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ABC’s Scandal ‏@ScandalABC Scandal is back with new episodes starting Thursday, September 27 at 10|9c on ABC!

kerry washington ‏@kerrywashington Just wrapped WEEK ONE of @scandalABC Season 2 🙂 Its good to be back with this cast & crew. Feels like a home away from home. Very gr8ful 🙂

Season One Recap

Meet Olivia Pope, a former member of the White House Communications and PR team who helped then Governor, now President Grant get to his new address of Pennsylvania Avenue.  She now runs her own firm dedicated to protecting the privacy and rights of the elite.   Quinn Perkins is the newest member of the firm who still cannot believe she is asked to join this elite group.  She spends most of this first season in awe of her new job and colleagues. Olivia and her tough associates meet many different clients each episode.  They once confront White House intern, Amanda Tanner, to frighten her from going any further with her story that she had an affair with President Grant. Olivia questions Amanda and realizes she is telling the truth, causing her to flip and take Amanda on as a client.  We discover that Olivia herself has a past with President Grant and he still proclaims to be in love with her.  A flashback episode let’s us see how they met and when their admiration turned to affection and then to love.  We also see that President Grant’s Vice President Sally Langston (hello – Ellis Grey!) was his key opponent in the primary when running for the nomination. Billy Chambers was her campaign manager then and is now a big royal pain in Olivia’s ass.  There’s a sex tape (the old fashion kind – audio, not video)  which we find out is Olivia and the President, not Amanda Tanner.  Quinn begins dating a reporter who is investigating the Amanda Tanner story after it’s reported she is pregnant and she mysteriously disappears.  The President’s “pitbull” Chief of Staff, Cyrus will stop at nothing to make sure the President’s reputation stays squeaky clean.  Gideon the reporter is killed and Olivia and her team swoop in to clean it all up and get Quinn out of his apartment.  President Grant wants to give it all up to be with Olivia, she will not allow it.  The First Lady blames Olivia for not keeping the President satisfied causing him to stray with an intern.  Billy holds a press conference and admits that he was the one who had an affair with Amanda Tanner, not the President.  Quinn has a secret identity and we have no idea who she really is.   What will Season 2 bring?

S02/Ep01 White Hat’s Off

The second season opens with The First Lady soaking up the spotlight as she is pregnant with “America’s baby.”  Preparing for their live television interview that will reveal the sex of the baby, she is stammering on to the President asking him about nursery colors.  He is uncomfortable with all of the attention the pregnancy is getting, but the First Lady reminds him that the baby is what is keeping his approval ratings up.

All summer long we asked the question – Who is Quinn Perkins?  What is her real name?  Why does she have a fake identity?  It turns out Quinn Perkins is really Lindsay Dwyer.  A young woman who found out her boyfriend was cheating on her and left a ranting message on his machine after a few cocktails that may have mentioned killing him (hey – we’ve all been there ladies.)  Well a wrapped bomb showed up at this office the next day killing him and six other people.  She was a main suspect. After that, Quinn/Lindsay’s guess is as good as mine.  She claims she woke up in a D.C. hotel with a new Id, passprt, Social Security card – a whole new identity laid out for her.  Olivia believes her story.  Unfortunately no one else does.  Quinn has ben arrested and is on trail for murder.  Even after consulting Olivia, David, the U.S Attorney is asking for the death penalty.

In usual Scandal fashion, everyone is talking like the speed of lightening, you have to pay attention to follow along!

The President and his wife do the interview. They find out, on air, they are having a boy.  The First Lady takes this moment to weigh in on her husband’s foreign affair policies and whether or not the U.S should invade East Sudan. Cyrus seems so pleased.  Fitz berates Millie letting her know that under no circumstances is she the President so she should never voice her opinion about serious matters or try to force his hand.  He ends up calling Olivia for a chat that seems like the first time they have spoken since he came to her apartment.  Olivia talks him through how to handle the Millie / Sudan quote.

With the evidence building up against Quinn, she decides to take a plea to save her life and fires Olivia.  Oh no she didn’t! Olivia admits to Quinn that she has known all along she wasn’t really Quinn Perkins so please just rehire her and not take the plea.  Olivia asks Huck to get whatever video tapes he can from the hotel Quinn woke up in.  Huck says he found a surveillance tape from across the street but there was nothing on it.  Olivia makes a phone call to someone.  And they must be pretty important because when she admits to them she is going to lose this case, fast forward to the day in court and the judge declares a mistrial.  Only Olivia!

The episode ends with Huck watching the tapes again, which we clearly see that he is on the tape outside the hotel.  Then we see a flashback of Lindsay waking up in the hotel, discovering her new identity, and leaving as Quinn.  Huck sees her leave the hotel and gets back in a car to tell his “boss” that she took all the information for the new identity.  And who is in the car with him?

Olivia Pope.