Scandal Season 3, Episode 8 Preview: Vermont Is For Lovers Too

Last Thursday’s episode of Scandal dropped more than a couple major twists into our laps. If you’re not caught up on the ABC drama through “Everything’s Coming Up Mellie," read no further!

As the preview for tonight’s “Vermont is for Lovers, Too” indicates, the situation with Olivia’s mother will be addressed pretty directly. She’s alive! But she’s not looking so good and it seems like she’s locked up somewhere. We don’t really have many answers just yet, but it seems like we’ll get some soon.

Here’s a clip from tonight’s episode, which makes it pretty clear that Rowan is in charge of Olivia’s mother:

Our immediate assumption might be that Rowan’s the big mean man keeping poor Olivia’s mom locked up. But it’s probably just as safe to assume there’s a reason she’s in there, and it might be justified. As hard as it is to trust Rowan about pretty much anything, wouldn’t it be interesting if it turns out she has a dark past — like, perhaps, some involvement in the dirty bomb that was on that aircraft? The plot thickens…

There’s more going on in “Vermont is for Lovers, Too,” as evidenced by the description for the episode:

So we have more Operation Remington investigations, Quinn getting caught up in what seems like a major life mistake -- Anyone else starting to wonder if Quinn's days are numbered? -- and a new crisis involving Josie Marcus. As if that’s not enough, there’s Fitz and Olivia drama too. That’s not mentioned in the description, but TVLine posted a clip that shows the aftermath of Fitz’s recent press outburst, during which Mellie is celebrating how well Fitz handled it, and Fitz seems unable to stomach the sight of himself in the video or his wife in the room. The clip cuts to Olivia turning off the interview and looking just as disinterested in watching it. And then her phone is ringing. Fitz is trying to call her but she’s not picking up. Drama.

Tonight’s episode will be the last new ep to air this month, as next Thursday is Thanksgiving. “Vermont is for Lovers, Too” airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC, and then Scandal will return for “YOLO” on December 5.