| "Gladiators Don't Run" | |
|---|---|
| Scandal episode | |
 Maya Lewis helping Jake, Huck and Quinn bid on the auction of Olivia. | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Randy Zisk |
| Written by | Paul Williams Davies |
| Featured music | "Think" |
| Original air date | February 12, 2015 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Gladiators Don't Run" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Scandal , and is the 59th overall episode. It aired on February 12, 2015, in the U.S. on ABC. [1]
The auction for Olivia Pope starts on the free market and everyone tries to get access to the event. Fitz and the White House try to get access, but in order to do that, they must collaborate with terrorists. Jake, Quinn and Huck also try to access the auction, but they struggle to get an invitation.
Fitz tries to make Andrew resign as Vice President, but he refuses – leading Cyrus to take matters into his own hands. As such, Cyrus blackmails Elizabeth to testify against Andrew to prove the assassination of the Vice President was staged. Andrew confronts Mellie, threatening her to reveal their affair to the press if he gets arrested. This makes Mellie ask Fitz to make Andrew resign instead of arresting him after revealing her plans to run as President after Fitz's term ends, and this chance will be damaged if her affair with Andrew becomes public. Fitz accepts Mellie's request.
Jake, Quinn and Huck ask Maya Lewis for help to get an invitation to the auction as they need an international terrorist to which she agrees after they accept her demands – much to David's dismay. She tells Jake and Huck to meet a drug trafficker named Gustavo Paneida, whom she believes can help them get access. However, it is only some guards who she orders Huck to kill for payment to Gustavo. When Jake arrives to the scene, he is shocked by Huck's raged way of killing the men and his behavior. He confronts Quinn about Huck's behavior, worrying about him not coming to go back to normal.
Abby gets suspicious about Liv's absence after Olivia's not returning her phone calls, and after checking her apartment she confronts Huck and Quinn but they refuse to inform her. Abby begins to get distracted from her work, which Fitz notices and informs her about Olivia's kidnapping. She confronts David and expresses her anger at him for not telling her about her best friend being kidnapped.
Ian calls Andrew to tell him that he was selling Olivia on the free market. After promising Olivia to choose for herself who she will be bought by, one of the kidnappers named Gus kills Ian just before the auction begins. Olivia tries to convince the other two kidnappers to let her go free before Gus kills them, but they refuse. Gus sells Olivia to an outside buyer, Iran, much to Olivia's dismay. Huck manages to access the auction, but just at the moment when Liv is bought. He begins to talk about what the buyer is going to do to Olivia to control Fitz and the United States, which angers Quinn into attacking him after realizing how damaged Huck has become. Fitz is informed about the purchase and is angry at the directors to refuse to rescue Olivia. Gus and the other kidnappers deliver Olivia to her purchasers.
The episode was written by Paul Williams Davies and directed by Randy Zisk. [2] The episode featured the song "Think" by Aretha Franklin. The episode focuses on the auction for Olivia Pope on the open market as well as the White House and Huck, Jake and Quinn trying to participate in the auction.
Scouting for the episode began on December 4, 2014. [3] The table read was on January 5, 2015. [4] The episode was formerly named "Full Circle" but was changed to "Gladiators Don't Run" for unknown reasons. [5] Showrunner Shonda Rhimes explained on Twitter that the twelfth and thirteenth episodes was one extended episode and was therefore divided into two episodes. [6]
"Gladiators Don't Run" was originally broadcast on Thursday, February 12, 2015 in the United States on ABC. The episode's total viewership was 9.32 million, [7] marking a season low as the same with the sixth episode "An Innocent Man". The episode was up 13 percent from its comparable telecast from last year. [8] In the key 18-49 demographic, the episode scored a 3.1/10 in Nielsen ratings, [7] up 11 percent from last year. [8] It was the top TV show in the 9:00 p.m. slot, beating The Blacklist with 82 percent, Two and a Half Men with 63 percent and Backstrom with 138 percent. [8]
The episode's ratings was down from the previous episode, with a 0.26 decrease in total viewers from last episode, and one tenth decrease to the installment's 3.2 Nielsen rating in the target 18–49 demographic. [7] The Nielsen score additionally registered the show as the week's third-highest rated drama and third-highest rated scripted series in the 18–49 demographic, only behind Fox's Empire and ABC's Modern Family . [9] Seven days of time-shifted viewing added on an additional 1.6 rating points in the 18–49 demographic and 3.91 million viewers, bringing the total viewership for the episode to 13.24 million viewers with a 4.7 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic. [10]
Scandal is an American political thriller television series starring Kerry Washington. Created by Shonda Rhimes, it aired on ABC from April 5, 2012, until April 19, 2018, for 124 episodes over seven seasons. Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope, is partially based on former George H. W. Bush administration press aide Judy Smith, who serves as a co-executive producer.
The third season of the American television drama series Scandal, created by Shonda Rhimes, began on October 3, 2013, in the United States, on ABC, and consisted of 18 episodes. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with ShondaLand Production Company; the showrunner being Shonda Rhimes.
"Everything's Coming Up Mellie" is the seventh episode of the third season of Scandal. It premiered on November 14, 2013, in the U.S.
"Say Hello to My Little Friend" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television series Scandal. It premiered on October 24, 2013 on ABC. The episode was the first to feature Lisa Kudrow as Josie Marcus, a role which had been teased in the summer before the third season premiered.
"A Door Marked Exit" is the tenth episode and the winter finale of the 3rd season of Scandal, and is the 38th overall episode. It premiered on December 12, 2013 in the U.S.
"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American television series Scandal. It premiered on February 14, 2013 on ABC. The episode marks the beginning of the 9 episode arc of the second half of Scandal which operated independently from the first half of the season.
The fourth season of the American television drama series Scandal began airing on September 25, 2014, in the United States on ABC and consists of 22 episodes. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with ShondaLand Production Company; the showrunner being Shonda Rhimes. On May 7, 2015, ABC announced that Scandal had been renewed for a fifth season.
"Randy, Red, Superfreak and Julia" is the season premiere of the 4th season of Scandal, and is the 48th overall episode. It premiered on September 25, 2014 in the U.S. on ABC.
"The Price of Free and Fair Elections" is the 18th episode and season finale of the third season of the American political thriller television series Scandal, and is the 47th overall episode. It aired on April 17, 2014 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes and executive producer Mark Wilding and directed by executive producer Tom Verica. The season finale was originally supposed to be the 22nd episode, but because of the show's lead Kerry Washington's pregnancy, the episode count was trimmed by ABC by four episodes, leading the season finale to be the 18th episode.
"Where the Sun Don't Shine" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of Scandal, and is the 56th overall episode, serving as the mid-season finale. It aired on November 20, 2014, in the U.S. on ABC.
"Run" is the tenth episode, serving as a mid-season premiere of the fourth season of the American political thriller television series Scandal, and is the 57th overall episode, which aired on ABC on January 29, 2015. The episode was written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes and directed by executive producer Tom Verica. The episode serves as a bottle episode, in which the episode focuses solely on Olivia's kidnapping and her captivity in a jail cell, which she shares with a cellmate named Ian McLeod. The episode features the fewest series regulars of any episode of the series, with only four regulars appearing: Olivia Pope, Jake Ballard, President Fitzgerald "Fitz" Grant lll and Abby Whelan.
"Where's the Black Lady?" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Scandal, and is the 58th overall episode. It aired on February 5, 2015, in the U.S. on ABC.
Quinn Perkins, formerly Lindsay Dwyer, is a fictional character portrayed by Katie Lowes and created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series Scandal. At the beginning of the series, she is recruited to work for Olivia Pope in the Washington, D.C.-based crisis management-firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), that specializes in "fixing" political situations and scandals.
"No More Blood" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Scandal, and is the 60th overall episode. It aired on February 19, 2015, in the U.S. on ABC.
"Sweet Baby" is the pilot episode of the American political thriller television series Scandal, which aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on April 5, 2012. The episode was written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes and directed by Paul McGuigan. The episode introduces main character Olivia Pope, a crisis manager with her own firm, Olivia Pope & Associates, and its staff Stephen Finch, Harrison Wright, Abigail "Abby" Whelan, Huck and newly hired Quinn Perkins. Other main cast members include the staff at the White House in Washington D.C., President Fitzgerald "Fitz" Thomas Grant III, and White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene.
"Heavy Is the Head" is the season premiere of the fifth season of the American political thriller television series Scandal, and the 70th episode overall. It aired on September 24, 2015, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The episode was written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes and directed by executive producer Tom Verica. The episode focuses on the newly mended relationship with Olivia and Fitz, in addition to the scandal in which the Princess of Caledonia is killed and Olivia is hired to make sure the Royal family's private life stays private.
"Dog-Whistle Politics" is the fourth episode of the fifth season, and the 73rd overall of the American political thriller television series Scandal. It aired on October 15, 2015 on American Broadcasting accompany (ABC) in the United States. The episode was written by Mark Fish and directed by Zetna Fuentes.
"Transfer of Power" is the sixteenth episode and the season finale of the sixth season of ABC's political thriller series Scandal, which premiered alongside the previous episode in the United States on May 18, 2017. The 106th episode overall of the series, it was directed by Tony Goldwyn and written by Matt Byrne and Mark Fish. The installment received mixed reviews from television criticism and was watched by 5.23 million Americans.
"Over a Cliff" is the series finale of the American political drama television series Scandal. It premiered in the United States on April 19, 2018 on ABC. The eighteenth episode of the seventh season and the 124th episode overall, it was directed by Tom Verica and written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes. According to Nielsen Media Research, it was watched by 5.46 million Americans, acquiring a 1.3/5 rating/share in the 18–49 age range demographic.