Its not what she meant to happen, of course.
Before this weeks episode, Abbys soul was relatively unmarred by all the shadiness of the D.C. players.
Lets walk through what just happened on tonights new episode ofScandal!
Credit: John Fleenor/ABC
The episode begins in the seconds after Francisco Vargas assassination.
In other words, shes not Abby right now.
Its impossible, she insists, but her caller will not take no for an answer, apparently.
Abbys got no time to bat down Fitzs wishful thinking ploy right now, though.
Shes got a donor luncheon to attend, to fund the darn thing before they can start scouting locations.
Isnt she tired of serving that, to borrow Marjories phrasing here, big old man baby?
No and no, butnowshes got something to think about, then, doesnt she?
Whos the first person she goes to when she gets a whiff of this carrot dangling before her face?
When she gets back to Fitzs office, shes conflicted.
Right there on the desk is a vintage photo of them looking chummy and blissed out as teammates.
But his attitude doesnt paint the same rosy image of their working relationship.
Abby calls him on his idyllic nonsense.
Hes the president, she insists, and that means never actually retiring from public service.
He needs a vacation; hedeservesa vacation from this blood-sucking swamp.
Its Marjorie, and shes ready to start collecting on that mega-debt Abby now owes.
And thats when we circle back to that phone call in her office that left her breaking glass.
Theres blackmail to put some pep in her step, of course.
And to think, the woman had such a friendly face!
Impossible though this request nay,demand may be, Abbys always got a way.
She falsifies some classified document and instructs a page to deliver it to the president in exactly 15 minutes.
That was just step one.
And whos got to pull the trigger, so to speak, on that?
Then, she goes to his superiors and tattles on him to cause a row in the exam room.
So, basically, she has to glove up and fish it out herself.
And with that, shes released from responsibility for now, at least.
Thats when she hears Jennifers voicemail implicating Cyrus and learns that her cabin exploded.
Im a real bitch and you just play one on TV, she warns.
To borrow Olivias coinage, Abbys just been handled.
Cyrus will be released from prison in exchange for helping them find Jennifer.
And all Abby cares about is getting Cyrus out of prison now.
Shes going to war for him, she informs her battered friend in the visitation room.
You said yourself, Cyrus.
Im a force, she declares.
Serious question: Did she just earn the VP spot?
If so, one things for sure: Olivias gonna be maaaaaaad.
