Tonight on ABC Scandal starring Kerry Washington continues with another exciting episode in an all new Thursday October 22, season 5 episode 5 called, “You Got Served,” and we have the recap for you below. On tonight’s episode, Olivia (Kerry Washington) needs backup to handle the latest crisis, but the person she turns to is an unlikely source.
On the last episode, a familiar face returned to help Huck and Quinn deal with the media uproar Olivia was facing. Meanwhile, Jake came across someone he never expected to see again; and Fitz learned the true value of mercy. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the ABC synopsis, “Olivia needs backup to handle the latest crisis, but the person she turns to is an unlikely source. Meanwhile, Mellie and Cyrus try to manipulate things from the sidelines; and Jack is haunted by someone from his past.”
Tonight’s episode of SCANDAL is going to be absolutely incredible and you won’t want to miss even a minute. We’ll be recapping it for you here live.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
#Scandal begins with Cyrus’ husband Michael chastising him for not showering and sitting inside and boozing. Cyrus says the Senate voted last night and says he has to keep watching the TV. Michael says he knows this is his Superbowl but Cyrus says this is the moon landing and more. He rants and Michael tells him he’s losing it. Cyrus says he’ll see and shuts the drapes and goes back to the TV.
The news reports that an investigation is being opened into Fitz’s relationship with Olivia. Senator Moskowitz makes the announcement that the bipartisan committee voted unanimously – Mellie is on that committee. She says they will fairly pursue any violation of the public trust in this affair. They say they have subpoenaed the president and the press wants to know if they’re going for impeachment.
David tells Fitz he needs a lawyer. David says no one knows what an impeachable offense is and says it’s a political trial and subjective. He says if he survives the hearing, he will still be president. David says he shouldn’t even be talking to him. He says others would recommend Raymond Williams but he says he’d go for Patty Snell. He tells Fitz he can’t talk to Olivia about the case at all. Olivia is at the office looking at headlines about her and Fitz. She calls Abby who says they can’t talk.
Olivia says she needs a loan then tells Marcus, Huck and Quinn she’s bringing someone in. She says she has to go before Congress and needs a lawyer and PR magician. She hired Leo. He calls Huck and Quinn thing one and two then calls Marcus the coward of the county then tells Liv she called him just in time. He says Mistress Mania has swept the nation. He says they’re calling her Olivia Poke. He says the country does not approve. Leo says he has a plan.
He says they are going to change it from a tawdry affair into the greatest romance ever told. A love like no other. Olivia says no. Leo says it will resonate. He says that’s what Liv would do and she says that’s not on the table. Quinn suggests Olivia Pope, a woman of the people. She says that sounds good. Leo says she’s entitled and out of touch and is the 1%. He says all of her wardrobe is off limits and tells Quinn to get to the mall to shop for her.
Leo asks what he needs to know about the relationship then asks if there are gifts, if he paid her rent. Huck says she uses a delivery service then they send her to a grocery store to look like an every woman. He says someone has to tell the nation she’s a real person, someone with gravitas. Leo tells the weirdos to focus. They need Edison to speak on her behalf. She goes to see him. She asks him for a character reference. He says she created the mess.
He says a criminal, a whore, an idiot and a lawyer. He reminds her those were his words when she chewed him out when he questioned her about sleeping with Fitz. He says those are the things she is to him. He says if she wants him to lie, he owes her the truth. Edison does an interview and says it’s racism and sexism by people who don’t know her. He says she’s honest and has a high moral conviction. He says he wishes those trying to tear her apart knew him.
He says she slept on the floor of his hospital room while he was recovering from his car wreck. Fitz watches with Olivia and says it must be hard to go to him and she says even hypocrites get to call in their chits. Mellie isn’t pleased and Cyrus laughs out loud when he watches. Patty Snell comes in and says Abby just needs to say they are cooperating fully with the investigation. Liz says they have executive privilege and Patty kicks Abby out and says to get to the briefing room.
Abby says the president has nothing to hide and says he’ll do what he’s asked to do. Liz says they can’t do this and Patty says if she says executive privilege one more time, she’ll lose it. Patty asks if Fitz lets Liz near Putin. She says he has to testify end of story. Fitz says okay. Patty says there is cooperating, then there’s cooperating. She says to send every file by the truckload. Moskowitz, Mellie and the others are not happy about the document dump.
Mellie says they should show the press how sneaky the White House is being. They tell Mellie she has to recuse herself. Gibson agrees she can’t be part if it. He says the public sees her as a woman scorned. Moskowitz promises her a slot on defense. Leo shows up to the White House and tells Abby that Armageddon is happening. The news reports that Fitz put a ring on it and says Olivia gave her his grandmother’s ring. Leo asks Olivia about her lie. He says she has to be love struck.
Olivia says she can’t sell it but Leo says she can and will be doe eyed about her love. He says it’s the only way to spin out from the diamond ring she didn’t tell him about. Mellie shows up to see Cyrus who is sitting in the dark eating snacks and watching TV happily. The news wonders if Fitz is married to Mellie and engaged to Olivia. Cyrus tells her this is amazing and he wonders how they found out about the ring. He says she’s now Mellie’s sister wife.
Mellie looks upset and he says they threw her off the committee. She says that’s how they found out about the ring – from her. He says that’s a big girl move. He invites her to sit and have wine, cheese and brownies. She sits beside him and digs in. Gibson approaches Marcus – he’s got Moskowitz with him. He says he’s only been working with Olivia for two days. They tell him they will dig into him, his friends and family until they find dirt. They tell him they want to know if she’s obstructing justice.
They want him to spy on Olivia. Olivia comes to see Jake and says there’s a posse behind her. She says they are probably on the stairs now. Then she sees Elise who introduces herself and says Jake has spoken kindly of her. She steps out to let them talk in private. He says she’s an old friend from Paris. Jake asks why she dropped by. She says she has to go on TV and tell a love story about how cupid struck her over Fitz. Jake says okay. She says that’s not her and Jake says she loves him.
He says she threw herself in front of a pack of reporters to say she was with him. Jake says it’s her only way out and he doesn’t see a problem. He asks if she’s the problem. He says if she sells this she will have no exit and will be tied to the White House and him for the rest of her life. He says he doesn’t blame her for being scared. She says she’s going then he asks what else is it? She asks what if it is that? Jake says to tell the story, tell the truth about how she feels about him. She leaves.
Marcus goes back to the office and sees Huck and Quinn talking. He raps on the door then asks if he can come into the secret meeting. Quinn says Leo’s plan is unreliable and they need a backstop to turn the committee to their side. Marcus then goes to Gibson and Moskowitz and says he wants to be a good citizen. Leo tells Olivia to smile in the interview when she says his name. The interviewer asks about the ring and she says it’s not an engagement ring but recounts the history of the ring.
She says she was touched when he gave it to me and says the story behind it was a fairytale moment for her. He asks about Mellie noticing it. She say she regrets wearing it out. Then he asks if she regrets getting involved with Fitz. Olivia takes a long pause and then says she wishes they had never met and she never laid eyes on him. She says she can’t tell him how hard it’s been to watch her friends and family being dragged into this.
She says clients have been investigated and harassed by the media and people draining their savings to hire lawyers. She says that makes her wish she had never laid eyes on him. She says she worked hard to build a business that helps people to be the best version of themselves and says it was hard work and she’s proud of it and it could all go away because she laid eyes on that married man. She says if she had never laid eyes on them, they would never have fallen in love.
She says that would have meant a lot of loneliness for them but a lot less heartache for others. She says she feels bad for Mellie and the children then says who would choose this kind of love. She says she wishes they never met and she tried and failed not to love him. She says she tried to stop loving him but couldn’t. She says she was weak and hated herself and says she wore the ring to remind herself of the weakness. She says she had to stand in her truth about herself.
She says if she could fall out of love with him she would. Fitz watches this at the White House with a sad look on his face then clicks the TV off. Cyrus and Mellie watch the news calling it a home run and says Olivia made herself relatable. The news talks about coworkers falling in love. Mellie says she also wishes they never met. Cyrus tells Mellie he’s sorry because he brought her onto the campaign. He says he’s the reason all this happened.
He says they may never have met if not for him and says that makes him sorry. Mellie thanks him. Olivia comes back to the office and finds her three amigos there. Quinn says there’s a problem and Marcus has a photo of the evidence log. He says they were trying to get him to spy and he found a record of this meeting with the CIA. She tells them to forward the pic to her and she goes to see David to ask if the committee has the video of her kidnapping. She says they will all go down if they have this tape.
She says David will go down too and says she needs to know so she can protect them. David says an aide picked through the files and found an email exchange about a CIA meeting. He says the good news it means nothing without corroboration that Fitz watched the video. David asks who he told as Olivia storms out. Fitz finds Olivia in his bed and she plays a record for him. She undresses him and pulls off his pants. They kiss. She cranks it up higher then whispers they know about West Angola.
She says they have the tape. He says it’s impossible. She says they found something that led them to the CIA and going to war for your mistress is an impeachable offense. He says he never saw the tape. She says it won’t work. She says Cyrus knows and can connect him to the tape. He says Cyrus wouldn’t then he says he would. The record skips and he rolls over off of her. Cyrus and Mellie are hanging out drunk and she says they should have gotten drunk long ago. She says he should come to work for her.
Fitz calls Cyrus and he pretends that it’s someone else when Mellie asks. Jake is there at Liv’s office and she asks how he knows Elise. He says she’s his wife and she says she never heard about that. He says she never asked. He says the interview is good and she asks about the wife. He says she’s great and Liv says that’s good and Jake says she’d like her. He says Liv has a type – married guys. He laughs. Cyrus comes to the Oval to talk to Fitz.
He asks why he’s there and Fitz says he wants him back in the White House. He says he will make him a high level senior advisor and Cyrus asks why. He says they have unfinished business and he wants him to be part of it. He says he wants him on the team. Cyrus says this is interesting. He sits and asks what they have. He says the Senate Committee has something on him. He says Olivia fixed the ring thing then wonders what they know about. Then he says it’s the tape and West Angola.
Cyrus says that’s bad. He says he’s the only one who can say he saw it except Andrew who is a drooling vegetable. Cyrus asks if this is a job for his silence. He asks how many times he mispronounced Delano 16 years ago. Cyrus says it was three times and it was 17 years ago. Fitz asks why they’re talking about this and Cyrus asks if he remembers what he ate the morning after he won the governorship. Cyrus rattles off this information.
Cyrus says all this is in his head. He says everywhere, everything, what he eats and wears and thinks. He says that’s who he is to Cyrus then says he’s not much to Fitz. He says he knows all of this and why he’s sitting there. He says he gets a job and Fitz keeps his and they all march into glory. Cyrus says no. He says the band is not getting back together and he doesn’t need this. He tells Fitz he doesn’t need him anymore. He stands up and Fitz says they were on a bus in his first run from governor.
He says she sent him an Agatha Christie novel with a note about how he’d like it. He says his mother sent a package like that every week since he left home and how her note always spoiled the ending. Fitz rattles off the times he saw him open the packages and says it was the only time he would smile and he knew he got one by his mood. He says he knows he loved her. He says his mom’s name was Helen. Then he says he’s truly sorry for what happened to them and what he did to them.
He says they both made mistakes but Cyrus’ mistakes were for him. He says his biggest mistake was forgetting they were family then says Cyrus is his guy and says he can’t do this alone. He says he wants him back and the seat on the couch is his if he wants it and so is the job. He says please. Cyrus listens and takes this all in. Cyrus says chief of staff is the job and says Liz is terminated immediately and says she doesn’t transition to another position but is gone. He says Ethan and Red can stay.
He says he wants new carpet in the office and wants a full presidential pardon, signed, sealed and irrevocable and he will keep the secret. He says that’s the deal. He sits down across from Fitz and says West Angola was a growing threat and his decision was based on a reasonable assessment of that threat and was supported by actionable evidence and never saw the tape and didn’t ever know she was kidnapped. Fitz stands and offers his hand. They shake – he says it’s good to have him back.
Cyrus says he serves at the pleasure of the president and the honor is all his. Fitz tells Charlotte to send Liz in to see him.
THE END!
