‘Scandal’ Recap: A Fan Favorite Character Returns To Save Olivia

That. Was. Incredible. The Feb. 19 episode of ‘Scandal’ shocked every Gladiator to the core. The last person you expected saved Olivia, and it was glorious.

Bless you, Shonda Rhimes. The Feb. 19 episode of Scandal was everything and more. Olivia (Kerry Washington) was finally rescued, a fan-favorite character made a shocking return and Abby (Darby Stanchfield) proved that once a Gladiator, always a Gladiator.

‘Scandal’ Recap: This Is As High As You Fly

The episode picked up right where we left off — Olivia being handed over to the Iranians. Since Olivia could speak Farsi, she told her kidnappers that the buyers were going to kill them. Being the crafty Olivia Pope that she is, she told the same thing to the buyers.

‘Scandal’: 5 Reasons Why [SPOILER] Should Return For Good

The exchange was a no-go, and we were back to square one.

After her heated face-off with Huck (Guillermo Diaz) and their current Olivia plan down in the dumps, Quinn (Katie Lowes) was drinking. When Jake (Scott Foley) tried to comfort her, she snapped at him. But then she hugged him! (Am I the only one who would ship Quinn and Jake together? This is coming from a diehard Olitz fan, mind you.)

Mellie (Bellamy Young) was busy telling Andrew (Jon Tenney) what was next for him, which was nothing. The queen bee got to the root of Andrew’s insecurity of him never being a winner. Hence another incredible Mellie monologue.

“But it’s over. This is it. This is as high as you fly, Andrew. Fly any higher, and you get shot down,” Mellie said. Since Andrew was the worst, he continued to use his threat of telling the world about his affair with Mellie to keep her tame.

‘Scandal’ Recap: Save Olivia, Save Everyone

Even though his team had told him that getting Olivia back safely would cause more harm than good, Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) was dead set in his ways. Cyrus (Jeff Perry) wanted to tell Fitz that he was being a child and that he quit but couldn’t do it.

Meanwhile, Mellie had a meeting with Elizabeth. She told Elizabeth to take care of Andrew and fast. “I slept with that filthy bastard to save your life. Show some solidarity, sister,” Mellie said.

Preach it, Mells.

Jake had some wise words for Huck in his time of need. Jake had that same monster inside of him that he had to lock in each and every day. Huck needed to be stronger than that because if not, that monster would be strong enough to lock the real Huck up forever. Quinn pleaded with Huck not to kill anyone anymore. “You may be Liv’s puppy, but I’m kind of yours,” she told him.

Aw, Huckleberry Quinn is dancing on my heartstrings.

Doing what she was told, Elizabeth stopped by OPA for a chat. Andrew had signed an amnesty deal and was going to get away with everything. Elizabeth needed power, and Huck was the only one who could give her that. Huck refused, but you could tell he was still off of his leash.

‘Scandal’ Recap: Fitz’s Beating Heart

Cyrus made a rash call about Olivia for what he thought was best for Fitz. As long as Olivia was in the hands of the enemy, the White House was screwed. Cyrus had to stop that beating heart — which meant killing Olivia!

Don’t you dare, Cy.

The bid was back in session, and the new OPA had one more chance to get it right. They were bidding as Marie Wallace and put all of their $2 billion out on the table. Unfortunately, the Russians bid $2 billion, too. Gus asked Olivia what to do as a test. When she went with Marie Wallace, he knew something was up. He dubbed the Russians the winner of the one and only Olivia Pope.

Abby came running to OPA to warn them about Cyrus’ plan to kill Olivia. She told them that now was the time to pull what they needed to out of their back pocket. Our favorite redhead attempted to go to Fitz, but her plan was squandered by Cyrus himself. Huck took matters into his own hands. He tied Andrew up and shot himself up with God knows what. Elizabeth was there to watch the whole thing.

Bye, bye, Andrew.

Jake decided to go to Mama Pope for help. She referred him to none other than ROWAN! Despite Jake’s pleading, Rowan renounced his daughter completely.

‘Scandal’ Recap: One Epic Return

Liv tried to run off with a set of keys before being handed over to the Russians, but Gus punched the lights out of her.

The deadly plan of action that Cyrus and his sneaky team had assembled was well on its way. Cyrus tried so hard to stick to the smart plan. He just couldn’t fire at the exchange because he knew the guy Olivia was being handed over to.

IT WAS STEPHEN. AS IN STEPHEN FINCH. YEP, THAT STEPHEN FINCH FROM SEASON ONE.

“Hi, Stephen,” Olivia said.

“Hi, Liv,” Stephen replied. I am swooning. On the floor. Because I can’t emotionally handle this return.

Turns out, Abby was behind Stephen’s big return. She found out he was working in Russia. “Once a Gladiator, always a Gladiator,” she told Cyrus. You got that right, Abby!

Stephen had a helicopter waiting to take Olivia back to Washington, but Olivia was already ready to make a deal.

“Come back to Washington with me. You can have your old office. We need your help. We need you,” Olivia pleaded. She made quite the offer, but it just wasn’t enough for Stephen… for now. “I’m happy where I am,” Stephen replied.

‘Scandal’ Recap: Complicated, Messy, Sacrificial Love

Back at the White House, Mellie and Elizabeth exchanged victorious glances over their win. Andrew had a stroke and was donezo. Mellie reminded him that he had brought this on himself.

When Olivia was being questioned, she started to freak out. This would only get worse. Jake and Quinn dropped her off at her house, and Fitz was close behind.

Fitz was incredibly worried about Olivia. “I wasn’t raped. But guess what I learned? There are worse things than rape,” she told Fitz. The look on Fitz’s face shattered hearts everywhere.

Olivia was furious with him for going to war for her. Fitz didn’t see another choice. Olivia screamed that she had sacrificed everything for him and this was the worst thing he could have done. Fitz cried that he had to save her. “You didn’t save me! I’m on my own,” Olivia spat.

She threw that special ring at him and he left. Fitz looked like he’d been shot. This was not the reaction he was expecting from Olivia. As much as I love Olitz, Olivia’s different now. I completely understand where she’s coming from concerning Fitz. If he left Mellie for her, then everything she had done for him would be for nothing.

To be honest, there is no Vermont for Olivia and Fitz. I think Olivia’s just now realizing how much a reality this will never be. But let’s be honest, there is no Vermont in the real world. Life is complicated and messy and painful. If Fitz and Olivia can make it past this hurdle, they can survive anything.

Before I go, I just have to applaud Shonda for this incredible twist. Bringing Stephen back was epic and a great way to reward Gladiators everywhere. I’ll never give up hope that Stephen will return for good someday. Man, I missed that British accent.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of Stephen’s return? Did you predict it? Let me know!

— Avery Thompson
Follow @avery__thompson