Scandal 'Where The Sun Don't Shine' Recap, S4 E9: Olivia Pope Is Missing!

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

On this episode of Scandal, Olivia has to face the dire consequences of Rowan Pope's sudden and shocking escape.

This episode opens with Fitz, Jake and Olivia detaining Olivia's mother. She is accused of murder, terrorism and treason. "As for my father, hunt him, find him and kill him," Olivia says.

Later, Cyrus is forced to deal with the consequences of his relationship with Michael. Photos of Cyrus and Michael were released in light of Olivia discovering the secret trio between Elizabeth North, Dan Kubiak, and the Vice President.

Elizabeth North confronts Olivia about the bug on her phone, which Olivia had lied to North about, knowing that it was Cyrus who was watching her. When Olivia threatened North with the information she recently obtained, North had a quick response.

"My life's not half as exciting as your pal's are," North says. As Cyrus' photographs surface and hit the public eye, Olivia works to help Cyrus clear his image.

Quinn and Huck focus in on Elizabeth North's hidden motives, and take the time to investigate the law firm where Caitlin was murdered. Quinn suspects Caitlin witnessed North with the VP, and Kubiak attacked her.

Meanwhile, Jake Ballard decides to take on Rowan Pope on his own.

Everyone involved with B613 has their head on the chopping block, and their names and pictures were made up on kill cards on playing cards as targets to hit.

At the end of the last episode, Rowan called Olivia's bluff while the pair were at a father-daughter dinner, which Olivia hoped would be Rowan's arrest and downfall. "For the first time in your life, you are on your own," he said to her before he made his exit.

"You think the world is so terrible with me in it. Wait until you see what it's like without me."

Olivia's life, and the lives of those closest to her, are in grave danger. Rowan Pope seems to have met his quota for forgiveness, even with his own daughter.

Has Olivia finally fallen in over her head? Not if Jake Ballard can help it. Jake shows up at Olivia's office, and places a revolver on her desk.

"Take it," he says.
"Why?" Olivia asks.
"You need it."
"I don't need a gun. Why would I need a gun?"
"For protection," Jake says. "Your father's cleaning up."

Jake reminds Olivia that she knows as much as any agent would, and is therefore a threat.

Ever the classy lady, Olivia reminds Jake that she knows how to shoot a gun, and she simply chooses not to. "I've gone my whole career without needing one," she says.

Olivia doesn't believe her father would kill her. "I'm sure he thinks the same about you," Jake says. Conceding, Olivia takes the gun.

"What about the kill shot?" Olivia asks. The question on everyone's mind.

Due to the scandal of Cyrus' photos with Michael, Cyrus decides to resign from his White House position.

"Build yourself up by knocking me down," he tells Fitz. "Today, sir, I'm a joke. A punchline.

I am no help to you now." Fitz doesn't accept it at first, but in the end, thanks Cyrus for his service. "The honor was mine," Cyrus says. Then everyone cried.

Meanwhile, Quinn is with Charlie... when she finds that he has her kill card...
"You came here to kill me," she says, shocked.

They get into a massive fight, or a lover's quarrel, if you will. "The worst part is, you wanted to screw me before you did it," she says.

Back to Rowan. Huck calls Jake to tell him he spotted Rowan's license plate in a nearby town, and Jake makes his move. But, as it turns out, its a false alarm. And Rowan Pope is in Olivia's apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia demands.
"I don't get sentimental very often, sentimentality is a weakness," Rowan says, but some things are harder to deny than others.

He demands that she sit, and Olivia takes her place across from her father at the dining room table.

"I told you I was leaving you alone but that wasn't enough," he says. "Apparently you'll only be happy when I'm dead."

"The only life you'll have is the sad, twisted one you have here," she tells him. "You can't disappear, become a normal person, because Dad, you are not normal."

"Could you be more ungratefu?" he yells, brandishing a revolver.

"You're my flesh. There would be no Olivia Pope without me." He says he failed as a father because he is met with scorn instead of gratefulness, and yells and yells at her for the things she believes about him.

"You are simply looking in the mirror," he yells, and Olivia grabs the gun... She pulls the trigger.

And its a blank.

"You just shot your own father," Rowan Pope says. "Never would I thought. In a million years. You. Would be willing. To pull the trigger."

Meanwhile, Quinn and Charlie recover from their tussle, and Charlie says he wouldn't have killed her. She doesn't believe him.

"You ruined everything, Charlie," he says.

"You ruined Huck's whole life." And Charlie wants to make it up to her.

He happened to have kept a number of the files that he replaced with empty pages to help keep Rowan Pope way from arrest, and believes they could help.

Olivia goes to visit her mother, demanding to know where her father is. "You have a PhD in his crazy," he says.
"Girl, you need to move on," her mother says.

"You're just like him." She says he ruined her, and Olivia begins to cry. She then leaves her mother, with no telling of whether she'll see her again.

Olivia goes to see Cyrus after Cyrus resigned.

"When did you decide to let them ruin you?" Olivia asks, and reams Cyrus the f*** out.

"Grow the hell up, because that is how it is." She pokes at him and provokes him, giving him a strong, strong dose of tough love.

"Who are you?" Olivia asked.
"I'm one of the most powerful men in the world!" Cyrus yelled. And Olivia demanded he prove that.

Cyrus appeared on television with Michael to announce their engagement. He apologize for his actions, but highlighted his love, and was socially absolved from his actions. Cyrus then returns to his job in the White House.

Meanwhile, Quinn cracked the code on North's plans. WACO. A subsidiary of the West Angolan government. As she tells Huck what she learns, the Vice President meets with Fitz about West Angola. Quinn shows Huck a video proving the Vice President knew the bomb that injured him was coming.

In order to let off a little steam, Olivia brings Jake in for a little dance. As she does so, she admits that she's not choosing between him or Fitz. "I'm choosing Olivia," she says.

And she and Jake begin to get a little close, deciding to go at it on the baby grand piano, because why not? When suddenly...

Olivia is missing. Jake turns his back for a moment, and when he returns finds no one and nothing but Olivia's wine glass, spilled on the couch.

AND THAT'S HOW THE GODDAMN WINTER FINALE ENDS. It's beautiful and cruel.