Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is the fourteenth episode of the second season of Scandal, and is the twenty-first overall.

Plot

Ten months later... after discovering the truth behind Defiance, Fitz is still struggling to figure out whom he can actually trust. Meanwhile Olivia is trying to move on with her life, and she meets a handsome stranger, Jake Ballard, who sparks her interest. But when Fitz and Olivia are forced to be in the same room again, real sparks fly and things get heated. Back at Pope & Associates, the team handles a new case, and for the first time they’re working with David Rosen instead of against him.

Scandals

Olivia Pope & Associates:

Former Assistant US Attorney David Rosen is professionally framed for murder; the team helps to find out who.

The White House:

Three CIA operatives are captured and held hostage by a terrorist group. Fitz and the cabinet determine how best to handle the situation.
Fitz distances himself from Cyrus.

US Attorney’s Office:

New Assistant US Attorney Mike Sylva investigates David in the murder of a young girl.

Defiance:

Fitz is dealing with learning the truth

Recap

It’s been 10 months since David Rosen saw his life fall apart. He was dropped from his post as a U.S. Attorney. Attempts to start a private practice fell flat. He dissolved his relationship with the woman he loves. As bad as all that sounds, things just got a lot worse. David wakes up clutching a bloody knife in his hand. He turns to see a dead woman in his bed. Fresh blood still drips from her body. David's horror and panic is amplified when the police bang on his front door. They are responding to a disturbance call. David lies to the cops by saying he's home alone. He then makes a call to the only person who can help: Olivia Pope.

Olivia bumps into a charming man (guest star Scott Foley) at a pastry shop who flirts with her shamelessly before going on his way. Word comes in about David, who gives the team the go ahead to clean up the mess in his bedroom. The dead girl's name is Wendy. David doesn't remember much after sleeping with her because she slipped him a rufie. Huck transfers Wendy's body to her own apartment. Quinn stabs the girl with a knife so the blood splatters will make it seem like she was killed there. She's a natural at postmortem murder.

The team learns that Wendy slept with men to dig up dirt. She made a big profit selling sinister secrets. David believes Wendy was looking for info on Defiance. He lectures the guy who moved into his old office saying that pursing a case against him would be career suicide because he has nothing. In other news, Olivia tracks down the mystery person who's been calling the dead girl's cell. His name is Captain Jake Ballard. He works at the Pentagon. He also happens to be the guy who was flirting with Olivia at the pastry shop.

Jake Ballard works in Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He says Wendy came to him with information pertinent to something he's working on. He can't share the classified details. He can, however, ask Olivia out to dinner. It's an invitation that's politely declined. When Olivia brings David up to speed on what she found out, her client severs all ties. He believes there's a chance she's the one framing him. Olivia works through the stress of all that's happening in her life by aggressively doing laps in a pool. Whatever works, right?

It's been 10 months since Fitz learned that those closest to him conspired to rig the election that made him President of the United States. He's drinking more than usual. Mellie tries to distract him from his morning cocktail by joining him in the shower. They are interrupted by Cyrus, who stays safely away from the steamy scene while informing his boss that four Americans have been kidnapped abroad. Thugs associated with Al-Qaeda are holding four people hostage. Fitz learns that the captives are undercover operatives for the CIA.

Olivia thinks Fitz knows about Defiance. Cyrus believes this is why the president is shutting him out. He lets Mellie know the situation as he preps for his new daughter's christening. It should prove to be an awkward event, as Fitz and Olivia are the godparents. As for the pressing matters of state, Fitz wants to order a SEAL team in to rescue the hostages. Cyrus convinces him to wait a bit. Later, Mellie tells Fitz that Cyrus was the mastermind behind Defiance. He's the one who pushed everyone into stealing the White House. Mellie tells her hubby that he's right to not trust Cyrus. However, he can always trust her.

Just before the christening, Fitz tells Cyrus to order the SEAL rescue mission. He then stares deeply at Olivia as the baby is baptized. After the ceremony, Fitz downs a drink. He takes off down the hall after a fleeing Olivia. Fitz drags her into a vacant electronics area where they have raw, passionate, ravenous sex. Afterwards, Olivia says they made a mistake. Fitz promises it won't happen again. Olivia explains that she was actually talking about Defiance. Fitz doesn't feel that was a mistake. He believes that was betrayal.

The SEAL team storms the bunker where the hostages are reportedly being held. The leader shouts, "Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot—it's empty. No hostages." The team aborts the mission. Fitz wants to know how they sent a SEAL team to the wrong address. They didn't. The hostages weren't at the location because a mole tipped off the bad guys. Fitz continues to drink. He pushes Mellie away when she tries to pick up where they left off in the shower. Then he pulls her close while wearing a dull, lost look in his eyes.

David finds Wendy's flash drive in his computer. He tells Olivia to click on a file called "Albatross." It has over 350 pages of classified, high-level military intelligence inside. David knows that he needs help if he's to stay out of prison. Olivia knows that's not the only reason he's seated before her. She knows he wants to dust off the white hat and put it back where it belongs. This is about getting justice. Later, Olivia makes a dinner date with Jake over the phone. She has no idea that the man she's flirting with has a hidden camera set up in her apartment. Jake watches as Olivia blushes just a bit shortly after making their date.

~ Special Thanks to ABC.com for providing the recap for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ^[1] ~

Cast

Credits

For a full list of cast/character credits in order as they appeared click here: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Credits

Quotes

Trivia

This is episode 2x14 which aired on 2-14.
This episode marks the first time that characters Mellie Grant & Fitz Grant share their only non-public kiss of the series.
The episode marks the first appearance of Scott Foley as Jake Ballard who would later go on to be a series regular.
This episode marks the first time we see Olivia Pope swimming.
The shots of Olivia Pope swimming were included after Kerry Washington told Shonda Rhimes she was on the swim team in high school.
The episode title ("Whiskey Tango Foxtrot") is an euphemistic substitution for "WTF" (as in "what the f*ck"). The first letters of each word are based on the NATO phonetic alphabet.