In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
Welp, my theory from last week was totally wrong. Turns out that Jake did kill the two women and also James, and then convinced David to help him cover it up. Liv, being the smartest person in Washington, figures out that it was a hit. Liv calls Jake and asks him to look into James's death, but Jake is a little busy, you know, digging a grave for the two women he killed. Come on, show. I look past a lot of ridiculousness but that was over the top.
Through the episode, we see various flashbacks of how Cyrus and James got together, and how James convinced Cyrus to step out of the closet. As someone who was pretty annoyed by their relationship, it was nice to see the sweeter moments, although I would have liked seeing them before James was, you know, dead.
Liv tries to coddle Cyrus but he's concerned that, while Fitz is taking time off from the campaign to mourn James, Sally is going to steal the gun lobby from them, and he's right. At least she's trying to. Nichols and Mellie meet with the NRA instead and extract a promise of support if Fitz makes a speech supporting the 2nd Amendment. At Cyrus's urging, Fitz instead decides to cede the gun lobby to Sally and try to steal some of Reston's support by coming out in favor of gun control in light of James's death. But Nichols and Mellie's trip wasn't a total waste: they totally do it.
Meanwhile, Quinn and Charlie are finding a patsy to go to prison for carjacking and killing James, but David has cold feet about charging a man he knows is innocent. Abby realizes that David's hiding something and he finally breaks and tells her his role in covering up James's murder.
Adnan has put Liv's mother on retainer for…something. They're meeting with terrorists and whatnot, and Liv's mom is just killing dudes as a negotiating point. Adnan visits Harrison and says that she might want a quick escape.
Huck pulls video footage from inside Liv's safe and finds out Quinn looked at the file. Liv confronts Jake and claims he's becoming her father. Jake thinks he's different because he does the terrible things himself instead of making a soldier do it. Liv meets with her father, looking for some sort of comfort and explanation for how the world makes sense. He assures her that being Command means suffering, and that maybe it's Liv's role to save the monsters and the demons and pull them into the light.
Speaking of demons, Huck visits Quinn to kill her for breaking into OPA, but explains that he realized she would know to avoid the video camera so she must have wanted them to know what B613 knew. Then they make out? And then Huck doesn't kill her. Boo and BOOOOOOOO!
Liv visits David and convinces him to arrest the patsy so that they can work together to take down B613, since that's the problem and not Jake or whomever is Command. When Cyrus decides to act as Press Secretary to announce the patsy's arrest, he breaks down at the podium and Fitz has to rescue him while Liv takes over.
The episode ends as we find out how James died, which was slow and awful, but Jake explained to the dying James that it had to happen that way so that it would look like an amateur did it. And Jake stays with him so that he won't die alone. Y'all, rooting for Jake is getting really hard. I appreciate the lengths the show is going to so that we know Jake isn't all evil, and that it's the job that's evil, but I still don't know how they can rehabilitate him unless he sacrifices his life for the greater good. And I don't really want that either.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open right where we left off last week, or actually a little before, with Jake exiting his car and sneaking up on the meeting between James, David, Vanessa, and Shelby. He raises his gun and shoots the two women in the head, and then pulls out a different gun (that's what threw me although now I know why) and shoots James, who has decided to make a break for it. He turns the gun on David, who begs for his life. Jake says he's always liked David, because he seemed smart, so now he wants David to work with him. Of COURSE, David is going to say yes. Who wouldn't? I'm glad the show showed us what really happened immediately, but I'm still mad that my prediction of a different person shooting the women and then Jake shooting the first shooter didn't come true. I thought that would have been an interesting storyline.
The morning, David is touring the crime scene with the cop on duty. The working assumption is that James was killed in a carjacking. David looks at James's corpse and looks ill, but he asks the cop to expedite the ballistics and contact him first with any findings.
Cyrus has apparently just been informed; Liv leads him into his office and vows that they'll find whoever did this and send him to jail. For some unnecessary comic relief, Ethan stumbles in sobbing. Liv tells him to pull it together because Cyrus needs them. She starts rattling off orders for Ethan while Cyrus sits, stunned.
And has the first of many flashbacks in this episode. A scruffily bearded Cyrus sits in a hotel bar where James approaches him and asks for some information on Grant's stance on immigration. Cyrus shakes his hand and sniffs at James's employer, the Boston Dispatch. James leaves but Cyrus calls him back and lets James know that he read the hit piece James wrote about Holland Doyle and his influence on Grant, then tells James he should dress better. I think James looks nice; he's wearing a leather jacket and jeans. James asks, "You really think I'm going to take fashion advice from a guy with a neck beard?" They smile at each other as James leaves. There's a definite spark.
Back in the present, Fitz, Mellie, Nichols, and Liv are meeting in the Oval. Liv says they'll have to suspend campaign activities for a few days. Mellie points out that Fitz will miss an important NRA event, but Fitz thinks it would be bad form to talk to gun lobbyists when his friend was just shot down in the street. He does have a point. Mellie is clearly a strong Second Amendment supporter, and Nichols backs her up (because he lurrrrrves her). Fitz doesn't care and tells Liv to reschedule it.
Fitz gets a call from Sally, kindly expressing her condolences. No sign of nutbaggery there. She even agrees to suspend her campaign while Fitz does, out of respect. Sally hangs up and Leo informs her that now they can go after the gun lobby endorsement.
The temporary Press Secretary takes the podium and she's terrible. The press is really mean to her; I have to believe they'd be a little easier on her knowing the situation and since they also knew James. Liv, standing in the back, notices that Vanessa Chandler isn't there.
At OPA, Liv tells the Gladiators to find out if Shelby made it to work today, and tells them that Vanessa wasn't at work. They realize she thinks it was a hit, not a carjacking, and Abby takes off to make sure David is safe. It's a good thing for the plot movement that Liv is the smartest person in DC; it's a little sad to me that those two women could be dead in a ditch for twelve hours and not one person noticed or reported them missing.
Abby finds James in front of the Department of Justice and freaks out all over him about how James is dead and Vanessa and Shelby are missing and David is in danger. David insists it was a carjacking and Abby reminds him that they're not lying to each other anymore. David gets emotional (his neck turns really red, which seems like a tell) and asks Abby to let him get through this by doing his job.
Liv calls Jake, who is doing yard work or something. After he extends condolences, she says she thinks James was killed because of what he knew about Daniel Douglas and asks Jake to look into it when he has time. Jake is like, "Yeah, sure" and then he hangs up and gets back to work…digging a giant grave in which to dump Vanessa and Shelby's dead bodies. Whoa. First of all, that's a lot of digging. It seems like it would take a while, even for someone as fit as Jake. Second, aren't there more efficient ways to dispose of bodies, ones that won't leave any traces behind? You'd think Jake would have the means at his disposal to, say, bury someone at sea or feed them to a lion or something.
Adnan gives a pile of money to Marie as a retainer and asks what the step is. Marie says that they need to find a terrorist; she's not one, even though she blew up a plane because that was personal. Adnan is a little perturbed, because she thought she was hiring Marie to keep things small and private. Marie gets icy and says that Adnan has spent her money well and should leave everything to Marie. Adnan looks like she's wondering if she's gotten in bed with the wrong lady. Haven't we all been there?
Liv stomps through the halls of the White House while talking to Harrison on the phone. He reports that Vanessa and Shelby are still missing; she tells him to find out what Leo was up to last night, since he and Sally benefit most from James's death. She comes upon Ethan who says that he couldn't stop Cyrus from doing whatever he's doing; Liv enters Cyrus's office and it looks like he's gotten past his shock because he's red-faced screaming at Ethan for a minor screw-up. Liv excuses Ethan and then listens as Cyrus goes ballistic because Sally is trying to steal the gun lobby from under their noses. Liv assures him that she'll handle it, and Cyrus doesn't need to work today. Cyrus calms down and says that he understands what Liv is trying to do for him, and he's grateful, but he needs to work today. He begs Liv for the chance to do work.
Flashback to Cyrus sitting on a plane during the first Fitz campaign. James finds him and sits down asking why Fitz hasn't taken an official stance on marriage equality when he has a gay campaign manager. Cyrus is shocked and then denies being gay. James points out that he shaved his beard, and he looks a lot better without it. Cyrus has a look like, "Holy shit, he knows. He knows I'm gay. And is he flirting with me? Hold it together, Cyrus."
Huck calls Liv to tell her that Leo seems clean. She tells him to check the Daniel Douglas file in her safe to see if he can find anything that might help. Huck accesses the safe and starts to look at the file, but then he remembers that there is a camera in the back of the safe. Back in his office, he checks the video.
Quinn and Charlie call on a mechanic named Lance McCollum. And by "call on," I mean "point a gun at." He's in liver failure with poor insurance, but Charlie points out that prison inmates get free medical care and even transplants. Ugh, Quinn and Charlie are the worst. Quinn has on five-inch heeled boots like she's hot shit and they're just so smug. It's like those two are on a different show; the tone is so off.
Cut to David watching the interrogation of Lance McCollum, who has been brought in under suspicion of carjacking and murder. The cop wants to officially arrest him, but David says to wait for the ballistics to come in.
Flashback Cyrus stands alone outside an auditorium in Defiance, Ohio while Fitz gives his stump speech inside. Cyrus is giving the speech right along with Fitz; it's kind of poignant because we know from episodes that Cyrus would have liked to run himself, but felt he couldn't because he's gay. James exits the auditorium and they smile at one another. Cyrus says James is missing the end of the speech, and James says it's the same stump speech he's heard a billion times. They move closer together and Cyrus doesn't know what to do as James waits for him to make the first move. Cyrus says he doesn't "indulge" very often and James says he's not a dessert, and he wants to date Cyrus. James adds that Cyrus has "a very hot mouth." Really? That mouth? I guess it takes all kinds. Cyrus does nothing. James says that was his move, and now Cyrus has to make a move back. Cyrus does nothing. James waits a beat and turns to go, saying he won't bother Cyrus anymore. Cyrus grabs him, slams him against the wall, and kisses him. Intense, closed-mouth kissing. Come on, networks. If we can handle hearing Fitz tells Olivia's father how she TASTES, I think we can handle a little gay Frenching.
Fitz walks into the Oval and finds Cyrus and Liv waiting for him. Cyrus launches into his spiel on how terrible it is that Sally is meeting with the gun lobby today. Fitz wants Cyrus to go home, but Liv assures him that Cyrus needs to work. Fitz asks if he should go to Houston too, but Cyrus and Liv want him to send Nichols and Mellie. Nichols is moderate on guns but the lobby loves Mellie. Liv is concerned that Sally is going to get to Houston first.
Cut to Sally and Leo in the car, heading to the airport. Sally is prepping for her meeting with the gun lobby when the driver says they have to head back, because Air Force Two has been grounded. Leo guesses that Cyrus grounded the plane.
Mellie and Nichols are in Houston, shooting skeet. That sounds dirtier than I meant it. They bicker over the Second Amendment, which I guess counts as foreplay in the Republican party? Mellie's a good shot. I feel like that might come up later.
Adnan and Marie are meeting with two terrorists, but Marie complains that she usually meets with Ivan. The terrorists say that Ivan is busy. Marie responds by whipping out a gun and pumping two bullets in one man's head. She quickly disarms the other guy and tells him to give a message to Ivan for her: that she wants to meet with HIM. Adnan looks ill. I'm just wondering how they're going to dispose of the body. I'm all about logistics.
Huck goes into Liv's office and tells her that he examined the footage from her safe (Liv: "You put a camera in my safe?") and discovered that Quinn saw the Daniel Douglas file. So B613 knows everything.
Liv visits Jake and yells at him for taking three innocent lives, including that of one of her friends. Jake tells her that they might have different definitions of innocent and bad things happen to good people all the time. I wonder if Scott Foley is consciously aping Rowan's diction in this scene or if the writing just lends itself to speaking that way. Liv demands over and over to know who put Jake up to this, and Jake finally blows a gasket: "I am Command, Olivia! Who do you think?" I mean, seriously. What DID she think? She doesn't seem to get what Jake's job is now.
Olivia spits that he said he'd be different, but he's turned into her father. Jake insists he's different, because he didn't pull "some poor, broken soldier out of a hole" and make him do something awful. Jake did the awful thing himself. That's some serious hair-splitting that Jake's got going on to be able to live with himself. Like Olivia, he's trying to do the right thing when the right thing ins this scenario would probably be to run away to Montana or something. Anyway, Liv realizes the full horror of what Jake has done and goes to leave. He advises her to accept that James killed in a carjacking. She asks what happens if she doesn't, and he repeats, "Bad things happen to good people all the time." Well, that's a threat.
Cyrus walks into his office as he assures someone on the phone that he's fine. Inside, he finds numerous giant floral arrangements and appears confused as to why they're there. Gee, do you think Cyrus is in denial and he's going to have a huge breakdown in a little while when the enormity of his loss hits him? You do? Congratulations, you've watched television before. Flashback to James and Cyrus arguing because Cyrus won't let James be his date to the Inaugural Ball because he's not out. They argue about whether or not Cyrus should come out. I think this is the argument we saw in a episode's flashback? Or heard from outside.
Adnan meets with Harrison in a parking garage, where she usually hangs out. She asks Harrison if he still has contacts in Justice, because she might need to make a quick escape. Before Harrison can answer, Adnan gets spooked by a nearby speeding car and takes off.
Jake visits David to wonder why there hasn't been an arrest yet in James's murder. David makes some excuses about red tape but Jake gets all threatening and asks if he needs to put James's car in the suspect's living room, because he will. Jake also knows that David scheduled a meeting with the Attorney General, but David insists it's just an update and he's not going to tell anyone what happened, because nothing happened. Jake says David needs to arrest the suspect, soon. David might have a mental breakdown. Soon.
Liv meets with her dad on their park bench. He's not happy to be there, and she begs him to be a nice, normal dad for a few seconds. Rowan sits and softens a bit. Liv is having a crisis because it feels like everyone she loves is a monster and everyone is evil and she doesn't know what the point is. Rowan chuckles and she tells him about Sally and DDL and James. Rowan isn't surprised and Liv starts to leave, because he's not taking her seriously. He tells her to sit so that he can be her dad. Then he launches into a Rowan-length speech about how he's responsible for 183 deaths, and every one marked him. He was the Hand of God for a while, and it was "the worst punishment in the world." He goes on to say that everyone is worth saving, and it's Liv's job to drag everyone into the light. No pressure, though. The fate of humanity is just in your hands. When did Liv turn into Buffy? Rowan takes Liv's hand as she cries and considers what he's said and after an appropriate pause, asks if he's finished being dad now. Heh. She nods and he leaves.
Nichols and Mellie shoot skeet with the gun lobbyists, who announce that Fitz didn't do enough for them in his first term, so they'll be supporting Sally Langston this time around. Do lobbyists really drag candidates all the way to Houston to just say, "Nope, not you." That seems mean. Mellie jumps in and asks if Fitz could make a gesture, like a speech from the White House supporting the Second Amendment.
That works, and Nichols later calls Fitz to relay the good news. Fitz thanks him for the hard work and Nichols gives all credit to Mellie, as he should. Nichols says that Mellie's right there and Fitz can thank her himself. Fitz is awful: he says, 'No, that's okay." Ouch. Mellie's smile fades.
Cyrus marches into Fitz's office and says he heard about the big speech from Mellie's staff, and he doesn't want Fitz to do it. Fitz wonders when Cyrus last ate and calls out to Lauren to bring them some food. Cyrus refuses food and poor Lauren is left to do nothing but close the door. I hope Lauren gets paid well, because she has to put up with some bullshit. Anyway, Cyrus points out that they're up against a Democrat who shot his wife's rapist (well, as far as the public knows, that's what happened) and Sally Langston, "who might love guns even more than she loves Jesus." Cyrus thinks they should try to steal some folks from the left, because they're looking for someone, and Fitz can do it now because he was shot and his Press Secretary was shot, so no one would question it. Fitz isn't sure about using James's death politically. Cyrus is all business, and says it will get them votes.
Flashback to Day Five of the Grant Presidency. Cyrus enters the Oval at night, where Fitz is reviewing some reports. It's really, really, really obvious to Fitz and the viewers that Cyrus is kinda sorta trying to come out to Fitz, but Cyrus chickens out at the last minute and just says that he's seeing someone. Fitz is super careful with his wording, asking if Cyrus loves this person, and Cyrus says he does. Fitz says that's all that matters and looks pained as Cyrus leaves, sad that his friend isn't ready to confide what he already knows. Remember when Fitz wasn't a garbage person?
Montage to get through some shit: Fitz gives a speech calling for gun control, Sally gets the gun lobby's support, Mellie and Nichols are pissed, no arrest made in James's carjacking and murder. Cut to Nichols and Mellie in their hotel room, drunk and arguing about gun control. They bicker collegially until suddenly they're sitting on the floor together staring into each other's face holes. Nichols says that it's a shame that Fitz can't see her the way that he does. Mellie pauses for a minute then jumps his bones and they totally do it. You go, Mellie. Get some.
Abby comes home to find David lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He makes up a couple of different excuses about what he was doing but Abby's not buying it. She won't let it drop, and finally she tells David that whether he's in danger or trouble, he needs to give it to her and let her share in it and help bear the burden, because they love each other and that's what you do. David takes a breath and says that he has to send an innocent man to jail so that he can stay alive. Honestly? I don't get why he's so upset about sending the innocent man to jail. I mean, the guy kind of wants to go, doesn't he? I guess David still believes in justice. Except when it comes to fixing Presidential elections. Anyway, David spills the whole thing to Abby.
Quinn comes home (she still comes home? She's not just living with Charlie) to find Huck in her apartment. He's got his toolbox. Please kill her. PLEASE! He says that he came there to kill her and put her down. She tries to draw on him, but come on. Huck throws Quinn up against a wall and Huck-whispers to her that he trained her so he knows that she's too good to be seen on camera if she didn't want to be, which means that she wanted to get caught. She wanted OPA to know what B613 was doing, because she's still a Gladiator. Quinn looks like she might cry and then spits in his face. She tells him, "Screw you" and then they start making out. You guys, I can't with this storyline. I kind of hope they both die. Is there anyone out there (besides the actors' loved ones) who tunes in each week thinking, "I can't wait to see what happens with Quinn and Huck!" Anyway, they stop kissing (though they were both into it) and Quinn tells Huck to get out. He does.
Liv sits in her office, looking like she doesn't know what to do . Abby storms in and says that Jake killed those people and now he wants to kill David, so they need to help him. Harrison interrupts and says that Adnan Salif is back in the country and into something bad. Huck interrupts and says that Quinn is deep into B613 and they might need to extract her. Liv says nothing but finally just shakes her head yes like she knows what to do.
Liv meets secretly with David. She asks him about the patsy and then says that David needs to arrest him. David says he won't, and Liv points out that he'll die and then justice still won't be done. She wants to go along with this patsy thing but then work together to attack the real enemy: B613. Liv tells him to lose this battle so that they can win the war.
, Liv goes to tell Cyrus that there's been an arrest and confession in James's carjacking case. Cyrus asks if they're sure now that this was a carjacking and Liv affirms it. She goes on to add that they will be doing a press briefing and she'll go over it with Sheila. Why can't Liv just do it? Why are they even bothering with terrible Sheila? Cyrus must feel the same way because he grabs the papers from Liv and heads for the briefing room.
Cyrus walks to the briefing room in kind of a trance as he flashes back to the rest of his relationship with James: the fights, the kisses, more fights. He takes his place at the podium and begins his statement, but after he says James's name, he goes into a flashback of the first Grant State Dinner. Mellie and Fitz waltz with other couples on the dance floor while Cyrus stands alone, watching. He gets up and walks out to the press area, where James is waiting. And "You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" by Gladys Night starts playing. Cyrus lets James through the velvet rope and grabs his hand, dragging him back into the dinner and out on the dance floor. James asks, "Are you sure?" and Cyrus just says, "Dance with me, James." And they dance. And Fitz and Mellie (among others) smile at them.
Back in present day, Cyrus's face just crumbles. And then you can see him try to pull himself together, but the enormity of what just happened hits him, and he's just a broken man. He lets out two strangled sobs, and Jesus what an acting job. Fitz walks out to the podium and tries to get Cyrus off, but Cyrus keeps saying, "Let me do my job!" until he lets Fitz lead him away. Olivia steps up, clears her throat, and continue the statement as we see a montage of the Gladiators, David, and Jake watching her on television.
Before I go on to the last scene, let me say something. This episode is the FIRST time I have cared about James and Cyrus's relationship in the history of the show. I could never figure out why James stayed, and why he kept taking Cyrus back when Cyrus was such a monster. I just wish the writers had shown us some of this back story earlier, so I could have cared a little more before the relationship ended. And that last flashback leading into Cyrus's breakdown? Amazing.
Anyway, then Jake has his own flashback. He finishes bundling Vanessa and Shelby into his car trunk and then heads back to where James is lying on the ground, dying. Jake tells him that he's sorry, but he had to make his death look sloppy, like an amateur did it, which means it will take him some time to die. James can't speak, but he looks terrified. Jake promises to stay until it's over, and he won't let James did alone. He also vows that James's daughter is okay, and safe, and nothing will happen to her. And finally, James stops struggling and the light goes from his eyes. Jake sighs. Goodbye, James. You were never my favorite character, but I'm still sorry you had to go, but what a great death scene for Dan Bucatinski. And it's nice to see that the show isn't shying away from killing off main characters, because it raises the stakes, for sure.