21 Gladiator Salute!
With life in Washington still as scandalous as ever, we thought it fitting to give a 21 Gladiator Salute to the start of Scandal Season 4. So much has happened in just the first handful of episodes. Take a look at the below list of sexy, shocking, scandalous Season 4 moments. Then look for more to come in the weekly Gladiator report because, after all, we’re just getting started.
#1 Island Girl: Where on Earth was Olivia Pope? On an island off the coast of Zanzibar, that’s where. It’s always the last place you look, right? Liv was living the good life, catching some rays until someone blocked her sun.
#2 Father-Daughter Reunion: Olivia meets up with her father upon her return to DC. Rowan has a glass of wine waiting for her when she arrives at his favorite restaurant. They engage in some typical father-daughter small talk. For example, Liv wants to know if her dad killed her friend.
#3 Old Friends, New Gigs: Quinn has been looking for Liv in the old OPA offices. Huck works as a computer store tech expert who clues in customers on any seedy info he uncovers. Abby is the White House press secretary. She meets with Olivia about planning Harrison’s funeral. No arrangements are made. There’s just a lot of yelling.
#4 A Fallen Gladiator: After reluctantly taking on what was supposed to be a one-time case, Olivia is now officially ready to get out of town again, but not before attending Harrison’s funeral. Jake watches in the background as Abby, Quinn and Huck join Liv to say goodbye to their fellow gladiator.
#5 This Town Isn’t Big Enough: The best thing Jake sees about the return to Washington is that Gettysburger now has a rib sandwich. It has pickles and secret sauce. It’s called the Underground Railroad. Olivia, on the other hand, has other interests, and Jake knows it.
#6 Fitz 2.0: That’s what the press is dubbing the president these days. As for the First Lady, she rarely feels the need to even get dressed anymore. Mellie fills in Fitz on a few other changes after learning that Olivia is back.
#7 Island Girl and Boy: After a press conference that pretty much lets the world know that Olivia is back, she walks through the Capitol Building. Many others are there as well. But when Liv walks past the President of the United States, it’s as if they were the only two people in the room. It’s as if they were alone on an island.
#8 When the Chips are Down: Mellie is caught on camera munching on potato chips in her bathrobe while seated on the ground at her son’s gravesite. This has the press questioning her state of mind. Fitz’s request for her to get it together for the State of the Union doesn’t go over well. So Cyrus joins Mellie for some fried chicken.
#9 Advice from Dear Abby: The new White House press secretary preps David for his confirmation hearing to become Attorney General. Her advice is aces. Later, Abby tries her hand at helping the First Lady.
#10 Advice From Dear Livvy: Fitz asks for a moment alone with Olivia before his State of the Union speech. He needs to know what she thinks. Olivia advises him to talk about the grieving that his family is still going through. Fitz goes off-prompter to pay tribute to his incredibly strong wife, who is seated in the gallery in a stunning dress.
#11 Floored: The president’s State of the Union speech is emotional, impassioned and stirring. It demands that they put a stop to gun violence. A rousing ovation follows. After the speech, Mellie crumbles to the floor in tears. She held it together in public. Now Fitz needs to keep her going in private.
#12 Jake Is NOT a Kept Man: He is available for booty calls though.
#13 Actually, Jake IS a Kept Man: It’s not a booty call, yet it is in the literal sense.
#14 The Lonely Guy: Cyrus initially declines the flirtations of a good-looking man. Then he doesn’t. But Cyrus can’t go through with the liaison at the end of the day. We later see that the man, Michael, is in cahoots with Lizzy Bear. He confirms her suspicions that Cyrus is very lonely.
#15 Swing and a Hit: Fitz is counting on his new Attorney General to get a swing vote. Cyrus can see by the smile on David’s face that he’s happy to be inside the bubble. Unfortunately, the judge who is the deciding vote doesn’t decide in favor of the president. David digs into those big, bad B613 files to swing the vote with blackmail.
#16 Re-Entry Can Get Tricky: Olivia stops by to see her father, who explains to her that everything is different now that she’s back. Everything is colder. Olivia admits that she’s adjusting. Rowan invites his daughter over for dinner. Jake can come, too.
#17 Behind Closed Doors: Jake pressed David for info on the murders of Harrison and Adnan Salif. Olivia visits him while he’s digging for answers. Jake won’t let her in. After all, it’s not a booty call. Olivia reacts accordingly.
#18 B613-Man and Robin: Jake craves a deeper look into what went down after having caught sight of Rowan at the funeral. Surveillance footage indicates that Charlie may have been involved. There’s only one way he’ll talk. Charlie wants some alone time with Quinn.
#19 The Middle Woman: Fitz thanks Abby for all she’s done with his wife and he finally learns her first name. Abby then gives the president what he really wants out of their meeting. She lets him know how Olivia is.
#20 Command Cuisine: Jake lets Olivia know that he will join her for some Command cuisine at Rowan’s place. His change of heart comes after he finds video footage of Secret Service man/covert B613 operative Tom putting his hands on the president’s son just before he died. Dinner conversation is awkward until Olivia exits.
#21 Down the Scandalous Road: With all that’s happened so far in Season 4, let’s take one more look at what led up to all these events with a 3-minute recap of Season 3.
What are your top Scandalous moments so far?