Craig Sjodin/ABCShocker: A scandalous hookup went down tonight on Scandal.
No, it had nothing to do with the steamy affair between Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn), though the two did share quite the hot makeout in the woods.
We're talking about the final moments in tonight's episode, which left us with our jaws on the floor, thinking, "What the hell?!" Turns out, we're not alone as the show's stars were just as surprised by the hookup as we were. We chatted with Josh Malina, Darby Stanchfield and Columbus Short about what fans can expect from ABC's hit drama moving forward. Hint: Things are going to get crazy!
The unlikely duo who ended up in bed together? Abby (Stanchfield), one of Olivia's associates, and David (Malina), the former D.A. with a score to settle. "I call it the Shock and Awe Project. I was surprised. [Showrunner] Shonda [Rhimes] had intimated long ago that this was possible, but not who it would be," Malina tells us of his reaction to the shocking hookup. "I doubted she'd really follow through. I feel like there are many other, younger, better-looking people to put in bed before me. I think she decided to jump right to the first of it."
Stanchfield was just as surprised, telling us, "[The cast] didn't see it coming at all. I had several people say when I got the script to read the last page. I was completely blindsided. I was not expecting it."
So what does their dalliance mean going forward? Well, episode four is a "continuation," Malina says. "That last moment seems to be an awkward, ‘Hah! So that happened.' Then there's more of a decompression and them figuring out what comes next. It becomes a question of what's happening personally—is this real, are they really attracted to each other because they're on the same page of what they want to know information-wise? It is a fluid thing, where it's 'Is this a real relationship, is one using the other, are they both into each other?' That's the question."
As for whether or not Olivia Pope and her associates will find out about the affair, Malina says, "That's a secret that they're both anxious to keep. That's certainly an issue." On behalf of the associates, Short teases, "It's a relationship that is going to rock more than just Abby's world."
Quinn's (Katie Lowe) world is sure to be rocked as David and Abby both want to know more about who she is and why Olivia is protecting her.
"Clearly what he's interested in is also of interest to her," Malina says. "She doesn't know a lot about what happened, and they do find they're classic strange bedfellows and you might not expect them to be together, but beyond the personal, they have the professional stuff in common."
And while the show has already had three jaw-dropping episodes, you can expect the ride to get even bumpier moving forward, with Short teasing, "Between episodes four and seven, it gets crazy."
Stanchfield adds, "People start hiding secrets from each other, there are betrayals, there are scandals, yet we all seem to plod along and continue to work as a team—like a dysfunctional family that's falling apart."
Also, prepare for backstory, lots of it. "Between episode four and now—we're on seven—you truly get real backstory on every single person," Short reveals.