SCANDAL Pace (S2 Thoughts UPDATED): Calling all #GLADIATORS to help solve the “Scandal Conspiracy”!!

**SEE UPDATED THOUGHTS AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE**

December 7, 2012 — Before episode 208 aired, I posted my theories on #WhoShotFitz and why! After watching “Happy Birthday Mr. President”, we all know that Huck was revealed as the alleged shooter, but what we still don’t know is WHY!

I’ve pretty much spent the last 10 hours tweeting with GLADIATORS, listening to the ‘Scandal Revealed’ podcast, watching the afterbuzzTV Scandal Aftershow and reading reviews and recaps! Yes, I’ve been busy! Some may call me obsessed and that’s perfectly okay, but I love solving puzzles and trying to connect the dots! So…I’m pulling out my Scandalous notebook, which is really starting to resemble David Rosen’s “Beautiful Minds” wall, and revising my original theories based on last night’s episode!

If you’re reading this, hop on Twitter or sound off in the comments below if you agree or disagree on some of these theories, picked up on something I didn’t and let’s HANDLE this puzzle! Simply because I can’t wait 6 more days to find out #WhatTheHuck just happened on the best television show EVER!

Please note – I know the episode ended with viewers ASSUMING Huck was the actual shooter, but I’m still going to refer to said person as “the shooter” because I’m not sold on Huck pulling that trigger, but we’ll get to that!

Here are some questions to get the juices flowing:

1. Was the attack on the President meant to ACUTALLY KILL HIM?
2. If the shooting wasn’t meant to be fatal: Was it a warning and to who? Was it staged as a means to cover up something else from coming to light (i.e. the voter fraud story leaking)
3. Was the President the intended target? Maybe the shooter intended to take someone else out?
4. Was the shooter hired by a third party and is simply the hit man or is the shooter and conspirator the same person?
5. If the shooter was hired by a third party, whose potential target WAS NOT the President, did the shooter have their own vendetta for killing Fitz and possibly changed the original plan on their own?

Theory #1 – Suspect, Hollis Doyle

Image credit: ABC/Ron Tom

Motive:

• Hollis’ oil company, Doyle Energy, would benefit financially from a war in East Sudan, especially if he gets his pipeline through the country.

Evidence:

• In episode 202, “The Other Woman”, Hollis had a brief conversation with Cyrus in the hallway after they discovered the photo from East Sudan was a fake. Hollis made two comments to Cyrus in this scene that raised red flags for me: “You have a soul? I thought you sold that to me years ago?” and in regards to the tampered photo “Ride that photo all the way to four more years.”
• I took his comment to mean, go to war with East Sudan so I can make a ton of money when the demand for oil goes up and I’ll continue to contribute to the President’s re-election campaign.

Addition Puzzle Pieces:

• The CIA director planted the fake photo of the killings in East Sudan – the photo was presented to POTUS in the Sit Room as Intel suggesting he declare war in the region
• Cyrus spoke with the CIA assistant or intern (don’t remember which) because he was suspicious of how he was acting and notified the President
• When Fitz approached him about the photo the assistant/intern confirmed it was fake
• The President demanded the CIA director’s resignation for faking the photo, but I’m unsure what his motive would be
• Based on Hollis’ comment about the photo, it makes me think that Hollis knew it was fake also – so was he working with the CIA director to force Fitz’s hand to declare war?
• How/why he would be involved with Hollis?
•  How would the CIA would benefit from Fitz pulling the trigger on the war other than Hollis bribing the CIA director to fake the photo?
• The ONLY conspicuous puzzle piece regarding Mellie’s involvement is that she seemed eager for Fitz to make the decision to go to war with East Sudan also. HOWEVER Mellie is NO WHERE ON MY SUSPECT LIST right now!

POSSIBLE SMOKING GUN

• Huck used to be in the CIA
• Charlie is former CIA and at the end of episode 206 he makes a phone call to an unknown party and says something to the extent of “I’m back in town, maybe I’ll get back into business.”
• If the CIA director and Hollis were working together to “trick” Fitz into declaring war – could this be a missing piece as to how Huck got involved with the assassination attempt?

Random Motives

• The assassination of the President would also help distract the press and media from the voter fraud, should it leak and the American people will be sympathetic to the fact that the president was shot.

Theory #2 – Suspect, Vice President Sally Langston

Motive:

• If you look at the first person who immediately has something to gain if the sitting president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, dies or resigns – THE VICE PRESIDENT!

EVIDENCE:

• Regardless of the medical outcome of Fitz’s condition, she is going to have to be sworn in temporarily!
• Serving as Commander and Chief, even if temporarily until Fitz can resume the role, it gives her the advantage to be the party’s leading nominee for the next election whether or not Fitz decides to run for re-election.
• Fitz is going to be under anesthesia during surgery, and now he’s in a coma. WHEN he wakes up, it will be a long recovery for him. There is no question that Sally Langston will HAVE to assume the role during this time.  Someone has to be in charge and make decisions! (hello West Wing fans – anyone relating to this?) As much as I love Cyrus for putting the VP in her place (man that scene was brilliant), the American people didn’t elect Cyrus – they voted Grant/Langston! Well some of them did – except in Defiance, OH – but we’ll get to that too! LOL!

Addition Puzzle Pieces:

• Now, originally a big follow up question to the VP being a suspect was IS BILLY CHAMBERS DEAD? I know we all assume so, but I haven’t seen a body and this is a Shonda Rhimes show we are talking about here!! However, executive producer Betsy Beers made a comment during this week’s Scandal Revealed podcast (at the 17 minute mark) – she referenced that there were real life brothers in the same episode last season (Matt Letscher played Billy Chambers & Brian Letscher plays Tom, the Secret Service agent). She goes on to say “the two brothers ARE NOT in the show this year, only one is. That’s a big hint”. You may interpret in differently than I am, but I took that to mean that we will NOT be seeing Billy Chambers.

POSSIBLE SMOKING GUN:

• A small history lesson on the 25^th Amendment (yes, I researched it)
• Section 4 of the Amendment states that:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide (i.e. if the Vice President and a majority vote of the cabinet – which is what happened in the episode), transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. (i.e. the VP submits a written declaration, signed by the cabinet members, to the Senate & the House that the POTUS cannot perform his duties, the VP will take on the role of acting President – again this is how it went down last night!)

• Here’s where it gets juicy:

“Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office…”

• (i.e. the POTUS could draft a memo to the Senate & House and resume the office once he has recovered from the attack)

“…UNLESS the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office…”

• (i.e. If the VP can get the majority of the cabinet to submit another written declaration stating that they still don’t feel the POTUS can perform his job, then Fitz getting his job back becomes potentially really complicated and VERY POLITICAL BECAUSE…)

 …”Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”

• So basically if the VP can keep the cabinet in her pocket and lobby the two-thirds vote in Congress – crazy bumpkin Sally Langston will finish out the term as President and Fitz is S-O-L!

OTHER POSSIBILIES:

• Governor Reston, who lost the election to Fitz due to voter fraud (Episode 205, All Roads Lead to Fitz), could be involved in the shooting.  Obviously he has been obsessed with losing in the two years since the election – so much so that he was willing to let his wife take the fall for murder in order to make a comeback.
• This also links back to the voter fraud – could he have found out?
• The person behind the shooting is someone we haven’t met yet, have no knowledge of and has no ties to anything that has happened thus far this season – thus taking us into another story arch.

KEY STATEMENTS THAT I THINK COULD BE HINTS:

I refer you back to the Scandal Revealed podcast (refer to the 17:50 minute mark).  Executive producer Betsy Beers and Bellamy Young mention the following in regard to the coming episodes:

• Everything is going to start to come together
• Loyalties are really tested
• Alliances shift
• More will be revealed about histories and grudges
• Who means what to who
• Everything single thing that you’ve seen put into motion comes to a head
• Who’s behind killing Fitz? Do you think Huck shot Fitz? Do you really believe Huck shot Fitz? You know Huck, he’s capable of a lot.
• And if he did shoot Fitz, why? Why?, he protects Olivia. Like what’s the deal there. That’s a whole big…pull that thread!

GLADIATORS – that’s all I can put into coherent thought right now! Otherwise my brain may explode. I will continue to review my crazy episode notes and add to this as we go!

What are your thoughts? Agree? Think some of this may pan out? Think I’ve lost my mind? – Hey, Scandal will do that to you! Tweet what you think @abcSCANDALfans or comment below and pray we make it through the next six days! I’ll leave you with one thought…WHAT.  THE.  HUCK!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS (I knew I’d forget something!!)

• During the afterbuzzTV Scandal Aftershow, the hosts discussed how methodical Huck is in his crazy/scary “I know how to make you disappear and like it” actions, which I totally agree with and adds to the fact that I don’t think he was the shooter and if not what was he doing?
• Did Huck pull trigger or was he cleaning up after someone else?? He looked panicked in his movements, wasn’t wearing gloves – I mean when have we seen Huck approach a killing or crime scene disposal without being absolutely, eerily calm and methodical? WE HAVEN’T!
• Even his clothes…there was not attempt at stealthness or disguise there. It almost appeared that he was out on said date and had to show up quickly! He wasn’t dressed prepared to get away!
• In the promo for episode 209 we hear Olivia as Huck “What did you do?” and Huck’s response: “I did what I was trained to do”…He’s NOT a sniper! We’ve seen him kill up close, torture his victims. Even in episode 105, “Crash & Burn” when Amanda Tanner turns up missing, he describes exactly what happened to her and when Olivia asks him how he knows, he says “That’s how I would do it.”

 

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