After a commercial plane crashes, taking the lives of all onboard, Olivia Pope and her "gladiators-in-suits" must defend the pilot from media and airline accusations; meanwhile, when Amanda Tanner goes missing, Huck calls upon his dark past to find her whereabouts, and Fitz seeks the help of the Vice President in order to pass key legislation despite their icy relationship.

A paranoid government official drops a bombshell on Pope & Associates and even Olivia is caught off-guard with how high up this Scandal goes. Back at the office, unresolved questions about Quinn's background create tension amongst the associates. Meanwhile, despite Cyrus' best efforts to keep a lovesick President under control, things still manage to heat up between Fitz and Olivia when Olivia's old flame returns.

A national tragedy forces Olivia to return to work at the White House. Meanwhile, we learn more about the first few days of Fitz's presidency.

With Huck being held under the Patriot Act, Olivia and the team get unexpected assistance from an old friend. Meanwhile, Olivia helps Mellie out of a very compromising situation that could affect Fitz's future, and her relationship with Edison reaches a boiling point.

While Olivia engages in an emotion-filled conversation with Fitz, her team works to help one of their own. Cyrus becomes skeptic towards his husband and Mellie is near to bringing the white house down.

With Olivia's name out there as the President's mistress, both the White House and Pope & Associates face their biggest scandal to date, and a surprise allegiance is formed in order to get things handled. Meanwhile, Olivia's father, Rowan, will stop at nothing to carry out his orders and no one, including Olivia, can stand in his way.

With Pope & Associates still struggling to find clients, the team decides to take on a philandering senator who enjoys taking photos of his not so public areas. Meanwhile, Mellie gets involved in her own scandal with Democratic Congresswoman Josephine Marcus.

The team investigates Democratic Congresswoman Josie Marcus, while Olivia and Mellie have a surprising run-in during the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Meanwhile, Jake and Huck get closer to the truth about Operation Remington, which could lead to devastating results.