(Spoiler alert: Please do not read ahead unless you have seen the “Scandal” series finale that aired on Thursday.)
“Scandal” wrapped its seven-season run on Thursday night with a final episode that packed in fierce outfits, killer monologues and the most tragic death in the history of the series (RIP David Rosen). It also gave us a Shonda Rhimes’ cliffhanger that probably made more than one Gladiator knock over their glass of red wine in shock.
And we’re sure if you saw the finale you already know we’re talking about that “YAS QUEEN!”-enducing painting of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) two young girls see hanging in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. You know, something that suggests she eventually becomes PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Following the episode, Rhimes, Washington and the rest of the cast sat down on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to discuss the ending, and of course that moment came up.
When the late-night host asked Washington what she thinks the portrait is doing there, she nervously answered: “Gosh, I really want Shonda to answer this question. Because even in the script it’s written that we don’t know exactly why.”
Rhimes jumped in to say: “It says the audience is left not knowing.” But, of course, the showrunner revealed she actually knows what’s up, adding, “I get one last thing to say as a spoiler that I’m going to hold onto for the rest of my life.”
However, that’s OK, because Scott Foley, who plays Liv’s sometimes lover (other times brother) Jake Ballard, told TheWrap in an interview last week that the seventh and final season of “Scandal” would come to a close with an ending he wants you to make your own. And we’re 99.9 percent sure that portrait of Olivia is what he was referencing.
“Now there is one thing that is sort of ambiguous at the very end of the show and it’s going to leave people questioning, ‘Did this happen? Did that happen? I don’t quite get it.’ And I think it’s important to make it your own,” Foley said of the episode — titled, “Over a Cliff.” “And there’s going to be questions and disagreements and ‘It couldn’t be. Here’s why’ or ‘It has to be. Here’s why.'”
“But I think it’s important for the viewer, when that happens, and they see the moment that I’m talking about, to make it personal to them. And I know this is sounding very ethereal, and forgive me for that. But there is an opportunity there for it to have whatever you want it to have,” he added.
Watch Rhimes and Washington discuss the ending above and see the portrait below.
Everybody Who's Been Murdered on 'Scandal' -- And Who Murdered Them (Photos)
From the Season 1 death of Amanda Tanner to Olivia bashing the vice president's face in with a chair, TheWrap takes a look back at every bloody, brutal murder from "Scandal's" seven seasons.
ABC
Who was murdered? Amanda Tanner (Liza Weil) When were they murdered? Season 1, episode 5
Who were they murdered by? Charlie (George Newbern), hired by Cyrus (Jeff Perry) How were they murdered? Killed off-screen, dumped in a river. Why were they murdered? Amanda was about to go public about her affair with the president and the fact that she was pregnant. (Although it was later revealed that the father of her baby was the vice president’s chief of staff, Billy Chambers.)
ABC
Who was murdered? Gideon Wallace (Brendan Hines) When were they murdered? Season 1, episode 7 Who were they murdered by? Billy Chambers (Matt Letscher) How were they murdered? Scissors to the neck. Why were they murdered? Gideon, a journalist for the D.C. Sun, discovered that Billy was the real father of Amanda Tanner’s baby and threatened to expose him.
ABC
Who was murdered? Britta Kagen (Keiko Agena) When were they murdered? Season 2, episode 8 Who were they murdered by? An assassin hired by Supreme Court Justice Verna Thornton (Debra Mooney) How were they murdered? Remote-controlled sniper rifle. Why were they murdered? Collateral damage in an assassination attempt on the president.
ABC
Who was murdered? Jesse Tyler (Adam Shapio) When were they murdered? Season 2, episode 12 Who were they murdered by? An assassin hired by Hollis Doyle (Gregg Henry) How were they murdered? A bomb. Why were they murdered? Jesse had tried to blackmail Doyle after discovering a vote-rigging campaign.
ABC
Who was murdered? Supreme Court Justice Verna Thornton (Debra Mooney) When were they murdered? Season 2, episode 13 Who were they murdered by? President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) How were they murdered? Suffocated in a hospital bed. Why were they murdered? Fitz had discovered that Verna was part of a plot to rig the election that got him the White House and had tried to have him killed.
ABC
Who was murdered? CIA Director Grayden Osborne (Kurt Fuller) When were they murdered? Season 2, episode 17 Who were they murdered by? Billy Chambers How were they murdered? Killed off-screen Why were they murdered? Billy had been leaking intelligence from the White House and set up Osborne to take the fall.
ABC
Who was murdered? Molly Ackerman (Mageina Tovah) When were they murdered? Season 2, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Billy Chambers How were they murdered? Hit and run Why were they murdered? Molly was trying to blow the whistle on Billy as the source of the leak.
ABC
Who was murdered? Random security guard When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 7 Who were they murdered by? Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) How were they murdered? Poison injection Why were they murdered? Quinn thought she was simply knocking the guard unconscious, but she was given poison by B613, who then used the guard's death as blackmail.
ABC
Who was murdered? Daniel Douglas Langston (Jack Coleman) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 10 Who were they murdered by? Vice President Sally Langston (Kate Burton) How were they murdered? Stabbed repeatedly. Why were they murdered? Sally snapped after discovering that her husband had slept with Cyrus's husband.
ABC
Who was murdered? Vanessa Chandler (Jennifer Peo) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 13 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Shot in the head. Why were they murdered? A White House correspondent, Vanessa knew about Olivia's affair with the president and was about to uncover the truth about the death of the vice president's husband.
ABC
Who was murdered? Shelby Moss (Julia Cho) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 13 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Shot in the head. Why were they murdered? An NSA analyst, Shelby was close to uncovering the truth about the vice president's husband's murder with Vanessa.
ABC
Who was murdered? James Novak (Dan Bucatinsky) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 14 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) How were they murdered? Shot. Why were they murdered? James was also part of the team looking into the death of Daniel Douglas Langston.
ABC
Who was murdered? Clare Tucker (Kelly McCreary) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 16 Who were they murdered by? Maya Lewis (Khandi Alexander) How were they murdered? Throat slit. Why were they murdered? Clare had been serving as an informant to Harrison, trying to help him track down Maya.
ABC
Who was murdered? Jerry Grant Jr. (Dylan Minnette) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Tom Larsen (Brian Letscher) on the order of Eli Pope (Joe Morton) How were they murdered? A very dramatic public poisoning. Why were they murdered? Olivia's (Kerry Washington) father took issue with the president's relationship with his daughter and punished him by killing his son.
ABC
Who was murdered? Adnan Salif (Nazanin Boniadi) When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Rowan How were they murdered? Killed off-screen. Why were they murdered? To trick Harrison (Columbus Short), who was romantically involved with Adnan, into helping him catch his terrorist wife Maya (Khandi Alexander).
ABC
Who was murdered? Harrison Wright When were they murdered? Season 3, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Tom, on Rowan's orders How were they murdered? Killed offscreen, presumably by gunshot. Why were they murdered? Harrison had discovered that Eli/Rowan was responsible for the assassination of the president's son.
ABC
Who was murdered? Sue Thomas (Lena Dunham) When were they murdered? Season 4, episode 16 Who were they murdered by? Huck (Guillermo Diaz) How were they murdered? Throat slit with a kitchen knife. Why were they murdered? After sleeping with a number of elite D.C. men, Sue threatened to publish a book detailing all of her affairs. She was killed to keep her quiet.
ABC
Who was murdered? Holly (Stefanie Black) When were they murdered? Season 4, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Shot in front of her boss U.S. Attorney General David Rosen (Joshua Malina) Why were they murdered? The mild-mannered Holly was a secret B613 agent responsible for the deaths of three people in protective custody and was about to kill David.
ABC
Who was murdered? Elise Martin (Mia Maestro) When were they murdered? Season 5, episode 6 Who were they murdered by? Franklin Russell (Brian White) How were they murdered? Killed off-screen. Why were they murdered? Part of a plot to kill Rowan and reinstate B613.
ABC
Who was murdered? Franklin Russell When were they murdered? Season 5, episode 9 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Shot, execution-style. Why were they murdered? Revenge for killing his wife, Elise.
ABC
Who was murdered? Vice President Andrew Nichols (Jon Tenney) When were they murdered? Season 5, episode 17 Who were they murdered by? Olivia Pope How were they murdered? Beaten with a chair. Why were they murdered? Traumatized by her recent kidnapping, which was organized by Andrew, Olivia got her revenge with a metal chair.
ABC
Who was murdered? Richard Moss (Michael Canavan) When were they murdered? Season 5, episode 21 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Poisoned drink. Why were they murdered? Jake, newly married to Richard's daughter, killed him so his wife could collect her half-a-billion dollar inheritance.
ABC
Who was murdered? President-elect Francisco Vargas (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 1 Who were they murdered by? Rowan How were they murdered? Shot by a sniper moments after winning the presidential election. Why were they murdered? His wife, Luna Vargas, orchestrated the murder to prevent him from becoming president.
ABC
Who was murdered? Sandra Potter (Tonya Pinkins) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 6 Who were they murdered by? Rowan How were they murdered? Shot. Why were they murdered? An old girlfriend of Rowan's, Sandra was brought back into his life by his enemies as an attempt to exploit his weaknesses. Instead of capitulating, Rowan kills her himself.
ABC
Who was murdered? Jennifer Fields (Chelsea Kurtz) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 7 Who were they murdered by? Meg (Phoebe Niedhardt) How were they murdered? Shot twice, once through the eyes. Why were they murdered? Jennifer was a loose end in the plot to kill Francisco Vargas and frame Cyrus for the assassination.
ABC
Who was murdered? Meg (Phoebe Niedhardt) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 9 Who were they murdered by? Quinn Perkins How were they murdered? Slit throat. Why were they murdered? Revenge for shooting Huck and leaving him in the trunk of a car at the bottom of a canyon.
ABC
Who was murdered? Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 11 Who were they murdered by? Samantha Ruland (Zoe Perry) How were they murdered? Golf club to the head. Why were they murdered? After Mellie (Bellamy Young) refused to help make Theodore Peus (David Warshofsky) the next president, he had his associate kill her aide right in front of her to make a point.
ABC
Who was murdered? Theodore Peus (David Warshofsky) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 13 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Shot in the head. Why were they murdered? In addition to orchestrating the murders of Frankie Vargas and Liz North, Peus had set bombs above several major cities and threatened mass casualties.
ABC
Who was murdered? Samantha Ruland (Zoe Perry) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 14 Who were they murdered by? Rowan How were they murdered? Stabbed with a dinosaur tooth and decapitated. Why were they murdered? Rowan killed Samantha after she killed the president-elect, ordering David Rosen (Joshua Malina) to discover who hired her.
ABC
Who was murdered? Luna Vargas (Tessie Santiago) When were they murdered? Season 6, episode 16 Who were they murdered by? Olivia and Jake How were they murdered? Forced to choose between suicide pills or being shot and buried in the forest. Why were they murdered? It was discovered that she had conspired to kill her husband Frankie Vargas, the president-elect of the United States.
ABC
Who was murdered? Farid Rashad (Faran Tahir), president of Bashran, and niece Yasmeen (Medalion Rahimi) When were they murdered? Season 7, episode 5 Who were they murdered by? Olivia Pope How were they murdered? Plane explosion. Why were they murdered? After Rashad was overthrown by his people, Olivia made an agreement with the rebels to have him killed in order to secure a nuclear arms treaty.
ABC
Who was murdered? Curtis Pryce (Jay Alexander) When were they murdered? Season 7, episode 7 Who were they murdered by? Lucy Riccio (Caroline Day) on the order of Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Killed off-screen. Why were they murdered? Curtis, a cable news political commentator, was killed by B613 after he found out the truth about President Rashad's assassination.
ABC
Who was murdered? Vanessa Moss (Jessalyn Gilsig) When were they murdered? Season 7, episode 16 Who were they murdered by? Jake Ballard How were they murdered? Killed off-screen. Why were they murdered? Jake killed his wife after she taunted him about his relationship with Cyrus, calling him "the vice president's bitch."
ABC
Who was murdered? U.S. Attorney General David Rosen (Joshua Malina) When were they murdered? Season 7, episode 18 Who were they murdered by? Vice President Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) How were they murdered? Poisoned drink and smothered by a pillow. Why were they murdered? After Jake refused an order to kill David to put an end to the investigation into B613, Cyrus took matters into his own hands.
ABC
1 of 35
As ABC’s political thriller comes to its conclusion, let’s look back at the many, many deaths from throughout its run
From the Season 1 death of Amanda Tanner to Olivia bashing the vice president's face in with a chair, TheWrap takes a look back at every bloody, brutal murder from "Scandal's" seven seasons.
ABC
ABC
