Scandal: No More Blood Review

Caution, Scandal spoilers are ahead…

At the start of the episode, Olivia works her magic and gets out of being sold to Iran. Thank goodness Liv knew enough Farsi to speak it and then interpret it incorrectly to her captors. 

So it was back to the bidding war for Liv!

Jake, Quinn and Huck were bidding up a storm for Liv’s life stopping at $2 billion, tied with a group from Russia. However, Gus somehow knew how to read Olivia and could tell she wanted them to give her up to Marie Wallace (aka Mama Pope, aka Gladiators). That’s when he decided to sell her to the Russians.  

He just really likes to get under her skin and was happy to sell her to the Russians which I’m so glad they did if it meant that an original cast member from season one got to make a comeback and save the day! 

We miss you, Steven!

Yes, Steven was heading the group of Russians, captured Liv’s captors and took Olivia into his protection. 

I did not see that coming.

I think many can agree with me that I was disappointed when Steven (Henry Ian Cusick) didn’t return for season 2, but it made last night’s return even sweeter. When Olivia was boarding her plane back to the states, she asked him to come back with her. However, he confessed he was happy where he was in his life and thanked her for saving him way back when. 

Oh, Steven! I know you were a ladies man, but he was always such a sweetheart. 

Speaking of Scandal’s reformed men…let’s talk about a partially reformed man after Jake gives a rather graphic but somewhat effective pep talk to Huck.

Jake relates to Huck and his passion for killing (did not need to hear about that side of Jake) and tells Huck he needs to lock away the “bad part of him” and to learn how to do it on his own, without anyone’s help.

Meaning, without Olivia. 

Quinn even makes Huck promise to stop killing, even if Olivia did come back. But when Mellie basically forces Elizabeth to take down Andrew, she goes to Huck seeking help. Sure, maybe Huck didn’t end up killing him, but he injected him with something that made it appear that he had a massive stroke and while he was not dead, he was extremely unresponsive.

So… is Huck reformed? Well, maybe he’s getting there.

For anyone who has seen Felicity or Grey’s Anatomy, then you’ve seen Scott Foley play these sweet, endearing characters. So, in moments when he talks about being a trained assassin or when we see him carrying out some horrific job, we can just look back fondly on those other characters or the way he looks at Olivia and just kind of forget about all that… bad stuff. But for Huck… it’s a little harder to do that. Especially when he gets that possessed, hungry look in his eyes when he’s murdering someone. 

Yuck! 

I was expecting a bit more of a reunion between Jake and Olivia, but was a bit overshadowed by her reunion with Fitz when he showed up at her apartment just moments after the gladiators left. 

Liv, still distraught and traumatized from being kidnapped, still manages to let Fitz have it for going to war for her and killing innocent people. I have to admit, I was about as blindsided as Fitz was in this moment. However, she was right. She risked and sacrificed so much for him and his presidency and he threw it all away for the life of one person.

Olivia wasn’t just doubting her and Fitz anymore. She was doubting the president of the United States. But, more importantly… 

She was doubting herself.

The Curious Case of Cyrus Beene

He loves Liv, he hates her. He likes Liv, he loathes her. He needs Liv, he pushes Liv away. He saves Liv, he tries to kill Liv. Oh Cyrus. Talk about a constantly changing character. Yes, he was trying to make the right call tonight, siding with the CIA’s position to go behind the president’s back and “neutralize the asset,” (aka: kill Olivia). Thankfully he recognized that tiny, blurry blob on his surveillance screen to be Steven, or Olivia Pope would have been dead. 

Mama and Daddy Pope 

Oh, it’s been lovely experiencing Mama Pope’s coldness and insanely confusing ties to many a terrorist once again! Not to mention how wonderful it was to hear Rowan making one of his classic analogies in his best Shakespearean dramatics, comparing going fishing to Olivia’s situation. How did he do it? I don’t know. But he did it all wearing a puffy vest. 

If you can’t picture that, then watch last night’s episode. 

Overall, I’m glad to see Olivia back home with her gladiators. The question is now, will Fitz try to get back in Olivia’s good graces…or will he finally start to let her go? 

We will have to wait two weeks to see Olivia back to holding the gladiator reigns. She may have been shaken by what happened to her, needing to be alone and the comforts of her home. But, from the looks of the preview, it seems like she won’t stay cooped up for long.

Follow our new TV feed @DenofGeekTV