As usual, the last three minutes of this episode were jaw-dropping, tense and insane. But so were the first three minutes.
At this point, we all know that Papa Pope is a badass. But now that we have seen Mama Pope chew through her own damn wrists in order to get out of a prison cell — and stab a doctor in the neck with a hypodermic needle to get out of being shipped away — it’s clear that she’s on an entirely different level. Olivia has some interesting DNA.
So much happened last night, it’s impossible to process it all, but here are some highlights:
Chewing through wrists. CHEWING THROUGH WRISTS.
Shirtless Harrison. About time he got some kind of action.
“This house is yours. Ours.”
Olitz boning in front of the crackling fire. She’s gone back to sleeping with the man she thinks killed her mother. Guess those countertops are really really nice?
Cyrus to Mellie: “He’s acting like a president again.” You can tell, in Mellie’s face, that she knows it’s because he’s tapping Olivia. Mellie has an awful, gut-churning awareness that he’s at his “best” when he’s cheating on her.
Congresswoman Josie Marcus taking a bullet for her daughter. In fact, what a mother will do for her daughter was a theme last night. Sacrificial moms. Bloody sacrificial moms.
Mellie to Fitz: “Maybe we should try again.” His running for re-election means her playing the dutiful wife who turns a blind eye to his affair. And she’s volunteering.
Huck to Quinn: “We need to talk about who you’re working for.” Her face when she looks at that Toolbox O’Torture. (One commenter called it a “Killer Caboodles Set.” Hilarious! Not the set. That’s horrifying.)
Your Olivia Pope Moment of the Week: Oh I’m just minding my own business walking down the street and hmm, did someone say my name? WAIT IS THAT MY MOTHER WHO DIED WHEN I WAS TWELVE?
While all the Fitz/Liv stuff was twisty, turny and crazy, the James/Cyrus plotline was even more intense and heartbreaking. Cyrus is an expert manipulator, but he obviously didn’t count on James realizing he’d been pimped out and revenge-hooking-up with Mr. Sally Langston. For Cyrus, it was a classic case of Careful What You Wish For.
It was an incredibly well-structured episode, and it’s hard to believe it can be topped for the “winter finale,” airing December 5. That episode is titled “YOLO.” I’m scared.
