When Liv and QPA come together to free Charlie, conflict with Quinn bubbles to the service. Full recap of Scandal, “The Noise.”
“The Noise” opens in the aftermath of Charlie’s arrest on suspicion of hijacking Air Force Two. QPA has been cordoned off by the FBI as a crime scene as they collect evidence. (Liv’s white hat is totally disrespected in this process!) The special prosecutor (Lonnie Menken) gives Mellie and Cyrus an update in the Oval Office, detailing Charlie’s aliases and recent visits to the White House.
Afterwards, Lonnie visits Charlie, who is being held at a secret site and tortured. Lonnie offers Charlie his freedom in exchange for signing a confession that implicates Mellie as the person who supposedly paid Charlie to assassinate Cyrus in the Air Force Two hijacking. WHATTTTTT???!!! Charlie is flummoxed, but realizes that Cy is pulling all the strings. Charlie refuses to sign the confession and Lonnie leaves him to be further tortured into submission.b After a brief pow-wow with Cyrus in their secret lair, he realizes that there’s another way to get Charlie to sign the confession…
Elsewhere Quinn has gone to Liv for help exonerating Charlie. The atmosphere in Liv’s apartment is really tense, but Liv seems contrite and willing to do what she can to help. Liv explains that this is Cyrus making abid for the White House, but Quinn refuses to let Charlie with the sacrificial lamb. Quinn is still upset that Liv tried to use Abby to get QPA to investigate Cy’s connection to the hijacking. But now Quinn is all in. She proposes a temporary partnership, solely for the purpose of freeing Charlie. At the Grant Institute, Quinn and Liv update Fitz, Marcus, Huck, Abby, and David Rosen. They decide that they should reach out to Mellie to warn her of Cy’s underhandedness. Fitz will go to the Oval, while the rest of the team looks into Lonnie.
When Fitz meets with Mellie to tell her about Cyrus’ plan and Charlie’s innocence, Mellie thinks this is all a ridiculous plot by Liv.
At the Grant Institute, Huck is hopeful that the Old Liv is back, but he’s skeptical (Fitz is hopeful too, but also questions his judgement.). Huck finishes sectioning off the meeting room and QPA/OPA gets to work. But the thing is, Lonnie is pretty clean. After losing his young son in a mass shooting situation, Lonnie has been committed to keeping violent offenders behind bars. He has no shady transactions, secret bank accounts, etc. So how could a guy like this be linked up with Cyrus? They’re interrupted when Quinn receives a text from the nanny that Robin is sick.
In actuality, it’s a message from Cyrus. This is how he will get Charlie to sign the confession. Cy makes the proposal the Quinn, promising Charlie’s release in exchange for framing Mellie for hijacking Air Force Two. Quinn is incensed. This has nothing to do with her and Charlie. Cy gets frustrated… doesn’t Quinn see that this is Liv just using the situation to get back in Mellie’s good graces? He gives Quinn a burner phone that she can use to contact him over the next 24 hours.
When a non-Gladiator tries to get you to explain your #Scandal obsession. Over. A. Cliff. pic.twitter.com/tk7CuD0Bmj
— Scandal (@ScandalABC) March 31, 2018
When Quinn returns to the Grant Institute, she admits to meeting with Cyrus and the deal for Charlie. Liv is adamant that Mellie must be protected, but Quinn has to put Charlie’s life first. This triggers a massive argument, where Quinn tells Liv that she’s no longer part of the family. Huck and Abby try to calm things down, but Liv takes her things and leaves.
As Mellie watches Cyrus interact with the press, she starts to get suspicious. She asks Jake his opinion about Cyrus hijacking Air Force Two. Jake doesn’t think the accusation has more merit. He’s much more concerned about Liv worming her way back into the White House. Mellie orders Jake to look into Cyrus, and he obeys. When Jake goes to see Cyrus, Cy admits to everything! He does this because he believes Jake will join him. If Jake tells Mellie the truth, Liv will get back into Mellie’s good graces and Jake will be out in the cold again, a consolation prize to both women. Cy asks Jake to consider the offer, but that it’s only available for a limited time.
Similarly, when David accuses Lonnie of framing Charlie. Does Cyrus have something on him. But for Lonnie, this is an act of vengeance for his son’s death by a mentally disturbed man who never should have had access to a gun… and Mellie is pro-gun.
Marcus goes to see Mellie to make the case that Liv is right, that Liv has always been on Mellie’s side. Besides, doesn’t Mellie miss Liv? Yes, but Mellie definitely misses Marcus, too. The moment becomes increasingly intimate… and Jake watches this all from a secret camera in the Oval.
Liv goes back to QPA/OPA and sees the aftermath of the FBI’s raid (including her white hat on the floor). She has asked Quinn to meet her there. Liv doesn’t trust herself anymore (or her fervor for protecting the Republic and Mellie). But she trusts Quinn and gives her the white hat. The team will do whatever Quinn wants.
But when Quinn calls Cyrus to say that she won’t convince Charlie to sign the confession, Cy says he no longer needs her. He has another plan… and that plan is Jake. UGH. Jake goes to see Charlie (who looks so much worse). Jake threatens that if Charlie doesn’t sign the confession, he will kill Quinn. So, of course, Charlie signs.
At the end of the episode, Lonnie is giving a press conference implicating Mellie as a suspect in the Air Force Two hijacking. Mellie is called out of bed (with Marcus 😉 ) to deal with the fall out. She goes to Jake and finally realizes that Liv was right about Cyrus all along. And Jake is in on it! So, Mellie goes to the person she can count on. Mellie asks Liv to meet her in the bunker and requests that Cyrus be killed. But if Liv is the Old Liv that Huck and Fitz want back, can she actually murder a man?
How shook are you right now!? #Scandal pic.twitter.com/PQZEUQJ84h
— Scandal (@ScandalABC) March 30, 2018
Three more episodes to go…
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9p/8c on ABC.