SCANDAL: EVERYTHING'S COMING UP MELLIE (TV)
Summary
One in this drama/political thriller about the Pope & Associates crisis management firm in Washington D.C.
Mellie is interviewed for television and takes the crew on a tour of the East Wing as a means of giving them insight into her duties at the White House. The interview is interrupted by Cyrus’s arrival. Fifteen years ago, in Santa Barbara, California, Grant and Mellie awaken in their luxurious bedroom together. Their romantic interaction is interrupted by his father calling them down. They go down and meet Cyrus for the first time; Mr. Grant refers to him as a “kingmaker” who will ensure his installment as governor of California. In the present, Quinn and Charlie continue to bond at the shooting range, and he claims to currently be working as a private investigator. President Grant calls Olivia, who only reluctantly picks up and has an emotional outburst, still angry at him for not revealing more about Operation Remington. He says he still loves her, but Olivia cannot be swayed. He asks her to stay away from Jake and to cease her investigation into Remington. However, Olivia does not heed his advice and brings Jake in with the rest of her team to represent her latest “client:” her mother Maya; this assignment leaves most of her team rather confused.
Fifteen years ago Cyrus discusses campaign strategy with Grant, Mellie, and Mr. Grant. He recommends using his status as a “war hero” to his advantage, but Grant refuses, believing he should “expand his resume” and become someone of more substance before he starts running for office. In the present, Mellie complains to Cyrus that she is infuriated that she must engage in domestic duties at the White House and that she must put up a façade for the media that she enjoys such activities. Cyrus admits that it is unfair but that she must do so as a means of deflecting public attention away from President Grant’s affair. They browse an escort website in hopes of finding a prostitute who would appeal to Daniel’s sensibilities. As part of their plan, Cyrus easily convinces Vice-President Langston to attend a constituency dinner in Iowa on President Grant’s behalf. James takes the opportunity to speak to Cyrus about the circumstances surrounding Mellie’s interview and they get into an argument.
Olivia tells her team that she suspects that Rowan is the man who gave the order to shoot down the plane Maya was on. Her team completely supports her despite her assertions that their service in this case is strictly voluntary; they are quite surprised when they learn that the pilot who supposedly shot down the plane was President Grant. In private, Quinn asks Huck to acknowledge that her suspicions about Olivia and her father were correct and that she is “interested” in spy work “for the right reasons.” Huck chooses not to respond to her, much to her frustration. The team discovers odd discrepancies in the flight plan and passenger manifest of the flight Maya was on. They also discover that President Grant’s father was the head of the Senate subcommittee in charge of investigating airline disasters at the time of the crash. Fifteen years ago, Grant has an argument with his father about his motivation for joining the navy and his eventual reassignment; he feels that if he were to campaign on his military record it would be a “lie.” Mr. Grant talks about how he called in favors to cover up his son’s involvement in Operation Remington, but Grant refuses to listen to him and Cyrus leaves.
Quinn spies on Charlie during his investigation that night; he finds her and pushes her against a wall to kiss her. He then promptly leaves; Quinn is unsure of how to respond to this. Mellie tells Vice-President Langston that her husband touched a White House staffer inappropriately, but Vice-President Langston does not believe her. Mellie brings President Grant’s son in to see him while being recorded, but he is not in his office. In the past, Mellie tries to convince Cyrus not to go, but he says that he cannot act as emotional support for the Grant family and that Mellie will have to give up her prominent law career in order to support Grant. Mellie claims that if Cyrus comes back the following day she will get Grant ready to work with him on a gubernatorial campaign, and Cyrus agrees. In the present, Mellie is furious that President Grant broke his promise about meeting her in the Oval Office on camera, but Cyrus assures her that everything will be fine.
Abby tracks down the gate agent who checked in the passengers on the flight. She recounts that she was informed that federal marshals detained the plane’s takeoff briefly to take one passenger off. She gives them the name of the removed passenger, “Omar Dresden,” and the team decides to investigate him, and to try to find witnesses to determine the identity of the marshal involved. In the past, Mellie tries to play peacemaker between Grant and his father; Mr. Grant considers himself a “decent father” for not using corporal punishment on his son, and believes his son’s major problems with him stem from his philandering and his refusal to tell his wife about it before she died. Drunk, Mr. Grant reveals to Mellie that Grant shot down the plane, claiming that they had intelligence indicating that a nuclear bomb was on board the plane, and that by shooting it down Grant averted an unprecedented international crisis. He believes Grant has “too many feelings” to become a political success. He then makes advances on Mellie, who pleads with him to stop. She is unable to fend him off and he rapes her. In the present, Mellie paces around the Oval Office until President Grant arrives and she goes on a rant about how he is unappreciative of her efforts to assist him. She notes that he will never understand the sacrifices she made for him, and asks him simply to be her “friend” and to “show up” for her. In the past, a dazed Mellie returns to Grant’s room and accidentally awakens him. He brings her to bed with him and says that they are going home the next day; he expresses a wish that his father would be more amenable to his goals. Mellie is clearly uncomfortable being in bed with Grant but does her best to disguise this from him.
In the present, President Grant unexpectedly arrives while Mellie is explaining his absence to the television crew. They conduct an interview together, and Mellie is questioned about her decision to reveal her husband’s affair on live national television. Mellie hesitates and President Grant interjects, believing that the question is an attack on Mellie and claiming that he is wholly responsible for “damage[ing]” their marriage. He says that he has apologized for his mistake and is ready to move on. Quinn joins Charlie on one of his assignments and he reveals that he intends to render a security guard unconscious with an injection of M99. Quinn offers to inject the man for him, meeting with his approval. She does so, but instead of being knocked out the man foams at the mouth and dies. Quinn panics and runs out of the building. In the past, Mellie wakes up in the morning and confronts Mr. Grant; she blackmails him into giving Grant encouragement and support lest she tell him that she was raped. He acquiesces to her, calling her an “asset.” In the present, the television interview concludes and in private President Grant tells Mellie that he was being sincere when he defended her in the interview. James tells Cyrus that he was fired from his job and blames him, although Cyrus is surprised by this and tries to smooth things over with him. Daniel does not respond to the woman Mellie and Cyrus hired, but when they see him talking to James they conjecture that he might be secretly homosexual.
Olivia is kept under surveillance by President Grant. Rowan requests to see Dresden at an undisclosed location. Jake comes across the security guard Quinn murdered as he is being taken away by police coroners, and is shocked by the proceedings. Quinn desperately tries to call Huck, but stops when Charlie finds her and shows her security footage he has obtained of her killing the guard. He reveals that she has been surreptitiously recruited into B613 and that she now works for his superiors. Jake tells Olivia about the guard’s death; he was their only lead to Dresden and Olivia immediately believes that Rowan arranged for his death. President Grant learns the identity of Olivia’s father and is stunned. Rowan goes into the cell supposedly belonging to Dresden, but it is actually occupied by Maya, who is not dead. In the past, Mellie and Grant hold a party and thank their various supporters for signing on to his gubernatorial campaign. She also reveals to President Grant that she may be pregnant, much to his excitement. Privately, she suspects that the child is the product of her being raped by Mr. Grant. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 117181
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; LGBT Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Politics
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2012-2018
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials – Apple tablets
- TV – Commercials – AT&T phone service
- TV – Commercials – American Express credit cards
- TV – Commercials – Chromecast media player system
- TV – Commercials – Clinique cosmetics
- TV – Commercials – Glade air fresheners
- TV – Commercials – Home Goods department stores
- TV – Commercials – JCPenney department stores
- TV – Commercials – Jared jewelers
- TV – Commercials – Jeep automobiles
- TV – Commercials – Kay jewelers
- TV – Commercials – Kleenex tissues
- TV – Commercials – Lindt chocolate
- TV – Commercials – L’Oreal cosmetics
- TV – Commercials – Marshall’s department stores
- TV – Commercials – MasterCard credit cards
- TV – Commercials – Maybelline cosmetics
- TV – Commercials – Nivea body lotion
- TV – Commercials – NyQuil cough medicine
- TV – Commercials – Old Navy apparel
- TV – Commercials – Oreo cookies
- TV – Commercials – Planters peanuts
- TV – Commercials – Stove Top stuffing
- TV – Commercials – TJ Maxx department stores
- TV – Commercials – Target department stores
- TV – Commercials – Tide detergent
- TV – Commercials – Toys ‘R’ Us toy stores
- TV – Commercials – Tylenol pain relief
- TV – Commercials – “Black Nativity” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “Frozen” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “The Best Man Holiday” motion picture
- TV – Promos – “2013 American Music Awards”
- TV – Promos – “Agents of SHIELD”
- TV – Promos – “Castle”
- TV – Promos – “David Blaine: Real or Magic”
- TV – Promos – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
- TV – Promos – “Killer Women”
- TV – Promos – “Once Upon a Time”
- TV – Promos – “Revenge”
- TV – Promos – “Scandal”
- TV – Promos – “Shark Tank”
- TV – Promos – “The Goldbergs”
- TV – Promos – “The Neighbors”
CREDITS
- Mark Wilding … Executive Producer
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by
- Tom Verica … Co-Executive Producer
- Mark Fish … Co-Executive Producer
- Judy Smith … Co-Executive Producer
- Peter Nowalk … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Heather Mitchell … Supervising Producer
- Scott Collins … Producer
- Merri D. Howard … Producer
- Noah Esvlin … Co-Producer
- Holden Chang … Associate Producer
- Peter Noah … Consulting Producer
- Jenna Bans … Consulting Producer
- Michael Katleman … Director
- Chad Fischer … Music by
- Kerry Washington … Cast, Olivia Pope
- Columbus Short … Cast, Harrison Wright
- Scott Foley … Cast, Jake Ballard
- 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
- Dan Bucatinsky … Cast, James Novak
- Barry Bostwick … Cast, Fitzgerald Grant II
- George Newbern … Cast, Charlie
- Khandi Alexander … Cast, Maya Lewis
- Jack Coleman … Cast, Daniel Douglas Langston
- Lauren Stamile … Cast, Carla
- Sharmila Devar … Cast, Lauren
- Joe Morton … Cast, Rowan Pope
- Gigi Bermingham … Cast, Donna Rowe
- Sal Landi … Cast, Mike
- Molly Baker … Cast, Rachel Moss
- Meg Cionni … Cast, Amber
- Leonard Kelly-Young … Cast, Security Guard
- Javier Calderon … Cast, Marine
- Jason Medwin … Cast, Guard