Could Olivia defy the odds and help Cyrus?

That's one of the bigger questions after Scandal Season 6 Episode 3 in which Cyrus was sent to jail. 

Below, TV Fanatics Christine Hinton, Jasmine Blu, Sarah Hearon and Jim Garner, discuss all things Cyrus, Olivia's next move and whether Abby was right to turn against Olivia. 

Cyrus is in jail. React!

Christine: I can’t believe it, but I feel bad for Cyrus. He didn’t set out to kill Frankie. He didn’t want Tom to beat the hell out of Jennie.

But I guess when you lay down with psychopaths, you end up with unexpected dead people. I’m still trying to figure out if this is Karma or Cyrus getting a bad rap. 

Jasmine: I do feel bad for Cyrus, and I do think this is him getting a bad rap. Scandal is up to its eyeballs in colorful characters, so you tend to have to set aside morality when it comes to liking and rooting for characters.

Are we supposed to pretend like Olivia and Mellie haven't done horrible things? Olivia killed a man and since her killer pet (like Tom) after people all the time. Mellie has gotten people killed too. All three of them stole an election.

So how come Cyrus is the only "monster" who's supposed to answer for his sins? Especially when, for once, he wasn't setting out to be awful?

Sarah: It was hard to watch Cyrus with his family, especially his daughter when we found out he was going to jail. And everyone does horrible things on Scandal and doesn't typically face the consequences, so it was weird to see one of the main characters go down for something they didn't even do.

Jim: Christine, this is Karma. Had Cyrus changed, and kept his promise of "no Tom" and then turned Tom loose on Jennie (who we know has killed for less), he wouldn't have been at the center of this mess.

But just like him getting a gun to shoot Tom, he made one bad choice after another. 

Oh, and Sarah, while he may not have told Tom to do it, he could have turned Tom before he did it to stop him. He knew Tom was a loose cannon, which makes him culpable. 

How did you feel about Tom being the killer?

Christine: It makes sense. I’d wondered about him right from the start. Tom is a trained killer, and he’s crazy about Cyrus. He compared himself to a dog, more like a mad dog…and he needs to be put down. Unfortunately, Cyrus wasn’t able to get that job done. 

Jasmine: It was what I suspected anyway. Tom is a character I never expected to last as long as he's lasted, but he's so good at being bad and batsh*t crazy that I love it. Glenn Close has nothing on him. He won't be ignored, Cyrus! 

Sarah: I agree with Christine and Jasmine. It totally makes sense. He's crazy, and it's been kind of fun to watch him lose it over Cyrus.

Jim: He's not the first person to be so crazy in love that he was willing to kill for them. And as mentioned above, he's bat-crap crazy. I'm just curious if he will make it to the stand to testify.  

Will Olivia feel bad and help Cyrus?

Christine: I don’t think so. Lately, it seems that Olivia has no feelings at all, she just craves power and wants to win at any cost. When it comes to Cyrus, I think she's more than happy to step over his body to get to what she wants. 

Jasmine: Who needs Olivia, when you have my man, Michael? No, but I agree with Christine completely. Olivia has disassociated.

White Hat Liv doesn't live there anymore. I always liked their odd relationship, but the actual student has surpassed her scandalous sensei. Screw a bus; she's willing to throw him under a train! 

Sarah: I think eventually. She's on a super high power trip right now, and I'm sure she will come down by the end of the season, and Cyrus might be one of the only people she would feel bad about hurting down the road. 

Jim: Honestly, I'm not sure she will. She fully blames him for Frankie's death, and she's more than happy to let him swing on this one.  

Will Mellie become President now?

Christine: I don’t know. All last season I was rooting for Mellie, but I really liked the idea of Mellie and Cyrus working together. I hope Cyrus finds a way to wiggle out of this one so that that can still happen. 

Jasmine: I doubt it. It's never that easy, and no way Darth Liv is going to get what she wants this early on. I'm bummed, I was looking forward to the Cyrus/Mellie match up too.

Especially after listening to Cyrus' plans. That was such a Gutwrenching scene. Darn that Jeff Perry.

Sarah: One of the main reasons that I think she will become President is because I don't know where else the show will go if she doesn't.

No matter what happens -- if they have another Presidential election or if they just magically hand Mellie the title, it's going to be a little absurd. 

Jim: I'm really hoping so. As Sarah pointed out, I'm not sure what else she could do. The question now is, how does Cyrus fit back into the picture (or does he)? 

What did you think of Abby not believing Olivia?

Christine: Abby knows Liv, and she knows what she’s capable. More importantly, she no long needs Olivia. I liked that Abby was strong enough to stand up to Fitz and speak her mind. 

Jasmine: Yes, I agree! Does anyone know Olivia better than Abby? I hate when it comes across like she's imitating Olivia, but she totally holds her own in those scenes when she's advising Fitz.

I was Team Abby the entire episode. She has become the moral compass of the show. They needed that.

Sarah: I love Abby and totally agree with Jasmine about her being a much-needed moral compass. Olivia also needs someone who will stand up to her or else the show would be nothing but Olivia bossing everyone around.

Jim: Both Olivia and Abby will let themselves get into a head space where they simply won't listen or believe the other one. This more than anything shows how similar they are in personality and how much they are equals in power status.

Now, if the two of them start working together, oh man.... that would be a sight to see!

Remember you can watch Scandal online right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up now!

Over to you, Scandal fanatics. What did you think of all the drama?

Note: Scandal Season 6 Episode 4 airs February 16 on ABC.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.