Oh, what a difference a week makes.
After trailing his opponents in the first round
of Republican primaries,
Hollis Doyle has now taken the lead.
I'm giving America back to Americans.
No more of these south-of-the-border types
with their greedy little hands,
or these shady fellas with mustaches
looking to blow up our buildings.
This is our country. I aim to keep it that way.
Look at them. It's like Throwback Thursday in there.
A Gladiator reunion.
- This is good? - This is so good.
- This is not good. - This is good. Let it be good.
Can't let it be good if it's not good.
And that is not good.
That looks good, but that is not good.
Trust me.
So, we are agreed, then. Until Hollis Doyle goes down...
No more campaigning against each other.
- Mellie backs off of Susan. - Susan backs off of Mellie.
- We can do this. - We can do this.
[Sighs]
Start gathering Intel. I need something lethal on Susan.
What about the cease-fire?
Cease-fires get broken.
I want to make sure we're protected.
Don't even.
It can still be good. There's time.
They are never gonna be what they were, Quinn.
Deep down, Abby is one of us. It can still be good.
[Camera shutter clicking]
- You rang? - Yeah.
We're gonna need some dirt.
- On Hollis? - On Mellie.
If these talks break down, and I think they might,
we're gonna have a war on our hands.
[Camera shutter clicking]
- Synced and corrected by martythecrazy - - www.addic7ed.com -
[Door opens]
I came to take you to lunch.
I don't have time to go to lunch.
I have to sit here and come up with neutral things to say
about Mellie Grant for my press conference,
so I can't go to lunch.
Which is why I brought lunch to you.
Gettysburger!
You are a truly special human being.
Why are you saying neutral things about Mellie?
Ugh.
Because we're in a cease-fire with the Grant campaign,
which is killing me.
Mellie wants to end Medicare.
The woman hates old people.
But I have to smile and be neutral
because we are going to burn Hollis Doyle
and his hillbilly hate to the ground.
Hmm. Eyes on the prize.
It works.
I'm about to argue a case before the Supreme Court
about whether the federal government is liable
for a regulatory taking
based on the United States Corps of Engineers' denial
of a permit under Section 404
of the Clean Water Act to fill wetlands.
That's interesting.
No. It's lethally dull.
But eyes on the prize.
Every time I hear the word "wetlands" and "clean water,"
I focus on some beach vacation
the two of us might take someday.
Hopefully soon.
You want to take me on a vacation?
I'm saying it's a trick I use.
If I have a dull antitrust case,
I remember that antitrust pretty much defines
how you thought about me for a long time,
and rightfully so.
And I'll focus on all the ways I intend to make it up to you.
A Fair Housing Act case will get me thinking
of the house we might live in together.
And ERISA cases, normally the worst...
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act...
Well, I don't care about those anymore, either.
Because they help me imagine the two of us
getting old together,
and I'd like for us to get old together.
Eyes on the prize.
Mm-hmm.
What is happening?
David.
David?
I would think that it's clear.
No. No!
It's not clear. It's not clear to me.
I mean, I think it is, but I don't want to be a woman
who thinks a thing is happening that's not happening.
- It's happening. - No!
I'm gonna need you to say it.
Just say it clearly in a full sentence.
All the words.
[Clears throat]
Fine.
I may or may not be asking... Suggesting...
That we get married.
If you want to. This is your decision.
It's the 21st century.
We could mutually decide to join our lives together
if you should so choose...
Shhh!
Ask me like a normal person.
Susan...
will you marry me?
[Laughs lightly]
[Camera shutter clicking]
Cyrus.
Olivia.
Thanks for coming.
You think I'm out of touch? You think I've lost it?
That's why you called me? Cyrus...
Liv.
I'm s... please.
[Sighs]
Talk. Frankie is brilliant.
Smart, quick. But also warm, personable.
When people hand him their babies to hold,
his face actually lights up.
Not that politician grin everyone gets.
His face fills with human joy
because he likes holding people's babies.
He likes talking to people. He doesn't mind touching people.
He'll hug old ladies and pray with those sickos
you always got to visit in hospitals on the trail.
And, Liv?
He truly wants to make the country a better place.
He wants to help people.
He's pure.
They love him like he's Kennedy and King rolled into one.
He is a rockstar on the campaign trail,
but he's still losing every other primary.
You believe he's the real thing.
Yes.
No.
You believe.
You. Cyrus Beene.
You're a believer.
Cyrus, that's...
He's losing to Edison Davis.
And there's no reason why he should be.
I keep looking for something, but maybe it's me.
Maybe I'm done.
Maybe you only get one or two presidential elections.
If I've lost my touch
[sighs] if I'm bad at this now,
too old for the gig, I need to know.
You need to tell me so I can get out right now,
before I do him any more damage.
It's not you.
You're not losing to Edison.
You're losing to my father.
He's running Edison's campaign?
He's running Edison.
He's running everything and everyone.
So, what are we doing?
[Sighs]
What's the plan?
Because I'm happy to go all-in
with whatever you've got going on.
And I'll do some dirty work.
I mean, I know you say you won't kill him
because he's your dad, but let's at least talk about...
Cyrus!
I am not fighting my father, because there's no way to win.
And even if there was, I'm done trying.
What about Mellie?
You think this won't be an issue in the general election?
You think he won't steal the presidency
right out from under the American people's
piggy little noses?
My father was Command, Cyrus.
We both know he'll do a better job
of stealing the Oval than we ever did.
Olivia...
Good luck, Cyrus.
[Camera shutter clicking]
♪♪
Rowan: Hello, Abigail.
Is Olivia in trouble? What do you want?
This is not about Olivia.
Well, in that case...
It's about you. What you want.
And what do I want?
Susan Ross in the Oval.
This will crush Mellie and give your gal a real shot.
How did you know I was looking for dirt on Mellie?
[Chuckles] Well, you really don't know me.
First of all, I'm a little more focused
on Hollis right now than I am Mellie.
And once Hollis is dispatched,
you're simply gonna lie in bed peacefully
and wait for Olivia to smother you with a pillow?
Goodbye.
Olivia aborted President Fitzgerald Grant's baby.
♪♪
Ask yourself a simple question.
What would Olivia Pope do?
Our target for destruction? Hollis Doyle.
The devil you love to have a beer with.
- This should be easy. - Don't be too sure.
No matter what he does, America loves him.
His supporters certainly do.
These should help with that.
What's that?
- Oppo. - Oppo.
Olivia: It's oppo research.
Enough to attack him from three angles.
To drive wedges between his support
from three important groups.
Fiscal conservatives, women,
and anyone with the slightest sense of decency.
What do you got?
Hollis Doyle stole tax money from hardworking Americans.
Have you see the reports that Hollis Doyle
took billions of taxpayer bailout money,
then used it to buy an island in the Caribbean?
While I can't comment on an ongoing investigation,
if true, this is beyond shameful,
and the very antithesis of what this country is about.
Look, ol' Fitzy's part of what I call the lucky sperm club.
Never worked a day in his life.
Looks down on us hardworking new-money folks.
Still. He's welcome on my island anytime
so long as he keeps his drawers on.
I don't want him waving his tiny flag around,
scaring all the natives.
[Laughs] You feel me?
Hollis Doyle is a rapist.
- Rapist? - Who?
- His wife. - His second wife.
He grabbed my hair and pulled me to the floor.
I screamed. Fought. Begged for him to stop.
So you didn't rape her?
Oh...
Hollis loves him some women.
And, boy, do women love them some Hollis.
In all my years, not a one of them fillies
ever needed an arm twist to roll in my hay.
Abby: Are you kidding me? This can't be.
His numbers went up?
Five points in some polls.
How the hell?
Hollis Doyle's a racist.
Quinn: Yeah, we know that
from every time he opens his mouth to speak.
Yes, but did you know that he runs with the KKK?
Hollis Doyle went on a hunting retreat
with Martin Becker, Grand Wizard of the KKK.
And not only was he out there hunting with these pathetic...
Sheet-wearing...
Racists with big guns and tiny brains.
He took their money.
$100,000 of money from the KKK.
Hollis Doyle is...
the greatest defender of free speech
this nation has ever seen.
We're not just talking about free speech here.
We're talking hate speech. The KKK.
Will you disavow...
Looky here.
Book and thoughts, they don't hurt people.
Well, maybe books.
But it's the politically-correct media elite
that really hurts the people of this country.
That's keeping all the money for their judgy,
- greedy, over-educated selves. - Do you hear this?
You're looking at the front-runner
of the Republican nomination.
This is an opportunity.
Now, I know this steps outside of our strategy,
but I feel that we...
- What do you suggest? - A news conference.
To prove what we already know?
That Hollis Doyle is a xenophobic,
idiotic, misogynistic racist?
I'm a black man running for President.
People, my supporters, are beginning to wonder
why I'm not out there saying anything.
Your instincts are correct. You want to do what's right.
- You want to lead those people. - Yes.
Stand up for what you believe in. Stand up to the bully.
- Yes! - Those supporters of yours
are begging for you to do just that.
But they're the ones who think that you'll be their President.
You feel me, brother?
Mm.
[Chuckles]
This is America.
You have another crop of supporters.
A larger crop.
Much larger, paler crop.
Those supporters, they are okay, pleased, in fact,
at the idea of a black president.
As long as he's not too black.
As long as he understands his place.
As long as they can be sure that he's not gonna run
north of the Mason-Dixon at the first sign of daylight.
See, that is what they'll think if you stand on the podium
talking about Hollis Doyle
and quoting Rosa Parks and Huey Newton.
That is an incredibly simplistic view, Rowan.
Race is nothing more than a social construct.
And as a man who wants to lead this country,
I have a moral responsibility to these...
You need to cease talking. "Race is a social construct."
You're speaking to a man from the ghetto.
You have no idea what you're talking about,
you privileged, little Ink Well prep school
Ivy League doctor's son.
You ain't no Jesse Jackson. You ain't got nothing to preach.
You ain't got nothing to say.
You don't have a dream,
and you have not been to the mountaintop.
Which is why I chose you.
You gon' be our first black president.
And you're gonna get there
by making everyone forget that you are black.
You're going to wait. Your time will come.
When you are in the Oval, you can say whatever you want.
Until then, stand still
and hope nobody notices that this ain't no tan.
Don't make me angry.
♪♪
So...
maybe it's smarter to let the Republicans go after Hollis.
[Chuckles] That's the brilliant man
that's gonna lead us to economic prosperity.
Good thinking. Let the Republicans at him.
Right. Right.
Why should I get my hands dirty in their mess?
Exactly.
Did you, uh, come up with your short list
of, uh, possible Vice Presidential candidates?
- I have some names. - Good.
I want you to add one more to the very top.
Jake Ballard.
- Jake Ballard? - Mm-hmm.
The one who's always at this house for dinner Jake Ballard?
NSA Chief.
Young, white, handsome.
Name recognition through the roof
after his marriage to Vanessa Moss.
I don't know if that's a good idea.
♪♪
The decision is yours. You are the candidate.
- Where are we? - Nowhere.
Hollis isn't a candidate. He's a rockstar.
I mean, we can't touch the guy.
[Sighs]
Why don't we go after Hollis' stance on abortion?
Abortion?
Yes.
What would we go after?
He's anti-choice in an anti-choice party.
- But what if he's not? - You mean his personal life?
- Yes. - Do you know something?
I know that one of his mistresses...
Here's the problem. We expose him as a hypocrite.
Which I like. That's effective.
But not with abortion.
To the conservatives in this party,
it only matters what he says about abortion, how he votes.
And if he says the right things and votes the right way...
And he has and he will... They will forgive him his sins.
If anything, he could use this
to bolster his standing with conservatives.
A sinner saved. Redeemed. No.
Any discussion of abortion in the primary
will only hurt Mellie, who says the wrong things
and votes the wrong way and is tolerated on this issue
only because of everything else she brings to the party.
But God forbid they turn around
and find anything in her history...
An abortion won't destroy Hollis,
but it could destroy Mellie.
Quinn!
Turn that up.
Sally: Tell me, Hollis, are you angry at the mudslinging
that's coming out of your opponents' camps?
Hollis: Nah. They're running out of time.
It's like being a 40-year-old woman without a husband.
You don't say you're desperate, but you are.
Ugh.
In fact, to show that ol' Hollis ain't got
no hard feelings,
I'm gonna say right here and right now
that whichever one of them gals drops out first
will be my Vice President.
You can't be serious.
I'm as serious as a fat kid on Halloween.
- Can you believe this? - I should run for President.
- Disgusting. - Yeah.
The way I see it, they've only got two choices...
Hitch their wagon to the Hollis train or lose.
If Susan and Mellie think they can reach
the White House by some other means...
Well, As they say, denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
He can't be serious.
This is not the way you pick a Vice President.
Maybe we should consider it.
Joining Hollis Doyle's ticket?
We're down 140 delegates.
- You can't be serious. - Hollis could win.
He's not going to win.
He could win.
And then we'll be left with nothing.
We'll be left with our pride. Our sanity.
Our standards. Our intellects.
Our humanity. Our souls.
We need to take Hollis' Veep deal before Mellie takes it.
Liv and I have agreed to a cease-fire.
And the cease-fire holds, Liz.
Nobody is taking that deal.
We're running for President.
We need to focus everything we've got on taking down Hollis.
So you don't want to know what I have on Mellie Grant?
This is it? Mellie saw a psychic?
12 times. In the White House.
Yeah, after her son was killed.
She was trying to talk to her dead son.
Mellie wants to be Commander in Chief.
The Commander in Chief sends America's
sons and daughters into war,
and sometimes those children die.
How many of their parents shuffle around in bathrobes
eating fried chicken and trying to commune with the dead?
They get back to work.
This makes Mellie seem indulgent and crazy
and unfit for the office.
It makes her seem human.
And it's embarrassing at the very worst.
It will never be enough to stop her.
It'll have to be.
Because that is the best we've got.
It's the only thing we've got.
[Door closes]
♪♪
[Sighs]
Being Vice President wouldn't be so bad.
At least you're that much closer to the Oval.
Maybe I should take it.
Mellie, you are going to win.
[Sighs]
You have amazing policy ideas.
You have experience and vision.
The people of this country need you.
So I don't want to hear this crap, okay?
Okay.
Good.
Read the last paragraph on this page
and tell me what you think.
Thanks.
Anytime.
[Elevator bell dings]
Olivia: [Sighs]
Move away from my door.
You seem to believe that there is some finality
to our relationship.
There is not. I am your father.
Even when I'm dead and buried, you are me.
What do you want?
To tell you to take the deal. Hollis' deal.
- Why would I do that? - Because it's your best option.
You'd just rather face Hollis in the general.
You'd never admit it, but Mellie scares you.
I scare you.
Mm.
Take the deal.
Or else your pal Abby Whelan will.
What do you know?
She's not to be trusted.
She will use your friendship to disarm you, to soften you up.
And before you feel the cold steel on your skin,
she will slit your throat.
[Laughs] This isn't going to work.
You don't believe me.
It's okay
if you don't trust me, Olivia.
It's the fact that you're willing
to trust anyone but yourself that I find truly troubling.
[Elevator bell dings]
Take the deal.
[Camera shutter clicks]
We've had limited interaction since you took over at the NSA,
but, uh, it's always been positive.
I'd say so.
You're a reasonable guy.
Am I?
I mean, you don't actually know me at all.
That's why I called this meeting.
To get to know me.
No. Out of courtesy.
To tell you man to man
that I won't be considering you for Vice President.
I have some other people with more experience
who better balance the ticket electorally.
Mm. No.
What?
Look, you're a stand-up guy,
so I'll be straight with you.
I'm not a reasonable man.
What is this?
That's it. Right there.
That is why he chose you.
Because you'd still ask the question
when it's plain as God's blue sky.
You have no choice here. You know you have no choice.
But yet your brain can't compute it.
You're...
Well, it's charming.
- I think this meeting is ov... - I am your Vice President.
And Eli and I will drag your tired ass to the White House,
and you will smile and wave and wait for us
to turn you on and off and changes your batteries.
Okay?
No.
What if I say no?
Remember the car accident you had
after Liv introduced you to her dad?
The one that shattered your entire body.
That wasn't an accident.
That was me.
Don't say no to me.
[Sighs]
[Door opens]
[Door closes]
Howdy, darlin'.
Hollis.
[Sighs]
I always knew you were the smart one.
I want Mellie Grant on that ticket.
Oh, so do I. So do I.
Classy piece of ass, that lady.
Elevates us both.
However, we do have some serious concerns about your message.
It's exclusionary, and deeply offensive.
Oh, hell, you don't think I believe
any of that racist crap I spew out there
- in the boonies, do you? - [Scoffs]
I'm a businessman, Livvie.
Just giving the customers what they want.
And you thinking I'm some kind of deep-fried cross burner
'cause I'm from south of the Mason-Dixon
ain't exactly open-minded, you don't mind me saying.
[Chuckles] Personal beliefs aside,
your speeches, your rhetoric...
Is for a specific market.
And when I get to the general,
all them mouth-breathing morons
who couldn't read a newspaper column
if their lives depended on it, well, they'll think I only
just started telling people what they wanted to hear,
and they got the real me six months ago.
To tell you the truth, my most pressing concern is
there ain't enough Purell in the world
to make me want to keep shaking their filthy, inbred hands.
I mean... ugh!... Country people.
Am I right?
[Chuckles]
So, we got a deal?
We got a deal.
Now see this?
You, I got no problem with.
Mm. [Chuckles]
[Camera shutter clicking]
I've been waiting here an hour. I have meetings.
I do run a country. Where have you been?
I went to see Hollis.
- You what?! - Behind my back?
You took him up on his totally offensive...
Quinn: Mellie cannot be Hollis Doyle's VP.
Over my dead body.
Quinn. It's okay.
- How is any of this okay? - I went to see Hollis.
And then I went to share some truth, like a good
[As Sally Langston] "Lovah of Liberty."
And I just thank the good Lord every day
for all the wonderful people in America's small towns
who come out to see me day in, day out.
Their support, it means the world to me, truth be told.
Hmm. Really?
Because I've heard the truth is actually a bit different.
[Laughs] I don't know what you're hearing, but, uh...
There ain't enough Purell in the world
to make me want to keep shaking their filthy, inbred hands.
I mean, country people. Am I right?
[Camera shutter clicking]
That is taken out of context.
- It is? - That's right.
Because I remember what I said...
Because this is what you said right before.
You don't think I believe any of that racist crap
I spew out there in the boonies, do you?
So if I'm misunderstanding something, Mr. Doyle,
please feel free to set me straight.
Because it sounds to this country girl
like you are making a mockery of the voters, and by extension,
the United States of America as a whole.
Care to comment, Mr. Doyle?
Mnh-mnh. [Clears throat] Uh...
It's not the first time we've seen a campaign
spontaneously combust on the primary trail
due to a singe watershed incident.
WOMAN: You're a liar, Hollis!
Hollis, has your entire campaign been a fraud?
No comment.
Hollis! Hollis!
What about the allegations of racism and rape?
Insiders agree it won't be long before Mr. Doyle
is forced to pull out of the race.
[Camera shutter clicking]
[Both laughing]
So, how long do you think before he suspends his campaign?
At the rate his donors are dropping out,
I'd say 24 hours at the most.
[Both laugh]
[Sighs]
So, in 24 hours, Hollis will be out of the race,
and we won't be fighting on the same side anymore.
No. Tomorrow we go back in the ring.
Mellie versus Susan.
Enemies again.
Hey, it was fun while it lasted.
It was.
Abby.
I'm not going to hold back.
Oh, you shouldn't.
Because I want the pleasure of beating you
when you're running full speed.
Let's go then.
Liz, it's me. Let's get everyone together.
♪♪
[Camera shutter clicking]
The view is much better from the Truman.
[Door closes]
I don't know if I would call this an honor,
but I am surprised to see you.
I respect you, Edison.
By this town's standards, you should be canonized.
I don't need your pep talk, Olivia.
Check the numbers.
I'm two-thirds of the way to the nomination.
And I would be happy for you if I thought there was a chance
that you might actually run the country.
- I'm the favorite. - You may win.
You may be sworn in as President.
But you will not be running the country.
My father will.
Is that all, Olivia?
Michigan.
You were down six points the night before the primary.
You win by three.
Ohio, same thing.
Idaho caucus.
Statistical tie going in.
Do you see a pattern?
[Sighs]
My father is stealing this election for you.
Not because he believes in you.
Not because he wants to lay history at your feet.
He's doing it because he thinks you're easy to control.
I wonder where he could have gotten that idea?
You can make this about me if you want...
It's always about you,
whether I'm the one making it or not.
Has he suggested Jake Ballard as your running mate yet?
[Scoffs]
♪♪
I am this close to the White House.
Not like this.
You need to drop out.
And find out what it means to say no to your father?
I can help you.
I can get you out of this race
and make sure that you have a real shot
at the presidency in the next frame.
How?
By saying everything you've ever wanted to say
about Hollis Doyle.
The polls had you beating Hollis Doyle
in the general election.
You happy to see him gone?
[Chuckles] I'm running against Frankie Vargas.
Not Hollis Doyle.
Thank you. I have to prepare for my speech.
I find it hard to believe that as a black man
running for president, you have no opinion on the matter.
You want a sound bite? You want the truth?
Hollis Doyle is a disgusting piece of trash.
A relic.
A man, like many other white men,
who have had a free run at prosperity and opportunity.
For whom discrimination and injustice
are as foreign to them as the Muslim immigrants
that they want to ban from our country.
And now that they don't have a free run, they're lashing out.
To be honest, I can't believe it took him explicitly
expressing his racism for you all to start
asking these damn questions.
He ends every speech with "Dare to be great again."
Huh? What?
Should we return to slavery? Jim Crow?
In today's America, my gay friends can get married.
In today's America, I can vote.
50 years ago... In Hollis Doyle's lifetime...
That wasn't the case.
In today's America, my parents don't have to
recruit a white couple who worked alongside them
at the cereal plant to apply for a mortgage
because banks wouldn't lend to folks with brown skin.
In today's America, we have the Brandon Bill,
which means I may not have to tell my future son
that he could be murdered by law enforcement
just for asking why he was pulled over.
Black lives do matter
because young black people are under attack.
Immigrants, too.
The fact that Doyle insists on saying "all lives matter"
when talking about this movement really pisses me off.
It's like walking up into someone else's funeral
and screaming, "Why are you not crying for my daddy?"
He's dead, too."
Well, yes, he is. And that is sad.
But that is not the topic of the conversation.
Go stand over there and let the adults talk.
Hollis Doyle is a thug. A punk.
And the people who support him are thugs or punks.
Or they condone his behavior.
They are not Americans.
The idea that this country belongs to one kind of person
is the least American idea that anyone has ever had.
In fact, it is the opposite of the ideals of this nation.
Nothing needs to be restored.
Nothing needs to be made great again.
We are a better nation than we were 20 years ago.
Than we were 50 years ago. Than we were 100 years ago.
Than we were at our founding.
That is the point of America.
We are a country where we are always greater than our past.
I am proud to live in a nation where a black man
has a legitimate shot at the White House.
That's American greatness.
[All murmuring]
He just lost the presidency.
And there you have it, folks.
Raw, passionate words from Senator Edison Davis.
The kind of unfiltered talk we are not accustomed
to hearing from a presidential hopeful.
You have to wonder how voters will respond.
[Sighs] Do you really have to wonder, Angela?
I thought I told you to put the fear of God,
the fear of me in him.
Trust me. I followed orders.
Then how do you explain the man self-immolating
on live television.
I don't.
You know, Senator, you, uh,
you spoke for a lot of people in this country.
Come on, concede! Come on, you son of a...
[Sighs]
Conceding? Not conceding? What?
[Quietly] Conceding.
[Muted cheers]
Well, I'm sorry to hear that.
Okay.
Thank you, Senator.
[Drums on desk]
[Cheers and applause]
This is really happening, Cyrus.
Congratulations, Governor Vargas.
[Scoffs] You're the Democratic nominee
for the President of the United States.
[Cheering]
Oh!
[Laughs]
- Yeah! - Ha!
[Camera shutter clicking]
Cyrus: Why'd you change your mind?
Because even when he's running full speed, I'm running faster.
I don't know what that means, but may I say how glad I am
that you have chosen to never go to therapy?
It has served us so well.
Cyrus, got to go.
You confirm the dirt on Susan?
It's as bad as we thought.
Oh, not bad meaning bad. Bad meaning good.
Bad meaning really good for us.
This is enough.
To get Susan to drop out of the race?
Yeah, it is.
[Camera shutter clicking]
Ms. Whelan, you wanted to see me?
You led Olivia Pope's Secret Service detail
when she was in the White House, right?
Yes, ma'am.
The last night she lived in the White House,
she visited Senator Grant in the Capitol
during the Senator's filibuster.
Were you with her that evening?
Yes, ma'am.
Do you remember where Miss Pope went
after she left the Capitol that night?
♪♪
- Liv. - Abby.
We need to talk.
You have something.
And I'm sure you do, too.
Come to the White House tonight.
We'll talk.
[Camera shutter clicking]
- Olivia Pope is here. - Send her in.
- Oh, she's in the Oval. - Should I...
- Oval? - Yeah. They all are.
They?! Who's they?
[Indistinct conversations]
[Sighs]
Olivia, this was not the plan.
This will only work if we get everyone on board.
All the players. From the start.
Fine.
Okay, everyone.
The two campaigns have agreed to exchange opposition research.
We show you the worst dirt we have on Susan.
You show us the worst dirt you have on Mellie.
Tonight, right now, in front of everybody.
And each side has a decision to make.
Stay in the race or get out.
If you decide to stay in, the dirt will be used
- against you publicly. - And if you decide to get out,
the dirt gets buried and you leave the race clean,
ready to run another day.
So, this is how you Republicans do it?
- Any questions? - Yes. One.
Why the hell are we doing this?
Because they want one of you to drop out.
Susan: I'm not dropping out.
Neither am I.
Well, I'm double not dropping out.
Did you just call doubles on not dropping out?
- Yes. - You should drop out.
Nobody wants anybody to drop out.
But the fact is,
if you deploy your arsenals against each other,
you're both gonna get hurt, one of you mortally.
And the one who survives will end up losing
to Frankie Vargas anyway.
This is a way for us to pick the strongest candidate,
protect the one who isn't,
and give the party the best chance
to win the election in the fall. It's smart.
How do we know this is the worst you've got?
Why would we hold something back at this point?
I'll go first. Susan...
Wait. Hold on.
I just want to say,
if this is about the thing with the koala...
It's... It's not. Susan, it's about David.
David?
Liv?
Your boyfriend and advisor agreed to drop
a longstanding investigation by the Department of Justice
into Tamarac Sugar in exchange for securing your endorsement
of Governor Baker in the Florida primary.
- It's all there. - Is that true?
- [Sighs] - Is that true?!
- How could you do this withou... - How could she do this?!
Are you friggin' serious?! You lied to me again!
- Here. Here. - Thank you.
If this is true, Rosen, I'll be accepting
your resignation as Attorney General
of the United States in the morning.
Are you sure you want to do that, Mr. President?
Putting aside what it does to your legacy,
if David resigns because of this,
then Susan has to step down as Vice President,
and she'll never become President.
Do you want to ruin her career for something he did?
I wanted you to win.
Shut up. Abby, what do you have?
I'm sorry.
♪♪
[Sighs]
Mellie hired a psychic to talk to Jerry after he died.
He was in the White House a dozen times.
- She was grieving. - [Scoffs]
I don't think it's fair to use that.
Liv. Abby.
These were the rules, Mr. President.
It was my son.
Well, at least we know what we're facing.
♪♪
Where are you going, Susan?
I'm done.
I quit.
Congratulations, Mellie.
♪♪
[Door closes]
You can't quit! I refuse to let you quit.
That you won't throw that idiot Rosen under the bus
so you can be the President of the United States
is ludicrous, and that's the only word for it.
Liz, every voter in this country is gonna think
I knew about that big sugar deal.
Or, if I didn't know, that I should have.
It's over. I'm out.
[Scoffs]
Ludicrous.
[Door closes]
I know there's nothing I can say.
No.
Or do.
Also no.
I didn't want to do this... Me run for President.
Sounded... ridiculous.
But you convinced me.
It took you months, but you convinced me.
You made me want it, and then you took it away.
You have to believe me when I say how sorry I am,
and that I know I screwed up.
But honestly, I did it for you.
Because I believed in you so much...
- No, you didn't. - You know I did.
- Y-You didn't. - You know I did.
You didn't.
I know you didn't,
because you didn't think I could do it on my own.
Oh, the worst part is, if you had believed in me...
You'd still be running for President.
I'd still be in love with you.
Susan, please, I love you.
I think you're amazing.
I know that!
I know I'm amazing.
I'm witty and cute and funny
and smarter than you.
I'm incredible, David.
I'm gonna change the damn world, which is why this is over.
I know, but you don't.
I can't be with someone who doesn't believe in me.
Whether I'm the President of the United States
or some substitute teacher in suburbia somewhere,
I believe in myself,
and I need to be with someone who feels the same way.
You can go now.
'Cause guess what?
You just got dumped
by the Vice President of the United States of America,
and she has work to do.
♪♪
[Crying]
It is the end of the line for Susan Ross,
who has announced that she is suspending
her campaign for the presidency.
Though ahead in some polls, she attributed the decision
to a vastly diminished war chest,
a result of her refusal to court soft-money donors.
[Camera shutter clicking] It is not my time to be President.
But I have been called upon to lead
by clearing the field in this race,
because it is essential that a Republican be the winner
in the general election.
And that Republican should be Mellie Grant.
What did I say?
[Sighs]
I know, I know.
No. I want to hear the words.
- What did I say? - [Laughs]
"Mellie, you can do this.
You will do this. You will win."
And what happened?
- I won. - Say what?
I won!
Oh, come on. A little louder now.
I won!!
[Laughs]
Oh!
[Sighs]
[Door opens] Mrs. Grant? They are ready for your interview.
Thank you, Margaret.
[Clears throat]
I'll see you after.
- [Camera shutter clicks] - [Applause]
[Camera shutters clicking]
Thank you, Madam Vice President.
And thank all of you for your support.
It's been a long, tough road, but the journey has just begun.
[Applause]
It's time to unite as citizens of this great land,
and show the world that the United States of America
is stronger than ever.
[Applause]
Wow.
She actually did it.
We actually did it.
True.
For you. A Bordeaux.
As a consolation prize?
[Chuckles]
That would only be if you lost.
Have you seen the news this evening?
I think I lost.
I think you lost on purpose.
Well, why the hell would I do that?
What else did you have on Mellie, Abby?
Nothing. I thought the psychic was enough.
- Abby. - What?
Mellie going off the deep end and consulting a crystal ball
doesn't exactly spell future leader of the free world to me.
What else did you have on Mellie, Abby?
I saw the folder.
I know there was something in there.
What did you have on Mellie?
[Sighs]
I didn't have anything on Mellie.
It wasn't her?
It...
It was me. You had something on me?
The night Mellie won her filibuster,
the night you moved out of the White House...
My abortion.
I didn't want to hurt you.
Thank you.
That would have been a smart move for a campaign...
Taking down Mellie by shaming me.
But the thing is, I'm not ashamed at all.
The only person who would have really been hurt is him.
It would have hurt him.
And not just publicly.
[Sighs]
Abby.
He doesn't know.
No one knows. How did you find out?
Your father told me.
And, Liv, I don't think he's done with you.
[Door opens]
[Door closes] I'm not going to apologize.
I said what had to be said.
No apologies necessary, son.
I just need to confirm what I already know.
That speech was Olivia's idea.
She saved you and beat me. Hmm?
You're not crafty enough to execute that move on your own.
You can't hurt me.
Luckily, I don't have to.
Listen, I am nobody...
Fool.
I'm gonna allow you to live
because Rowan may need you in the future.
I would have made a fantastic Vice President.
You really missed out.
We would have had some fun times.
Tell Liv I need her help.
Tell her I want to escape.
Tell her I'm chasing the sun.
[Breathing shakily]
[Camera shutter clicks]