Tonight on ABC Scandal starring Kerry Washington continues with another exciting episode in an all new Thursday March 10, season 5 episode 13 called, “The Fish Rots From the Head,” and we have the recap for you below. On tonight’s episode, Some Secret Service agents get into trouble and seek help from Olivia’s (Kerry Washington) team.
On the last episode, Cyrus designed a new master plan while Fitz was preoccupied. Elsewhere, Elizabeth manipulated David into organizing a strategy for her; and Olivia was puzzled by Jake’s intentions as he stepped into a leadership role with the NSA. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the ABC synopsis, “some Secret Service agents get into trouble and seek help from Olivia’s team. Meanwhile, Abby struggles to keep Fitz in line; and Jake starts to divulge a few of his secrets.”
Tonight’s episode of SCANDAL is going to be absolutely incredible and you won’t want to miss even a minute. We’ll be recapping it for you here live.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
#Scandal starts with Mellie signing copies of her book when Liv shows up. She’s surprised at her cover choice. She tells Mellie it looks good then asks why she called her there. Mellie says they need to do something about Susan Ross.
Liv says the optics of her working for Mellie are bad and Mellie asks for help off the record. Olivia says Fitz can’t endorse Susan – he doesn’t have to endorse her, just stay away from endorsing Susan. Liv says they need him to stay out of it.
Fitz greets fans outside and Abby tells Sam, a new Secret Service agent, that Fitz can pick women they will treat as guests but there has to be protocol of how he sees them. She says they have to hand over all cell phone and cameras, they must sign an NDA and then they get personal items when they leave.
Abby says they will then be taken out of the service elevator.
Cyrus is with the hero governor and Sally shows up and calls her his biggest fan. She invites him on her TV show. Vargas says she’s crazy but Cyrus says it’s still a good opportunity. Vargas says he needs to get home and work on his education bill.
Cyrus says he can talk about the bill on the show but Vargas refuses to use the shooting as an opportunity to pass the bill. Cyrus tells him he can make a mark and say something and this tragedy gave him the chance to have more of a voice.
Cyrus invites him back to the White House to talk about the education bill. Vargas buys it. Sam talks to Abby later and says some Secret Service guys had a party at a hotel that got out of hand. Olivia is called in – it’s bad. Marcus, Huck and Quinn go along.
Quin bribes the nearby maid to take a long break. Olivia goes in and they see that Megan is dead – looks like a party girl and her friend is still there talking about it. Looks like she got busted up thanks to a glass table and bled out. It’s a mess.
Quinn asks what happened and Erin and Megan were dancing. Megan fell and hit her head on the table. The guys tell them she was already out of it when she showed up. Huck points out track marks and Quinn asks Erin about Megan’s drug problem.
The Secret Service boss says this can’t get out. Quinn sends the agents out and says she has an alibi. Quinn tells Erin she was never there and the other girl takes off. Marcus is stunned as they start to make this mess disappear.
Security footage is erased, bribes are handed out and Marcus complains. Quinn calls him Reverend Marcus and says quit complaining. Quinn takes out trash bags of bloody items and they do their thing. Liv meets with Abby who is stalking Vanessa Ross, Jake’s new GF.
They are outside a restaurant and Liv says she can’t figure out the angle. Abby thinks it’s just a date. Olivia tells Abby she had to cover up a dead hooker OD. Liv says the team is on it. She says Fitz is spinning out but Liv is hyper-focused on Jake.
Olivia says Jake killed someone to get the NSA job so she knows he’s up to something. David is in bed with Susan and advises her to get Fitz’s endorsement. Susan doesn’t like the idea. Susan says Abby is sneaking women into the White House for Fitz and worries it will reflect badly on her.
Liz rants to David later about him not getting Susan to do what they want. Liz says she’ll work on it and tells him to take off his pants since she has 26 minutes. He drops them but looks scared. Cyrus asks Fitz to meet Vargas for a few minutes.
Cyrus trash talks Vargas to play it off. He then says he can offer Vargas some political reality. Tell him he doesn’t need the distraction plan because you’re focused on your own education plan. They meet and Vargas talks football but Fitz blows him off.
Fitz gets snotty with Vargas about the education plan and calls it an entitlement program. Vargas tells Cyrus the bill is good and asks if he can still get him on Sally’s show. Cyrus is playing him like a fiddle. Quinn tells Huck she thinks Liv is bored with the job and her life.
She says Liv couldn’t wait to get away from the body and Huck says Liv isn’t like them and doesn’t like dead bodies. Huck says Liv is spying on Jake. Marcus comes in and says he thinks that the Secret Service guys might have killed her.
He says her phone was wiped and all her data. Quinn tells Huck not to encourage Marcus. Sally welcomes Vargas to her TV show. Cyrus watches the show while his hubby braids the hair of a doll. Sally says he should run for President and he says he has too much to do in PA.
Michael says he likes him. Cyrus calls Tom and says find out why Vargas won’t run. Cyrus asks Michael why he’s braiding and he says it’s practice for their daughter’s hair. Cyrus comes to see Liz and talks to her about Vargas.
He calls her a hairy armpit feminist and says she must not want Fitz’s endorsement and that’s why she isn’t worried about Vargas. Predictably, that sends Liz running to Fitz. Marcus comes in and says he got Megan’s autopsy report.
He says the blunt force trauma to her head was before the drugs came into her system. Marcus says they need to do what’s right. Olivia says he has to let it go. Marcus is not happy. Mellie brings Teddy to see his dad at the White House.
Mellie finds Lisa from Treasury in a bathrobe in his quarters and Mellie says put Teddy down. He kisses his son and sets him down. Mellie hugs him and whispers so Teddy can’t hear that he can screw as many whores as he wants but he better keep them away from her children.
Olivia comes at Mellie’s call and she tells her about the White House skank parade. Mellie says the new thing is that he nods at a woman and the Secret Service shuttles women in for sex. Olivia looks thoughtful and Mellie asks if she’s jealous.
Olivia comes back to the office and asks them to get more evidence that the dead hooker was not an accident. Liz talks to Susan who is angry when David shows up with flowers. Susan asks him to settle a quarrel. Susan doesn’t like that Liz booked her on Sally’s show.
Liz says she needs to go on the show to represent Fitz’s education plan and Susan says it’s a crap plan. They ask David for his opinion and he feels trapped. Susan lays a hand on his shoulder and asks what he thinks. Liz glares and David tells her to go on the show.
Susan is on the show and Liz and David both watch. Susan tears about Vargas’ plan and says it’s a dud and everyone’s taxes will be raised too much. Fitz has another chick in his bed and she says she went from writing about the White House pastry chef and now she’s in his bed.
Fitz says he’s got stuff to do and the woman asks him to comment on the rumors about Olivia secretly running Mellie’s campaign. She says Mellie and Olivia were spotted meeting at Olivia’s apartment. Tom reports to Cyrus that Vargas’ daughter has cancer.
He doesn’t want anyone to know and says no way will he run because his daughter is dying. Vargas tells Cyrus he wants to go back on Sally’s show. Cyrus says he should stay local and stick to PA and taking care of his family.
Cyrus tells him when he was 17, his little brother Oliver was injured by a drunk driver. He says he was paralyzed and says he was accepted at Harvard. He says he stayed home to take care of his brother and says he went to enroll at a local college.
He says then he went home and found a welcome packet from Harvard. He says Oliver told him he couldn’t stay home and said he told him to go and live his life and that he could be president one day. Cyrus says he tries to honor his brother every day.
Cyrus says some of them have a calling to something beyond family and loved ones. Boy oh boy what a sack of BS. Mellie wakes startled to find Jake in her room. He says she’s been following him and he knows it since he’s head of the NSA.
She says why are you here and threatens to call the cops. He says he’s there for the same reason she’s following her. He asks what she thinks of his GF. He says Vanessa is perfect but she’s not Olivia. Then he starts touching her and says tell me to stop and I will. She doesn’t.
Jake says that look on her face is why he’s here. He lies down on top of her and keeps touching her while she moans and carries on. Jake says he needs her. She tells him stop and asks what he’s up to. He stops and stares at her then says goodbye. He goes.
Marcus and Quinn go talk to the other hooker Erin. She thinks they want her to have sex with them and quotes rates and says it’s free to watch. Quinn says they’ll pay her and says tell us the truth. She says snitching isn’t what she’ll do for money.
Marcus says Megan didn’t die right away and says if they had called 911, she would not have died. Marcus asks again what really happened. Olivia goes to tell Abby that the agents didn’t want to pay Megan the hooker then there was an argument, she fell and then they OD’d her.
Olivia rants and says they have to talk to David but Abby says the agents were her clients. Abby says she knows how OPA works and says she’s a fixer. Olivia says Abby is her client, not the agents. She asks what Abby wants to do about it.
Abby is flummoxed. Olivia is shown into the Oval. She waits for Fitz. He shows up and says it’s good to see her. She says him too. They swap pleasantries. It’s awkward. He asks what she has to discuss. She hands him a report and says some Secret Service on his staff were involved in a hooker’s death.
Olivia says the agents let her die. She says Abby is keeping a lid on his busy personal life. He’s horrified. He says that’s what this is really about and asks if that’s what she and Mellie call them when they spend time together.
He asks if she’s working with Mellie and she says it’s none of his business and says she didn’t come to talk about his personal life. She says she can make it go away but then he has to… He interrupts and says don’t tell me what to do and says it’s not her prerogative anymore.
Liv goes to leave then says the fish rots from the head and says the Secret Service boys take their cues from him. She says he’s letting things get out of hand is setting a bad example for his son, the Secret Service, and the country.
She compares him to his horrible father and asks if that’s who he really wants to be. Abby waits on Susan who comes in the private elevator – they thought it was another skank and are pleasantly surprised. Fitz tells Susan she was great on Sally’s show.
He asks what she really thinks of the plan. He says there are no cameras here, be honest. She says she likes it and would like to see it implemented around the country. She says everyone was giving her so much advice and she says it’s gross dealing with the pressure.
Fitz tells Susan never lie to the American people again. Susan agrees. Fitz says he wonders if she did this to get his endorsement and says she already has it. Susan says she’s not sure she wants it and he knows why. Fitz says he’s going to earn her wanting his endorsement.
Susan thanks him and he thanks her. Abby says that was good and he tells Abby to get him the briefing room. He holds a press conference and breaks news of the Secret Service scandal and their firing. He says David Rosen will handle the case and lets him take the podium.
David says he’s prosecuting the men for Megan’s tragic death. The OPA team watches and Huck tells Marcus nice work. He tells them it makes them feel good. Cyrus talks to Vargas who asks for a drink and a talk.
He says go easy on the ice then asks Cyrus to run his presidential campaign. Cyrus is cheering on the inside. Vargas tells him about Anna’s cancer and that she’s just five. He says he never tells anyone. He says the prognosis isn’t good and thinks she’ll go to college one day.
Michael comes and asks Cyrus if he wants to say goodnight to Ella before she goes to bed. Cyrus introduces them and hands Michael a drink. Vargas toasts to their daughters and to Oliver. Vargas heads out and Michael asks who’s Oliver.
Cyrus says his brother and Michael says he thought he was an only child. Cyrus sys he is. Olivia comes to see Rowan and says it’s Sunday dinner. She asks to come inside and she hears a cork popping and laughter. He lets her in. Jake is there with Vanessa his GF.
Rowan introduces Olivia to her and says they’re getting married and they all toast to new beginnings. Olivia smiles and Jake gives her a look over his glass. Rowan looks smug as does Jake.
THE END!
