from Mellie, and then we see Mellie outside the door sadly listening in. You can’t help but really feel for her even though you know that she’s about to reek some major havoc on Fitz and Olivia.
4. More info on Operation Remington
My new favorite bromance (Huck and Jake) uncovered some major Operation Remington details in this episode! They find out that Fitz is definitely in on the truth about this mission in the most unfortunate way.
What was known before about Operation Remington is that Fitz and Jake were on the mission together in the Persian Gulf in 1991. However, Jake reveals that he actually didn’t meet Fitz until the day after Operation Remington meaning that there has been an attempt to cover-up Fitz’s real whereabouts.
Huck, being the mastermind that he is, finds out Fitz was secretly located near Iceland at the time. Coincidentally, a horrific plane crash occurred in the area which killed 300+ passengers and had no known survivors. One of the people on the flight list? Maya Lewis aka OLIVIA’S MOM!
Huck and Jake come up with the theory that Command/Rowan/Papa Pope wanted to have Liv’s mom killed so he hired Fitz to do it for him by shooting down the plane.
That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Check out this Operation Remington breakdown courtesy of ABC if you’re still not clear on all the deets:
5. Did Fitz kill Olivia’s mom?
That’s the burning question we’re left with at the end of the episode. According to Huck and Jake’s theory, it was Fitz who shot the plane down. Now, at this point, we’re pretty certain that Fitz didn’t know that Olivia’s mom was on the plane because he still doesn’t even know that Rowan/Command is Liv’s dad. So, technically, he was just following Command’s orders so that he wouldn’t end up in the B6-13 hell-hole like Huck and Jake.
If Fitz did shoot down the plane and Liv’s mom is indeed dead because of it, I doubt Olitz will ever get past this.
(P.S: Despite this revelation, I’m almost 100% certain that Liv’s mom is still alive, because how badass would that be!?)
3.06 – “Icaraus” Preview:
It looks like Olivia is going to straight-up confront the President about (allegedly) killing her mom! This might be the biggest moment of the season so far.
Speaking of Mama Pope, Kerry Washington revealed on Twitter this week that we will finally meet Liv’s mom tonight, but it will be in flashback scenes.
Also, as I’ve mentioned before, the episode titles are always important clues. If the Sun = Command and/or the truth about Operation Remington, who’s going to get too close for their own good tonight? Huck? Jake? Olivia?
Tune in to tonight’s episode on ABC at 10p/9c.
(GIFs: Scandal Moments)
