While Grey’s Anatomy has been going strong for 14 seasons, Scandal is sadly winding down to an end this season. And even though you may have been dutifully following the all of the Kerry Washington-starring show’s wild twist, turns and revelations since season one, you might still ask yourself, “how the hell did it get to this?!?”
Lucky for us, the answers lie in Netflix. With the series finale next month coming up fast, it may be time to start re-watching some of your old favorites. We’ve rounded up 20 moments that really had us on the edges of our seats. From Mellie forging Fitz’s signature to James being shot on the street, you may not be as shocked as you were the first time around, but you’ll still be just as intrigued.
20. The Whole Amanda Tanner Thing
Season 1, Episode 5
It’s no secret that President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III sometimes has trouble keeping it in his pants. So we weren’t all that surprised when it was revealed that he had an affair with a former White House intern named Amanda Tanner. But we were kind of surprised to find out that sweet, grandpa-like Cyrus Beene was capable of hiring a hitman. In an effort to keep news of the affair under wraps, Cyrus got a bit of blood on his hands and it was WILD.
19. When Mellie Lied About Having a Miscarriage
Season 1, Episode 6
Mellie is as cunning as she is classy. She realized that Fitz was behind in the polls because women were backing Sally Langston over her husband and she was NOT having it. So she fabricated a story that she once had a miscarriage so that her family would better appeal to the female voters. Well, it worked, clearly. But as you certainly know, that wasn’t the last of the tricks Mellie had up her sleeves to get her husband the W…
18. When Quinn’s Boyfriend Was Murdered
Season 1, Episode 6
Remember when Quinn’s boyfriend Gideon ended up being stabbed in the neck? Honestly, we almost forgot that Quinn even had a boyfriend at that point. He was murdered by Sally’s chief of staff (does the name Billy Chambers ring a bell?). Poor Quinn had to pull the scissors out of his neck herself. Probably not the last memory you’d want of your significant other.
17. When the truth about Quinn was revealed
Season 2, Episode 1
Was anyone else annoyed at first when the news broke that Quinn’s real name was actually Lindsey Dwyer? But then we found out that she was framed for a bombing that was connected to the voter fraud carried out by Fitz’s own campaign team, and suddenly things got kind of interesting. Fake identities on government TV shows are nothing new, but the twists that this reveal brought with it were truly nail-biting.
16. When Fitz Gets Shot
Season 2, Episode 8
Talk about the shot heard ‘round the world. The scene where Fitz nearly gets assassinated on his way to his own birthday party will forever go down at one of the wildest moments in Scandal history. This moment, and all the moments immediately following, are some of the most tense times we see on screen. We didn’t even know if he’d escape death with no brain injury. Then again, it was only season two so we were hopeful. Keep this episode towards the top of your re-watch list.
15. When Sally takes over
Season 2, Episode 8
So, after Fitz is taken into surgery and ends up in a coma, Sally (love her or hate her) becomes the acting president in his place. She had literally been dreaming of hearing the words “Madam President” for ages, and it was finally happening. At the expense of Fitz, of course. If you recall, Cyrus nearly popped a vessel having Sally in the oval office. Anything that makes Cyrus so furious must be bad.
14. When Mellie commits treason
Season 2, Episode 9
Sally in charge of the White House, and the USA, didn’t particularly sit well with anyone. In order to save the oval from her scrutinizing eyes, Mellie commits treason by forging Fitz’s signature even though he was still in a coma! Let’s not get into the logic of how this would even make sense in real life (long story short: it wouldn’t), but you just knew someone was bound to find out the truth about what she did… sooner or later.
13. When Huck Was Framed
Season 2, Episode 9
If you happen to be a Huck-lover, you were probably seriously upset to see the scene that cut to Huck in a hoodie running away from the sniper rifle that was fired at Fitz. You probably thought that it couldn’t possibly be Huck who shot Mr. President, and you were right; he was framed. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t as simple as simple jailtime. Instead, he was water-boarded and tortured into giving up information on his supposed motives. It was sad to see this happen to Huck, but he was really strong, and his B613 training actually ended up helping him survive.
12. When Mellie Uses Unconventional Methods to Keep Fitz Around
Season 2, Episode 12
Did the rollercoaster that was Fitz and Mellie’s marriage seem to be super unfair to Mellie sometimes? When she felt her adulterous husband pulling away from her, she induces labor four weeks early to get on her husband’s good side again. If you have even a single Grey’s Anatomy-loving bone in your body, you know that patients who don’t carry their babies to term risk complications, so this was a pretty risky move for Mellie to make (and even a crazy one at that!).
11. When Fitz Got Blood on His Hands
Season 2, Episode 13
While Fitz can be very brooding, commanding, and sometimes pretty damn annoying, we like to think of him as a pretty gentle and compassionate dude. So we totally weren’t ready for the storyline where he killed Supreme Court Justice Verna Thornton! After finding out that she made a deal to nominate him for president, he suffocated her, though she was already sick after being diagnosed with cancer. It was a sad scene that was hard to swallow because we’ve never seen this side of Fitz before. And anyone who can kill another with their bare hands definitely raises some questions.
10. When Cyrus Showed His True Colors
Season 2, Episode 13
At this point, we know that Cyrus is capable of anything but this was… over the top. It was absolutely insane to think that he was actually willing to have his own husband killed if it meant protecting the interests of the people close to the Oval. He almost made Charlie kill James to keep him from testifying about the death of Daniel Douglas. Almost. He ended up not going through with it (thank goodness) but James ends up dead anyway.
9. When We Get Huck’s Backstory
Season 2, Episode 19
Calling all Huck-lovers: This was probably one of the saddest episodes in the series. In this episode, we got more information on Huck’s backstory — who he was, what he did, and the family he loved. Except it was all ripped away from him when he was forced to join B613. You might want to keep tissues close for this one.
8. When Fitz Killed Olivia’s Mother (Or So We Thought) & a ton of innocents
Season 3, Episode 6
In this episode, it was revealed that when Fitz was in the Navy, he shot down a passenger plane that had been carrying Olivia’s mother, Maya Pope. Many innocent people lost their lives on that plane, but not the one person that was meant to die. It’s kind of wild to think that Fitz was meddling in Olivia’s life even before they knew each other.
7. When Mellie’s Trauma was Revealed
Season 3, Episode 7
The more we’ve learned about these characters, the sadder the show becomes. This episode reveals that Mellie was raped by Fitz’s own father (!!!) after he got drunk and Mellie tried to mend his relationship with his son. It was extremely heartbreaking to see how Mellie managed to keep this secret inside of her for such a long time. She didn’t even tell Fitz. Imagine keeping such a huge secret to yourself for so long.
6. When Huck Tortures Quinn
Season 3, Episode 9
NGL, Huck can be a little too torture-happy sometimes. And even though he does feel betrayed when Quinn double-crosses her own team of gladiators to kill their lead in an important case, maybe he could’ve made his feelings known by writing her a strongly worded email, or unfriending her on Facebook, or something instead of you know, what he did. Instead, he kidnaps her, ties her up and yanks her teeth out. Only the molars (lucky Quinn). This episode is kind of cringe-y because we were really loving the Huck-Quinn tag-team duo. It got dark quick.
5. When Olivia’s Mom comes back
Season 3, Episode 9
If you thought Huck could be a little creepy, wait until you re-watch Mama Pope chow down on her very own wrists to escape the shackles Olivia’s dad put her in. Serious ick factor right there. And, what’s more, she reunited with Olivia, who didn’t even know she was still alive. This is all just a lot.
4. When Sally Murders Her Husband
Season 3, Episode 10
We didn’t really see Sally ever actually need the help of Cyrus or anyone on Olivia’s team, so this episode was pretty shocking. After she found out that her husband had been cheating on her, Sally took a letter-opener to Danny’s back and leaves him on her floor to die. It was one of the most heated arguments we’ve ever seen on the show, and we actually didn’t expect this kind of rage from southern belle Sally.
3. When Jake Shot James
Season 3, Episode 14
Okay, who else thought that James was one of the most perfect characters on the show? We were doubly upset when we saw Jake shoot Cyrus Beene’s hubby as he tried to run away and then sit with him as he slowly died. All because he knew too much about the ~mysterious death~ of Sally’s husband. FYI, we’re not crying; you’re crying!
2. When a teenager dies so his father can win the election
Season 3, Episode 18
Fitz escaped death after being shot in the head, but his own son collapses on stage on the verge of the election and dies from a germ that was introduced to him by Olivia’s father and the B613 hotshot. The death of Jerry Grant Jr. won Fitz the election because Olivia’s father knew it would and needed it to happen. Honestly, the things these characters do for power…
1. Basically everything that happened in “Where The Sun Don’t Shine”
Season 4, Episode 9
Okay, that whole Olivia-being-kidnapped series of episodes was super wild and really unexpected. And a bidding war for her custody? Come on, that was insane. But as usual, Olivia was quick on her feet and was able to subtly send off clues to her team that helped them try to narrow down where she might’ve been. Get ready to get terrified for Olivia’s fate all over again by re-watching this episode. While this is only midway through season four, it’s honestly the last of the shocking moments that take place on Scandal. Not to diss Shonda Rhimes or anything, it’s just that the first few seasons were PEAK drama – and the later seasons never really held up. The insanity kept coming; it just wasn’t as shocking anymore. At least we still have the earlier episodes to watch over and over again!