Scandal (2012–2018): Season 5, Episode 18 - Till Death Do Us Part - full transcript

- "I'm gonna kill you!"
- "Not if I kill you first!"

That's not what I'm saying.

No? Then what are you saying?

'Cause it sounds like you're
accusing me of something.

Are you accusing me of something?

- No, I just...
- Spit it out, woman!

If you have a problem with

the way I'm raising my children...

I just wish you wouldn't go in there.

She's my daughter, Lanie!

Am I not supposed to say
goodnight to my daughter?



Don't walk away from me
when I'm talking to you.

Hey!

Aah! Jimmy, don't! Aah!

You do not make the rules in this house.

I make the rules.

And if I want to go into
my daughter's room at night

and ask her how her day was,
then that's what I'm gonna do.

Have I made myself clear?

Have I?!

Yes.

Now get me another beer,
and clean this mess up!

I've decided you are going
to eat something today.

You're gonna want to do
something with your hair.

Have you looked in the mirror recently?



It's not pretty.

All right. Here we go.

You got to stop beating
yourself up over this.

What you did to Andrew?

After everything he did to you?

The only thing you should feel bad about

is that you didn't do it sooner.

He's right.
And it appears you're in the clear.

No one's investigating Andrew's death.

Jake and the president
took care of that.

How you doing?

Great.

She promised to do
something with her hair,

so we're making progress.

It's almost 10:00, son.

Right.

You should have some of that toast.

You know, we should take a walk today.

Adams Morgan. You love Adams Morgan.

I got us some new puzzles.

Redwood Forest.

Mount Rushmore.

I'd love to do one with you.

Hmm?

Something I thought you should know.

We've moved up Jake
and Vanessa's wedding.

They're getting married on Saturday.

I wanted to tell you,

but with everything
that's happened, um...

I know he'd love for you to be there.

If you're feeling up to it.

You got a visitor.

Who the hell are you?

Have a seat.

I've been reading about you.

For a screw-up, you are very bright.

Is that supposed to be a compliment?

You like being a soldier, son?

If I actually got to
see some real action,

yeah, I think it'd be pretty fun.

What's this?

A contract. To serve in a
unit we're putting together.

Something a little less official

than what you're
presently accustomed to.

You want to be more specific?

At the moment? No.

What I can tell you is you'll be seeing

a lot more action than
you're seeing now,

and a lot more money.

Something wrong?

This says "Jake Ballard" on it.

So?

My name's Pete Harris.

Like I said, we do things differently.

Mm.

Pass.

Pass?

Pass.

I signed up to be a Navy man,

not play make-believe with a
bunch of black-ops psychopaths.

You'd rather go to prison, then.

Who said anything about prison?

I got two more weeks in the brig.

Three tops. Once that's over...

You're being discharged.

Excuse me?

The lad whose face you
broke that hand on,

his father's a congressman.

They're throwing you out of the Navy.

You'll be remanded to a civilian court,

where you'll be charged
with aggravated assault,

a charge which, if you're convicted,

carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

That's ridiculous.

Is it?

According to your file,
you have been cited 13 times

with drunken and disorderly conduct.

You've had seven fights
with your fellow officers...

- So what?
- The most recent of which

had to have his jaw reconstructed.

It was a couple of stitches, man.

And, despite repeat
attempts at discipline,

commanding officers note a persisting

and seemingly unchangeable
disrespect for authority.

It's because they're horrible people.

Is that what they are, Ballard?

Or are you just a loser
with an anger problem?

The name's not Ballard.

"The name's not Ballard, Sir."

- Listen, you weirdo...
- Aaah!

Let go of me.

Your choice is very simple.

Either you leave this
room as Pete Harris

and spend the next 10 years
of your life in prison,

or you leave here as Jake Ballard,

and spend the next 10
years in my employ.

Option "A" makes you the bitch

of the Federal Board of Corrections.

Option "B" makes you my bitch.

But here's the good news.

I can turn you into somebody.

A real soldier with a real future.

And there's no one else on this planet

who can promise you that without
either being a fool or a liar.

So what's it gonna be?

Pete Harris or Jake Ballard?

Their bitch or mine?

Olivia. You're up.

Yeah,
I thought I'd take some of your advice.

Get some fresh air?

Just a little bit.

Well, that's wonderful.

A nice jog will do you a world of good.

Just go easy.

Yeah, I promise not to run
any marathons till next week.

I told you.

Just a few weeks of peace
and quiet is all she needed.

Were you followed?

No. They're buying the entire act.

They've moved up the wedding,
and it's not because

- Jake's dying to marry that woman.
- She was pretty basic.

Okay, fine, but I'm right.

We need to find out everything
we can about the wedding.

My dad and Jake are using
Vanessa Moss for something,

and it's not just laundering money

through her bank accounts.

Liv. You doing okay?

Get on it. Now.

She seems like she's doing okay.

Jacob Hamilton Ballard
and Vanessa Rose Moss.

Or as the Internet calls them, "J.Mo."

The Times is calling it

"the most culturally significant wedding

since John John and Caroline."

Have you tracked down the guest list?

I found it on the catering
company's hard drive.

Great. Okay, what are we talking?
Two, three...

600 people.

600?

I-I don't even know 600 people.

90 friends and family,

and the rest are high-profile
movers and shakers.

Uh, politicians, bigtime
Democratic donors,

royalty, celebrities.

Why does Vanessa want
such a big wedding?

It's not Vanessa. It's Rowan.

Rowan?

He's the one who moved up the
wedding date with the church.

He's the one who updated the
guest list with the caterer.

And he's the one who hired two
separate powerful publicists.

Paid for through Edison's Super PAC.

Well, he's getting his money's worth.

Vogue is doing an 18-page
spread in the September issue.

The September issue!

It's a big deal. Trust me.

So, my dad and Jake want a big,
high-profile wedding

as soon as possible.

I don't understand.

It's not like it's gonna
help Edison become president.

So, what do we do?

Jake has a weakness.

If I can exploit it, maybe I can
get some information out of him.

What's his weakness?

Me.

What's my uncle's name?

Ed.

- Is it not Ed?
- Mm.

You need to get going, don't you?

Where's Olivia?

Why aren't you coming to the party?

It's the White House.

Well, technically I wasn't invited.

But I've been to the White House before.

You're gonna have a great time.

Henry. Is your uncle's name Henry?

- Mm.
- We really do need to get going.

I don't want to be late.

I'll go get her.

Liv?

Liv, are you okay?

What's going on?

Liv, talk to me.

I can't go to the party.

Okay.

I can't... I can't go...

back to the White House.

I can't...

go back to where I, um...

To where I killed him.

Hey. It's gonna be okay.

Forget about the party.

Jake? Are you in there?

You go ahead.
I'll try and meet you there, okay?

What? No, not okay.

- What's going on?
- She's having a little trouble.

- What kind of trouble?
- I can't get into it.

You can't get into it?
What does that mean?

It means you go ahead!

Don't talk to me like that.

Why are you talking to me like that?

This is our wedding.
And this is a friend.

- Is that what she is?
- I don't have time for this.

Jake, will you listen to yourself?

What is going on here?

You're not telling me anything.

Why is she even in this house?

She's been here for weeks.

And now you're not going
to the engagement party

you wanted because she's having
"a little trouble"?

What kind of trouble?

What's the problem?

Ask him. Maybe he'll tell you.

Jake?

I don't know if moving up the
wedding was the best idea.

Maybe we should slow things down.

Did I ask for you opinion?

This is not up for discussion.

There's no slowing down.

You made a commitment,
now you will follow through.

Yes, sir.

I'll fix it.

Why do we like the
AK-103 over the AK-47?

It's a half-pound lighter
and gets off 390 rounds,

versus 330 for the 47.

You want to show me how to take it apart

and put it back together, soldier?

Be my pleasure, sir.

You have a problem, recruit?

No, this is really fun.

Doesn't sound to me like
you're having a good time.

Another day of playing with Legos.

- Who wouldn't love that?
- What did you say, son?

Oh, boy. Here we go again.

Shut your mouth, Charlie.

- Shut your mouth.
- Shut your mouth, Charlie.

- Yes, sir.
- Outside, Ballard.

I saved you from 10 years in a prison.

You want to go back there?

If it's between that and some weird dude

who keeps telling me he's my dad...

Your dad used to beat
your mother senseless,

and then he would go into
your little sister's room

and make all of his fantasies come true.

Is that the dad that you want?

Is that the dad you
want to rush home to?

Is that the dad you want to
watch the ball game with?!

I didn't think so.

Try and pull a move on me?

Take me down?

Nobody takes Command, son.

You hear me?

You hear me?

You hear me?!

Go to hell.

I'm getting married.

I know.

Why?

I was surprised to hear.

It was quick.

That's not why I surprised.

I thought after I was
out of the picture...

Liv.

Not meant to be, I
guess. For either of us.

Do you love her?

Who?

Vanessa.

Right. Yeah. Of... Of course.

I mean, she's perfect.

It's easy.

That's what I'm supposed to want, right?

Easy?

I don't know.

I've never had easy.

You're out there. You're dating.

Is that a question?

How is it?

It's good.

Nice to be free.

Do you miss her?

Olivia?

It's good to be free.

Another?

Mm.

Another.

You hit like a bitch.

I'd tell you to toss him in the hole,

but this one might be a lost cause.

I took in a stray
Maltese a few years back.

I know...
who leaves a Maltese on the street?

Okay, maybe he was tied up
outside of a coffee shop.

But anyway, I-I couldn't
keep the guy off my couch

no matter how many times
I bopped him on the nose.

Finally I had to

Just saying, maybe a couple pops

in the back alley might
be your best option.

Good boy.

The hole.

One month.

Oh, could you turn that back off?

Sorry.

You've been drinking.

I have.

I have been drinking a lot.

You should probably go to bed.

Tell me about the party. How was it?

Well, Vanessa had fun.

Hmm.

And you?

I played my part.

Where's your father?

Out.

Gone. Somewhere. I don't know.

You gonna save me from finishing

what's left of this
bottle by myself or what?

You have no idea how hard
it is for me to sit back

and watch you suffer like this.

What are you talking about, Liv?

I know he's making you marry her.

This isn't... this
can't be what you want.

You're suffering.

I'm not suffering.

So I'm just a crazy person, then?

Is that it?

You don't really love her.

You don't really want to

spend the rest of your life with her.

You can't possibly
think that this is all

for better or for worse,

for richer or poorer.

Unless... un... Unless you do.

Unless Vanessa is who you want.

What you want.

Which makes me a crazy person.

Liv.

It's totally plausible.

Considering I just killed
someone in cold blood.

Good instinct and rash judgment...

Not really my strong suit at the moment.

Give me back my bourbon.

No, I think you've had enough.

If you can't be a man and admit it.

There's nothing to admit.

That this is all part
of my father's plan.

Liv.

That this is not just
about Vanessa's money.

This is much bigger than that.

Thank you for the nightcap.

I'm panicking right now. Okay, Jake.

Jake, Jake, just admit that
you don't really love her...

I don't really love her!

Hmm.

You really had me there.

The whole outof-your-mind-drunk act.

It's award-winning.

Tell me what's going on.

I swear, the games you
and your father play.

Tell me what is going on.

Your father is putting
me on Edison's ticket

in hopes of making me

Vice President of the United States.

Marrying Vanessa is
all part of the plan.

Increase my name recognition,
raise my profile.

She's the perfect political wife.

Perfect for somebody.

You can say no to him, Jake.

He only has power over
you if you allow him to.

There is a reason, Liv.

There is a reason why
no matter how often

I've found myself hating him
with every bone in my body,

I've only ended up right
back on his doorstep.

Look, at the end of the day,

all he's ever wanted
is what's best for us.

No.

You don't have to do this.

I'm not in love with Vanessa.

You know that. You've... felt that.

The truth of the matter is

that I'll never love anyone
as much as I love you.

You have never chosen me.

We've done horrible
things to one another.

But for some reason,

I still end up here.

In front of you.

Looking at you.

Wanting you.

In love with you.

You can't marry her.

What am I supposed to do?

You can't marry her.

Well, then tell me what
I'm supposed to do!

Goodnight, Jake.

Mm!

Good morning, Olivia.

Good morning, Dad.

Good morning, Jake.

Good morning.

Here. Sit down.

What can I get you to eat?

We have eggs, eggs,

eggs, and eggs.

Vanessa has Jake on the Paleo diet.

Oh, I didn't know.

Yeah. For the wedding.

Yeah, this is a dietary
fad that portrays

a fundamental misunderstanding
of the evolutionary process

and suggests a stasis
in the Pleistocene Era

that simply does not exist.

I could tell you more,
but the point is I'm having toast.

Would you like toast, Olivia?

- Sure.
- That's my girl.

- Yeah.
- Now.

As much as I would love to
stay and sit with you both,

I have to go and get fitted for my tux.

What now?

Are you still getting married?

Do you want me to get married?

My father, I...

I don't know how you
break away from him.

I don't know how I can
protect you from him.

Yeah, me neither.

Let's just eat.

Just sit with me.

Be with me.

Pretend like last night never ended.

- Mm.
- For a bit.

I can do that.

Leave us.

What did you think about in the hole?

Tell me about your place.

Everybody finds a place.

I've heard it all.

Old Little League games.

Warm beaches of Zanzibar.

The first woman who made
you feel like a man.

But then there are others, I guess.

Ones who find comfort
not in a happy memory

or some idyllic place
they dreamed of going.

There are ones who find
comfort in darkness.

Are you one of those, Jake?

Never been particularly forthcoming

in our weekly rundowns.

Always tight-lipped about your family.

I understand why.

Real scum.

If I had to share DNA with your father,

I'd loathe myself, too.

24 separate police reports

citing domestic abuse in your house.

Photos of your mother's
lip split wide open.

The time he punctured her lung

when he drove his fist through her ribs.

Tell me, did he rough her up

just because she had
the audacity to question

why he would leave their bed
in the middle of the night,

lay with your sister in her
bed while she was sleeping?!

Could you hear it?

From your room?

Could you hear your father

force himself on her from your own bed?

I have to be honest.

As sick as he is,
it's pretty disgusting to know

that you did nothing to stop him.

You allowed him to
destroy her for years!

What kind of 17-year-old boy,

on the precipice of becoming a man,

allows his sister to be raped
without doing a damn thing?

Is that where your mind
went to in the hole, Jake?

Those memories?

Did you allow them to
paralyze your mind and body

as if she were begging,
screaming for him

to stop!

In the next room?

When she hung herself from that tree

outside that shack of yours,

were you aware that she had
just aborted your nephew?

I'm sorry. Your little brother?

You want to hit me, son?

You want to do to me what
you didn't have the courage

to do to your father?

Then go ahead! Do it!

That won't change what happened.

There is... no... redemption here.

I am not him.

I will not hurt you.

I will protect you.

I am here...

for you, son.

Look at me.

He is not here.

I am.

I am your family.

I will...

take care of you.

Let him go.

That's right.

That's right.

I don't want to marry Vanessa.

I want to be with you.

Do you want to be with me?

Look, I can go to Vanessa's in
the morning and call it off.

No, that'll give my father eight hours

to blackmail you down the aisle,

which is eight hours
longer than he needs.

Maybe you should just go. Now.

Disappear into the night.

No, Rowan has your phones tapped,
your accounts tagged.

He'll find you by dawn.

Huck's right. We can't just run away.

We need to get you off my dad's hook.

If I haven't managed to shake
your father in 20 years,

I can't do it by 4:00 tomorrow.

Yes, you can.

If what he wants is to put
you on a presidential ticket,

then you have to jilt Vanessa

at the altar in front
of all of Washington.

It's kind of cruel, don't you think?

So cruel that your political prospects

going forward would be zero.

No one would dream of
putting you up for office.

Not even I can bring you back from that.

Then that's what we do.

I should go before
Rowan gets suspicious.

- I'll see you at the church?
- I'll see you at the church.

Are you sure you want to do this?

I want to be happy.

I'm ready to be happy.

Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.

Okay.

Your time has come.

Graduation day.

B613 beckons.

Oh.

There's nothing more I can do for you.

I've built you in my likeness
as I would my own son.

Thank you, sir.

I believe I'm ready.

It's the "believe"
portion that troubles me.

I am ready.

Are you?

To know if you are truly ready,
I must offer a choice.

A choice between freedom and sacrifice.

You can join my organization
with all the tools

I've equipped you with,
walk out that door,

and fulfill your destiny.

It will be difficult. It will be lonely.

It will push you to places
that will make you wish

your life had ended long ago.

But you will be great.

Or?

Mm.

Your record has been wiped clean.

You can return home

and live what you perceive
to be a normal life.

Take a 9:00 to 5:00.

Drink a couple of beers
with buddies after.

Rent videos on the weekend

with your wildly underwhelming wife.

Forget you ever met me.

Pretend that you have
exorcised all of your demons.

Son, I have prepared you for this life,

but I-I cannot make you want it.

So I have one very
simple question for you.

Do you... want this?

Or do you prefer normal?

Thank you, sir.

Truly.

For everything you've done.

The toughest ticket in
Washington this weekend?

No, not the Nationals
versus the Phillies.

It is the wedding of
NSA Chief Jake Ballard

and attorney/Washington
socialite Vanessa Moss.

The two are set to wed later today

in what many insiders are calling

the wedding of the decade
in the nation's capital.

- Hmm.
- Hmm.

When you break the news to Jake

that he's still going to marry Vanessa,

tell him that you've changed your mind.

I know what you're planning, Olivia.

He's throwing his life away for you.

You think this is
about me getting power.

See, unlike you, I've had power,
achieved greatness.

This is about Jake
finally stepping forward

and accepting his own greatness.

He doesn't want it. He never did.

If this wedding does not go forward,

I will slit Jake's throat.

If Jake learns that I was the one

that made you break
his heart, that, too,

will force me to slit his throat.

I will do that...

not because he's failed me.

I will do that because I love him.

Because he is the talent in this family.

And I would rather he
be dead than mediocre.

I've already... lost a daughter.

To hell if I will let
what happened to you

happen to my son.

Hmm.

A wedding...

or a funeral.

Choice is yours.

Jake.

Liv.

You here to wish me luck?

Before I go ahead and jilt
a perfectly lovely woman

in possibly the most public

and humiliating way ever conceived?

- I could really use...
- I can't do this.

What? You can't do what?

Be with you. I can't be with you.

I'm sorry.

What happened?

Nothing.

Did Rowan get to you?

No.

What did... What did
he do? What did he say?

This isn't him. This is me.

Well, we can fix this.

Jake, no. This can't be fixed.

- What happened?!
- What always happens.

I think I want something,

I think I want to be with you,
be normal, and...

You love me.

Jake, listen...

You love me.

I can't be with you!

It's not even just that I can't.

I don't want to.

So you should just be with her.

Marry Vanessa.

What happened to you?!
What the hell is going on?!

You're not good enough for me.

You're weak. You need me too much.

Need me to tell you what to
do and how to feel and...

You were never an option for me.

You're an escape.

Someone to toy with.

You're a yo-yo. A booty
call. A sidepiece.

And frankly it's embarrassing
that you still haven't realized,

after all this time,
that if we were together,

actually together,
I would tear right through you.

Destroy you.

You're scared.

Of what we have.

Of having... something real.

It's okay. No. You're wrong.

I'm not scared.

I may be horrible because
I'm abandoning you,

because I always abandon you.

But I'm not scared. Not the least bit.

You're wrong. And pathetic.

I could tell you five minutes from now

that I want to be with you,
that I want to save you.

You would crawl back to me.

Forgive me. Every single time.

Why are you doing this?

Do you honestly not know by now?

I'm in love with Fitz.

I don't love you, Jake.

I love him.

When I'm with you, all
I think about is him.

Fitz is who I choose.

He's who I will always choose.

You are just a lesser version of him.

A sad reminder of the
man I truly deserve.

If I couldn't make it work with him,

why the hell would you think
I could make it work with you?

Good luck becoming vice president, Jake.

You'll need it.

Liv? Everything okay?

Everything's fine.

What the hell are you doing...

Do you, Jacob Hamilton Ballard,

take Vanessa Rose Moss
to be your wedded wife

for better and for worse,
for richer or for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,
forsaking all others,

until you are parted by death?

I do.

Mr. President.

And now it is my pleasure
to introduce to you

for the first time,
Mr. and Mrs. Jake Ballard.

Welcome to B613.