This week's episode of "Scandal" picks up right where last week left off with Rowan visiting Maya in the prison cell. He informs his wife that she will soon be taken to an undisclosed location even further away because Olivia has grown a little too nosy. Maya demands to see her daughter before she leaves but of course Rowan will not grant her request. His refusal to oblige leads us to the most grotesque scene of the night where Maya–clearly wrestling with some demons after having been imprisoned for 20 years—chews on her own wrist until breaking an artery (major eww).

Meanwhile Cyrus and Mellie are still engaging in their vicious ploy to out Douglas Langston as gay and thereby forcing Sally to withdraw her name as an independent candidate for the presidency. Cyrus arranges for his newly unemployed husband to have a personal sit down interview for a profile on Mr. Langston. At first Douglas is reluctant to open up but when Cyrus tells James to wear more casual clothes and bring some bourbon to the next meeting, Langston’s not hesitant to open up maybe just a little too far. Before sending James on his little adventure Mellie asks Cyrus of he's really ready to commit to having someone else fall for his husband because in Mellie’s experience when two people get that close sometimes adultery happens. Cyrus assures Mellie; “my husband is not your husband." Oh Cyrus, how wrong you are. Just before Cyrus heads to bed he gets a text from the photographer who he asked to tail Douglas and the guys got some pretty intense pictures of James and Douglas going at it. It seemed peculiar to see Cyrus Bean cry and it's pretty clear that for such a strong man shedding a tear is a rarity.

This week at the Marcus campaign Josie's laptop, which supposedly has all the donor contacts and stump speeches, got stolen. Candace jumps the gun and alerts the press that the Reston campaign is responsible for the burglary. Pope and Associates track the laptop to Reston headquarters but as the one and only David Rosen gets ready to make indictments his tech guy discovers that the laptop was wiped clean before the Reston camping got a hold of it. As it turns out Candace planned the whole thing. She even got a campaign aid to deliver the laptop to the Reston office making it look like a burglary. Of course OPA discovers all this after Harrison sleeps with Candace...oops. Olivia tells Josie that if she fires Candace she can get past this and her candidacy won't suffer too much. But Josie just can't do that to her sister/daughter. Instead Josie takes the blame for the burglary and withdraws her candidacy. Is this the end of Josie Marcus? More importantly is this the end of Lisa Kudrow because I sure loved seeing her on my TV again on Thursday nights?

If you build it they will come. Unsurprisingly Fitz and Olivia win the award for this weeks most swoon worthy scenes. Fitz is desperate to get a hold of his favorite lover but Liv is not so keen to talk to the man that killed her mother. She even goes so far as to destroy the Fitz phone but Jake Wisemen that he is warns her that the president will track her down anyway and so he does. Fits flies her to a little house in Vermont. Well little is probably the wrong word more like an absolutely gorgeous breathtakingly perfect and wonderfully large house in Vermont. When Olivia skeptically asks "why am I here," Fitz responds that he had this house belt for her for, for them. A house where they could make jam and raise a family. A house with beautiful fireplaces marble countertops and rooms for lots of kids. "I wanted you to see the dream before I sell it" he tells her. And of course she kisses and because really when Tony Goldwyn presents you with a house who wouldn't kiss him? Then and there? Then we proceed to get one of those Hallmark scandal steamy Olivia and fits sex secenes but I won't go into all those details. Fitz and Olivia wake up in bed the next morning and before she jumps on a helicopter to head back to DC she agrees that it should do whatever it takes to bring down her father sand tells him not to sell the house just yet. Is it naïve to think there's hope section Olivia for one day make jam in Vermont?

Quinn, meanwhile, is struggling with her own double life as a member of B613. Charlie who is now officially her handler makes it clear that last week's make out session was all work and no play because it's easier for her to play his girlfriend then for him to be threatening her with a gun to her head. OPA is working to decipher the image of the woman who killed the security guard whilst Quinn is working to cover tracks. As the episode draws to a close, Huck informs OPA that he cannot in fact clear up the image and they can't identify the the woman responsible. But when Quinn returned home she finds hock sitting in her house with his toolbox ready. The two of them are about to have a very serious conversation about B613 and from the looks of it, things are going to get ugly.

But clearly Quinn was not the only character returning home to surprises this evening because ending scandal with just the Hocking Quinn bombshell is nowhere near explosive enough so as Olivia is walking back into her apartment she is a voice behind her say "Hi Olivia" and when she turns around she's confronted with none other than the face of her mother who has escaped from prison after 20 years.

Side note: Abby and David are becoming a bit domesticated. It’s cute seeing them in bed together again. 

There's no Scandal next week because of Thanksgiving. Enjoy lots of turkey and some red wine in honnor of Olivia Pope. Scandals midseason finale begins in two weeks so check out the promo and hit the comments with your thoughts. 

Reach Staff Reporter Kate Guarino here.