‘Scandal’ recap: Olivia’s deadly mistake

This week’s ‘Scandal’ sets up what could literally be some of the most explosive episodes yet.

Olivia has officially teamed up with father to take down B613. Rowan explains how to access their funding and she makes him to promise that he won’t hurt the president, which he is quick to oblige. Huck remains skeptical of his intentions.

Proving time doesn’t heal all wounds, Mellie is ignoring Andrew, who is being ignored by Fitz. He wants Andrew dropped from the ticket. Olivia tells him it won’t happen but he persists. The leader of the free world hypocritically admits he can’t take the thought of Andrew sleeping with his wife, even though he swears he doesn’t care about her.

Liv tells Andrew he has a choice, Mellie or the vice presidency. However, she makes it clear that should he choose Mellie, she’ll be forced to destroy him, as its the only way to drop him from the campaign this late in the race.

At home, Olivia receives a visit from a drunk Jake Ballard. He begs her to let him in, explaining he’d never kill any of her friends, making the argument that she and James were never that close. Believe it or not, this sweet talk doesn’t work on her and she keeps her door locked.

Harrison has Claire, an old friend, look in on Maya Pope and Adnan Saliff. They’re now joined by an unnamed third party, who seems to be romantically involved with Maya. She asks the mystery man to bring her flowers, but the request sounds a lot more ominous that just roses.

Olivia goes to dinner with her father, explaining that his algorithm to find the funding for B613 was bogus. He counters that Jake probably moved the money around to prohibit him from doing damage. The only way to access it now is from the inside. Before they can discuss further, Maya arrives and takes a seat, making for one very uncomfortable family reunion.

Rowan makes a grab for a knife, but so does his ex-wife. At a stand off with Rowan, she instructs Oliva to find a less dangerous line of work. That’s when Olivia gets a phone call informing her Claire has been murdered. Maya, responsible for the deed, gleefully saunters off into the night.

Huck explains that to get inside B613, they’d need access to Jake’s phone. Liv knows what she has to do. She enters Jake’s apartment late at night, startling him enough to initially point a gun at her. She successfully seduces him and just as he falls asleep, plants a bug. She returns to Pope and Associates, looking defeated, but with the information they need.

Back at the White House, Andrew makes his choice and lets Mellie down easy. She reacts as well as could be expected, barging into the oval office and slapping Fitz right across the face.

“You take everything from me!” She screams.

Abby finds a down-in-the-dumps Olivia at her desk. Liv confesses her father once had her on a plane that would have taken her right out of DC. She goes on about her regrets until Abby delivers a speech worthy of Olivia Pope herself.

“Gladiators don’t run, they fight.” Abby says.

Good thing too, because a fight is coming their way.

Quinn and Charlie, having been tasked by Jake to keep an eye on Maya and Adnan, spy the flower delivery. Quinn calls command to let him know this isn’t just a bouquet, its a bomb. Quinn wants to bust the terrorists on the spot, but Jake tells her to stand down, while Charlie questions her loyalty.

Back at Pope and Associates, Huck has finally decrypted the information on Jake’s phone. He has enough to completely disable B613 and Olivia instructs him to shut it down.

The monitors Charlie and Quinn are watching Maya on, go black. As do the lights back at B613 headquarters. Unable to reach Jake, Quinn exits the van and makes a run for the hotel room Maya was hiding out in. She’s too late, the terrorists and the bomb are gone. Charlie notes that her heart hasn’t left Pope and Associates.

The Gladiators are raising their glasses, finally celebrating a victory. It only lasts a moment. Jake bursts through the door, asking Olivia what’s done while grabbing her by the throat. Huck makes a move towards them, but Jake raises a gun with his other hand.

Olivia in a chokehold, the gladiators held at gunpoint, he spits out, “you just killed the president.”

With only two episodes left, the president’s life on the line, Mama Pope on the loose and a missing bomb, its doubtful everyone will make it out of this season alive.

'Scandal' airs Thursdays on ABC.