It's been a long hiatus for us gladiators, but Scandal returned last Thursday with the rousing "Top of the Hour."

With Cyrus and Olivia battling it out on a case and Fitz slowly unravelling, it was a great episode to dissect. Below, we encourage readers to join TV Fanatic staffers Christine Orlando, Miranda Wicker, Leigh Raines and Emily from ABC Scandal Fan to discuss the latest happenings in DC...

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What was your favorite scene or quote from "Top of the Hour?"

Christine: I really enjoyed Mellie and Cyrus talking about being banished to Siberia. These two are such fun together. My only disappointment in the episode was that there wasn't enough Mellie.

Emily: Cyrus' dialog gets both my votes this week! First the obvious "Is your vagina apolitical?" was hilarious because it was actually coming out of my mouth right before he said it. And Jeff Perry's delivery during his scene with Mellie about being back in the President's good graces had me cracking up with "the President's waiting...for me!"

Miranda: I loved everything about Huck teaching Quinn the ways of the spy! They're awesome together.

Leigh: I really love when Cyrus and Olivia go head to head. He is a pitbull but she can handle it. I'm with Emily, the line "Is your vagina apolitical?" had me cracking up.

Is Fitz off of his game?

Christine: Completely. His drunk dialing Olivia was just pathetic but he's not the only one off his game. If Cyrus hadn't gone so hard after Olivia, the whole affair story would have died down in a day or two. Instead he made it a huge story by digging up as much dirt as possible because he was mad at Liv. No one is thinking clearly.

Emily: We may be kicking off March Madness, but Fitz isnt even in the arena let alone the game. I don't know about Liv but I've got whiplash from all his back and forth emotions. And it's definitely not helping matters when his  right-hand-man and his wife continue to jerk him around. I agree he needs 28 days to dry out so he can get his priorities straight on all fronts!

Miranda: I don't know that he was ever ON his game. He's always been surrounded by people who made sure that what needed to be done was done and now that he's icing them all out, he's kind of showing how weak he actually is.

Leigh: Fitz has the booze eyes reallll bad. He needs to deal with two things in order to get his crap together: 1. Let Cyrus back in. Cyrus runs his life. He truly can't function all that well without that man. 2. Realize that Olivia does believe in him and get the full story before he assumes how badly she betrayed him. Also maybe he should stop spying on her...just a thought.

Why would Huck let Quinn be seen by Osborne?

Christine: I kept wondering that too?  He's got to know that's going to come back to haunt them. But it's Huck so I have faith he has a plan.

How creepy is Jake on a scale of 1-10? What is he really after?

Christine: He's a 6 and getting creepier every episode. How far will this guy go to cover his tracks? Poor Olivia really can't catch a break when it comes to the men in her life.

Emily: Maybe I'm crazy and distracted by how good Scott Foley looks in his dress blues, but I go back and forth! Sometimes he's at an 8 after attacking that camera guy and stealing the memory card, but then he's at a 4 when he helps get the info to the President to save the hostages, much to the dismay of the CIA Director. I'm just confused as to which side he's playing for since we found out Fitz started this surveillance mess. 

Miranda: Jake. Oh, Jake. I'm so confused by you. He's a solid 7, pushing an 8, because I just can't decide what he's after. Is he trying to boost his career by working closely with the President? Is he really into Olivia? I feel like we may never know exactly who he is.

Leigh: It's just so hard to believe Scott Foley is the bad guy even when he was the villain in one of the Scream movies! I think at this point he is protecting Olivia by getting those images back. He may trust Fitz to get the hostages home, but he knows that he had him spying for the wrong reasons. I think his creepiness may just be that he's a bit of a voyeuristic peeping Tom. Maybe he gets turned on by watching himself? I'd put him at a 5, but that last smile at the camera bumps him to the creepier side with a 6.

Is Fitz ever going to believe Olivia?

Christine: He'd have to put down the damn Scotch and let his head clear to get to forgiveness and it doesn't look as though that's going to happen any time soon.

Emily: Emily: With the way he's been acting we might need to start asking is Olivia going to forgive him! After the phone call though it seems like he's more focused on her belief in him versus the actions of the Defiance betrayal itself. Either way, until he's able to clean himself up and deal with his own actions regarding Verna I don't see any movement on the POTUS front anytime soon. You can't forgive others until you can forgive yourself and he's got plenty of strikes against himself too. 

Miranda: I think he will eventually, but I just do not want them together for a long while. 

Leigh: If he puts his pride aside for a damn second and hears her out then maybe he could believe and forgive her. I'm not even sure I want them together though. Olivia can do better.