'Scandal' Recap: Mellie Goes Public With Fitz & Olivia's Affair

Scandal returned on Thursday with a faster paced episode than has been seen in recent weeks. Not only are Olivia's Gladiators back on the hunt for Albatross with Huck (Guillermo Diaz) back in action, but the triangle of Olivia (Kerry Washington), Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and Mellie (Bellamy Young) finally implodes.

"A Woman Scorned" opens with Olivia aggressively swimming in a pool, no doubt trying to get some of her built up anger and frustration out. Meanwhile, Fitz's Navy buddy, Captain Jake Ballard (Scott Foley), is standing guard at the edge of the pool. There was a mysterious man from a park that gave Ballard orders to stay close to her, so it's not certain whose orders he's actually following – mystery man’s, Fitz’s or even Cyrus’s. The fact is, a masked intruder broke into her house, so whoever wants Olivia followed has a legitimate reason to mask a potentially more sordid one.

Meanwhile, Cyrus (Jeff Perry) is having a meltdown of epic proportions at the White House as Mellie has moved out of the residence. To cover up the move, Cyrus orders a press release stating that Teddy has the chicken pox. James (Dan Bucatinsky) , who's been sitting in his office unnoticed, is eagerly waiting to get a moment to speak to his husband. He has big news to share; he's been offered an on-camera job at BNC. Gushing about how the high-profile gig could make him the next Anderson Cooper, he waits for a reaction from Cyrus, who says he's fine with it.

Truth be told, Cyrus's mind is still focused on Mellie. He basically begs her to “act like a grownup." Mellie, unruffled, informs Cyrus that if Fitz doesn't apologize to her within 36 hours she's going to announce that he's having an affair on live TV. Without a rebuttal plan in mind, Cyrus is forced to walk away to find Fitz and tell him the latest development. When he tries to bring Olivia into the problem solving, she flat out refuses to care enough to get involved.

At Olivia Pope & Associates the Gladiators are going over the hospital's security footage. When it seems like the man in the hat is going to remain unidentified, Huck comes in at the clutch and recognizes him as Charlie. This leads them to wonder if Cyrus could be the mole. Keeping her calm, Olivia urges the Gladiators to not leave any rock unturned, as they can't afford to finger the wrong person again. David Rosen (Joshua Malina) returns to help them out on the case, while Olivia continues to struggle with the thought that her good friend could have been behind the attempt at taking her out.

Olivia then heads to the Oval Office to have it out with Fitz. She tells him she's "not the girl the guy gets at the end of the movie" and tells him that if he really wants her he'll have to earn her back. For once, Fitz seems to have heard Liv and might start taking her seriously. Elsewhere at the Capitol, Cyus is trying win over Mellie through her political ambitions. He offers to let her take the lead on a meaningful issue like gun control, if she'll keep quite about Fitz's affair. When she doesn't bite, he threatens her with a whisper campaign that would implicate her as well – as cold, a lesbian, etc. Mellie holds to her convictions.

Cyrus then makes one final offer, asking Mellie if it would make any difference if they could get rid of Olivia. At that moment, Olivia is finding out that Cyrus ordered the murder of Amanda Tanner – a murder that was executed by Charlie. Cyrus, meanwhile, tries to call Jake off of his post, but finds out that Jake didn't listen when he shows up at Olivia's apartment later. Olivia finally lets Jake in only to lie to him about her relationship with the president and kiss him.

After reconciling with James, Cyrus sees the media vans at the Blair house and makes one last attempt to convince Fitz to apologize to his wife. Instead, with 22 minutes left until the 36 hours expire, Fitz shows up at Olivia's apartment. They kiss and makeup all over the apartment, as apparently all Olivia needed was for Fitz to make a firm choice. And a choice it was, as while they’re having sex in the shower, Mellie is revealing their affair on national television. Who is the interviewer? None other than the new Anderson Cooper, James, who had gone into the interview completely blind.

Next week, the Gladiators will be back to work searching for the mole, since it appears that it isn't Cyrus after all. Charlie has footage of Jake and Olivia making out, so Jake will have to assess the risk to both of them. Cyrus and James will have to see if they can make it through this latest mess, and Olivia will have to decide if Fitz's gesture was enough.

Scandal returns next Thursday on ABC at 10/9c.