- Title: Scandal – One For the Dog
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With Huck (Susan Pourfar) being held and tortured under the Patriot Act for what the CIA believe is his part in the attempted assassination of the President (Tony Goldwyn), Justice Thornton (Debra Mooney) comes clean with Olivia (Kerry Washington) about trading Huck to protect herself. The Supreme Court Justice also calls an emergency meeting of their secret council where she tells Olivia, Cyrus (Jeff Perry), and Mellie (Bellamy Young) her suspicions that Hollis Doyle (Gregg Henry) is the man actually behind the planned assassination.
Mellie’s unusual, not to mention highly illegal, move to forge Fitz’s signature on a letter of reinstatement while he’s still in a coma to halt the power grab of acting President Sally Langston (Kate Burton) and Hollis Doyle buys the group some time. Hoping that the President awakes for real in the next 72 hours, Olivia assembles to team to convince doctors, the Secret Service, and the media to help them live the lie and buy them the time they need.
With the help of U.S. Attorney David Rosen (Joshua Malina) and Langston, who doesn’t for one-second believe Fitz is conscious and ready to take back the White House, Olivia manages the release of Huck and the plan a trap for the real assassin (Susan Pourfar). Meanwhile Olivia’s has to deal with the increasing strain on her relationship with Edison (Norm Lewis) and the legitimate questions from Quinn (Katie Lowes) who asks why Olivia isn’t going after Hollis Doyle for the Cytron bombing and hiring someone to kill the President of the United States.
By the end of the episode Mellie’s ruse proves true as Fitz finally awakes, but there is plenty of fallout for the show to cover in the coming weeks including the physical and mental effects of the attack on the President, Quinn’s quest for the truth, the continued machinations of Hollis Doyle and the once-again Vice President Sally Langston, Edison’s suspicions about the true nature of Olivia’s relationship with Fitz, and Cyrus and James’ (Dan Bucatinsky) adoption of a young baby girl.