Source: Lesley Goldberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Warning: This story contains spoilers from the “Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington” episode of Scandal
Harrison’s (Columbus Short) job duties are expanding at OPA.
After the Gladiator served as the ringleader in helping to “fix” Olivia’s (Kerry Washington) public image after she was outed as the president’s mistress, Harrison stepped up to help keep the lights on at Olivia Pope & Associates by bringing in a new client. After taking on a client they don’t know much about, Harrison steps up again to help Olivia out of a risky situation, as Mary sought answers in a bid to clear her son’s name and mysterious death. After an hour filled with tension, it turns out her son was an American hero and CIA agent who recruited 57 people into a ring of undercover agents posing as terrorists working for the agency. Olivia, meanwhile, protects the undercover agents and tells Mary that her son was indeed a terrorist, vowing to protect her. Her efforts, however, aren’t enough, and Mary winds up shoving Olivia out of the office and blowing herself up.
After everything, it was Harrison’s eagle eye that helped OPA crack the case and reveal that the FBI agent was a fraud, helping Olivia get the real answers she was looking for. It ultimately helps save Olivia’s life, much to Mellie’s amusement. (Oh, how we love drunken Mellie’s ”Saint Olivia Pope” speech!)
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Short to preview how Harrison’s role with OPA will evolve going forward and get the details on his character’s mysterious backstory.
Harrison has really become Olivia’s right-hand man in this episode, middling between her and the FBI. How will we see Harrison’s role evolve going forward?
It’s going to continue to grow on the fertilizer that’s been set with what you’ve seen so far. You’ve begun to see his evolution with those big office talk moments last season to now, and really fitting into this right-hand man position and owning it. When he says, “Let’s get to work,” and the rest of OPA just looks at him, now they know that Harrison is a force to be reckoned with. If Olivia isn’t there, they trust Harrison to handle it and get it done. That’s what you’re going to start to see a lot more of as the season progresses.
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