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Confession: Unlike most “Scandal” die-hard fans, I haven’t been watching from the beginning. For months, I listened uninitiated as my friends described Thursday nights taken over by wine, popcorn and someone named Olivia Pope.

But then I got my wisdom teeth taken out (not by Huck) and I had some free time on my hands. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I watched one episode and I was hooked.

This week’s episode — Olivia’s insanely unbelievable predicament aside — brought me back to those first few episodes, thanks to some impressive gladiator work and an appearance from someone we haven’t seen since “Scandal’s” first season.

We knew going into tonight’s episode that as a result of a billion-dollar bidding war, Olivia had been sold to Iran. What we didn’t know was who was actually behind the bid. We also didn’t know that Olivia apparently speaks Farsi. That skill helped her outsmart both her buyers and her kidnappers and the sale fell through. Somehow, I don’t think that would have worked in a real-life scenario, but this is not real life. I repeat: this is not real life.

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[Last week’s episode recap: “Gladiators Don’t Run“]

Over at the White House, the mood lifted a bit when everyone learned that the deal fell through. Everyone, except for Abby, who didn’t have the security clearance necessary for Cyrus to share information about Liv’s status. Somehow, security clearance was no issue for Jake, Quinn or Huck, who learned that they’d have another chance to bring Liv home.

As Fitz and his team discussed the best way to extract Liv, who was back on the market, the CIA director again brought up her concerns, given Liv’s detailed knowledge of multiple national security matters. In the CIA’s eyes, Liv’s safety was outweighed by the potential risks to the nation. But Fitz was laser focused on getting Olivia home.

That was a disappointment to Cyrus, who had a pretty epic daydream about calling Fitz a moron and resigning. The monologue that ensued was a reminder to all who struggle with work-life balance. “You are all that I have to show for my life. I made you a warrior, I made you a king, I made you leader of men.” Oh Cy. In reality, Cyrus went behind Fitz’s back to the CIA director and told her he agreed that the only option was to “neutralize the asset.”

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When confronted by Abby, Cyrus was steadfast in his recommendation to kill Olivia, even as he acknowledged “she’s the godmother of my baby and my friend.” With friends like that, well, you know. Luckily, Abby is a different kind of friend — a gladiator! She went to OPA headquarters and learned that Marie Wallace (aka Huck, Quinn and Jake posing as an international terrorist) were outbid in the second auction. They had bid $2 billion only to be matched by a group out of St. Petersburg. Olivia’s kidnapper, Gus, named Russia the winner after he noticed that Liv was a wee bit enthusiastic about being sold to Marie.

Marie, er, Maya was the first person Jake went to for help. She offered a location in Canada, which turned out to be Papa Pope’s fishing spot. Papa Pope is really into fishing. To summarize: people always disappoint him, but fish are cool. Or something like that. Rowan wasn’t much help — after lambasting Jake for not being able to protect Olivia, he absolved himself of any responsibility, saying “I don’t have a daughter.”

Back in D.C., Huck was trying to keep his promise to Quinn — that he wouldn’t fly off the handle if Liv didn’t make it. For a minute there, I thought Jake was going to invite Huck to a B613 support group, where everyone discussed how to keep their beasts inside, but I digress. Huck promised there would be no blood and technically there wasn’t. Elizabeth North gave him an open invitation to torture VP Andrew and all he did was bind him in Saran wrap so he couldn’t move and administer a hearty dose of something to make him look like he had a stroke. It didn’t bring Olivia home, but it did clear the path for Mellie and her presidential aspirations. And maybe it will help Huck keep his inner beast locked up.

Ultimately, it was Abby who facilitated Olivia’s rescue. As Cyrus and the CIA watched the handover, Cy (and everyone watching) realized that the Russian looked familiar. It was Stephen Finch, long lost gladiator, who Abby learned (through a contact at Interpol) was working in St. Petersburg. Stephen, played by Henry Ian Cusick, left after the show’s first season and hadn’t resurfaced until now. After being handed over to Stephen, Olivia shot Gus so fast I could have missed it in between blinks.

Upon returning to D.C., Olivia had vivid flashbacks of her ordeal and struggled during an interview with the CIA director about whether she had given away any classified information. And when Jake, Huck and Quinn took her back to her apartment, Olivia opted to be left alone. In all fairness, I would probably want to be alone too if my friends welcomed me back like Huck did: “I was pretty sure somebody hacked you into pieces and burned your body. I’m really glad that’s not true.”

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Just as Olivia was putting multiple Huck-installed locks on her door, Fitz appeared. It was probably not the homecoming he envisioned. Olivia didn’t hold back as she chided him for going to war, effectively placing her safety over that of thousands of Americans. There was talk of sacrifice and being the best and Liv sounded a lot like … Rowan, Vermont references notwithstanding. When Fitz reminded her that he’d tried to give up everything to be with her, she countered that if he gave up the presidency, all the work that she and others had done to get him there would be in vain. Then she threw her ring at him.

Her parting words: “You didn’t save me! I’m on my own!” Well, not exactly. After all of this craziness, we’re all in this together. Once a gladiator, always a gladiator.

Lingering questions: Is Liv really going to go straight back to work? Because that’s what it looks like judging by next episode’s preview. How long before she and Fitz are back on? Is Andrew’s condition permanent? Also, what’s the deal with Olivia’s ring?

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