BWW Recap: Papa Don't Impeach on SCANDAL

At long last the Gladiators are reassembling. Their mission? Save their bosses' reputation. Too bad her boyfriend is kind of difficult to get out of the headlines.

Jake accuses Rowan/Eli of burning the Louvre as a signal to try and reestablish his empire. Even though Rowan/Eli denies it and blames Olivia for everything, Jake isn't convinced. He recruits Charlie and heads to Paris to meet up with Charlie's contact, Elise. Lo and behold, Elise is Jake's ex-wife. The two were supposed to have a rendezvous some years ago at Grand Central Station where they would run away together that never happened and they're both a bit miffed about it. Jake invites her back to the States with him. Finally, a little competition for Olivia? Maybe Jake won't always be there when she wants to use him.

Mellie, being hounded by the Press, meets with the secret women of the Senate Caucus who want to Impeach Fitz and will do so with Mellie's endorsement. Despite Cyrus begging her to do so since Fitz screwed them both so badly, she decides she doesn't want to hurt him. In fact, both Grants agree to stop hurting each other for the sake of their son, I forgot they had, and their daughter who still exists (?) somewhere. After Cyrus gets really angry (like Don Mattingly angry) and tells Mellie she's lucky her son is dead as he doesn't have to deal with how horrible the world is, he quits his position.

The ladies aren't Fitz' only problem, Senator Gibson and some other seasoned Republicans blackmail Fitz as well. They want him to repeal the Brandon Bill or they will begin impeachment procedures as well. Fitz tries to call Olivia to chat, but she's a tad overwhelmed by all the rape and murder threats she's getting online.

Quinn decides to recruit Marcus Walker (new series regular, Cornelius Smith, jr.) to Pope and Associates to help out with the press. (Did she use the same speech Harrison once used on her?) At first he declines, but shows up anyway claiming to need the money. He soon reveals that he owes Liv big and just wants to help. Huck and Quinn warn him to play nice with the Press, but he goes against their advice and rails against them. Huck and Quinn jump on board and attack the Press for crucifying Olivia. The three bond and it looks like P&A has a new employee.

Fitz finally seeks advice from Abby on the blackmail situation. Even though he tried firing her, he knows she knows how Liv thinks and asks what Liv would do? Abby informs him to take the deal, that's the smart thing to do. Fitz isn't interested in the smart thing and he takes the motorcade to Liv's apartment to take her out on an official date. Unfortunately, this hurts Mellie, just like he promised he wouldn't and she storms back to the Caucus with the force of The 7 Line Army to give them her full support in beginning impeachment.

I really like the addition of Marcus to P&A. I have been begging for more action back at the office as I miss their little one off cases. Hopefully this will bring some overdue attention back there. And hey, there was a brief David Rosen sighting. (Joshua Malina = Mets fan!) I know it's all romantic what Fitz did, but like he said, not the smartest of moves. I can't imagine this will end well, it never does. Cyrus is over the edge, but I still can't say enough about Jeff Perry's acting. He and Bellamy Young are flawless as always. (Much like Daniel Murphy).

Also, it was interesting to sandwich the entire episode between a news gossip TV show all about Olivia's past. It was a pleasant glimpse into her life and her upbringing. Even though they were things that had been mentioned before, it was a nice refresher.

And Shonda Rhimes, always tackling the issues of the day threw in a lot of topical moments such as women being attacked on the internet, being blamed for affairs, the press exploiting gender and race just to name a few. It's always a pleasure for her to write the way we wish it would be handled in real life.

Also, I may have stood up and cheered for the second time tonight (#lgm) at this speech by Mellie: "They want to impeach a man because all we ever hear is that women are controlled by their hormones, but what is more hormonal than a man who can't keep it in his damn pants? They want to impeach a man because he broke his vows and disturbed the offfice of the Presidency and distracted the country with his libido and the ONLY person that gets raked over the coals is the woman he screwed."

Amen, Shonda... A-freaking-men!

#lgm

Here's a preview for next week's all new episode:

Photo Credit: ABC

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