‘Scandal’ Star Bellamy Young Just Got an Email That Said ‘EVERYTHING IS CHANGED’ in New Series Finale Cut
Shondaland memo read: “Please watch it before you do any more press,” actress tells TheWrap
Jennifer Maas | April 18, 2018 @ 2:35 PM
Last Updated: April 19, 2018 @ 4:41 PM
ABC/Mitch Haaseth
“Scandal” fans gather around, because we have the spoiler alert to end all spoiler alerts. Star Bellamy Young told TheWrap Wednesday she received an email telling her “EVERYTHING IS CHANGED'” in a new cut of the series finale that she has yet to see.
For those non-die hard TGIT fans who haven’t been following along, that last episode, titled “Over a Cliff,” is set to air tomorrow.
When we asked Young, who plays President (and former first lady) Mellie Grant in the Shonda Rhimes series, if she knew what co-star Scott Foley (Jake) was referencing when he told us about an “ambiguous” moment in the finale last week, Young couldn’t place what he was talking about. However, it didn’t ultimately matter, as she then revealed it may not even been included in the final cut now.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about. Isn’t that interesting? I’m not sure. Oh my God, I feel terrible,” Young said. “But I will say this also, we literally just got an email that said, ‘We’re sending everyone a cut this evening’ — which they never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever do — ‘EVERYTHING IS CHANGED’ — in capital letters — ‘A LOT. Please watch it before you do any more press.’ So, so, I don’t know [what he’s talking about]. But I also feel like, that’s OK. It might have changed.”
Wait a second there, Mel. The entire finale might be altered now?
“Apparently it’s real different,” Young said. “But that’s always been the joy of living and working in Shondaland: her final cut is her final draft.”
“Early on they didn’t send us all of those colored pages — you get those blue pages, green pages, yellow pages, as the different iterations of the script come out — and early on they wouldn’t send all those pages to everybody just because they thought we wouldn’t want to be inundated,” Young continued. “But then, for example, I remember the Lena Dunham episode. I turned on the TV — now I don’t have it in my head right — but in the table read she lived and in the episode, she died. Like significant things change. And sometimes it’s just editing, like Shonda will lift out whole storylines and either do away with them all together or move them five episodes later. We just learned a long time ago not to comment till we’ve seen it. We usually don’t see it till we’re tweeting.”
So, obviously, it was going to be a little difficult for Young to speak to anything that happens in the finale — since she has no idea what it is now.
“I feel horrible!” she said. “I did three and a half hours of a satellite media tour today and I feel like, ‘Uh, I wonder if I said anything?'”
ABC and Shondaland did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on Young’s statement about the new finale cut, but Rhimes tweeted not long after this story was published: “If everything changed in the Scandal finale, no one told me.”
If everything changed in the Scandal finale, no one told me.
Well, hold on, Young and the rest of the “Scandal” cast has a live table read planned for tomorrow in Los Angeles ahead of the airing of the last episode. So we assume they’ll be getting new pages for that then, yes?
“No, a line item after that [in the email], is that we’ll read the production draft for the table read,” Young said. “So I feel like those guys [who are at the table read] get a twofer. They get a peek behind the curtain before and then they get to watch you know, appreciate the evolution or the changes. So ya, they’ll know everything.”
Wait, wait, wait, the live table read of the finale isn’t the finale now?
“Yes,” Young said. However, she also noted, “there is no episode of ‘Scandal’ — you couldn’t read any table read production draft and then watch any episode and it be [sic] even 80 percent the same.”
“They always evolve, which is something to be grateful for. It stays alive and everybody maybe thinks, ‘Eh it’s good enough.’ It’s never good enough. Everybody kept trying with their whole hearts.”
The series finale of “Scandal” airs Thursday at 10/9 c on ABC.
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
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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
