Scandal Round Table: "Everything’s Coming Up Mellie"

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Mellie, Mellie, Mellie! Scandal Season 3 Episode 7 certainly gave us more insight into the First Lady's sometimes evil motivations, didn't it?

From her encounter with Big Gerry and the revelation that her oldest son might be Fitz' brother to Quinn's unwitting induction into B6-13, "Everything's Coming Up Mellie" was one jam-packed hour of shocking new information.

The biggest shock of all? Mama Pope is still alive!

Join Leigh Raines, Christine Orlando, Jim Garner and Miranda Wicker from TV Fanatic and Emily from ABC Scandal Fans as they weigh in on these bombshells and more below!

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What was your favorite scene or quote from "Everything's Coming Up Mellie"?

Leigh: Cyrus to Mellie: "You're so good at picking out hookers." Every episode needs an LOL moment.

Christine:  Actually, the line was, "You're way better at picking out hookers than you are china patterns." And Cyrus was absolutely right. She is and I love that. Mellie has so many diverse talents it's always fun to get to see her use them.

Jim: I'm in the same boat with Leigh and Christine. Cyrus' comment was funny but also such a sign of where they are now. Loved it. 

Miranda: In the name of saying something different, though I did love the Cyrus/Mellie banter, I really enjoyed Abby's scene with Olivia. I love how Abby is always trying to be a friend.

Emily: Absolutely in agreement with the majority here! That line was awesome! 

How, if at all, did this episode change your opinion about Mellie?

Leigh: I was effing speechless after what happened with Big Gerry. I feel like now when Mellie says "you dont know what I've done for you" I finally get just how much she literally would have given anything to give Fitz his political dream. Just wow. Shocked. All the awards to Bellamy Young.

Christine:  I've always loved Mellie. She is my favorite character on the show. What's always broken my heart is that despite all they've done to one another, Mellie loves Fitz. I just never realized how much until this episode. I only wish she'd been able to make Big Gerry pay for what he did to her.

Jim: Not much. I've always loved her, but seeing what she's done or has suffered through (specifically Big Gerry) to get Fitz elected made me understand her rage a bit more. 

Miranda: I have loved Mellie from the start. For all of her lashing out, there was always this undercurrent of pain running through her. Now we know just why Fitz' affair and her feeling like she's been forgotten hurts so much.

Emily: Again, I'm in total agreement with everyone! Mellie is one of my favorites as well. Earlier in the series she was was one of the characters you love to hate because her interactions with the other characters are so fun to watch. In some instances she just says what needs to be said, verbal filter be damned, and I just want to be like her and all her fierceness! Then we start learning more backstory about everyone and how things came to be with the flashbacks.

You still love her, but she's made some questionable decisions like faking the miscarriage during the campaign and you know there's more to her story to make her seem so cold at times, but we, as the audience, just don't understand yet. And now! It's like you understand so much! VOTE MELLIE!

Mama Pope's still alive: Shocked or saw it coming?

Leigh: Didn't see it coming until we saw Rowan with a prisoner wrapped in blankets. Then I said wait a minute...Truly thought she was dead.

Christine: I'd wondered if it was possible but was still surprised to find that Rowan has had his wife locked up in prison for the last 20 years. That's a diabolical twist.

Jim: Totally stunned, never saw it coming. Un-F&@$ing believable! I loved it! 

Miranda: I'm not sure how I didn't see it coming, but I didn't. I really thought the man had killed his own wife and the question would be why. Once the other man's name was dropped, I thought he'd let his wife be collateral damage in the name of National Security. Totally shocked to see that she's still alive.

Emily: JAW. ON. THE. FLOOR. 

Why is Mama Pope in prison?

Leigh: She was the one with the dirty bomb on board. Maybe she was originally in B6-13? I don't know but this storyline just got crazier.

Christine:  Really? You want me to figure that out. Hell, she could have been involved with the bomb or she could have simply been cheating on Rowan. On this show it could be almost anything.

Jim: Control, Rowan wants to keep control of her. Why is another question. 

Miranda: It's totally just a working theory, but I don't think there was a bomb on board the plane. I think that's part of the lie and how Rowan was able to get approval to have the plane shot down. I think Mama Pope was in the kind of trouble that can only be gotten out of by being dead and staying that way, so the only way for her to live was to go into hiding forever.

Emily: Mama Pope isn't just in prison. She's hidden away by a maze of doors, pass codes, fingerprint scanners and who knows what else! Although you would think there would be a better alternative, part of me thinks this still maybe Rowan's way of protecting her, similar to him sending Olivia off to boarding school. Just a shot in the dark. 

What does B6-13 have planned for Quinn?

Leigh: To use her as leverage against OPA. Or maybe just as a recruit. They know a B6-13 candidate when they see one. Was anyone else hoping for some serial killer Bonnie and Clyde hook up between her and Charlie?

Christine:  Yeah, Leigh. I was waiting for them to be quite the twisted couple. I was really disappointed in Quinn. She had to realize there would be cameras on her when she attacked that security guard. I think B6-13 wanted a person inside OPA to keep an eye on Liv.  Quinn was an easy mark.

Jim: Hopefully some real training. How dumb is Quinn, walking into a secure building and sticking the security guard directly. Honestly, I'm kind glad they've recruited her, baby-Huck needed a leash and Huck seems to have washed his hands of it.   

Miranda: I think they're grooming her to be their inside girl at OPA. They know Huck will never return to the fold and now that Olivia's digging around about Operation Remington and Jake wants out, Rowan needs a new way to keep his eye on her. Enter the eager and impressionable Quinn. And I'm still hoping for some twisted Bonnie and Clyde hookup with her and Charlie. 

Emily: I think they'll use her naïveté to their advantage. I mean the guy she took out was OPA's link to more info on Operation Remington. And I agree with Jim. Baby Huck needs guidance and with Huck pushing her out, she's turned to the next person who can give her what she's looking for. 

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

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Scandal Season 3 Episode 7 Quotes

Mellie: I just don't understand why I have to apologize for his affair.
Cyrus: Because that's how it works.

[to Cyrus] You control everything. Which is precisely why I want to kill you and have sex with you at the same time.

James