Scandal Review: Dead in the Water (Season 6 Episode 9)

This is the kind of episode that makes you look around the room and say: “what just happened?”

Scandal Season 6 Episode 9, “Dead In the Water,” is an episode that puts Guillermo Díaz’s talents on full display.

Let’s review how we got here: Meg, Huck’s girlfriend, isn’t really his girlfriend, but a mole inside OPA.

Meg is in league with the same people who are responsible for murdering President-Elect Frankie Vargas, and blackmailing Rowan, aka Eli Pope. That alone isn’t shocking, but add in Abby Whelan’s complicacy, and you have one earth-shattering storyline.

All these elements come to a head in “Dead in the Water” when the team at OPA has to race against time to find Huck.

The easy way to do this episode would have been with OPA alone, but the storyline also follows Huck and gives us some insight into his thoughts throughout the entire scenario.

One of the best parts is the act where Huck is trying to get of the trunk.

The dream-OPA sequence sounds weird when it’s described, but it has the flavor of a Season 2 or 3 episode, where the team would work through a problem at lightening speed.

Imaginary Quinn, Charlie, and Olivia enter the scene and snap Huck out of disbelief and into action.

Then the scene takes a turn when Rowan shows up. Rowan, or Command, represents every fighting instinct that Huck has at his disposal. Quinn, Charlie, and Olivia seem to slip into the background as Rowan steps in giving him another perspective when his risky water pressure solution doesn’t work.

Then Meg shows up and the sequence becomes a subdued representation of the “fight or flight response” as she points a gun at Huck’s head ready to “finish the job.”

As my pulse comes down a little once Huck is finally free of the trunk, I can’t help but marvel about how well-written this act is. It gives Guillermo Díaz the chance to be the Huck we all know and love from OPA, while also using some of his B613 operative skills.

Not only does it serve Huck’s character well, but these sequences mesh together perfectly.

With Huck’s skills, it would have been easy to show him getting out of the trunk, and floating in the water in five minutes, but the editing and artistry here gives us some insight into Huck’s head.

Both the submerging car, and the dream-OPA conference room are small spaces, but the action of the conference room balances out the silence of the sinking car.

In many ways, this scene is sort of Grey’s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 16 “Drowning on Dry Land” on steroids.

Shondaland fans will remember that episode, when Meredith almost drowns. Except, unlike Meredith, Huck needs to save himself. There is no time for reflection, only action.

For most of this episode, I am right with OPA, worried about Huck’s wellbeing and wishing that someone would save this character, because I am not going to be okay with any other outcome than an alive Huck!

And they deliver that. I can only imagine the fan outrage that would have been involved if the story had gone the other way.

This episode also does really well putting the character’s interpersonal relationships on display. There seems to be less fighting and more a temporary “Christmas truce” of sorts.

It’s probably because for the first time, everyone seems to have the same agenda. They put aside their pursuit of power, their personal issues, their grievances, all to get Huck back. The most notable instance is Abby when comes back to OPA trying to undo the damage she’s done.

There’s been a rift forming between Abby and Olivia for a while now, and this feels like something they may not be able to come back from, but I think it also has the potential to scar Abby straight.

I keep thinking back to Season 1 when Abby was the delicate flower that Olivia was trying to protect, and I couldn’t help but laugh a little when the team turns to her and says:

“Why do we have to keep an eye on you?”

Abby relentlessly pursues power in the last couple of seasons, and her recent trip to the dark side is still unresolved. The episode ends with Olivia sitting next to Abby on a bench and taking her hand as Abby cries.

Abby’s character arc has always been intriguing to me, and I think putting her in the White House as Press Secretary was a great move, but now that she’s tasted power, she’s lost herself a bit, and I think she needs to regain that perspective.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Scandal, it’s that people can be redeemed. Huck used to be an assassin, Quinn was accused of murder, and Olivia was complicate in stealing an election.

Abby is no different. It may take time and they may not trust her right away, but she can come back from this.

What did you think of this episode of Scandal? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Scandal airs Thursdays at 9/8 on ABC.

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