SCANDAL: HEAVY IS THE HEAD {FIFTH SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The fifth season premiere in this drama/political thriller about the Pope & Associates crisis management firm in Washington D.C. In this episode, as Olivia and Fitz enjoy their renewed relationship, a "righteously indignant" Sally Langston rails about Fitz's lavish upcoming party for the visiting Princess Emily of Caledonia, an American who married into a European royal family. Mellie is outraged when she is subtly disinvited from the party by a news story claiming she is ill, and Fitz appeals to Queen Isabel, Emily's mother-in-law, to build a Naval base in her country. Olivia lies to Abby about her reconnection with Fitz, and she is later shocked to learn that Emily has been killed in a dramatic car crash. Hired by the queen to "handle" the tragedy, Olivia and Quinn follow Prince Richard's demands to recover the graphic photos of Emily's dead body and pay off paparazzi all over town. Olivia, curious about Huck's ongoing absence, arranges for a somewhat less gruesome photo op of Richard visiting the morgue to appease the press. Quinn soon realizes that one photographer spotted at the scene is not a photographer at all but a hacker, suggesting that the crash was a computerized assassination and not an accident, and Olivia enlists Rosen's help to uncover the truth.
Mellie, still angry about the party snub, berates Elizabeth for her betrayal and demands Fitz's presence at her swearing-in, though Elizabeth snidely tells her that she "got her elected" and owes her nothing. A smug Sally wonders if Emily's death was a "convenient distraction," and Olivia, avoiding Abby, tells Fitz that he must appear by Mellie's side at her inauguration for the sake of his image. Abby is humiliated when she makes excuses for his absence, only to learn that he has in fact arrived at the ceremony, and when Mellie, grateful for his "support," tries to make amends with her husband, she is stunned when he coldly serves her with divorce papers. An angry Abby finds that Elizabeth genuinely did not know of Fitz's change of heart, and Olivia is taken aback by her lover's rash decision, but he cites Emily's shocking death as his motivation to follow his heart. Rosen confirms that the crash was intentional, and Quinn and Olivia find evidence strongly suggesting that she was engaged in an affair with her bodyguard, giving the prince motive to kill her. Fitz, however, refuses to tell the queen, the only person who could lift Richard's diplomatic immunity, of their speculation, and he and Olivia argue bitterly as she accuses him of caring only about his plans for the naval base.
Olivia returns home to find a despondent Huck waiting for her, admitting that Quinn "hurt him on the inside," and she admits that she does not know how to "fix him." Elizabeth reports back to Abby about Olivia and Fitz's obvious "lovers' quarrel," and Mellie visits Cyrus, begging him to return to work and convince Fitz to retract the divorce petition. Olivia learns from the autopsy report, stolen by Rosen, that Emily was pregnant with her lover's child at the time of her death, but when she breaks the bad news to the queen, she is stunned to find that Isabel, not Richard, was behind the assassination, wanting to prevent the birth of an illegitimate heir. Knowing that she cannot legally go after the queen, Olivia subverts her non-disclosure agreement and tells Richard the truth, and he coldly orders his mother to abdicate and go into hiding, threatening to expose her murderous secret if she does not comply. Huck visits Jake and requests his help, and Fitz, frustrated about the ruined naval base plans, demands to know why Olivia does not wish to go public with their relationship and end the secrecy. Olivia convinces him that they will both be ruined if they admit their affair, and he agrees to "wait" – just as Sally Langston delivers a salacious report about their dalliances, complete with compromising photographs. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 124444
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Politics
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2012-2018
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Our Brand is Crisis" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Sicario" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Spy" home video
- TV - Commercials - "Steve Jobs" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Martian" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Walk" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AT&T and DirecTV services
- TV - Commercials - Apple music services
- TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Burlington Coat Factory stores
- TV - Commercials - CarMax website
- TV - Commercials - Diet Coca-Cola soft drinks
- TV - Commercials - Kohl's stores
- TV - Commercials - Kohler home fixtures
- TV - Commercials - Mercedes-Benz automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Samsung Galaxy S2 tablets
- TV - Commercials - Sheraton hotels
- TV - Commercials - Toujeo long-lasting insulin medication
- TV - Commercials - University of Phoenix online college
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret stores
- TV - Commercials - Windows 10 computers
- TV - Commercials - Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium fragrance
- TV - Commercials - bareMinerals BareSkin cosmetics
- TV - Promos - "Blood and Oil"
- TV - Promos - "Dancing With the Stars"
- TV - Promos - "Dr. Ken"
- TV - Promos - "How to Get Away with Murder"
- TV - Promos - "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
- TV - Promos - "Last Man Standing"
- TV - Promos - "Once Upon a Time"
- TV - Promos - "Quantico"
- TV - Promos - "Scandal"
- TV - Promos - "Shark Tank"
- TV - Promos - "The Muppets"
CREDITS
- Mark Wilding … Executive Producer
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Tom Verica … Executive Producer, Director
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Mark Fish … Co-Executive Producer
- Heather Mitchell … Co-Executive Producer
- Merri D. Howard … Co-Executive Producer
- Allan Heinberg … Co-Executive Producer
- Judy Smith … Co-Executive Producer
- Alison Schapker … Co-Executive Producer
- Matt Byrne … Supervising Producer
- Scott Collins … Supervising Producer
- Zahir McGhee … Supervising Producer
- Noah Evslin … Co-Producer
- Brad Yacobian … Co-Producer
- Holden Chang … Co-Producer
- Chris Van Dusen … Co-Producer
- Jason George … Co-Producer
- Chad Fischer … Music by
- Kerry Washington … Cast, Olivia Pope
- Scott Foley … Cast, Jake Ballard
- Darby Stanchfield … Cast, Abby Whelan
- Katie Lowes … Cast, Quinn Perkins
- Guillermo Diaz … Cast, Diego "Huck" Muñoz
- Jeff Perry … Cast, Cyrus Beene
- Joshua Malina … Cast, David Rosen
- Bellamy Young … Cast, Mellie Grant
- Portia de Rossi … Cast, Elizabeth North
- Cornelius Smith Jr. … Cast, Marcus Walker
- Tony Goldwyn … Cast, President Fitzgerald Grant III
- Kate Burton … Cast, Sally Langston
- Artemis Pebdani … Cast, Susan Ross
- Dearbhla Molloy … Cast, Queen Isabel
- Adam Fergus … Cast, Prince Richard
- Hilty Bowen … Cast, Princess Emily
- Molly Baker … Cast, Rachel
- Jay Jackson … Cast, Mike Waters
- Dinora Walcott … Cast, Reporter Carol
- Kimrie Lewis-Davis … Cast, Reporter Ashley
- Erica Shaffer … Cast, On Scene Reporter
- Simone Missick … Cast, Uniform Cop
- Christopher Grove … Cast, Walter Straker-Nesbit
- Shannon McClung … Cast, Social Secretary