ABC/Eric McCandlessGot any tissues left?
No, we're not OK. Yes, we're still trying to recover from Scandal's emotional wrecking ball of an episode on Thursday night, as we finally learned who got shot: RIP James (Dan Bucatinsky)! The only person more upset over James' death than we are? Cyrus (Jeff Perry), his husband, who had a breakdown in front of the press over the tragic death of his beloved. (Emmy voters, feel free to watch this scene over and over.)
While we already given you part one of our chat with Bucatinsky, where he revealed how he learned James would be dying and whether or not he's forgiven Scott Foley for pulling the trigger, part two is all about the future.
So what parting gift did Bucatinsky give Jeff Perry? And how will James' death impact Cyrus, our self-proclaimed "monster," moving forward?
"That's a good question...I do feel like this is a season of a lot of Cyrus facing realities of the limitations of his power," Bucatinsky says of what's ahead for Cyrus after the loss of his first love. "That's what I think about the most. I think about Cyrus as a character who always felt like he can control so much, whether it be on the up and up or behind the scenes. He has had to face a lot of loss of control this season, and the loss of James will probably humble him to some degree. I'm curious to see how they write him differently having faced this loss. I don't really know, but I hope that he changes his ways."
Of course, Bucatinsky doesn't want Cyrus to pull a complete 180, though he admits the scene with Cyrus "breaking down on the podium just kills me every time I see it."
"At the same time, this is a show with a heightened look at everything. People who are willing to take risks that normal people wouldn't take, and it's sort of what makes the show delicious," he continues. "So part of me hopes that Cyrus never learns, because it will only make for better television. It's entertainment at the end of the day."
Still, whether or not Cyrus comes out of this loss as a changed man, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" will be a defining episode for the character.
"The episode is so much about his loss and his recounting from the love affair to the first meeting to how James sort of helped him come out of the closet. It really is the story of his coming out, which is so impactful," Bucatinsky says. "It's, you know, the first time Cyrus falls in love, really truly, in an authentic way, all against this incredible loss. It was very well done, I have to say. The writers did a great job."
Bucatinsky is especially close with Perry in real life and the Emmy-winning actor tells us he gave his on-screen hubby a special parting gift after he shot his final scene.
"I wear a Chan Luu bracelet as the character – I do in real life too – for all three seasons, and I just imagined, not to be corny, but I imagined that after James was dead, his effects in a sealed bag were given to Cyrus, so I took off my Chan Luu bracelet and I gave it to Jeff, and I just said, 'Here's just a memento of this journey we were on together.'"
But maybe "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" won't be the last we see of James. Hey, the other Rhimes show Bucatinsky works on, Grey's Anatomy, has had a character come back as a ghost. (Still miss you, Denny!)
"I would be happy to haunt Cyrus as much as physically possible," Bucatinsky says. "He could use some haunting. He could be a little scared of something."
Or maybe he could come back as a guardian angel for Cyrus and James' never-seen child, the one Cyrus didn't even want to adopt.
"I'm hoping that he hires a good team of nannies who are warm and supportive," Bucatinsky tells us. "I know, it's heartbreaking! The whole notion of us having had a child, and really both of us having been so reckless in our professional lives. I do think about that. I was like, you know, there comes a point when you can't necessarily go to any length to get what you want professionally when you've got kids at home."
Scandal airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.