So, before the midseason break, I thought Sally had been taken down like a tranquilized zoo rhino. After you've asked the boss' henchman to help you cover up the fact you murdered your husband, most people might think the best option would be laying low. Shaking hands, kissing babies, maybe praying a lot, that sort of thing. I mean, there was no way Sally would do something to actively antagonize not only her boss but his Chief of Staff, right? The Chief of Staff that helped her cover up the murder, natch. That would be insane, right? Oh yeah, I forgot. This is “Scandal,” the world that logical behavior forgot.
We come roaring back from the break with an obviously pregnant Kerry Washington and a big bolt of crazy to distract us from her newly voluminous but still excellent white coats. Sally has decided to run against Fitz — while holding on to her job. This is sort of like announcing you're going to picket McDonald's for serving that weirdly processed McRib meat slab every day while working the fry machine nights. Sally even gives a nice little speech about how morally repugnant she finds Fitz, so she's going to squash him like a bug — and stay at the White House to keep tabs on him. Maybe that means taking sneaky iPhone pictures of his feet or making faces at him as he walks past her office.
It takes some balls for Sally to get all uppity about Fitz screwing around when she killed her husband and helped drag his body down the hall, but Sally's never lacked for tunnel vision. Of course, by stirring up a hornet's nest of controversy, everyone's paying closer attention to the White House — and the mysterious source that's tattling to the press that Sally's husband never got an autopsy.
The mysterious source is James, because that totally makes sense. Yes, he stormed out of David Rosen's office the last time he was confronted with a recording of Sally and Cyrus conspiring, but I guess things have changed. Maybe he hasn't gotten enough sleep, or he's on some kind of low-carb diet, who knows, but now he's now decided that Cyrus is an evil monster and he's totally on David's side. I would have thought he might have come to this conclusion after Cyrus pimped him out to Daniel, but I guess James is a slow burn kind of guy.
But that's not all! David informs James that if anyone finds out who that mysterious source is, they're as good as dead. James gulps like he's a fluffy bunny in a Warner Brothers cartoon and realizes he may have wanted to think that through a bit. I really suspect he just wanted to use the supercool moniker Publius so everyone would know he knows what the Federalist Papers are. Sorry, Deep Throat would have been so much more fun, though the FCC might have balked at having that repeated many, many times in an episode. Still, more fun.
While Sally's storyline ate up much of the episode, that wasn't the whole episode. No, Fitz also picked his new running mate, Governor Andrew Nichols, who seems loyal to a fault except for possibly having had a thing with Mellie. You go, girl! Oh, and Eli told Olivia he's going to kill the President. That happened.
You know, some guys take up golf or travel the world or work as greeters at Walmart when they get pushed out of a job. No, Eli wants to kill Fitz to liven up his down time between collecting Social Security checks. What I love is that initially he yells at Olivia he's a CURATOR AT THE GODDAMN SMITHSONIAN, then lectures her three different ways about being Fitz's tramp and how he plans to kill the son of a bitch. Really, Eli, I think you need a nap.
Cute couple alert! Charlie and Quinn wobble up and down the halls of a hardware store, shopping for torture instruments like the most messed up but strangely adorable old married couple ever. Jake tells Charlie point blank that Quinn isn't allowed to join B613, so Charlie decides he just needs to get her involved with his jobs so Jake will be wowed by her ability to abduct small children. Can't wait to see what happens when she decides to give her new drill a test drive!
Speaking of Jake, he drops by Olivia's place (because he CAN) and she swirls wine at him and asks him if he's a patriot, because that mean he needs to date her. Mellie has wisely suggested that, in addition to lady lunches to throw the media off the Fitzlivia scent, she needs to get a boyfriend. Jake is always happy to do his duty, especially when that means making out with the hot chick who's sleeping with his best friend. Really, are there only four elligible men in D.C.?
Oh, and another little twist is that Harrison continues to fret and grump and complain about the mysterious and lethal Adnan, right up until it turns out she's a hot chick with whom he has desperate sex in his office when she drops by to see him. Hey, Harrison has a girlfriend! She might kill him, but Harrison has a girlfriend! Finally! Now, who can we set up with Huck? Teeth not required.
What did you think of Sally's big move? Do you think Mellie's the one that got away Andrew described to Olivia? What did you think of James' decision to take down Cyrus?