Dee Davis on 'Scandal': Twisty and turny and ohhh ...

As I noted over the past couple of weeks, we haven't seen much of Jake. And when we have, it's almost seemed as he was just filling time. Waiting for his contract to expire or some such. And according to last week's teaser, Jake is about to come to the forefront, but at least from the way they've cut it, not in a good way. We see him threatening Liv's life, and we can assume it has to do with David's desire to bring down everything and everyone associated with B613. Of course, we also were led to believe that Derek had an affair on Grey's Anatomy, so I do have a little hope that Jake has a future still with Liv. But let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

Titled Honor Thy Father, this episode promises to follow up on the explosive testimony Huck gave against B613. The entire administration is now in danger as David moves his crusade forward, but Rowan and Jake, as well as, to a lesser extent, Charlie and Quinn are in the direct line of fire. Additionally, Liv and company must help a congressman whose father is on death row. And even more titillating, after Jake's twisty turn, is Mellie's new half-sister, Harmony. Now that promises to be interesting stuff.

Oh, and just to keep it interesting: There's Franklin Russell. Not a bad way to wake up in the morning, people.

Jake testify? I don't think so. Big fish or no, it's not Jake's style. Besides it's his death warrant. White hats aren't a big enough draw. And Jake isn't in need of David's protection. It's the other way around. The real Jake emerges. We've seen him over and over again. But then he slides back into that good-guy mask. Or maybe I just want him to.

Charlie, Quinn, Huck and David are working to round up the B613 agents out there. Grant them immunity and keep them safe until we can convene a grand jury. It's all an attempt to capture Jake and swing him into testifying. Good luck with that.

Meanwhile, there's Franklin Russell. Not someone you want to kick out of bed, right? But duty calls. Enter the congressman. And his dad. Dad was convicted of killing the man who essentially drove his teenage daughter to suicide. His son believes he's innocent. Fitz refuses to intervene even though Congressman Reed asked for intervention. And now the father is facing death row.

Enter Harmony, Deep South, Southern-fried half-sister of Mellie Grant and a threat to Mellie's ambitions. Liz is concerned. And I think it's a valid point. What is it with the new trend toward short-sleeve sweaters with dresses? Not a good look. Anyway, in order to cover her bases, Mellie needs to welcome Harmony with open arms.

Cut to the pen and the congressman's father, George. Did he or did he not do it? He says he did. Feels sorry for his son, but he needs to let it go and move on. Olivia isn't buying. But the father doesn't care. He's been through too much. Guilty or no, he's already dead. But Olivia isn't going to give up. She's on the case.

Meanwhile, we're at the safe house, keeping old B613 people under protection. But over on the Hill we've got a bigger problem and her name is Harmony. Cyrus is playing the game as only he can do. And I've got to say it was a quietly humorous moment. Abby and Olivia are reliving the moment and then we cross over to George's problems. Cut to the war room and the past life of the Reeds.

We find out that Dan Hoffman was indeed a predator. Slept with at least three other young girls. Which means there are other angry fathers. And what about Hoffman's wife? Oh, she's dead. And worse still the people in the safe house are now dead, too. Jake at work. Or so it seems. Yup, definitely gone twisty. I think my hope for a happy ending here is looking grim. And while I lament it, I can see that it is probably the only way out. That said, I'm still holding out hope. Shonda Rhimes is the queen of twisting the twist!

But I have read (SPOILER ALERT) that someone is going to die this season. And if that is true, then Jake seems to be a likely candidate. Or Rowan, but he seems to be off the page at the moment. Of course this is all merely SPECULATION.

Fitz is not interested in Harmony. And Cyrus is worried about Mellie being rattled. And Fitz, along with the rest of us, is sure that if she can't handle her step-sister, she can't handle an election. Quinn is fighting for Jake, but Charlie and Huck are all for taking him out. So who is right? Does Jake have a game plan or has he gone "mad dog"? Come on, Quinn? Nope, she's with Huck and Charlie.

Liv, not having any idea what's up with Jake, calls Quinn in to help with her case, but Huck and Quinn are preoccupied with taking out Jake. Or at least Huck is. Still, they're on the job and searching for something that might show that Mrs. Hoffman, now deceased, killed her husband. The find something. A smoking gun? Call the cops.

Uh oh … they've got Jake. But we've seen the previews… man, I want this to be something other than what it looks like …

At dinner with the family in the White House we're talking hunting. Harmony is holding court and then Mellie loses it. And the two of them launch at each other. And as crazy as this is going to sound, I'm kind of on Harmony's side. Except that now Harmony is threatening Mellie. And that isn't a good thing. And Fitz is probably wondering yet again why he didn't go to Vermont when he had the chance.

Huck and Charlie and Quinn are way too sure of themselves. This is Jake, after all. Through surveillance, it looks like Jake's at Liv's house. Quinn and Huck are on it. Meanwhile, it's a Fitz-Mellie moment. She's drinking her daddy's hooch. And Fitz is right, Mellie needs to apologize. Reality moment. Being president means that: "Every day you have to decide between something terrible that you hate and something horrible that you hate. Either way they're going to hate you."

Huck and Quinn rush over to Liv's, where they've tracked Jake, and find her with Franklin Russell. And after she closes her door, Jake pops out of the apartment across the way. And now Jake makes his threat — only, in context, it isn't quite as bad as the previews. So, after Matthew McConaughey makes his weird pitch for an unnamed car, we cut to the white hats — and Charlie, Huck and Quinn saying it is time to fold. They can't risk the threat to Liv. Interestingly, at the Lincoln Memorial with Que Sera Sera as the soundtrack.

David can't deal with this kind of loss and argues that Olivia will not be happy, but Huck and Quinn disagree. And David is left with Lincoln on his own. Meanwhile, Fitz plays First Man and tries to help the situation. Pave the way for Mellie. The dichotomy between Fitz's relationship with Mellie and his love for Liv never fails to fascinate and sort of repel me. (And, seriously, another ugly short-sleeved sweater?)

And Cyrus is really confused … or something.

Meanwhile, Olivia isn't a pushover. The gun was planted in Mrs. Hoffman's basement. And Olivia is pretty darn certain she knows who did it. And the truth comes out. The congressman killed the man who drove his sister to kill herself. And let his father take the fall. Olivia, as usual, pulls out the truth. The congressman confesses. But the father still wants to take the hit. It's eating the congressman alive. He doesn't know what to do.

Cut to David who also doesn't know what to do. He knows that Jake killed James. But Jake also saved his life. Doesn't matter. He's a white hat. David is going to testify. And Jake is listening. Command must be brought down. Rowan and Jake. So is this a play on Jake's part or is this David taking on Jake?

Back to the case, which in all truth, for this episode, I'm not sure we care about. But then Olivia (through Shonda Rhimes' words) makes me care. And we have a montage of the dad going free as the congressman confesses and resigns from office.

Honor thy father.

Huck arrives to protect Olivia from Jake. And now I'm thinking David is the one who could die. Maybe faster than I'd anticipated. But no, I knew there had to be a twist. Jake killed David's assistant who apparently was about to kill David. She killed the folks at the safe house. Jake saved David. But Huck is confused and telling Olivia the wrong thing. Jake tells David, it's Rowan. It's always been Rowan.

Damn it. Rowan is back, and he's got Olivia (and Franklin).

Honor thy father — or not.

Dee Davis is the bestselling author of 22 novels and five novellas. When not glued to her television screen, she can be found pounding away at her keyboard, trying to put words to one of the stories running around in her head. Find her at www.deedavis.com.