(ABC)

The second installment in "Scandal’s" third season gave us a window into Olivia’s relationship with her father via intermittent flashbacks and saw President Grant take some pretty defining steps toward securing his future in the oval office. Read on for a complete recap of tonight’s scandalous twists and turns. 

Blasts From the Past: 

Five years ago it seems Ms. Pope was attempting to repair her relationship with her dad who had sent her away to a slew of boarding schools following her mother’s death. In exchange for him paying off her law school loans, Olivia agreed to have dinner with her father every Sunday. It seems these two are not exactly conversationalists though, because all Eli Pope can think to tell his daughter is about some new mastodon fossils that he’s working with at the Smithsonian. 

Every Sunday Olivia brings a doggy bag to her friend Huck—a heavily bearded homeless man who lives in Union Station. One evening Olivia is mugged getting off the Metro but Huck is there to save the day. Huck speedy assault tactics peak Olivia’s suspicion and when she tells her dad about the attack at dinner the next week she asks that his “friend at the FBI” look into Huck. When Olivia herself approaches Huck about the incident he admits he used to work for a secret branch of the CIA called B613 that operated on U.S. soil. B613, he said, is run out of a company called Acme Limited also known as Wonderland. Understandably Olivia thinks the homeless man is crazy and her suspicions are confirmed when her father tells her that a man matching Huck’s description is schizophrenic and has quite a rap sheet, including being arrested a few days earlier. 

Still Olivia’s not totally convinced and she turns to David Rosen, a lawyer and friend of her Georgetown law professor, who tells her that there was in fact no man with Huck’s prints in the system or with a recent arrest record. It’s then that Olivia notices the lettering on a pen her father had given her says Acme Limited. When Olivia confronts her father he says that she should not pry because she cannot –and should not want to—know what he does for a living. That answer does not satisfy Liv and she storms off. 

But if you think the exploration of Olivia’s past ends there you are sorely mistaken. Olivia confronts her father once more this time on the arm of her new fiancé Senator Edison Davis who was recently appointed to the Senate intelligence committee. Now Olivia believes she’s got some clout because she can ask Edison to investigate her father. She demands that she have Huck and the he be allowed to become a functioning member of society once more. But, nothing is simple in the world of Eli Pope and next thing she knows, Olivia is being told that Edison was in a suspicious accident and if she doesn’t give him that engagement ring back and stop asking questions, Huck will never be free of the presence of B613. 

Power of the President:

Flash forward five years and the leader of the free world is calling up his mistress who is of course going for a run in her beautiful white track shirt and Lululemon athletic pants. The president misses his favorite lady because when something happens—like him playing basketball with the Dalai Lama—she’s the only one he wants to tell. Fitz dreams of an alternate universe where he and Liv live in a town in Vermont. They have four kids. He’s the mayor and she makes Jam. That sounds nice doesn’t it? But this is a Shonda Rhimes show and tranquility just won’t cut it. 

Speaking of cutting, Olivia tells Fitz that she will fight the White House hard in defense of Jeannine Lock who is accused of being the President’s mistress. Fitz’s response: Go for the jugular. 

Olivia proceeds to host a press conference toting Jeannine as morally pure and accusing the “White House spin machine” (Yes Cyrus and Mellie it’s you she’s talking to) of making up lies. 

I said it last week and I’ll say it again. Never underestimate the power of Mellie grant as twice tonight she proved she was a force to be reckoned with.  At Mellie’s behest, an anonymous source leaked parts of the President’s and Janine's schedules showing that there were supposedly times when they were in the White House alone together. Just when OPA thinks they’ve got this one under control, Mellie pulls a fast one offering Jeannine two million dollars to go on television and admit she had an affair with the President. 

In the midst of all this, Eli Pope shows up at OPA to the bewilderment of all Olivia’s colleagues. Daddy Pope informs his daughter that Jake Ballard’s life is in her hands. If she chooses to defend Jeannine Jake dies and if she lets Jeannine burn Jake lives. Olivia asks Huck just how bad it was for B613 members who disobey an order. Huck explains there is nothing worse then being tortured and thrown in “the hole.”

Olivia hopes Fitz can use some of that Presidential power to get Jake released but after conferring with Cyrus, Fitz learns there are a few limits on presidential power not stated on the constitution and B613 is beyond his control. Never wanting to disappoint his Livie, Fitz issues an ultimatum of his own: either he will admit that he had an affair with Olivia and lose his claim to the White House or he will tell the press he had an affair with Jeannine in exchange for Jake’s release. 

Fitz admits to the affair with Jeannine though not everyone believes him including VP Sally Langston. It appears Fitz is not quite as keen as he was last week to step aside and let Langston become the leader of the Republican Party. 

Before the night’s end Olivia’s past comes back to haunt her once more. Quinn was digging around Olivia’s email inbox searching for some clues about her relationship with her father and finds out about the deal that Olivia made to secure Huck’s safety. Maybe Quinn is starting to take her responsibility as Huck’s protégée a little too seriously. 

Huck confronts Olivia about the deal and nearly chokes her to death in the parking garage asking if her father is “command” the leader of B613 and the very person who had Huck thrown in “the whole.” A terrified Olivia gasping for breath admits that “command” is indeed Eli Pope.  

The episode ends with Olivia angrily accepting a call from her father and upon instruction she opens her door to find a bloody and beaten Jake Ballard. 

What were your thoughts on tonight’s episode? Were the flashbacks enlightening? Were you surprised that Olivia didn’t used to like wine? What do you think the incident in the parking garage means for the future of Huck and Liv’s friendship? Are you happy to see Jake back? We still don’t know what is in the file we saw at the end of last week although Cyrus made reference to it once tonight suggesting it is something pretty revealing. 

Sound off with your thoughts below. Check out the promo for next week’s new episode and check back here next Thursday for another rundown. For tonight, It’s handled. 

Reach Staff Reporter Kate Guarino here.