‘Scandal’ Tweet-cap: Huck Yeah

Warning: This recap for the “Dead in the Water” episode of Scandal contains spoilers.

Iron Man? Pshh. Superman? Whatever. Captain America? Puh-lease. We’ve got a new superhero and his name is Huck (short for HUCK YEAH).

This episode finally resolved the cliffhanger from two weeks ago, when Huck’s new girlfriend, Meg, turned out to be a stone-cold assassin (just like his last girlfriend). She shot Jennifer Fields dead, and seemingly shot Huck dead too.

He survived, though barely, and he holds onto his life by the skin of his teeth. For a minute there, we were afraid Huck was a goner. But this is HUCK. Trained by Rowan. Former B-613 badass. The toughest of gladiators.

Speaking of gladiators, this was a sort of reunion episode, bringing all of them together, even Marcus and Abby. The latter is persona non grata once her involvement in Huck’s shooting comes out, and whether the others can forgive or trust her after this remains to be seen.

Here’s a rundown of this week’s episode, including our live tweets:

That crazy cliffhanger plays over again, with Meg shooting Jennifer and Huck. Now, she’s got both of their bodies in the trunk of a car. Jennifer was shot in the head, so she’s definitely dead, and Huck looks like he is, too. She pushes the car over a cliff into a lake. If he’s not already dead, it’s not looking good for him.

When Jake finds the hotel room empty, he knows something has happened. He immediately returns to OPA, where Olivia and team are discussing the Mystery Power People from the footage her father showed her. After Jake alerts them to Huck’s disappearance, Quinn and Charlie investigate the room and discover a lot of blood traces. Quinn practically howls in despair.

Olivia decides to call in the big dogs and visits Abby to ask for help in getting the FBI involved (Liv isn’t on the best of terms with Angela Webster, the director and Fitz’s new girlfriend). Abby promises to help, but… uh, won’t that implicate her role in everything?

At the lake, Huck gasps — he’s alive! But he’s about to be dumped into a lake. As the water rises around him, he begins to panic. He hallucinates himself back to OPA, where Olivia, Quinn, and Charlie yell at him to find a way out of the car. It seems impossible, though, as Huck tries to kick his way out of the trunk, and he seems to nearly pass out.

They yell at him some more to think about what kind of car it is. OK, he manages to get out of the trunk and into the main part of the car. But the doors won’t open — and after doing some mental equations, he realizes he has to wait for all of the air inside the car to run out. Something about pressure or whatever. He does that, but then the door gets stuck on a rock. Now, what?

Even Rowan shows up in the vision. “Think, son!” Rowan notes that Huck has all the tools he needs to get out. So Huck takes a headrest and starts bashing at the window. It still seems totally impossible, but then Huck emerges from the water, gasping for breath.

Meanwhile, after her visit from Liv, Abby calls up Marjorie aka Mystery Power Woman, and demands to know what happened to Huck. Marjorie replies that he’s dead. Abby is speechless, then asks why. “Yours is not to reason why,” Marjorie snarks, then warns her not to call again. Afterward, a very troubled Abby goes to see Fitz in the Oval Office. Can she talk to him as a friend, and not as the president of the United States? Because she could really use a friend right now.

In an effort to find Huck, Quinn and Charlie break into Meg’s apartment — which is now totally empty. She even ripped out the security system he installed. But wait, there must be a backup somewhere, Charlie muses, perhaps on the cloud? Quinn scoffs. Huck would never use the cloud. He would, however, use a laptop hidden in a heating vent!

Meanwhile, Huck has somehow managed to swim to shore, but he’s having more visions, this time of himself (sans beard) taunting him about how he’s soft and nobody will find him. Beardless Huck, you know nothing.

Everyone is converging on OPA. Marcus arrives, ready to help and support Liv. And then Abby shows up. But she arrives just after Jake shows Olivia a very revealing photo — of Abby with Marjorie and Meg! Liv is, understandably, livid, and wails on Abby.

Using info from the security system, Charlie and Quinn track down Meg to a safe house (where she’s dyed her hair platinum blonde). Quinn points a gun at her and demands to know where Huck is.

Back at OPA, Abby tries to explain about her deal to trade Jennifer for Cyrus. She points out that Liv’s hands aren’t exactly clean, since she was going to let Cyrus rot in prison for something he didn’t do. Abby begs for forgiveness, noting that all of them have forgiven Liv many times over. All Olivia wants to know is if Abby can help find Huck. If she can’t, she’s useless.

Quinn has gone full-on… well, Huck… on Meg, who is bounded in cling wrap. Quinn is cutting into her, snaps off a finger, and uses a rake on her face. Meg is screaming; even Charlie can hardly bear to look.

When Quinn takes off Meg’s gag, Meg merely taunts her. “No wonder Huck loved me instead of you.” That’s the last straw — Quinn slits Meg’s throat.

That isn’t the best move, though, since she was their last chance of finding Huck. Jake sadly notes that Huck is likely dead. Everyone accepts it, including Liv, who goes to her office to drink wine and be sad. But Charlie isn’t ready to give up. He gives her a pep talk so that she’ll deliver a pep talk to the others. “Fix this. Fix them,” he says. “You know, the whole Olivia Pope thing you do.”

And even if Huck is dead, they won’t be OK with not recovering his body. Olivia springs up and gives that inspiring speech. The gladiators go to work, narrowing down locations. Finally, Quinn realizes that Jennifer’s body is with Huck — and they can track her phone.

Jake and Olivia head out to the lake, where they find Huck’s body. Back at the office, Quinn learns what Abby did and almost takes her out in the conference room. If looks can kill, Abby would be a pile of dust right now.

Everyone goes to the hospital, where Huck is being treated. His condition isn’t good — he’s lost a lot of blood and could have brain damage. He may never wake up.

In the middle of that, Fitz marches in to check on the situation. He comforts Olivia and then advises her to forgive Abby. “You know what happens to you when you’re in that hole,” he reminds her gently. Yeah, remember Andrew Nichols? Let’s not have that happen again.

Quinn sits with Huck at his bedside. In their trademark fashion, she insults him and cajoles him into recovering. She calls him an idiot for risking his life like that. “I will never forgive you if you die.”

And just as she’s about to leave the room, Huck wakens. Quinn tearfully snuggles up next to him on his bed — as a worried Charlie peeps in from the hallway.

Olivia, with Fitz’s words on her mind, sits with a crying Abby on a bench. Their friendship may not be what it once was, but it’s still there. Forgiveness is a strength, not a weakness.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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