While most of the tension throughout last night’s episode was centered around Liv and Abby’s unresolved disdain for each other, it seemed to seep into many of the other storylines too.
Cy and the Vargas Brothers
Even though Cy has been playing dirty behind the Vargas’ back, it finally took a toll tonight when he set up Alex to make it look as though he released photos of Francisco and his sick daughter to the press. He fired Alex, making Cyrus appear even more like the angel and less like the devil he really is.
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Francisco Vargas is not looking as appealing as he did in the beginning as he continues to be easily manipulated by Cyrus and pitted against his brother. Come on Vargas, I thought you were smarter than that?
Cy and Michael
Cy may have been building a stronger bond between him and Francisco, but it was the final straw for Michael. We have rarely seen Michael this season until Alex Vargas tried to blackmail him by showing him pictures of Cy and Tom Larsen, our not so favorite assassin. The episode finishes with Michael gone as well as Cyrus’ kid.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, I suppose.
I know, it was a shocker to see Cy so terrified when he realized Michael had also taken his child. Who knew Cyrus had such deep rooted feelings? Michael has been a very underestimated character since we first met him last season, but maybe his version of playing hard to get may take a toll and Cyrus and might break him down at least a little?
Mellie and Marcus
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It’s about time someone gave Marcus some credit. When Abby decided to play some games on the tarmac to prevent Liv’s team from getting to Florida to fight for Governor Baker’s endorsement, Mellie took it upon herself to get things going. Well, with a little boost from Marcus. Liv wasn’t too happy with his “going rogue” style in this moment, but it proved beneficial and finally got things moving.
Mellie and Marcus are an interesting and unexpected pairing that I am kind of loving. He is that gutsy backbone Mellie needs to push her to do what needs to be done. He doesn’t quite tell her what to do, but inspires her to take charge and make bold moves.
Yes, Liv. This is why you hired Marcus. Stop putting him in a child proof corner and let him do his job! We have seen him slay and his talents should not be held back.
Wasn’t it nice to see these two back at it again? Fitz and her met up on the tarmac to “discuss” the situation, where Mellie inspired Fitz to be his own man and stand up for himself.
As the season goes on, Fitz has become more and more independent in his choices. Even with Abby running him, he has become more sure of himself and able to stand on his own two feet without Liv. Abby has definitely been there to help, but tonight it was Fitz pep talking Abby and getting her back to her normal self.
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Fitz and Abby
While I thought it was going to be another Abby power struggle tonight, her and Fitz’s conversation turned into my favorite scene of the episode. We finally see just how much Abby was truly affected by Liv murdering Andrew. She was blaming herself for driving Liv to do such a thing. But the president attempts to talk her out of her darkness and understand it wasn’t her fault.
Fitz as a mentor is almost endearing. Him and Abby have grown so close this season and while I may have speculated once of an underlying sexual tension between the two of them, maybe I was wrong? It could just be that Fitz sees some of himself in Abby and wants to guide her the right direction; to not become who he is at all.
Abby and Liv
My question at the start of the episode was, will Liv and Abby come together again? Well, yes they will!
The bitterness between the two of them was so palpable in last night’s episode, it was hard to see them coming back from the spar the two of them had. At moments, their tension felt playful, but mostly the weight of their damaged friendship plagued each of their scenes, leading to even more tension between them.
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But after Fitz’s talk with her, Abby finds herself at OPA where her and Liv find some common ground:
Take down Hollis Doyle. Something we can all get on board with without a doubt.
Only two more episodes left of Scandal’s fifth season and with Liv and Abby’s new goal, Jake’s fate still up in the air and David’s new deal with the devil (agreeing to drop a case so Governor Baker endorsed Susan Ross), it’s hard to see how they will tackle it all. I’m sure next week’s episode will just be gearing up for another explosive season finale.
