A lot went down on Feb. 16’s episode of “Scandal.”
STARS: 4.5/5
It all started with Cyrus Beene being transported to prison.
Viewers were able to see the entire process: his arrival, his being fingerprinted and entered into the system and his initial strip search. Cyrus was even spit on by one of the guards — and he was visibly terrified.
Outside of prison, Mellie Grant and Olivia Pope celebrate Beene’s arrest, as it increases Mellie’s chances of becoming the next President of the United States.
Meanwhile, President Grant is in bed with the FBI Director Angela Webster.
While talking in bed, they discover that Abby tricked her. Webster and David Rosen wanted to give Beene the death penalty for the assassination of President-elect Francisco “Frankie” Vargas, but Abby told them that Grant didn’t want them to.
When Grant finds out, he is infuriated and kicks Abby off of the case. He then decides the death penalty would be on the table for Beene, regardless of their previous relationship as friends.
Back in prison, Beene tries to make nice with one of the guards, hoping to get a pen and paper to write a note to Tom, who was sent to the same prison and told everyone that Beene told him to kill Vargas.
The guard gives in to Beene’s demands but also has him beaten up by a gang of Vargas supporters.
Beene hallucinates that he is out of prison, but unfortunately was only imagining it. When he sees the guard again, he acts like he is depressed and says he wants to kill himself. He begs the guard for his belt, insisting that his suicide wouldn’t trace back to to him.
The guard finally agrees, but when he slides Beene the belt, he chokes the guard with it instead. He also takes his keys and unlocks his cell. He is finally able to talk to Tom and get him to admit that he did not hire him to kill Frankie Vargas.
Olivia also realizes that Beene did not orchestrate Vargas’ assassination; she saw video footage of Tom at a restaurant during his murder.
I like how realistic “Scandal” is. The acting is superb, and just when you think the episode can’t get any better, Shonda surprises us.
I do wish they would change up Olivia’s hair though. I feel like it is the same style in every episode and I’m ready to see something new. Also Huck’s new relationship with their client is grossing me out. I am interested to see where their relationship will go.
Overall, I thought this was another job well done by Shonda Rhimes, and I can’t wait to watch the next episode.