Gladiators watched Huck and Quinn’s relationship deteriorate to a point of no return in torturing scenes of “YOLO” and “A Door Marked Exit” during Scandal’s Season 3 Winter Finale.
In fact, Huck permanently (in his mind) removed Quinn from Olivia Pope & Associates by striping away her Gladiator title and telling her to leave.
TVGuide.com caught up with Scandal’s Guillermo Diaz to find out what’s in store for ABC’s political fixer drama and The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Scandal’s Katie Lowes to preview what to expect from the final eight episodes of season 3, which returns tonight at 10/9c on ABC.
What kind of fallout might Huck face for torturing Quinn?
Katie Lowes: When we ended the midseason finale, Huck tells her she’s not a Gladiator anymore and strips her of all her OPA responsibilities. She feels like she can’t go back to work and like she’s not welcome there. So she runs into Charlie’s (George Newbern) arms not only because she does like him but she has nowhere else to go. The beginning of this first episode back, we’ll get a look into what that means for Quinn. What does that mean when she only has Charlie on her side and that’s her new identity? Where will she find a new home? Where will her new responsibilities lie, and what kind of Charlie-like jobs is she going to get herself involved with?
Huck kicked Quinn out of OPA! What is Huck and Olivia’s relationship like considering he did that without her consent?
Guillermo Diaz: It’s definitely going to be strained. There’s something off between them two. It’s the pink elephant in the room that they’re not really bringing up, but it’s still there. I don’t think Huck feels bad about what he did. I think he still feels justified in torturing Quinn because he feels that she betrayed Olivia and OPA. I think what he’s nervous about is that Olivia is pretty angry at him for torturing one of the family. Things are a bit off between Quinn, Huck and Olivia.
So Huck really has no regrets? He basically turned Quinn into this monster.
Diaz: I think he regrets showing her the darker side of what he does and how he does certain things to get information out of people with torture. I don’t think he thought that Quinn was going to be so, so good at what he was teaching her. He feels like she unraveled a bit and got out of hand. There was no self-control with her and that’s what scares Huck now.
What’s Quinn’s next goal? Does she want to be a part of B613?
Lowes: She does. Huck opened something within her that she can’t get anywhere else. Once Quinn tortured somebody and once she’s been tortured, that’s the world she lives in. She’s not going to feel that kind of risk and that kind of high in any other place of employment. She’s looking to Charlie to either help her get into B613 and help her on a job that maybe Cyrus would employ him on. Charlie is a free agent who goes wherever the money and the jobs are. Quinn is a more loyal character than that. Right now, she’s looking for anything. She wants to be employed and find her sense of purpose. Without Huck, she wants to find where she fits in. The girl has to pay her rent! It’s that simple. She has a very specific set of skills. Quinn is going to look for where to work, but she wants to find a more permanent home than be a free agent like Charlie.
At the same time, she’s putting all her faith in Charlie — who plays both sides and isn’t really trustworthy. He’s responsible for ruining her life.
Lowes: He is the one who put that syringe in her hand! I don’t think she’ll ever forget that. Quinn is aware that he’s playing both sides. But Quinn knows she has a bit of power over him. Charlie hasn’t had many relationships in his life and this is the closest he’ll ever get to one, even though it’s completely messed up. We don’t know who here is trustworthy or not, but this is the closest thing he’s ever had to responsibility for a relationship and somebody’s feelings and whereabouts. We’re going to get a lot more into that in these final eight episodes.
How real is Quinn’s romantic relationship with Charlie? Is she sleeping with him to use him? Might she be playing him?
Lowes: I think there’s definitely part of that. I think it’s both. There’s no easy answer. Quinn knows her power over Charlie comes from sleeping with him and making him feel invested in her sexually and personally, but I also think her eggs are all in that basket and she really needs him. She does likes him a bit because he’s the only person in her entire world right now who understands her needs and understands where she’s at. She can be 100 percent herself with him. It’s not like she’s dating a normal guy that she has to pretend that she’s not into torturing people, hacking and wanting to work for B613. I don’t know how a normal dude would really feel about that set of skills! But for Charlie, he’s super turned on by it! There is some sort of sick, twisted respect and feelings for each other. I think their sex life is probably a bit weird and kinky and this is closest they’re going to get to a relationship.
How would Huck feel if he learned that Quinn is close to Charlie (George Newbern)?
Diaz: I think he would feel betrayed. He wouldn’t feel good at all. He would think that she’s slumming and going with Charlie because she’s been turned away from OPA and she feels she needs to find love somewhere, and that’s the only place she could find it with this douchebag. It’s Charlie! It’s like two guys that are up against each other, so to find out that the girl he created is with this guy that Huck doesn’t like is going to mess with him somehow.
Will Huck actively take steps to find out what’s going on with Quinn or has he written her off completely?
Diaz: Huck will always have her on his mind and he’s always going to want to somehow protect her and hope that she’s safe. He wants to know what she’s up to because of what he’s taught her.
Jake, a former Gladiator, is working for B613. Could that give OPA — and Quinn — some pull with the group?
Lowes: You will definitely see that play out. Jake (Scott Foley) and Quinn have a history — we’ve had scenes together at OPA and they did play for the same team at one point. We’re going to see if Jake running B613 means, “Hey, come aboard and work with us!” or is if it’s going to be, “Absolutely not; you’re not ready for this or you don’t have what it takes.” And where does Olivia play into all this? Does she want Quinn to go with Jake or not? There are so many pieces to this puzzle — you’ll see how they all fit together.
What about Quinn and Olivia’s relationship? Huck effectively acted for Olivia in booting Quinn from OPA.
Lowes: Quinn feels that Olivia (Kerry Washington) is an extension of Huck. Huck is her protector and her guard dog. So if Huck is kicking her out of OPA, Quinn believes Olivia is kicking her out — unless Olivia shows up and does something about it, Quinn took that as, “Nobody wants me.”
Can Huck and Quinn come back from this? If they do work together again, how will their relationship have evolved.
Lowes: That question has been on my mind since we came back. Guillermo is one of my closest friends and one of my favorite actors to work with on the planet. I don’t know how you come back from that. But those questions are answered. You will see things, maybe not in the beginning, but they’re coming.
To read Guillermo Diaz’s full interview, visit TVGuide.com.
To read Katie Lowes’s full interview, visit TheHollywoodReporter.com.
All-new Scandal returns tonight at 10/9c on ABC.