Scandal Recap 2×01
President Fitz and his now pregnant wife are discussing the baby nursery. Actually, his wife is doing most of the talking. They are still not getting along. She wants him to show power and make military moves in the Sudan. They end up arguing about everything from their baby to foreign policy.
Olivia walks past a slew of press into a prison. Someone in the crowd yells out “she killed 7 people!” Looks like a murder defense. Inside the prison, the woman on trial sits in her cell. It is Quinn Perkins!
In court, Dartmouth David prosecutes Quinn. He plays a tape where she yells at a boyfriend who cheated on her on the phone. It is used as evidence of a motive for sending a bomb to her boyfriend that ended up killing him.
Quinn, formerly known as Lyndsey Dwyer, claims she woke up in a fugue state after the murder.A fake passport, and other identification, were laid out in front of her. She became the name on the passport, Quinn Perkins. She never saw the guys who did this to her. Abby doesn’t believe this story.
Dartmouth David tells the court he thinks she deserves the death penalty for the bomb which killed 7 people.
Olivia is still strutting in a white trench coat. She meets with Cyrus in the park and gives him tips on handling White House press. They are seemingly on good terms again.
At the office, the crew go over Quinn’s case. A messenger comes in and says a client needs Olivia’s help, but he can’t leave his office to see her. Its urgent.
Olivia, Harrison, Huck, and Abby go see the client who can’t leave his office. They find out his office is bugged. Olivia grills him to find out who would want to bug him. She finds out he had relations in his office…on the desk Abby is leaning on. Yuck!
Back at the office, the crew goes over their new client’s case. They find the woman who was involved in the “office relations.” From her embarrassment, they deduce she wasn’t responsible for the bugging.
Huck makes a discovery. A right wing political gossip site bought more bandwidth to accommodate an expected increase in traffic. Looks like they’ve found who is responsible.
The crew goes over Quinn’s case now. There is next to no progress.
Olivia visits Quinn, and Quinn fires Olivia. She wants to take a plea bargain. Quinn thinks Olivia is losing the case. Olivia is upset with Quinn’s lack of trust. They erupt into a screaming fit. Olivia promises she will not let her die. Quinn concedes.
Outside in the prison, Dartmouth David tries to convince Olivia to let Quinn take the plea deal.
Harrison is working on the other case involving the sex tape. Huck hacks into a computer to get a copy of the tape.
Abby is watching it and offers to watch it a 5th time. “That won’t be necessary”, says Olivia.
Olivia confronts the congressman about his sexual activity. She believes if something doesn’t happen, the tape will go viral by tomorrow afternoon.
President Fitz and his wife do a news interview. She mixes up foreign relationships with her pregnancy. After the interview, the President is ticked off. He screams at his wife. He does not look a man of power and control. He says she’s an ornament there for her looks, not her brains. She defends, arguing she gave up her law career so he could run for office – apparently she’s not dumb.
President Fitz calls Olivia at her apartment. She says “you can’t call me.” He says he knows. She tells him to hang up. He won’t. She asks on the phone whether he is going to invade Sudan – doesn’t seem like a phone safe conversation. She gives him advice for handling foreign relations. Take control. Pretend his wife’s mention of the situation was part of his plan. It is great advice. Jokingly he says he hates her. They hang up.
After the phone call, Olivia comes up with an idea using her own advice.They are going to release the sex tape before the republican blog.
The press goes wild. The congressman gets on Jimmy Kimmel.He uses it as a vehicle to market is political ideas.
Harrison tells Olivia they are going to lose Quinn’s case. Whoever made her “Quinn Perkins” is gone.
Harrison visits the prison and reminds Quinn that they will keep appealing and never give up – they are gladiators in suits.
Late that night, Olivia calls in a favor, we don’t know to who.
At the trial the next day, we think Quinn is going to get convicted. The judge announces that, due to circumstantial evidence, the case is overturned. Dartmouth David is in shock. He looks at Olivia whose expression is solemn. He knows there’s more to this.
Olivia speaks to David after the trial. He believes he had the trial won.
He’s going to find out how she accomplished this. They are not on great terms.
Back at the office, Olivia’s crew question her. They know the trial was a joke, and Olivia won’t admit it. Only Huck sticks up for her saying they should just trust her.
We see a flashback to the past – Of Quinn getting kidnapped, drugged, and brought to a motel. Meanwhile, in the present, Huck watches a security tape. The security tape is of Quinn in the past. She wakes up, sees the new identity documents around her, claims them, and walks out. Outside of the hotel she struts right passed a concealed Huck!
In the present, Huck comes across this footage of himself on the security tape, which he deletes. Flashback to the past. It turns out after Quinn strutted by leaving the hotel, Huck got in a car. The vehicle’s driver – Olivia Pope! Huck says, “she picked up the items we left for her”. They drive off.
