Kerry Washington dominates “Scandal” as a politcal fixer. (Richard Cartwright/AP)

By Caroline Kane

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Lace up your sandals, Gladiators, because Olivia Pope is back.

Let’s recap what we were left with at the end of Season 3: Mr. Pope had Harrison and Jerry Grant killed to guarantee that Fitz would win the presidential election. Huck and Quinn got cozy right before Quinn gave him the whereabouts of his old family. And Olivia and Jake left town on a jet. So now Olivia is back, lured to town by Quinn’s anonymously-sent clippings of Harrison’s obituary. If one thing is certain about Olivia’s return, it is that everything has fallen apart without her.

This season premiere did not disappoint. Writer Shonda Rhimes did a fantastic job of tying up some loose ends, while still leaving unanswered questions for episodes to come. In the hour show, we witness Eli Pope deny killing Harrison, David Rosen blackmail his way into the attorney general position, Mellie officially not care about anyone’s opinion and Fitz fire his entire cabinet in a fit of rage. The episode ends with Olivia dramatically walking past Fitz in a hallway, which leaves us wondering what will become of the beloved ex-couple.

In Episode 2, Olivia is forced to represent a client who will win support for Fitz’s gun-control bill, which confirms that Olivia is in fact here to stay. Among other drama, Olivia and Fitz share a moment at the end of the episode that reassures us that their chemistry is still present. Fitz’s State of the Union address has us all swooning and questioning, among other things, whether we are Team Fitz or Team Jake. For now, we rejoice over Olivia’s homecoming and have an entire season to make up our minds.

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Caroline Kane is a Contributing Writer for The Fordham Ram.