Papa, Can You Hear Me?

Hello Gladiators!!

Okay...so, this week, apparently we are getting some of Olivia's backstory. Banged Olivia (this refers to her hair when they do flashbacks, and not any sort of mattress mambo) says hey to Huck in the subway on her way to her weekly dinner with Dad. Looks like Joe Morton is going to be a regular. I'm a fan of Joe Morton. My feelings on Eli Pope? I'll get back to you.

Apparently, Liv has made a deal with Dad - I'll break bread with you weekly in exchange for paying off law school for me. And he bought this. Apparently, Liv is still a little hurt she got shipped off to boarding school after her mom died. And while I get that, let me just say this type of emotional bribery wouldn't have gotten me 5 dollars from my folks, let alone school loans repaid. Dad, after another dinner of silence and curt nodding, throws the bullish!t card and says...I ain't gonna keep feeding you and paying off your loans for nothing. This seems to work, as Olivia starts talking to him. Turns out, she's living with Edison Davis, who she calls after dinner and admits her father is actually trying. She gets mugged in the subway and Huck goes all assassin and beats the almighty shit out of those guys. It's clear he didn't learn to fight at school, or even in a bar. He's a professional, something that is not lost on Liv.

Present day, Olivia is running in the park when Tom, GSSG (Good Secret Service Guy) slips her a cell phone kinda the same way we were taught to hand off the baton in the relay race in fifth grade. Of course, it's Fitz, who says they can't come clean with their affair. Olivia agrees, saying it'll look like he will pull down his pants for anyone. [and about that? Fitz is lucky. He still hasn't been re-elected, and he's already got 2 sex scandals. Who's advising this guy?] He goes on to tell her the mundane details of his day. Only when you're the president, 'mundane' means he shot hoops with the Dali Lama (who has a great jump shot). Anyway, she's the one who he wants to share these details with, and he says in another world he's a mayor guy from Vermont, and they have four kids...and Olivia makes jam. I'm just telling you what she said. Somehow I don't see her making jam. Anyhoo, it's all sweet, and it's a conversation had by two people in love, where the mundane details strung together create great moments together. Olivia tells her she's representing Jeanine Locke, and says she won't hold back. He tells her he doesn't expect her to, as they both know she's innocent. And these two want the truth to come out. And again...Fitz? Keep your eye on reelection, Hotness.

Cut to the White House, where Cy is looking all over for Jeanine Locke in that frenzied way that makes everyone think Cy is about to have another heart attack. Mellie is freaking out that she's gone, and Eli, whitley's ex and Liv's Dad, is wondering why Cy hasn't run with this gift wrapped fix if Jeanine Locke. Cy tells him he gets it and to basically get off the phone so he can do his job [Eli tries to threaten him. Cy: "you know sometimes people just say good bye'. And. Ha.] He then finds Jeanine, outside the White House with Eli's daughter, Olivia Pope. Olivia is basically all...these anonymous sources say they president has slept with everyone from me to this innocent girl...and what, just what? She's giving them hell. Fitz looks admiringly at the tv and says to Cy...what did you expect from Olivia?

Flashback - Olivia sees Huck on her way to dinner and wonders how he learned to do he commando sh!t that served her so well last week. After a lousy lie, he tells her the truth, that he's an ex-assassin from B6-13, and when they threw him out, they kept his life. She asks if there's anything he needs and he wonders if they could eat at a hamburger joint. Sunday night's dinner is at Olivia's dad's house and they begin to genuinely bond over a home cooked meal and good wine. Eli asks why she's friends with the homeless guy and asks that she not tell her about muggings in email anymore. Olivia makes a crucial (but she doesn't know) error by telling her dad Huck's story, and he makes her seem like it's crazy. And - Eli is a great assassin because basically his cover is blown, and he barely lifts an eyebrow.

Back at the White House, Cy tells Fitz to 'grow some presidential sized balls' and admit to the affair that didn't happen. Mellie is all...Mellie, but with lower hair and she continues to rock the jewel tones that are the rage this season. Fitz is all...BTFU - I'm the president. I call the shots. Which. Hookay. He really doesn't, bless his heart, but he lambasts Mel and Cy for throwing Jeanine under the bus. He tells them they will deny this affair and then apologize, and leaves the room with an ominous 'try me'. Proving how little they listen, they go on with their plan to keep Jeannine the lover du jour, and Mellie offers up all the times she wasn't in the White House and they can match those dates to find when Jeannine and the president did the humpty hump. Jeanine, back at OPA, cries she was never alone with the president. She (Jeanine) tells Huck he can access the IMs on the White House server to prove she's right. Liv and Huck are walking into the OPA conference room to find the other gladiators schmoozing with none other than Eli Pope. They are surprised that he lives in DC and they've never met. He extends his hand warmly and introduces himself to Huck, who seems to have never met him, even though, as we learned in the heartbreaking episode '752' last season, Huck just met his assassin-boss.

Back in the day, Banged Olivia notices Huck is gone from union station and asks her dad if she ever followed up and he's all...nah! girl I told you, that was some crazy sh!t dude told you. He goes on to say the guy was arrested and was schizophrenic. Olivia keeps pushing and finally the mask starts to drop when he tells her, in no uncertain terms, to drop it.

In one of the coolest scenes in the history of TV, Olivia and her dad have this serious as hell conversation in her glass office with smiles on their faces, but it's anything but friendly. Daddy-O is all...you need to let the public believe it was Jeanine and she's all...nah. Daddy goes Colonel Jessup again, and reminds her that Jake Ballard's well being is basically in her hands. We find out Olivia has been checking the morgue whenever a dark haired John Doe shows up there. And. Ew. She asks Huck about B6-13, and he tells her that they break you, and when that doesn't work, the make you wish you were dead. She calls GSSG, her new conduit to Fitz (which works for me. I like Tom). She asks him to get Jake out of harm's way and Fitz is all...'save the guy who I got to watch you get down with...dafuq?" And...LOL! Boys can be petty.

Banged Olivia is not satisfied with Dad's story, or she's genuinely concerned about Huck, so she goes to see a DA referred by her professor friend and it's David Rosen!! Turns out, Huck wasn't arrested at all, David says his prints aren't in the system and someone lied to her. Olivia recalls Huck telling her B6-13 was fronted by a store called Acme, near Wonderland, welcome to wonderland, and she gets in her Volvo and drives to Acme, which is at the corner of wonderland and something or other and she realizes the pen her dad gave her is from the Acme Limited and BAM! Olivia now knows her Dad is badass. But for real. He's bad. She goes to Sunday dinner and calls him out, afraid to hear the answer. Caught dead to rights, and confronted by his tearful daughter, Eli tells her 'you don't want to know me that way, but if you push you will and that will break my heart'. And damn. Don't we all only want to show the best parts of ourselves to our kids. But you know, they are watching everything you do and even what you don't show because student loans are one thing, but your dad being an assassin is another and she rolls out.

Now - we get a glimpse of baby Huck, AKA Quinn, who has hacked into Liv's email and wonders what happened between Liv and her dad that dinners stopped so abruptly. And damn, it's going to take me the better part of the season to forgive Quinn for what goes down after this. Huck tells her to be less like him, and oh. How I wish she'd listened.

Fitz wants info on B6-13 and goes to Cy, where we learn that B6-13 does not answer to the executive branch and it's set up that way for the president's own good, so basically, I can't tell you jack. Fitz tries to go all presidential right now, and Cy is like...don't play the Commander in Chief card because they don't give a sh!t and really, leave them be because they can bring shade on the president the likes of which he's never seen. Fitz isn't sure he believes him, but it sounds scary enough. On the other side of town, Olivia is all in fixer mode with Jeanine, who has a breakdown that her life and career are ruined because 'one single person whispered my name'. Jeanine says she knows the president had an affair - everyone knew - but they didn't know who it was. Liv, feeling lower than whale poop promises to get her thru this, because she knows this is, somewhat, her fault. Olivia promised to get her thru this, but doesn't count on an end run from Mellie, who offers Jeannine a kabillion dollars to skip town and just be the mistress.

Banged Olivia returns to her dad for Sunday dinner with Edison Davis as her fiancé. Edison has been appointed to some committee that makes sure the government behaves [do we still have one of them? And if so, what the hell are they doing right now?] Edison goes off to open the fine wine and Liv begs her dad to give Huck back.

Present day, Olivia realizes someone at the White House got to Jeanine and she's about to admit everything, and Liv, realizing that it's either Jeanine or Jake, shows some uncharacteristic panic. She calls the president and he's all...I know he's alive, but B6-13 is like the petulant child over which I have no control, so sorry. She's like...what? You're the president...make it happen, and he hangs up, so she calls her pops, who's all...you can save him, but it's up to you. She offers back Sunday dinners for Jake. She even tries to tell Jeanine that she can't lie about this, and she (Jeanine) plays dumb, but then admits she sold her soul for $2M, and Liv gives one of her speeches that gives you some insight into how high her (Liv's) therapy bills must be.

But wait! Jeanine is preempted by the president. The president tells Cy he's playing let's make a deal...he's going into his press conference and he will either say Cy orchestrated the cover up and that he had an affair with Olivia, the truth he wants to tell anyway, knowing full well this will get them both kicked out of the White House. Behind curtain #2, he says he will cop to the affair, and Cy will get B6-13 to release Jake Ballard. Cy sputters about how he doesn't have control and Fitz is all...it's one or the other, your choice. He ends his speech with 'how presidential are my balls now, Cy?' And. Check. Mate. And I love him.

Banged Olivia gets Huck back in Union Station. And she also gets a call from her Dad saying she needs to let Edison down gently, especially since he's in the hospital after an 'accident'. And ooh. Dark and twisty and I only caught this the second time I watched. Incidentally, this is about where we've met Huck in the past. Because soon after this, we get Huck at the White House and Olivia inviting him to live with her.

Present day - Fitz admits to the affair and the VEEP calls him on lying and he tells her he had Jeanine '6 ways to Sunday all over this White House, and after some soul searching on all of our parts, I believe my constituents will forgive me.' And damn. I feel really conflicted that this man is giving Justin Timberlake a run for my affections.

...and here's why I am not speaking to Quinn, she kept digging and she points out that Liv and her dad had to be discussing Huck in the emails right before they stopped, and Huck flashes back to the only lie (I think) Liv ever told Huck - that she didn't make a deal for Huck. In the garage, Huck confronts Liv about it and when she denies it, he takes her into a choke hold, and loses it a bit, until she admits that her father is command. He walks off and Liv's and my heart break, a little.
Her father calls her that night, and she tells him to go to hell. He says open the door. She opens the door to a severely dehydrated and hurt Jake. Dad says dinner on Sunday is on.

So who saved Jake? Liv, or Cy? Hard to tell...but I'm not speaking to Quinn. And can Jake be trusted? This season is on fire already.

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