SCANDAL: BLOWN AWAY (TV)
Summary
One in this drama/political thriller about the Pope & Associates crisis management firm in Washington D.C.
Langston assumes the presidency and holds a press conference announcing that President Grant is still in critical condition and that there is a manhunt for his shooter still in progress. Huck enters the Pope & Associates office and awakens Harrison, telling him that he is the person the FBI is looking for, and that they believe he is the one who shot the president. He calls Olivia, who is extremely busy organizing Langston’s new staff, and gets her to come back to the office. Everyone gathers around to hear Huck’s testimony of events: he recounts Quinn confronting him with accusations that he was the one who abducted her from California. At that time he received a call from Becky, a woman he attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with and had begun dating. Becky sounded extremely distressed over the phone, and Huck went to her hotel room to visit her. However, when he arrived she was not there and instead he found a sniper rifle operated by remote control; this is what shot the president and began the chain of events leading to the present. He recounts hiding the gun and concealing the discarded bullet cartridges in the hotel room before departing, noting that he was unable to find one of the cartridges in time. He produces a briefcase containing the disassembled gun, believing that it could provide the key to finding out the real culprit behind the shooting. Huck provides the team with information about Becky: she is a graphic designer and is struggling with her addiction to cocaine. He refuses to believe that Becky was involved in framing him for the attack on the president, and thinks that she has been manipulated or coerced into doing so. He insists that they find her, as he believes she could be in grave danger. Olivia and the rest of the team warn Huck that he has to stay put for the time being because of the manhunt for him.
Cyrus is still extremely bitter about the transfer of authority to Langston, particularly since he has been kicked out of his office. He receives a call from James’s mother and speaks to her, discovering that James did not go to visit his parents as he claims he did. David asks James about what he discovered in Ohio, but James tells him it is too “complicated” for him to discuss at the present time. Hollis visits Langston to voice his support for her new position and asks her to do something about Verna. Harrison and Abby investigate Becky’s home, but find no evidence that she was taken from there. Quinn has a theory that her being framed in the Cyton explosion and Huck being framed for shooting the president may be related in some way. She demands to know who set her up, but Huck claims that he “never asked” who was behind it all, seemingly confirming Quinn’s hypothesis that he was responsible. Quinn believes Olivia ordered Huck to kidnap her, but he refuses to answer her any further, as he is focused entirely on finding Becky. When Harrison’s efforts fail, Abby uses her connection to David to obtain security footage from the hotel that Becky called Huck into from the time of the shooting. She thanks him and they exchange a meaningful look before he silently leaves. Abby, Harrison, and Quinn determine from their investigation that Becky has no accessible records from before she started dating Huck, and security footage shows her entering the hotel alone and indicates that she was not meeting any of her drug dealers. This convinces them that Becky specifically set up Huck, although he still refuses to believe it. He defies Olivia’s orders and decides to leave to find her, threatening to kill Harrison if he tries to stop him.
Huck conducts a more thorough investigation of Becky’s home on his own. He discovers a secret room filled with photographs of him, as well as a computer and various other pieces of equipment and schematics of the area where the shooting took place. Langston visits Verna in the hospital and tries to convince her to step down from the Supreme Court, although Verna refuses. Langston still wants to fill the seat on the Supreme Court which was promised to her during the campaign; she strongly disagrees with Verna’s liberal leanings and threatens to tell the media about her terminal cancer if she does not comply. This would include informing them that she lied by omission about her condition and Langston intends to cast aspersions on her judgment due to the medication she has to take for her chemotherapy. James comes home to have lunch with Cyrus, as he has been concerned about him. Cyrus asks James about his supposed visit to his father and confirms his suspicions that James has been lying to him. He also looks at James’s call history on his phone, discovering a number of calls to an unknown number. The FBI gets a lead on Huck when they find footage from the hotel cameras of him picking up a cell phone dropped by a woman in the elevator. Olivia calls Abby to warn her about this, and learns that Huck has left.
Huck takes the opportunity to stare at a suburban family from his car; he watches them in this manner in his spare time and knows many details about them and their lives. He recalls bringing Becky with him to stare at them with him. In the present he falls asleep in his car and is awakened when Becky emerges behind him, holding him at gunpoint. She admits to being the one who set him up, but says that she does not intend to kill him at the moment, and that she could have easily created enough evidence to get him instantly captured by the government; she implies that her actual mission was to make it appear that he killed the president and then committed suicide. The reason she let him live is that she says she “likes” him and points out that he assassinated several world leaders himself. She offers to take him with her and become roving killers for hire before leaving him alone. Cyrus visits Olivia bearing a bottle of expensive wine, believing that James is cheating on him. He tells her about his discovery, although Olivia points out that Cyrus’s assumptions about James’s infidelity are only conjecture. Cyrus reveals that he hired a private investigator to follow James, and says he is worried that he will “grow old alone.” Olivia says that Langston has put her in charge of arranging President Grant’s funeral, and she is no longer able to visit him and is worried she will not be able to say goodbye. Cyrus refuses to believe that President Grant is going to die and tells Olivia not to give up hope. Olivia tells Cyrus that as long as she is there, he will never be alone.
Verna meets with Olivia to tell her about her encounter with Langston, which she views as blackmail. Olivia tells her that the only way for her to escape the scenario is to resign and keep her legacy intact. Becky returns home to find Huck waiting for her amidst the many photographs of him. They suddenly begin making out and they have sex on the floor. Afterward Huck tells her that he intends to leave with her. He asks her for her real name, but she does not tell him. They make arrangements to leave town together. Cyrus consults with his private investigator, who turns out to be Charlie. Charlie reports that James is not cheating on him, and tells him that the unknown phone number he called belongs to David. Charlie also informs Cyrus of James’s visit to Defiance, making him highly distressed. Harrison informs Olivia that the woman on the elevator with Huck has been found and taken into custody by the FBI. Huck meets with Olivia in front of the White House, telling her that he intends to leave and wants to say goodbye; he believes he will never be able to prove that he didn’t shoot the president. Olivia deduces that Becky got to him and that she is using him as part of her scheme, but Huck does not listen to her and leaves.
Huck has a change of heart and conspires with Harrison to plant incriminating evidence in Becky’s home. James comes home to find that Cyrus has ordered a fancy dinner for the two of them. He reveals that he managed to step up their place on the adoption waiting list, allowing them to adopt a newborn baby girl if James approves of the deal. Cyrus claims that the shooting of President Grant made him rethink his priorities in life and reverse his position on adoption. James agrees almost instantly, even agreeing to quit his job to stay home and take care of her. They share an emotional moment with each other over the matter. Huck goes to the home of the suburban family and tries to call Becky, but finds that her number has been disconnected. He becomes suspicious and enters the house, finding that it is unlocked. He discovers that the entire family has been brutally murdered, and also finds a device playing a recording of his phone conversation with Harrison on a loop. Olivia presents the funeral plans to Langston, who approves. Langston tells her that the FBI was only able to get a partial fingerprint of their suspect, meaning that they have still not fully identified Huck. Hollis waits for Olivia outside of the Oval Office, and they argue about his attempts to go after Verna in revenge for Olivia protecting Dwyer.
Cyrus tells Charlie to cease his observation of James when it becomes apparent that James is too engrossed in preparations for the baby to continue his own investigations. However, James has not given up and talks to David while shopping for baby accoutrements. He tells David that he can produce proof that the election was rigged but first wants to know who in the White House knew about it; he also deduces that Cyrus realizes that he has found this out. James gives David the memory card he stole from the voting machine in Defiance High School for safekeeping. David goes home and finds Abby waiting for him. She slaps him and throws him to the ground, apparently in order to have sex with him. She finishes, gets up, and leaves without a word. Verna visits Langston and tells her that she has brought a letter of resignation with her. However, she offers to give her the name and identity of the suspect the FBI is searching for in exchange for being permitted to keep her seat on the Supreme Court. Huck returns to the office, in a state of shock after seeing what happened to “his” family. Olivia promises to track down Becky and make her pay for what she did. Suddenly a group of FBI agents and soldiers storm the office looking for Huck. He is arrested and taken away under the Patriot Act. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: December 13, 2012 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 111936
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection - Drama; African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Politics
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2012-2018
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Promos – “Last Man Standing”
- TV – Commercials – Angel perfume
- TV – Commercials – Apple electronic devices
- TV – Commercials – Bank of America credit cards
- TV – Commercials – Crest whitening strips
- TV – Commercials – Discover credit cards
- TV – Commercials – Famous footwear
- TV – Commercials – HP computers
- TV – Commercials – Hallmark greeting cards
- TV – Commercials – Kay jewelers
- TV – Commercials – Lindt chocolate
- TV – Commercials – McDonald’s restaurants
- TV – Commercials – Nespresso coffee machines
- TV – Commercials – Nexus tablets
- TV – Commercials – Old Navy apparel
- TV – Commercials – PetSmart pet stores
- TV – Commercials – Red Door perfume
- TV – Commercials – Reddi Whip whipped cream
- TV – Commercials – Target department stores
- TV – Commercials – Toys ‘R’ Us toy stores
- TV – Commercials – White Diamonds perfume
- TV – Commercials – “Les Misérables” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “This is 40” motion picture
- TV – Promos – “ABC Nightline”
- TV – Promos – “CMA Country Christmas”
- TV – Promos – “Castle”
- TV – Promos – “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23”
- TV – Promos – “Happy Endings”
- TV – Promos – “Malibu Country”
- TV – Promos – “Modern Family”
- TV – Promos – “Scandal”
- TV – Promos – “The Bachelorette”
- TV – Promos – “The Bachelor”
- TV – Promos – “The Middle”
- TV – Promos – “The Neighbors”
- TV – Promos – “The Taste”
CREDITS
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by
- Mark Wilding … Executive Producer, Writer
- Tom Verica … Co-Executive Producer
- Mark Fish … Co-Executive Producer
- Jenna Bans … Co-Executive Producer
- Judy Smith … Co-Executive Producer
- Scott Collins … Producer
- Heather Mitchell … Producer
- Merri D. Howard … Producer
- Holden Chang … Associate Producer
- Peter Noah … Consulting Producer
- Jessica Yu … Director
- Chad Fischer … Music by
- Kerry Washington … Cast, Olivia Pope
- Columbus Short … Cast, Harrison Wright
- Darby Stanchfield … Cast, Abby Whelan
- Katie Lowes … Cast, Quinn Perkins
- Guillermo Diaz … Cast, Huck
- Jeff Perry … Cast, Cyrus Beene
- Joshua Malina … Cast, David Rosen
- Bellamy Young … Cast, Mellie Grant
- Tony Goldwyn … Cast, President Fitzgerald Grant III
- Kate Burton … Cast, Vice President Sally Langston
- Gregg Henry … Cast, Hollis Doyle
- Debra Mooney … Cast, Verna Thornton
- Dan Bucatinsky … Cast, James Novak
- George Newbern … Cast, Charlie
- Susan Pourfar … Cast, Becky Flynn
- Shannon Cochran … Cast, Susan Sawyer
- Kate McGregor-Stewart … Cast, Mary
- David Grant Wright … Cast, FBI Director Foster
- Martin Yu … Cast, Sidney
- Phil Austin … Cast, Army Colonel Ted Jessup
- Jennifer Christopher … Cast, Civilian
- Scott Roe … Cast, Agent #1
- Barry Levy … Cast, Agent #2
- Matthew Jones … Cast, Man in Suit #1
- Michael Petrone … Cast, Man in Suit #2
- Mirai Booth-Ong … Cast, Sales Clerk
- Tom Riordan … Cast, Armed Agent #1
- Darius Cottrell … Cast, Armed Agent #2