Scandal Season 6, Episode 8
“A Stomach For Blood”
Posted by Kim
Last week we found out that the traitor in our midst was Abby Whelan. So how exactly did Abby end up selling her soul to Sarah Ponytail and her shady network of shifty ladies (and one dude)? It always comes down to one thing with Abby: she can’t stand having her pride and her desire for power insulted. It’s what happened last season in regards to her fallout with Olivia and it’s what’s happening now. Are they making some character regression to make it fit the story? Of course. (Sage: Wouldn’t ALL her years at OPA have taught her more as far as shady business dealings?) BUt desperate people do desperate things and honestly if I was faced with going along with Fitzgerald Grant’s Vermont Fantasy, I would have snapped too. TO THE GIFS.
We’re back to Election Night.
Abby’s face when Frankie gets shot though.
In the aftermath, Abby’s phone won’t stop ringing. She keeps ignoring it, looking like she just wants to chuck it out the window.
“Do not do this. You are chief of staff to the president of the United States of America.” Abby starts to break down and Fitz basically tells her to man up, which is rich coming from him.
“You don’t get to break down.” I mean…sure. But also DON’T TELL HER WHAT TO DO.
As soon as Abby is alone, she cries. She also FINALLY answers her phone.
“You shot him! This is not happening.”
“You think the President isn’t going to notice if I leave??” Don’t these people know the entire country would fall apart if Abby left?
Abby hangs up and throws her coffee mug against the wall.
“What’s wrong with Sacramento?” “It’s not Santa Barbara.” In the past, Abby is TRYING to get Fitz to commit to where his Presidential Library to be, but he’s too busy whining and rapturously describing the new aide you likes to go braless.
“I think I’m more attractive to women now than when I was 25.”
“You are the most powerful man in the world. These women are not hot for you, they are hot for your office.”
“What about Vermont?” WHAT. ABOUT. VERMONT.
“Tell me you’re joking.”
“We…you…have so much more to accomplish!” Abby will NOT be shuttered off to Vermont to run his foundation while Fitz dreams his Olivia pipe dream.
Fitz sends Abby off to a donor lunch and who is there but Sarah Ponytail.
“250 million.” “I’m sorry? I thought we discussed three.”
“It’s not his team were interested in being a part of. It’s yours.” Oh.
“My business is quite legitimate, Ms. Whelan.” That should be your first clue that it ISN’T.
“How sick and tired must you be of serving someone else.” Playing RIGHT to Abby’s ego, that’s GOOD.
“Come January, my duties to the President will continue, Ms. Ruland.” “Now, that’s just sad.” I mean…agree.
“Have you ever considered running for public office, Ms. Whelan?” Buuuuuuuuuut…I thought they were all MELLIE FOR PRES? I mean whatever, Ladies in all Public Office 2K17.
“A person wields far more power in the shadows.” This is true. Abby IS running the country after all.
“Good luck building that library, Ms. Whelan. What fun!”
LEO OH MY GOD I MISS YOU.
“This is a $2000 bottle of bourbon, Red.” OH I MISSED ABBY AND CYRUS TIME.
“How did you know that Vargas was the one?” He watched The West Wing of course and was inspired by Josh Lyman falling for Santos. DUH.
“Have you told him yet? That you’re thinking about leaving him?” Abby wants spread her wings and fly, far far away from Fitz. Cyrus knows what’s that like.
“Those tresses of yours…don’t get me started.” ABBY HAIR APPRECIATION LYFE.
“He will not be proud of you.” Cyrus warns her that Fitz WILL throw a fit when she leaves him.
“Oh fine. Whatever.” Abby fails to tell Fitz that SHE was offered 300 million at that “donor lunch”.
“I want you to run my foundation.” “From Vermont!!”
“I can actually learn how to make jam!” Fitz has a jam plan, y’all.
“Okay. No.” Abby is not moving to the boondocks to be a part of the Jam Plan.
“I am killing myself to further your legacy!” She does it ALL for you, Fitz. It wasn’t even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese.
“Why does everyone other than me think they know what I should be doing?” WAH WAH WAH HERE WE GO.
“Stop being a child and grow up!”
“I have given this country my soul. And while you were baking pies for your poli-sci professors and prancing around the quad pretending to stand for something, I was giving everything I knew how to give to my country.” The last time Abby was insulted like this, it launched that feud with Olivia regarding Susan Ross vs. Mellie. So we all know where this is going to go.
“Olivia is never going to Vermont for you.”
“You can go.” Fitz summarily DISMISSES HER, telling her to start looking up land in Vermont. Hoo boy.
“I’m in.”
Back to Election Night, now knowing the information about Abby working with Sarah Ponytail.
“This moment? It’s not about me, Abby. It is about every woman who has been told her entire life that her dreams, her desires are crazy and impossible and that the ceiling’s too high and unbreakable.” TOO REAL.
“I’m about to show them all it’s not true. Not for me, not for any of us.” WHY.
“And for that? Yeah, I am very, very proud.” LEAVE ME HERE.
“I can’t talk right now, it’s the apocalypse!!” Abby has no time for Sarah Ponytail calling RIGHT AFTER Mellie is declared the loser.
“I would try and dial down my panic level before things get really interesting.” Sorry, I’m obsessed with Sarah Ponytail. OBSESSED. Like what a stone cold boss bitch.
“I’m gonna call you again in a few minutes. You’ll be very distracted, very upset, much more upset than you are right now, and you might not want to answer the phone. That would be a mistake, because I need you to answer the phone.”
“You shot him.” “Not personally, but I can see how you’d get there.” Seriously, they are having so much fun writing Sarah Ponytail.
Abby tries to be like “BITCH NO,” but then Sarah Ponytail is all “Remember that sweet paycheck you got? The money came from North Korea. And we’re reporting it if you don’t cooperate.”
“You’re a smart girl, you can figure it out.”
“I have a package for you from our friends.” HI MEG AS A FAKE NURSE.
“This envelope has three long-range sniper bullets in it. You’re going to make it look like they were pulled from the President-elect’s body and get me the ones that are really in there.”
OH MY GOD THEY HAVE LEO.
“Details, Abby. You’ll figure it out. You’re a leader. We believe in you.”
Abby blackmails some poor agent into starting the autopsy. “I am not blackmailing you, Agent Morales. I am giving you an opportunity.”
DID WE NEED THE AUTOPSY SOUND EFFECTS?
THEN Abby gets ANOTHER poor sod to CATCH blackmail guy so they can leave Frankie’s partially autopsied corpse wide open on the table. Agent Morales is like “What the fuck” until Abby goes “You can return with your full team when the president signs off on the autopsy. He won’t forget your service today.”
Aaaaaaand she switches the bullets. Two of them at least. Cause the third one is still in the body cavity.
OH MY GOD SHE DIGS AROUND FOR THE THIRD ONE.
She hides her bloody hand behind her when someone else comes in the room to get back to work. BUT SHE GOT THE BULLETS.
Abby vomits into a medical waste bin. Honestly I’m amazed she made it that long.
“Leo…I’m so sorry. It wasn’t your fault.” Poor guy just thinks he was mugged. BUT HE IS OKAY.
“Are you framing Cyrus? If I had known that was the plan…” Listen, Abby and Cy have had their issues, but they are still BFFs, okay?
“You are a brilliant woman, Ms. Whelan. But you don’t have a stomach for blood.” EPISODE TITLE, EPISODE TITLE. (Do you think they write the scripts and then go back and look at the lines that stand out and pick the title that way? Because that’s what WE do.)
Abby goes for a run to run away from her feelings a la Charlotte York. She comes up with a plan of action to save Cyrus. She goes straight to her old pal David Rosen.
“I hate to interrupt a good hero moment.” Okay but does Sarah Ponytail have tracking devices on everyone? HOW DOES SHE ALWAYS TURN UP.
“Like there’s anything you can do that we haven’t already prepared for.”
“You won’t be the first person to underestimate me.” Except that you played EXACTLY into their hands, Abby.
“Oh Abby. I’m a real bitch. You just play one on TV.”
“We’re heading to brunch. Want to come with?” OH MY GOD SARAH PONYTAIL IS DAVID ROSEN’S NEW GIRLFRIEND.
“It looks worse that it feels, Red.” For us, it’s been AGES since Cyrus had the shit beat out of him in prison. But it JUST happened for all of them. THIS SEASON IS BANANAS.
“I came here to say I believe you.”
“I’m going to war for you.”
“I have something you want. Information you need. I’ll give it to you, and I assure you it will be worth it. I just need you to get Cyrus out of jail.” And this is how Abby sold Jennifer Fields (and Huck) down the river.
“You said it yourself, Cyrus. I’m a force.”
It SEEMS like we’re all caught up with all of our main players now so the plot can start moving forward. Huck is still bleeding in a shady hotel room. Can the Gladiators find him in time? We’ll find out on Thursday. Until then, leave all your thoughts in the comments!
Share Your Feels