Scandal Season Six Premiere

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Season six of the ABC hit is back, and fans can expect to see a lot go down between Olivia Pope and former first lady Mellie.

Mekeisha Madden Toby Jan, 26, 2017

Olivia Pope is back and fiercer than ever.

And when season six of Scandal kicks off Thursday Jan. 26 on ABC, fans will see the Olivia (star Kerry Washington) they fell in love with as she curses Mellie (Bellamy Young) out, all while fighting for the former first lady’s presidential aspirations.

In an attempt to be as spoiler-free as possible in time for the premiere, here are five reasons Olivia’s boss game is so tight:

Her strength: Olivia’s resilience and intelligence truly shines through when she’s strategizing as a campaign manager. She did it for Fitz, and now as Mellie’s woman of the hour, Olivia is doing everything she can to help Mellie become president. When things get too tough, there’s always hard liquor.

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An unexpected alliance with Mellie: Olivia is an invaluable asset. Who else but Olivia would be able to figuratively smack some sense into Mellie? Now that both of these women are over Fitz (Tony Goldwyn), they make quite the team.

Her army of protégés: Seeing Abby (Darby Stanchfield) rise to the occasion and put chauvinistic secret-service types in their place is truly satisfying. This is especially the case because we all know Abby got her best moves from Olivia.

An ability to spot liars: Anyone who tries to deceive Olivia has to know that she will eventually find out the truth and when she does, there will be hell to pay. Expect a juicy web of lies and an even meatier confrontation in the season-six opener that will have fans tweeting and pontificating for days.

Her savoir faire: There have been imitations and impersonations but there is only one Olivia Pope and boy did we miss her. Trumpeting her long overdue return to primetime and her allegiance to Mellie’s Republican stance, Olivia sports a red blazer, coat and gloves. Without saying a word, her flawless hair, makeup and wardrobe scream “And you, and you, and you, you’re going to love me.”

Scandal season six premieres at 9 p.m. ET Thursday Jan. 26 on ABC.