Scandal is back in all of its crazy, twisty goodness and Gladiators everywhere rejoiced after last Thursday night's premiere.

"It's Handled" picked up where the end of Scandal season 2 left off, almost immediately answering questions about Olivia's past and raising even more about where Season 3 might take us. 

Join our TV Fanatic panel of experts - Emily from ABC Scandal Fans and TVF staffers Miranda Wicker, Leigh Raines, Christine Orlando and Jim Garner - as we break down the Scandal Season 3 premiere. Check out what we thought and then sound off with your own answers in the comments!

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Is Rowan Pope the worst dad on television?

Emily: I wouldn't say the worst, but WOW! I couldn't believe the first few lines out of his mouth to her! I would DIE if I had to have any conversation with my father that included the phrase "spread your legs". At the same time though, you can definitely see that Olivia is a lot like her dad. 

Miranda: I can't decide if he's the worst because of how he talked to her or the best because his first instinct was to protect her. But wow. That is NOT a dad I'd want to introduce to my boyfriend. 

Leigh: He's pretty damn bad. Can we get a family therapist up in here? That said, I can't WAIT to learn more about that family history. Cyrus' kill folder left me with a lot of questions. Did anyone else realize that Olivia's mom died in a plane crash and her dad's first instinct was to put her on a plane? Suspicious, party of one.

Christine:  He's not the worst but he's probably damn close. In speaking to her father, Olivia Pope went from being a strong, confident adult woman to a the equivalent of a scared, intimidated child barely able to speak. What more do we need to know....that said, I like your suspicions Leigh. I hadn't thought of that. 

Jim: He's not the worst dad on TV, but maybe the scariest. He taught his daughter well. It's going to be fun to see these two square off. 

Should the team have gone behind Olivia's back to make her their client?

Emily: Definitely not. I know they were trying to protect Olivia, but regardless I don't think they should have done anything without talking to her first. No communication = trouble! 

Miranda: I vote yes, because she never would've let them help her if they hadn't just done it for her. And the truth, while noble, never would've played out quite like Fitz and Olivia hoped. 

Leigh: Yes. In the words of Harrison, there's nothing wrong with a little self-preservation. She would've been willing to sacrifice herself, but she forgets she has that team of gladiators depending on her. Gladiators, not bitches!

Christine:  No. She and Fitz had a plan. Perhaps not perfect but it was theirs and the Gladiators played right into Mellie's scheme to take it away from them. 

Jim: I don't think there was any other way to help her. She was drowning in freezing water and paddling further out to sea. All the while convincing herself she was warm and dry. 

How ready are you for Quinn's descent into madness?

Emily: Oh man is Baby Huck slipping!! The drill scene from last season STILL freaks me out. Quinn's definitely got the "crazy eye"! I'm really scared to see how far Quinn might go over a cliff before someone can reel her in! I think it's clear that Huck is really worried too. 

Miranda: As far as the team, if we can't get any backstory on Harrison, watching Quinn cross completely over to the dark side might be the most interesting thing to happen to OPA this season.  

Leigh: Sure Baby Huck let's just kill an intern, as long as it's a really bad one it's fine. Huck just doubled his workload to include babysitting. Quinn is going cray cray. It's gonna be fun to watch though!

Christine:  Wow! Somebody is off her meds. Talk about being blood thirsty. It's both hysterically funny and seriously scary all at the same time. I can't wait to see where this goes. 

Jim: After the "Can't we just kill another intern" comment, I don't think it's going to be a long fall. 

What's in the folder?

Emily: Not one freakin clue! But I cannot WAIT to find out!

Miranda: I think Fitz and Jake were involved in a mission that went very, very wrong and it's been covered up. Friendly fire, the death of innocent civilians, something big. 

Leigh: I agree with Miranda it involves a mission that was covered up probably including the death of civilians. Maybe Fitz lost his mind over there, who knows. But I liked the set up for the upcoming big mystery.

Christine:  It's got to be bad and the wrong people must have died. I'm guessing it's something worse than a friendly fire incident. This show does nothing half way. 

Jim: An unredacted account of Jake and Fitz's mission. What actually happen is another question entirely.  

Grade the Scandal premiere.

Emily: On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I give the premiere a 9! The actors and writers definitely came back strong! The only thing that would have been better was a two hour premiere!

Miranda: I'm going with a 10. It was on point in every sense of the phrase. 

Leigh: Probably a 9. It was really awesome but I had a feeling it was Fitz who leaked Olivia's name all along. Major props to Mellie for dealing with that fire. 

Christine:  I'm going with a 9, only because it bugged the heck out of me that Harrison went behind Olivia's back to call his own play and bully the rest of the team into following. Olivia should have had a say. But everyone else was at the top of their game and I can't wait to see where this war between Fitz and Mellie goes from here. 

Jim: I'm giving it a solid A-. I like Abby's new look, Mellie is not messing around, and I really like Fitz and the VP working together. The Gladiators fixing the issue behind Olivia's back was just icing on the cake. 

Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.