Oh, Olivia. I'm sure it seemed like a brilliant move to dismantle B613 while you had the chance, but of course it's all gone pear-shaped this week, as unplugging the phones over there made it easy for a bunch of bad guys to put a plot to kill Fitz into action. And, because there are only four terrorists in the known world, one of those involved in this plot is Mama Pope. Isn't that cozy?
It's really like a really dysfunctional family reunion, as Papa Pope uses Olivia's office to kill Maya's ex-boyfriend (and Olivia is SO pissed, probably because blood stains never really come out) and Quinn and Charlie drop by and it's all hands on deck to make sure Fitz isn't turned into hamburger surprise. Of course, we know that Fitz isn't the one who has to worry next week — Sally is.
Thanks to Jake and David working together with facial recognition software, they discover that Maya is the one who caused Senator Hightower's “heart attack,” hoping to lure Fitz out of the White House to deliver a eulogy for his pro-immigration rights ally. Of course, we know that Sally has jumped on that opportunity — and Cyrus knows it, too. Even when Jake gives him fair warning that a church full of (possibly) innocent people will get blown to smithereens, Cyrus also knows someone else is going to be eliminated — Sally.
I wish I could say that I was surprised that Cyrus decided to let Sally (and a whole lot of other people) burn, but I can't. We've always known that Cyrus always put the cause before all, but after James' death I think his moral compass has pretty much stopped working altogether. So, after all that Gladiator and, yes, B613 effort, it's all for naught — Cyrus may not have set the bomb, but he's not doing a thing to stop it. When I talked to Jeff Perry a while back, he promised that this season was going to be an important one for Cyrus, and he wasn't wrong. While everyone has had their beliefs about right, wrong and themselves tested this year, I think Cyrus may be running neck-and-neck with Olivia for the title of most damaged.
Of course, even blowing Sally off the map (which may or may not happen next week) doesn't change Olivia's main issue — dealing with Papa Pope. While Jake keeps warning her that he will break her bones, and “when the mask comes off, run,” Olivia still seems conflicted. Admittedly, it's hard not to see Rowan as another Gladiator, albeit one with very dirty hands. But I suspect Jake is right — if, of course, we can trust Jake.
Mellie avoided a big mess this week when the paternity test for Jerry came back pointing to Fitz as the dad. However, I wonder if it wasn't all that thorough — it may have eliminated Andrew as a suspect, but maybe not Fitz's dad. I wonder if there will be time for this nasty little secret to bubble out in just one more episode before the end of the season, because I would hate for this to be given short shrift. After all, what happened all those years ago has completely colored Fitz and Mellie's marriage and could really be seen as the reason Fitz ever got involved with Olivia in the first place. If anything, this would be a bigger bomb than, well, the actual bomb.
Do you think Cyrus is as much to blame for the bombing as the terrorists? What do you think Fitz will do when he learns Mellie's secret? Do you think Sally's a goner?