Gladiators Don’t Run

Gladiators Don't Run

Air Date: February 12, 2015 — Writer: Paul William Davies — Director: Randy Zisk
Previous Episode: "Where's the Black Lady?" — Next Episode: "No More Blood"

“	You're not a gladiator anymore! We can't trust The White House, Abby is The White House.	”
— Huck to Abby / Huck to Quinn

Gladiators Don't Run is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Scandal, and is the fifty-ninth overall.

Plot

As the gladiators watch from a far, countries around the world begin to bid on Olivia Pope. Meanwhile, Andrew and Fitz go toe to toe.

Recap

Abby worries when Olivia is a no-show for a coffee date. Her phone’s mailbox is full. She goes to her apartment and she that there’s a wine stain on her sofa. Abby wants details from Huck and Quinn. She doesn’t get any. She’s not a gladiator anymore. She’s The White House, and Huck and Quinn can’t trust the White House. Fitz eventually tells her the truth. Abby is furious that David didn’t say anything. She needs to know when her only friend in the world is kidnapped. David calms her down with a drink. He also lets her know that Liv isn’t her only friend.

Gus, the guy Olivia knocked unconscious during her failed escape attempt, has some concerns about the change in plans. Ian shuts him down. He also informs the vice president that their deal is off. The auction for Olivia Pope goes online in a ghost section of the Internet dubbed the Dark Net. Fitz wants in on the action. So does Jake. Unfortunately, he only has about two million bucks. Good thing Huck has two billion! He took home a little B613 back-pay for his time in the hole.

Olivia feels she’ll go for at least a billion dollars in the auction. Ian offers her the chance to go to the least-sadistic of the highest bidders. They are about to shake on this deal when… BANG! Gus shoots Ian dead in the head. Blood sprays all over a traumatized Olivia. As for Gus, he lets the room know that he’s in charge now. His nervous hacker colleagues follow his orders as they believe he’s a psycho.

Huck can’t find the Dark Net site. You need to be a world class terrorist to be on the guest list. Thankfully, the folks at Pope & Associates know one. They pay a visit to Mama Maya, who will get a TV for her assistance. David plays hardball by only giving her basic cable. She's okay with that as long as she can watch her daughter on TV. The race is on to find friends of Marie Wallace (aka Maya Lewis). A nasty Guatemalan named Gustavo Pineda is their best option. Huck needs to kill three men to make this deal happen. So he does. Jake helps in the aftermath by slicing off the dead men’s heads for proof of kill. He fears Huck has gone too far over to the dark side. Quinn assures him that’s not the case.

4x12 - Cyrus and Elizabeth Sneak Peek 012

Andrew refuses to sign the letter of resignation Cyrus was kind enough to draft for him. He threatens to take down the president. Fitz knows that they need to prove the assassination attempt on Andrew was faked. Cyrus lets Lizzie Bear know that she’s going to help them do just that. As for Andrew, his back is against the wall. So he threatens Mellie, who later lets her husband know that they need to let Andrew walk. She has a good reason. It’s because she eventually wants to be President of the United States. She wants to rule the world. So, Andrew walks.

Olivia tries to appeal the two young hackers. She offers them a deal if they fake a sale that’ll get her turned over to the United States. Her negotiation doesn’t fly. Back in the DC, Huck finally gets access to the auction. Then he loses it. Everything has been suspended. A mysterious buyer approached Gus outside of the auction. Olivia Pope has just been sold to Iran. The CIA Director wants to terminate the asset (as in Olivia!). Fitz will not allow that. He orders to proceed with the extraction plan.

Huck believes that Olivia’s body parts will be taken apart one piece at a time. He believes she’s as good as dead. Death has already come for 43 U.S. soldiers who were killed in the war. Mellie is there to meet the plane bringing their bodies back home. She does this all the time. This sentiment has Fitz declaring that they have to get Olivia back so that the heroic actions of these soldiers were not done in vain. Cyrus assures his Commander-In-Chief that he will do everything in his power to make that happen. As for Olivia, she’s in a far-off foreign land where she’s just about to meet her buyer. Who could it be?

~ Recap for Gladiators Don’t Run provided by ABC.com ~

Cast

Main Cast

Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
Scott Foley as Jake Ballard
Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan
Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins
Guillermo Díaz as Huck
Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene
Joshua Malina as David Rosen
Bellamy Young as First Lady Mellie Grant
Tony Goldwyn as President Fitzgerald Grant

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Layla Alizada as Ferehteh
Phillip Garcia as Mike
Anthony Ma as Pete

Long Speeches & Rants

"I wanna be the President of the United States. I wanna run the world."

Mellie to Fitz

"We have to get Olivia back, not just because I love her, not just because having her out there is a threat to national security. There are soldiers who are never coming home because I tried to get her back. Someone's father, someone's husband. I have killed so many mother's sons trying to get her back.

The flags placed on the coffins where they lay are there because they had the courage to give their lives and I did not have the courage to give Liv's. So she has to come back because their sacrifice (didn't want us to mean something (illegible)). They cannot have gone to their deaths for no other reason than I asked them to."

Fitz to Cyrus

Notes & Trivia

The table read for this episode took place on January 5, 2015.
Scouting for the episode began on December 4, 2014.
This episode was originally named "Full Circle" but was changed to "Gladiators Don't Run" due to the unknown reason.