"Do you want to tell them who you are or should I?"
Olivia Pope's question to "baby lawyer" Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) was the last thing viewers heard before Season 1 of "Scandal" faded to credits. Appropriately enough, Quinn was the first person viewers saw in the premiere when she was recruited by Harrison Wright (Columbus Short) to be one of Pope's "gladiators in a suit."
"Scandal" originally appeared to be built around problem-solver Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and her complicated relationship with President Grant (Tony Goldwyn). Yet, the mystery surrounding Pope's newest employee is now the hot topic going into Season 2.
Quinn Perkins hides in plain sight
The baby lawyer in "Scandal" is a walking contradiction. Quinn does not react well in a crisis situation and tends to panic. In what could be considered a conflict of interest, she starts dating reporter Gideon Wallace (Brendan Hines). She also allows U.S. Attorney David Rosen (Joshua Malina) to get her fingerprints on a fork. Rosen runs the prints himself, and when he finds out her true identity, he breaks the law by delivering her back to Pope's office.Speaking of Gideon, Quinn makes a fatal mistake after she discovers her boyfriend in a puddle of his own blood, a pair of scissors jutting from his neck. Quinn pulls the scissors out and Gideon rapidly bleeds to death; the scissors were exerting enough pressure to slow the flow of blood.
Public records also show that Quinn Perkins did not exist before 2008. Does this mean that Pope's baby lawyer is in some kind of protective custody or relocation program? Based on the timeframe, the newly minted Quinn Perkins may have been sent to law school in 2008 as a way to protect her.
"White Hat's Off" the Season 2 premiere, promises to reveal who Quinn is and why at least half-a-dozen U.S. agencies are interested in her.
Mellie Grant is the secret power behind the throne
First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) revealed herself as the true power behind the Oval Office in "Grant for the People," the Season 1 finale. Mrs. Grant had a candid conversation with Olivia, chastising her for not doing her "job" keeping President Grant from straying. In the end, Mellie took her husband back, effectively dismissing Pope from her role as mistress.Mellie may have to do battle with White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry), however. "Grant for the People" revealed that Beene hired a contract killer named Charlie (George Newbern) to dispose of a pregnant Amanda Tanner (Liza Weil).
Billy Chambers (Matt Letscher), the former chief of staff for Vice President Sally Langston (Kate Burton), actually got his hands dirty by killing Gideon. The reporter was getting too close to the truth about Amanda's pregnancy, so Chambers dispatched him. Unfortunately, Olivia and her team cleaned the crime scene so well that there is no evidence tying Chambers to the murder.
More questions will be raised and answered in the Season 2 premiere of "Scandal" on Thursday, 9/27 at 10PM EST.
