SCANDAL: HARDBALL (TV)
Summary
One in this drama/political thriller about the Pope & Associates crisis management firm in Washington D.C. In this episode, in the recent past, Olivia cautions Mellie against pursuing her obvious flirtation with Marcus. Rosen insists that the evidence against Nelson McClintock, Frankie's alleged assassin, is overwhelming strong, though Olivia remains convinced that he is Cyrus' "patsy." McClintock brashly refuses to confess, even when given a chance at a life sentence rather than death, and Olivia sends Quinn and Charlie to the cabin where informant Jennifer Fields, who named Cyrus as the killer in her fateful voicemail, was conveniently murdered. Mellie is deeply offended when Cyrus offers her the vice-president spot, though Cyrus maintains his innocence and names Olivia as the "bad guy." Marcus and Mellie's chemistry heats up as he gives her some quick baseball lessons, and when Charlie and Quinn are prevented from securing the FBI's evidence from the cabin scene, Abby turns to Jake for assistance.
Mellie wins over the public yet further when she throws the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game, and she and Marcus finally give in to their mutual attraction. Quinn tries to investigate potential fiancé Charlie's background, and Olivia distracts FBI Director Angela Webster with a chatty dinner as Quinn, Huck and Charlie break into FBI headquarters to recover the evidence on Jennifer Fields. Webster admits her interest in Fitz, and though taken aback, Olivia encourages her to "go for it." Later, Webster is angered to find that Jake has obtained McClintock's confession through what were clearly threatening and dangerous means. Huck attempts to rebuild Jennifer's damages hard drive as Olivia furiously confronts Abby for engineering McClintock's clearly fake confession, accusing her of "destroying the office."
Marcus encourages Mellie to pursue the VP spot, vowing that he will "choose" her no matter what, though when Mellie confides in Olivia about her great joy in their passionate relationship, Olivia tries to hint that Marcus is possibly a "climber" who is using her to advance his own career. Huck finds over 5,000 hours of potentially relevant footage on Jennifer's computer, and when Marcus is suddenly offered the job of press secretary, Mellie immediately accuses Olivia of orchestrating the plan in order to break them up. Olivia hotly retorts that Marcus is "political poison" and would have irreparably harmed Mellie's bid for president had they continued their affair, and Mellie decides to accept Cyrus' VP offer and ends her partnership with Olivia, though she is also shown to have ended things with Marcus when he happily told her about the job offer. A frustrated Olivia tells Quinn to stop "making excuses" for delaying her marriage to Charlie, pointing out that she is "free" to be with whomever she wants, unlike public political figures, and should embrace her chance at happiness. Everyone attends Frankie's funeral, and Huck finally finds some damning footage of Frankie and Cyrus bitterly arguing shortly before the assassination. When Olivia shows it to Fitz, he finally decides to pursue the investigation into the murder. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 129400
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Politics
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2012-2018
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Adidas
- TV - Commercials - Apple AirPods headphones
- TV - Commercials - Audi automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Best Buy stores
- TV - Commercials - CarMax website
- TV - Commercials - Cricket Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Ever Us diamonds
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - H&R Block tax services
- TV - Commercials - Kay jewelers
- TV - Commercials - Kia automobiles
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream
- TV - Commercials - Opdivo cancer medication
- TV - Commercials - Pantene hair care products
- TV - Commercials - Pizza Hut restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Revlon ColorStay makeup
- TV - Commercials - Revlon Super Length mascara
- TV - Commercials - Sensodyne toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - State Farm insurance
- TV - Commercials - Subaru automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Taltz psoriasis medication
- TV - Commercials - Vicks ZzzQuil sleep aid
- TV - Commercials - Wells Fargo banks
- TV - Promos - "American Crime"
- TV - Promos - "Black-ish"
- TV - Promos - "Designated Survivor"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy"
- TV - Promos - "How to Get Away with Murder"
- TV - Promos - "Modern Family"
- TV - Promos - "Scandal" upcoming episode
- TV - Promos - "Speechless"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelor"
- TV - Promos - "The Goldbergs"
- TV - Promos - "Time After Time"
- TV - Promos - "When We Rise"
- TV - Promos - The Oscars
CREDITS
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Mark Fish … Executive Producer
- Tom Verica … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by
- Alison Schapker … Co-Executive Producer
- Merri D. Howard … Co-Executive Producer
- Judy Smith … Co-Executive Producer
- Zahir McGhee … Co-Executive Producer
- Matt Byrne … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Scott Collins … Supervising Producer
- Chris Van Dusen … Supervising Producer
- Paul William Davies … Producer
- Sarah Rissmiller … Co-Producer
- Brad Yacobian … Co-Producer
- Holden Chang … Co-Producer
- Akua Murphy … Associate Producer
- Abby Chambers … Associate Producer
- Allison Liddi-Brown … Director
- 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
- Joe Morton … Cast, Rowan Pope
- Cornelius Smith Jr. … Cast, Marcus Walker
- Tony Goldwyn … Cast, President Fitzgerald Grant III
- George Newbern … Cast, Charlie
- Ricardo Chavira … Cast, Frankie Vargas
- Larry Sullivan … Cast, Nelson McClintock
- Saycon Sengbloh … Cast, Angela Webster
- Tessie Santiago … Cast, Luna Vargas
- Chelsea Kurtz … Cast, Jennifer Fields
- Laila Ayad … Cast, Charlotte Reid
- Lorrie Odom … Cast, Harriet
- Hugo E. Carbajal … Cast, FBI Evidence Collector
- Hermie Castillo … Cast, FBI Schmo
- Matt Sigloch … Cast, Honor Guard