Ever since Liv told him that there was “hope”, Fitz has been trying to get back into her good favor. He’s taken to calling her again in the late hours of the night, serving her with his best dirty talk.  Olivia isn’t having it AT ALL, she doesn’t want to speak with Fitz about anything other than Jake’s well-being. Until, Fitz can give her further information, there will be no hope at all. (Of course, Fitz is sloppy and about as discreet as a neon sign, so Mellie catches him on the phone with Liv.)

After discovering, that someone has been following Liv,  Quinn goes to confront, Jeremy Winslow, the husband of her friend Catherine who is currently in jail after being framed for her daughter’s murder. Quinn doesn’t get much out of him, he simply warns her that no one can stop what’s coming. He subsequently shoots himself in the head.

It’s a new day, which means there is a new scandal in Washington. It seems that Virginia senator Lewis McDonald enjoys engaging in paraphilic infantilism; diaper included.  He promptly resigns his seat, which leaves Fitz to endorse another candidate. Because she’s still outside of the president’s circle, Abby is blind sighted when she’s told at the press conference that the candidate is Charles “Chip” Putney. Chip is Abby’s ex-husband who liked to use her face as his own personal punching bag during their marriage. (I felt so terrible for Abby. I thought that with the information she gave Cyrus last week, he would have at least thrown her a bone every now and then.) The White House’s new “fixer, our favorite Leo Burgen, is backing Chip’s candidacy.

Meanwhile at OPA, Huck is still playing video games with his son. The boy invites him to an arcade to play in person.  Olivia seems to be spiraling out of control, determined to get into super max prison, she’s frantically calling David Rosen who refuses to answer her phone calls.

At 1600 Pennsylvania, Abby enters the Oval Office to speak with Fitz only to see Chip standing there. She’s cool, calm and collected. Abby smiles at Chip and tells everyone that they used to be married. On the way back to her office she vomits on herself and calls Olivia to bring her another dress.  Abby tries to convince Liv that it’s ok and that she can handle his presence once again in her life. Liv isn’t having it. She tells Abby it’s “NOT” ok and she’s determined that Chip will not win his seat on the senate.

Since Chip must be destroyed, Liv and Quinn find his unknown opponent Susan Ross and take over her campaign. They make her over and put her daughter in an adorable commercial, which immediately thrusts her into the spotlight as a viable candidate for the Virginia Senate seat.

Despite, Abby telling him to check his own back door, Cyrus is still laid up with Male Escort Michael. He calls himself trying to test him by giving him slivers of information about the West Angola car bombing that recently occurred.  He waits it out to see if Elizabeth North aka “Lizzie Bear” discusses it on any news outlets. At first, there is no news of it and Cyrus is pathetically delighted.  However, Lizzie is cunning and she won’t be putting herself out on a limb if she doesn’t have to. She has a new puppet, Mellie Grant.

Though David refuses to help her, Olivia finds a way to get into super max for an off the books meeting with our favorite Secret Service agent Tom. Apparently, Fitz and Jake aren’t her only admirers. Tom is also enamored (and slightly crazed), he stares at her, telling her over and over how beautiful she is.   He sticks to his story, saying that Jake ordered him to kill Gerry Grant, but he’s most interested in asking why she left Fitz.  Tom tells Olvia that while she was away, Fitz went to her apartment. He also drops a huge bomb on Liv telling her that Fitz attempted suicide. He says, “ I could never protect him from you Ms. Pope.”

Olivia tells Tom that her father will kill him because he’s no longer useful and she tries to offer him protection for telling her the truth. Tom isn’t budging so Liv leaves.

Evidently, dirty dogs can never just lie down. Leaving work one evening, Abby is cornered by Chip. She shakes with fear and he tries to intimidate her by telling her to call off Olivia. (Susan Ross his opponent is most definitely on his radar.) Abby is done cowering. She gets herself together and runs to her car pulling her gun out on him. She threatens to kill him and ya’ll, she means it.

Shaking with adrenaline, Abby goes to Liv (who takes her gun)who subsequently urges her to use her platform to tell her story. Abby refuses, she says that women like Monica Lewinsky and Anita Hill have all told their stories and look what’s happen to them. Society does not reward women for standing up to powerful men.

Liv arrives back home in time for Fitz to give her an update on Jake including his calorie count and exercise routine in prison. Distracted, Liv tells him that she went to super max to visit Tom and questions him about his suicide attempt. Fitz ignores her questions and tells her that if she were serious about them having “hope”, she would come over and prove it. He’s drunkenly tells her what he’d do to her body if she was in his presence. Ms. Pope gets entirely worked up, and then Fitz hangs up the phone leaving her without release.

Huck (who still hasn’t been pulling his weight at OPA), goes to the arcade to observe his son from across the room. Huck leaves the arcade without his son ever knowing he was there.

Back at the White House Leo comes to Abby’s office to gloat. Apparently he’s found out that Chip’s opponent Susan was never married to her daughter’s deceased father.  The Republicans will not like that information.  He grins to himself and says “Yahtzee!”  Abby stares at him horrified that he’s used the word “Yahtzee” and she promptly tells him all of the times that Chip’s fists met her face.

Liv arrives home once again,  this time to find the Papa Pope lounging about on her couch.  Though the meeting was off the books, Rowan knows she went to see Tom and he is NOT happy. He tells her “You do not disrespect me ever! When I strike it is precise and it is for a reason. “ “You never ever choose one of them over me again I want have it. Is that clear!?”  (I thought he was going to whip out his belt and try to spank her, why is he so terrifying?!!) Liv doesn’t back down, she’s done playing nice with her daddy.

Just as Liv predicted Tom is stabbed in his cell and left for dead.

Quinn and Huck finally tell Liv about Jeremy Winslow’s suicide and they revel to her that someone has been following her.

Meanwhile Cyrus, is laid up in the bed having coffee with Male Escort Michael. They are watching Melllie on television talk about the new china patterns that she’s chosen for the White House. Nothing seems amiss until Mellie begins talking about West Angola. Cyrus finally realizes that Michael has been playing him the entire time.

At the White House, Mellie (who is ravishing in red) is hanging out on the balcony when Fitz tries to confront her about speaking on foreign policy when she should have been discussing china patterns. Mellie refuses to be scolded, he tells him in not so many words that she’s been holding  down the family for 20 years and she won’t soon forgive him for ripping her to shreds when she fell apart for tow months. Of course, Fitz’s phone rings  in the middle of Mellie’s impassioned speech and Olivia is on the other end

Tom survives his attempted assassination and Liv goes to the hospital where he confesses to her that is was her father who ordered Gerry’s death. He tells her that Rowan said, “He took my child, so I took his.”  Befuddled, Fitz asks Liv how she got him to finally tell the truth and she replies that she handled him as her father would have. (She’s the one who had him stabbed…Oh chile)

Huck’s son is apparently as crafty as Huck is, the boy tracks his IP address and finds him at OPA. He knows that Huck is his dad and he wants to know why he left.

Finally believing the truth, that Jake had nothing to do with his son’s death. Fitz has him released and brought into an underground bard room where he and Olivia greet him.

Wheeew! This was an EPISODE!!!! I know the winter finale will be EVERYTHING. Apparently Ms. Maya Pope is going to make a grand appearance.