'Scandal' Tweet-cap: Playing With Dirt

Warning: This recap for the “Trump Card” episode of Scandal contains spoilers.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And someone who was formerly a really good friend is also… uh, my friend.

Olivia and Abby have fully entered best frenemy-ville, and this week, they call a truce so that both their teams can fight the truly vile Hollis Doyle, who’s now leading the Republican primary (#ugh). Of course, these are gladiators, and they might cry peace, but they’re both furiously digging dirt on the other candidate.

The question is, when it comes down to it, will they pull the trigger? Can Abby go nuclear and use incredibly damaging info on Olivia — the abortion she got — or does she preserve their friendship? How far are the gladiators willing to go to deliver the knockout blow?

Here’s a rundown of the episode:

Never Hollis

It’s almost like the gang’s back together: Olivia and Abby are drinking wine, scheming together. Sigh — just like old times.

Ehhhh, not quite. Huck is right to be dubious, because pretty much the instant they shake hands on a truce, they’re both looking for dirt to drive the other candidate out of the race. But first, they still need to take down Hollis.

Meanwhile, David brings Susan a Gettysburger lunch (awww!), a sweet callback to their first date. He starts blathering on about his boring Attorney General cases, and somehow maneuvers it into talking about their future. Like, going to the beach. And living together. And growing old together. Um, what? Susan’s eyes goggle. Just what is he trying to say? David wants to marry her!

Definitely the weirdest marriage proposal we’ve seen in awhile, but also incredibly touching.

Over on the Democrats’ side, Cyrus is tearing out his hair over the fact that Frank isn’t crushing Edison like he should be. So, he asks for Olivia’s take on the situation. Maybe Cyrus is just too old and can’t play the game anymore? She clues him: Her father is controlling Edison, and he’s determined to steal the Oval Office. And he’ll do it way better than they did back in Defiance.

Abby meets with a nefarious figure to get dirt on Mellie — and it turns out to be Papa Pope! Oh, no. No, no, no, no, noooooo, Abby. Never trust Rowan. He gives her a file, but it’s on Olivia, not Mellie. It’s the info on the abortion she got when she was with Fitz. Noooooooooo.

For now, Abby holds on to the dirt, since their main target is still Hollis. OPA is finding all sorts of opposition research on him. The guy is awful. He bought a private island with a tax bailout. He is a misogynist with a history of sexual assault allegations. He went hunting with the KKK. Unfortunately, when they go after him on these things, his poll numbers go up!

Then Hollis makes an offer on national television: Whoever drops out first, Mellie or Susan, gets to be his VP. Gee, thanks.

(By the way, gotta love this episode’s title! Well played, Shonda Rhimes, well played.)

Mellie considers taking the deal, but Marcus talks her off the ledge. She’s running for president, and she can win. Never forget. And #NeverHollis!

Pro having choices

Edison is starting to realize that he is Rowan’s puppet. First, when Edison wants to criticize Hollis’s racist positions, Rowan shuts him down. Then, Rowan orders him to make Jake his VP candidate, even though Edison has other ideas.

Jake pays Edison a visit to reinforce/enforce this, and tells Edison he really has no choice. Rowan (or Eli, as he’s known to Edison) is running this show. Edison is just the pretty face on the operation.

Olivia knows they need to do something big to dethrone Hollis, so she goes to meet with him, pretending to consider his VP deal. Instead, she tapes him and gets him to talk smack about his base. It’s a terrible gaffe, and he even loses Sally Langston’s support. Hollis Doyle, you’re done.

Olivia and Abby celebrate by drinking wine and laughing about their victory. But they know that the instant their glasses are empty, Abby is going to leave, and then they are going to try to rip each other’s throats out.

Let the gladiator vs. gladiator war begin again.

Olivia also needs to take care of another situation, and visits Edison. If he wants to get out from under her father’s thumb, he can’t simply say so. He needs to blow up his campaign. So, when reporters ask about Hollis’s meltdown, Edison goes off on him. He gives a brilliant speech, mentioning the Black Lives Matter movement and declaring “Nothing needs to be made great again.”

But his monologue essentially ends his campaign, and Edison calls Frank Vargas (with an ecstatic Cyrus over his shoulder) to concede.

Changing oppositions

Huck and Quinn have found the necessary dirt on Susan to force her out of the race. It’s bad. It’s really bad. And Abby meets with Olivia’s former Secret Service detail and learns the truth about the night of the abortion.

She wants to meet with Liv privately to tell her about it, but Olivia calls a meeting of everyone in the Oval Office. Might as well get all the dirt out there, and they can decide what to do in front of everyone. Mellie declares she’s never dropping out, and Susan doubles up on that promise.

Liv goes first. Susan wonders if it involves a koala, which makes us immediately wonder: WHAT KOALA? But the dirt is actually on David — that he dropped the sugar company case so that Gov. Baker would endorse Susan. Not only is that enough to get David fired, but it’ll reflect horribly on Susan. She is incensed and goes ballistic on him, and rightfully so.

Next, it’s Abby’s turn, but after a long, considering moment, she doesn’t drop the abortion bomb. Instead, she trots out the lame info on Mellie hiring a psychic after her son’s death.

Doesn’t matter, because Susan is done. Dunzo. She quits. David goes after her, but there’s no apology that can right this travesty. She chastises him for not believing in her. He tries to say he thinks she’s amazing, but she shuts him down.

“I know I’m amazing,” she replies. “I’m incredible. I’m going to change the damn world.” That could be as POTUS or as a suburban school teacher. And David should’ve believed in that, instead of trying to “fix” things for her.

Mellie, of course, is beaming over her victory. Marcus is, like, “TOLDJA” — and then the two nearly kiss!

Liv and Abby share another bottle of wine, and Liv presses her to reveal what the actual dirt was. When Abby does so, Olivia thanks her for not telling, because it would’ve devastated Fitz, who still doesn’t know. Abby warns Liv that Papa Pope gave her the file. “I don’t think he’s done with you.”

And elsewhere, Rowan and Jake come to hassle Edison about detonating his campaign. When Jake roughs him up, though, he gives him a message: to tell Olivia that Jake needs her help. That he’s chasing the sun.

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