Fitz brings a new case to Liv that arouses her suspicions. Meanwhile, Mellie is forced to change her foreign policy plans in order to defend President Rashad. Full recap of Scandal, “Lost Girls” (first aired Thursday, October 26 at 9pm ET|PT on ABC).
“Lost Girls” picks up where both “Pressing the Flesh” and “Day 101” leave off, with Fitz standing outside of Liv’s apartment as she stumbles out of her elevator with Curtis Pryce. Liv is very surprised to see Fitz, but asks him what he’s doing there. Interestingly, Curtis says a very cordial hello to “Mr. President” and then takes his leave, even though it’s clear that isn’t what Liv wants.
As soon as they’re alone, Fitz presents Liv with a folder that includes a set of cases about hundreds of teenaged Black girls that have gone missing. Since the first 100 days of Mellie’s presidency have passed, Fitz wants to get back out there and start doing some work for his foundation. The missing girls is the first issue he wants to tackle, and he wants Liv’s help. Liv is pretty busy with the nuclear summit she and Mellie are hosting for Bashran and Dakal. But Fitz knows this is exactly the type of case Liv would want to be a part of and he continues to push her. She tries to pass it off to QPA and their services, but Fitz declines:
“I don’t want Quinn Perkins; I want you!”
“Well, you can’t have me!”
Annnnnd that’s classic Olitz… did anyone else have “EARN ME” running through their mind???
The next day, ahead of the summit, Mellie is hosting and she’s preparing with President Rashad. She knows that these negotiations will be the first step; however, Rashad encourages her that they will be able to get Prime Minister Nazari to sign. At the same time, it seems Rashad is getting a lot of pushback from opposition groups in Bashran. Mellie offers her unwavering support, and we get the feeling Mellie is talking about much more than politics… 😉
Liv interrupts their meeting to ask about Fitz in town. Mellie knows that he’s in town, a last minute decision, though he asks to make arrangements to see the kids. Mellie is much more focussed on the summit though–she’s even got her pens to sign the agreement when the time comes.
Liv is still concerned, so she asks Jake to look into what Fitz is doing back in DC. After all, they had an agreement that Fitz would stay in Vermont and keep his nose out of Mellie’s and Liv’s business. Jake would rather be hiring more agents to focus on the summit and the impending upheaval in Bashran. Besides, Jake seems to think that there’s merit behind Fitz wanting Liv to work on an important case, even though she’s suspicious.
But we do know that Fitz isn’t on the up-and-up. He meets with Papa Pope and shares that he intends for this case to lure Liv back and remind her of what she truly cares about (not Command and power-grabs). Papa Pope is less than convinced… Fitz is the bait, not any case. Liv has to fall in love with Fitz again and that can be her salvation.
At QPA, Marcus arrives with the files for the cases, 219 missing Black girls in the last year alone. However, the team quickly realizes that they’re going to need a “poster girl” to get the public’s attention and sympathy. They eventually settle on Zoe Adams, a 15 year old girl who went missing in Baltimore.
Marcus brings the news to Liv, but also wants to see Mellie. Liv totally shuts that down. However, she does ask for a little clarification:
“How’s Vermont?”
“Cold. White.”
“No, I mean how’s Fitz in Vermont.”
“Cold. White.”
LOL! They share a laugh, but Marcus also tells Fitz that he misses Liv.
Cyrus finds himself in a very precarious situation. He has this multi-million dollar Cezanne painting from Fenton Glackland, but according to federal law, he can’t accept a gift that’s worth more than $20. What should he do? Cy’s assistant suggests that this might be Fenton’s way of making his romantic interest known. Cy can either send it back or pay full price for the painting. Cyrus goes to Fenton’s place to arrange to return the painting… however, he’s lured into trying one of Fenton’s new virtual reality glasses. Hours later and Cyrus is having the most fun. Fenton decides to make his move and asks Cyrus to make an arrangement–Cy can teach him politics and Fenton can get under his skin, so to speak. Cyrus is slightly uncomfortable and leaves immediately.
Liv makes her way to QPA and is stunned as she stands in front of the wall with all these photos of missing girls. It’s pretty powerful. The team is surprised to see Liv, even though Marcus says he’s the one who invited her. Liv makes the suggestion that they involve Zoe’s mother, someone who is able to articulate Zoe’s story for a broad audience. Liv promises to make sure that they’ll get all the press they need. As she’s leaving, Liv runs into Fitz as he’s entering QPA. He asks Liv to get a drink before returning to Vermont, but her first priority is the summit. Fitz wishes her good luck, which she accepts.
The first day of the summit is disastrous. PM Nazari essentially accuses Rashad of falling for Mellie’s charms, saying that the two of them are secretly conspiring behind his back. Rashad demands Nazari apologize to Mellie for his crude language, but Mellie stops the escalating argument when she calls for a break. When Mellie gets back to the Oval she wants to talk to Liv about sanctions for Dakal, but Liv pleads caution. Rashad and Bashran got a fancy State dinner from the U.S. Of course Nazari would be suspicious… but more than that, Liv claims that it’s pretty obvious that Mellie’s relationship with Rashad is escalating.
That evening, Mellie and Rashad are sharing drinks. She’s trying to convince him that she must seem impartial between Rashad and Nazari. However, it’s so clear that neither of them are impartial. When Rashad leaves, Mellie goes to see her VP, who’s also ruminating on a potential relationship. Cyrus is trying to decide what to do with the Cezanne and Mellie is very encouraging. Glackland/Beene would make a good power couple. Cyrus is resistant because apparently Fenton is beneath him. Mellie also shares her feelings about President Rashad. Relationship issues abound!
When Zoe’s mother arrives at QPA, she’s frustrated that she’s be working on her daughter’s behalf for so long by herself. She agrees to continue the fight with Fitz by her side. They go on Curtis’ television show and she calls out the police’s inadequate actions and demands for help finding Zoe. Curtis gets a little testy and tries to throw shade towards Fitz. Why is Fitz just now getting on board with these missing girls of color? But Fitz turns the conversation back to Zoe and bringing attention to finding her. Liv is watching the TV show from home and takes particular interest when Fitz says that he might not be going back to Vermont. His library will be in Vermont, but his foundation’s work is in urban areas. In fact, Fitz might set up the headquarters of his foundation right in DC.
The next day, Liv visits Papa Pope who’s working on his dinosaur fossils. She circuitously asks for advice about maintaining a relationship while being Command… after all, Rowan did it with Liv and Mama Pope. But Rowan totally calls Liv out. It’s not going to be possible for her to share her life with Fitz, not if she insists on being Command. Why in the world is she asking him for boy advice? This is indicative of Liv being so alone and isolated from her other friends. Papa Pope is all she has. And when he’s gone, then what? “You don’t have to like me, Olivia. But you’re a fool if you don’t learn from me!”
On the second day of the summit, Mellie comes clean. She admits that an American spy was captured in Bashran and in exchange for his release, Rashad asked for these nuclear talks. Rashad confirms this, saying that even though he and Nazari hate each other, their people shouldn’t be forced to live in fear. Just as they’re about to proceed with negotiations, Rashad is swept from the room. Apparently, there has been a coup in Bashran and he is no longer the president.
How did B613 not see this coming? Well, according to Jake, it’s because they need more agents! Instead Jake was running around checking up on Fitz. So is Liv Command, or is she someone’s girlfriend?
Liv goes to see Mellie as she’s demanding that the Secretary of State not recognize the new Bashrani president. Mellie is prepared to send in troops to put down the coup in Bashran and restore Rashad. Liv is highly against this idea because U.S. intervention would undermine American efforts in the Middle East. Liv cannot let Mellie go to war, but for Mellie, it is. Rashad has been integral to making progress towards peace and nuclear disarmament, a persistent problem for the last 50 years. Restoring Rashad to the presidency would be worth the risk because of the long-term gains to be made. Liv promises to think about it.
When Liv gets home, she grabs a glass of wine. As she’s reflecting, Fitz comes to see her. He wants Mellie to make a statement about Zoe Adams, since her story is being upstaged by news of the coup in Bashran. But Liv is still skeptical… why is he here?
“Why are you here?!”
“Because you are here! Because I love you!”
For Fitz, they are better together and Liv knows it. Cue the Olitz kisses and sexy times!
In the morning, Liv meets with Mellie. She admits to having feelings for Rashad, but doing what’s right in Bashran is more than her acting on a crush. Liv backs Mellie up and starts prepping her to address the Joint Chiefs. Mellie won’t be alone in this.
With TLC “Waterfalls” playing in the background…
–Zoe is alive and Quinn tells her mother the news.
–Cyrus buys the Cezanne from Fenton for $20 and a promise to provide politics lessons.
–Liv (and Mellie) sets up a new division of the FBI to focus on missing persons of color.
–Jake updates Liv about what Fitz was up to in Vermont and confirms that Fitz didn’t misbehave. But perhaps someone else did…
–Papa Pope returns to his office and is surprised to see Liv already there. She kicks over a stool and tells her father to take a seat. WELPS!
Liv knows that Papa Pope has told Fitz that she’s Command, right? But is she going to do about it? And is Liv going to kill Fitz???
In next week’s Scandal, “Adventures in Babysitting” (written by Serveriano Canales and Tia Napolitano and directed by Oliver Bokelberg)
Olivia and Mellie assert their power like never before; meanwhile, Cyrus is working on congressional approval to declare war in Bashran, and QPA is keeping close watch on President Rashad’s niece. (via ABC)
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9p/8c on ABC.
