Scandal Eyes: Your Olivia Pope Moment of the Week

Scandal is back! Now that the megadramatic Washington DC-oriented ABC show has returned, it’s time to revel in Olivia Pope’s highs and lows. Every week, we’ll track Olivia Pope being her Olivia Pope-y-ist.

Last night’s episode was a bit of a departure. Instead of Olivia Pope getting all badass as she makes sure someone gets “handled,” she was put in the position of handling herself. But the clip above is really classic Liv: Thinking on her feet, laying out an entire strategy, moving quickly, considering the outcome ten steps ahead, wearing a white coat. “The truth works.” (Not for Mellie, it doesn’t!)

Speaking of the truth: The truth is, Liv’s dad stole this episode. Actor Joe Morton opened up a verbal can of whoop-ass as Daddy Pope (who seemed more Vernon Jordan-esque last season) expressed serious disappointment in his daughter: “Do you have to be so mediocre?”