Since the first season of “Scandal,” Shonda Rhimes has made a habit of dangling her White Hats off a cliff as often as possible — much to the frustration of fans everywhere. Here are some of the show’s all-time best cliffhangers.
Cliffhanger: That Time Liv Was Kidnapped
“Run”: Season 4, Episode 10
Olivia gets kidnapped and spends almost the entirety of an episode trying to escape from her captors, who she believes have her hidden away in a prison in the Middle East. Come episode’s end, our heroine finally breaks out, only to find she’s been on a soundstage the whole time. This was possibly the biggest mindf— of the whole series — so far.
Cliffhanger: That Time Papa Pope Orchestrated Everything — for the Millionth Time
“That’s My Girl”: Season 5, Episode 21
Jake ended up being selected as Mellie’s running mate, and you think it was Olivia’s idea to save his life. But, of course it wasn’t, cause Rowan is seen smiling at the end of the episode (a finale) while saying, “that’s my girl.”
Cliffhanger: That Time We Spent A Season Wondering Who Killed Frankie Vargas
Literally All of Season 6
The shock of Frankie’s assassination came during the season premiere and the answer to who killed him wasn’t revealed until the freakin’ finale. Oh yeah, and it was (pretty much) Cyrus, who we had suspected from the beginning, but then Rhimes tricked us out of it. Ugh.
That Time Olivia Dropped the First Lady Gig After Getting an Abortion
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”: Season 5, Episode 9
Olivia was done playing White House with Fitz by the mid-season finale. In fact, she was just done with Fitz, period. Olivia had an abortion without telling him and then broke up with him, packed her things and left 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Cold, indeed.
That Time We Wondered Who the Hell Quinn Was
“Grant: For the People”: Season 1, Episode 7
The first season finale brought with it a “WTF?” moment unlike any other, when we learned that we didn’t know who Quinn was at all. Actually, to this day we’re still a little confused, seeing as she’s been through like three personality changes.
That Time We Met Rowan
“White Hats Back On”: Season 2, Episode 22
So, turns out this guy in the back of a limo is Rowan, aka Liv’s dad Eli Pope. Oh, and he’s also the head of the infamous B613. Oh, and he gave a sex tape of her and Jake to Cyrus to mess up her relationship with Fitz. Oh, and at the beginning of the next season he’s gonna try to force her onto a plane. Classic.
That Time When We Legit Thought Huck Died
“A Traitor Among Us”: Season 6, Episode 7
Remember when Huck’s girlfriend Meg shot him multiple times and left him for dead? We do. It was the worst week of our life, waiting to find out if he lived or died. Also, it was basically Abby’s fault. Great job, Red.
That Time When the President Was (Unsuccessfully) Assassinated
“Defiance”: Season 2, Episode 7
In an episode packed with revelations about the rigged election, the real shock came at the very end, when Fitz was shot in the head and we didn’t find out if he would survive, let alone who did it, till later. Gah.
That Time When We Didn’t Know Whether Jake Killed David or James
“No Sun on the Horizon”: Season 3, Episode 13
In the last 60 seconds of this episode Jake gunned down someone — but we didn’t find out whether it was Cyrus’ husband or David Rosen until the next week’s episode. It was James. Sad face.
That Time When Liv Ran Into the Sun With Jake After Everything Imploded
“The Price of a Free and Fair Election”: Season 3, Episode 18
Fitz and Mellie’s son Jerry Jr. gets killed right before the election, which Fitz then wins. Though Liv’s mom is to blame (but not really, but you don’t know it’s Rowan — yet), Olivia thinks the best way to get rid of the scandal at hand is for her to just bail. So she and Jake finally “get on the plane” and fly to a remote island for the summer hiatus.