'Scandal' Tweet-cap: Gladiator vs. Gladiator

Warning: This recap for the “Buckle Up” episode of Scandal contains spoilers.

Watching two brilliant, clever, cunning, and ambitious people match wits against each other? Thank goodness it’s Thursday, and thank our lord, Shonda Rhimes, for a terrifically fun episode that set Olivia against Abby.

All sorts of long-simmering anguish bubbles over this week, as Olivia’s brutal murder of VP Andrew continues to reverberate for all of the characters. Oh, and she’s totally not over Jake’s wedding, either.

That sets the stage for an explosive Liv facing off against Abby, who’s feeling put upon and underestimated. It’s gladiator vs. gladiator. And unlike Hollis Doyle, we’re not going to call it a catfight. Oh, no, the weapons they wield are much sharper than claws!

Here’s a rundown, including our live tweets, of the episode…

Welcome to the arena

The campaign season is hitting a frenzy. Sally Langston informs us that Hollis Doyle is a distant third, but Mellie and Susan are neck and neck. They’re fighting hard, and so are their spokespeople, Olivia and Abby. They’re giving ferocious press conferences, sniping at each other, and even blocking each other from elevators.

Rise and shine, Susan and David! No, they’re not back together — Lizzy is making David sleep on the floor in her hotel room, for “optics.” Susan is barely even acknowledging his presence. Lizzy updates them on the current situation: The big Florida primary is coming up, and they need the key endorsement of the governor, Louise Baker. She’s holding a dinner for all three Republican candidates, after which she’ll make her final decision.

So far, Liv and Abby’s war seems to be on the level of petty jostling, but Abby decides to take it to the next level by using fake Air Force One “mechanical problems” to block Mellie’s plane from taking off for Florida.

Over in the Democrats camp, Francisco Vargas knows he needs a wedge issue to separate him from Edison Davis in a close race, and his brother, Alex, suggests they bring Frank’s kids into it. If you recall, Frank’s daughter has cancer, and the family is keeping it quiet. Cyrus takes Frank’s side and vetoes the ideas. Annoyed, Alex once again calls Michael, reminding him of Cyrus’s infidelity and asking for dirt to use against him.

In Florida, Gov. Baker stops by Susan’s hotel suite. Susan isn’t there, but Baker really came by to talk to David. She offers a deal: She’ll give Susan her endorsement… if David drops the government’s case against the state’s sugar producers. He’s appalled and refuses. Then again, getting Susan that endorsement could mean a thaw in their relationship!

On Mellie’s plane, Olivia is stewing. A gambit to shame Abby, by leaking the news of Air Force One’s “mechanical problems,” didn’t quite work. Both Quinn and Huck wag their fingers at her, asking her why she’s not taking control of either this situation or the Jake situation, and Liv yells at them. “I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you two! You’re gladiators!”

Marcus decides to take initiative about their current problem and suggests to Mellie that she go to Air Force One and ask Fitz to allow them to go. And so Mellie ambles onto the tarmac, waiting for her ex-husband, as the cameras click away.

Special snowflakes

Against Abby’s advice, Fitz meets her on the tarmac and they have a nice heart-to-heart. He tells her he’s proud of her for running a fierce campaign, and she asks him to move Air Force One. When he defers to Abby’s decision, she jokes about how Olivia will not take that well.

Mellie’s joking goes too far, though, when she says that Olivia will kill Abby, and Fitz grows serious. Then, he reveals that Liv was the one who killed Andrew, and Mellie tears up. What follows is a weirdly parental discussion of Olivia’s state of mind — how she needs to start running again, or swimming, and how she needs to eat. Mellie tells Fitz to move the plane — not for her, but for Olivia. Fitz agrees, ordering Abby to make it happen.

Unfortunately, Mellie will still be late to the dinner, which means she won’t get Baker’s endorsement. So Liv comes up with another idea: They show up to Baker’s dinner with Fitz in tow! Abby pouts, Olivia drinks to a minor victory.

David tells Susan and Lizzy about Baker’s bribe, and that he doesn’t plan to take it. Lizzy is frustrated with him, calling him a “special snowflake” for having such scruples, but Susan respects his choice. Dare we say she even seems to warm up to him? Later, after the dinner, they go to sleep (he’s still on the floor), and David once again apologizes for cheating on her. Susan thinks there’s still some good in him, and gives him her hand.

Over at Casa Beene, Cyrus comes home to a suspicious Michael, who point-blank asks him if he’s sleeping with someone else. Cyrus cops to it, with very little remorse. Michael wants to go to a counselor, but Cyrus just brushes him off. He just wants Michael to shut up, look pretty, and babysit Ella. Cyrus warns him not to dig too deep into his affairs: “Don’t mess this up.”

The enemy of my enemy…

Baker goes on television to make her endorsement — and she’s voting for Susan! Well, what do you know!

Olivia is angry as hell, and starts smashing things. Huck confronts her and asks if she’s having nightmares about Andrew. He then suggests she go home and grieve and try to forgive herself. At first, Liv tries to act like it’s NBD. “It felt good crushing his face with that chair,” she says. “I don’t regret a thing.”

But it’s just a facade, and soon she confesses what happened with Jake — how her father threatened to kill him if she didn’t let Jake go. Olivia breaks down sobbing in Huck’s arms.

It seems Cyrus went too far with Michael, who meets with Alex Vargas and gives him a thumb drive full of dirt. But wait — at the Vargas campaign headquarters, the news breaks about Frank’s daughter having cancer. And they learn that the info came from Alex’s email. Turns out, when he used that thumb drive that Michael gave him, it sent that email with pics of Frank’s daughter getting treatment. Frank fires Alex, and Cyrus calls Michael to thank him.

But when Cyrus goes home that night, he discovers that Michael has left — and not only that, he’s taken Ella with him!

The Florida primary results come in and… Hollis Doyle won? Guess Susan and Mellie canceled each other out, and Hollis gives a sexist victory speech because, well, he’s Hollis Doyle. Lizzy figures out that David did take that deal from Gov. Baker to endorse Susan, but David begs her not to spill the beans.

In the White House, Abby confronts Fitz about undermining her authority. “I run you, you run the country. That is the job,” she declares. Then, she begins to break down — it becomes clear she blames herself for pushing Olivia into killing Andrew. Fitz gently tells her to find a way to pull herself out of this dark hole.

That way is to meet with Olivia. Abby mentions the time they talked in Liv’s apartment, when Liv condescendingly said Abby could always come back to work for her. Olivia, in turn, does want to get back in the White House — where Abby is now. “I am rooting for you, but not if it means I lose,” Olivia says. Abby doesn’t like losing either.

What now? Now, they work together again to take down Hollis Doyle. That is something they can agree on.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.