Scandal Recap: ‘Honor Thy Father’
Getty Images
By Mekeisha Madden Toby ·

We’ve all heard of prodigal sons but prodigal fathers?

That’s a new one. But that was the indisputable theme on Thursday night’s Scandal titled “Honor Thy Father.” Not only did Olivia’s client of the week hire her to get his father off of death row but Mellie’s half-sister Harmony – her father’s love child with his mistress – appeared on the scene ready to destroy any chance that Mellie has at a political career. Making matters worse, Harmony (guest star Lauren Bowles, True Blood) knew just what to say to push Mellie’s buttons and vice versa. Thanks, Mellie’s dad.

Of course, the return of all fatherly returns was when Papa Pope came roaring back at the end of the episode. But we’ll talk about that and Olivia’s bedroom buddy Russell in a minute. Seriously, how can anyone not talk about Franklin Russell after seeing his and Olivia’s steamy kiss?

While there were some fans focused on Mr. Russell, a good majority were more concerned with Jake and if he was or wasn’t a homicidal maniac. Although he roughed up Rosen at the top of the episode high-school bully style and beat up Charlie at the safe house after seemingly killing his former B613 cohorts, it turned out Jake is still a good guy after all.

The twist was Holly, Rosen’s assistant, was the B613 killer and she was going to kill Rosen too if Jake hadn’t killed Holly and saved Rosen’s life. Phew! That was a close one. For a minute there it seemed like Rosen or Jake or both were about to be Scandal goners. Thankfully, Jake explained it all when he said: “We’re the good guys but you won’t always be able to tell.”

As for Olivia’s client, he killed the lecherous math teacher that broke his sister’s heart and caused her to commit suicide, not his dad. While we all saw that twist coming, none of us could’ve predicted that the congressman would plant a gun or, after Olivia confronted him about it, confess and exonerate his father. The good news is that the congressman can afford the quality attorneys his dad couldn’t some 15 years ago and with Olivia’s help, he’ll probably serve little to no prison time.

Now, back to Franklin Russell and Papa Pope. Olivia opened the door because she saw Russell’s face but what she didn’t see was that her wild and crazy father was standing off to the side. So does that mean Russell and Rowan are working together? Fans sure think so. Others were just happy to see Papa Pope’s return.

AND:

Other highlights included Mellie getting drunk on her daddy’s hooch, Fitz bringing Mellie and Harmony together, Cyrus cheering for Mellie’s political demise and Charlie, Rosen, Huck and Quinn meeting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

What was your favorite scene and are you glad Papa Pope is back? Weigh in below.

TOPICS: