SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
I would like to take this moment to apologise to Ms. Olivia Pope, for having ever doubted her intuition and for being mad at her for pretty much the entire season. As she said to Fitz in this episode, she’s always right. That proved itself to be true at the very end of the episode when it was revealed that Cyrus Been, the person I believed to have suffered the most throughout this season, was, as Liv had been saying from the beginning, behind the murder of President-Elect Frankie Vargas.
She found out in kind of a roundabout way; if it hadn’t been for Cyrus parroting exactly what Luna Vargas had said when Liv was so coldly and ruthlessly urging her to kill herself, she never would have known. I honestly didn’t believe that Luna was behind it. It felt so random and nonsensical. Plus, given how Luna broke down in front of Liv and Jake, she just didn’t seem like a person capable of organising the whole operation. It didn’t feel like something she would do. Even after she shut down Liv the first time she was confronted about it.
But Luna did seem like the type to be manipulated into doing it and that’s precisely what happened. Cyrus planted the idea in her head and it all went from there. I knew that there was someone else above her pulling the strings when she said that she hired someone to make sure Frankie lost and Mellie won, but they went and killed Frankie.
Granted, Liv did expose her as a liar who knew that he would be killed (she didn’t have their children on stage, the same way she requested they be absent for the inauguration), but it did then seem to be that Payas and Marjorie-Samantha-Grace weren’t completely under her control and went off and made decisions on their own without consulting her first. Which, to me, would be totally plausible because she seems like the type who would get in over her head when attempting something like this. And she did.
It’s unfortunate that the whole endeavour cost her her life and robbed her children of both of their parents.
I must also apologise to Mama Pope for doubting her loyalty and love for Liv. She was telling the truth about doing this to protect her. As unscrupulous and devious as she is, I firmly believed that she would double cross Liv and inform her employer of their plan. Yet again I doubted Liv as well, because I didn’t trust her trust in her mother. No one did really and you’d think by now we’d all know that Liv is always right and we should trust her.
I’m still a little peeved by some of the behaviours she exhibited and the actions she took during this episode, however. Especially and particularly as involves B613. I did think that it would be a good idea to reconstitute it, I just didn’t like the idea of Fitz becoming Command and I’m glad that Liv put a stop to that. That is not at all where he needs to be or what he needs to be doing. The swiftness with which he changed his mind after Liv chewed him out for it, though, was so indicative of how whipped he is. But he doesn’t seem to mind.
My question is: did Liv take over as Command so that Fitz wouldn’t? In order to “save” him as they put it? I’d say yes except, once he got rid of the executive order, there was no need for her to step in and do so. He’d already made up his mind that it was a bad idea. What I think is more likely is that once she learned from David what Fitz was doing, she pushed him out so that she could claim it for herself; to get more power than she already had.
I’m not surprised that Cyrus knew that that was the executive order that Liv had Mellie sign. I expected him to have known. The camera wouldn’t have lingered on his reaction – that knowing smile – if that hadn’t been the case. It’s just like he said: the two of them now have everything that they want.
I’m so relieved that Quinn isn’t giving up OPA to run away and raise her and Charlie’s baby in a “normal” life. It’s admirable; the life she leads is hardly one conducive to raising a child. But she’d  just gotten OPA and I am so looking forward to seeing what it will become under her leadership. Abby is a good second choice for running it – after Quinn – I suppose. Plus, I hated the idea of her running away and not telling Charlie about the baby and involving him in it’s life.
It was weird to see Quinn and Abby getting along so well after Quinn hated and wanted to kill her so badly in the last few episodes. It wasn’t like she had another girlfriend around to lean on in the situation, so I guess Abby was her best bet. I liked how supportive Abby was. I’m still a little mad at her for her involvement in everything, but she’s trying her best to make amends.
Random thoughts:
- What makes Liv so confident that she can trust her mother?
- Mellie’s first name is Melody?
- Maya seriously called Liv to tell her to move her head so she can get a better shot? Lol.
- I actually never considered that Fitz leaving the White House would mean he and Liv would separate.
- Not too fond of Mellie’s outfit for the ball. That bolero makes her look matronly.
- I mean, Fitz knows what Mellie’s going through but he’s not there isn’t he? Also, why isn’t he invited to the ball?
- Dang Liv, that’s cold.
- How many people are going to die for this presidency?
Scandal returns this fall for it’s final season.
