Courtesy of ABC (thanks for the lack of legit promo pics!)
In ‘No More Blood,’ Liv (Kerry Washington) finally comes home and you’ll never believe who saves her!
Let’s bitch it out…
I’m mad myself for not not figuring out who Liv’s savior would be during the auction because I should have seen this coming. I should have known following last episode’s random line about “this used to be Steven’s office” that he existed. That’s right, Steven (Henry Ian Cusick), who we haven’t seen since Season 1, calls in a favor to the Russians to save Liv. CRAZYTOWN! But I’m not complaining because who doesn’t love them some Henry Ian Cusick? (Side Note: Cusick, incidentally, is pulling double duty on The 100, where he surprisingly did not die this week. Busy guy)
But let’s back up a bit to discuss how we got here.
At Kidnapping Central: Liv isn’t a fixer for no reason. As she is about to get handed over to Iran, she pits her kidnappers and the Iranian buyers against each other, claiming they are both going to kill the other once the transaction is completed. Thank God she speaks Farsi, amirite? When the deal falls through, the auction is back online. This time Khandi Alexandre’s Marie Wallace (AKA OPA) is in the game. Side note: the glee of these techies as they sell off human beings for torture is chilling. It’s like they were watching the Super Bowl. When Marie Wallace (who Liv knows is her team) and the Russians (who Liv does not know is really Steven) tie for the winning bid, Liv tells Gus (Chad Donella) to take Marie’s bid because she’ll pay more at the drop. Come on Liv, Gus HATES you! Of course he’s going to do the opposite of what you say. After saving herself from Iran, this is a surprisingly poor manipulation on Liv’s part.
At the White House: Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) is still in Operation Save Liv mode. But the rest of his team sees the writing on the wall-once Liv is turned over to an enemy: she’s gone from mistress to hostage with a wealth of top secret information. With only a 30% chance they can extract her, talk shifts to being prepared to “neutralize the asset.” As Fitz takes the contingency plan off the table, Cyrus (Jeff Perry) calls him a moron and a child. “I made you a warrior, I made you a king, I made you a leader of men and this is what you do? This is what you leave me with?!” Unfortunately for everyone, Cyrus was just day dreaming about telling off his boss, as we’re all wont to do.
Abby (Darby Stanchfield), meanwhile, cannot get any information from anyone, which begs the question how Liv, as the former Communications Director, had access to all the secrets, while poor Abby, as the White House Press Secretary, can’t even get clearance. In the end, it’s Abby that saves the day. She remembers Steven was last in Russia, so she contacts Interpol to debrief him on the situation and get him in the game. “Once a gladiator, always a gladiator” indeed.
Meanwhile, Mellie (Bellamy Young) is trying to convince Andrew (Jon Tenney) to go quietly into the night. Unfortunately, the dude is officially not onboard with the plan, vowing to tell the media all about their affair. Oh, Andrew. In between discussions about delicious cucumber sandwiches (classic), Mellie orders Liz (Portia de Rossi) to take care of Andrew, which results in him having a massive stroke thanks to Guillermo Diaz’s Huck (more on this in a moment). As Mellie says to Andrew, “you brought this on yourself.” Just in case you forgot: Mellie is awesome.
At OPA: Jake (Scott Foley) has a B613 Intervention with Huck. He’s been through the same torture (that damn hole!) and has the same predilections (loves the sound of snapping bones *gag*). Jake tells Huck that you need to lock up that guy inside you that likes doing those things or one day he’ll be strong enough to lock you away forever. When Huck says Liv does that for him, Jake tells him he needs to learn to do it on his own.
Quinn (Katie Lowes) chimes in, making Huck promise “no more blood.” He agrees, but when Liz comes calling to take out the VP, Huck injects him with something to cause a stroke. Although he didn’t follow Jake and Quinn’s general sentiment, technically Huck kept his promise.
At Liv’s Apartment: When Liv returns safely, Fitz does not get the reunion he was hoping for. Liv, and about a million other people, has given up everything for him. What happens when you work so hard so someone you love can be the person they’re meant to be—the leader of the free world—and then when they’re tested they disappoint you? Fitz started a war for her, killing at last count more than 30 American soldiers. Fitz, I wouldn’t put the down payment on that cabin in Vermont if I were you…
Other Observations:
- Gladiators can hide bodies and win international terrorist bidding wars but they can’t reupholster Liv’s couch cushion before she gets back?! Something is wrong with these people.
- Jake went to see Rowan (Joe Morton) to help Liv. It’s almost not worth talking about other than the beautiful Canadian lake backdrop and Rowan’s previously unknown love for fishing. Bottom Line: Rowan has (another) scenery chewing monologue that boils down to “I don’t have a daughter, get off my lawn!”
- Remember when Liz was a threatening power character with agency, not just a pawn trying to fight for her life? Yeah, me neither.
Best Lines:
- Huck (welcoming Liv home): “I was pretty sure someone hacked you up into little pieces and burned your body. I’m glad that’s not true”
- Jake (when the auction results are tied): “This isn’t a high school soccer match, there are no ties.”
What did you think? Are you glad Liv is back and the kidnapping plot is over? Are you looking forward to see the implications for Fitz’s presidency now that the dust has settled? Do you want to see more of Steven? Sound off below!
Scandal is taking a week off and returns Thursday, March 5 at 9pm EST on ABC with what appears to be a Ferguson-inspired episode. Here’s a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnShXwYI4x8