Where in the world is Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington)? And who took her? After a couple month long hiatus, “Scandal” returned to ABC with some much needed answers. Unfortunately for Liv, things appear to be a lot more complicated than her normal problems.

Fans will remember that the winter finale ended with Liv getting kidnapped right before she was about to get it on with Jake (Scott Foley) on top of her piano. Episode 10, the Season 4 winter premiere, kicked off by showing viewers what happened when Jake left the room, and the frightening events that went down afterwards.

A masked man grabbed Liv and took her across the hall. Jake just missed the exchange, and realized something was wrong when he saw Liv’s wine all over the couch. He immediately ran out of the apartment and into the street to try to find her. Liv or the person who took her was nowhere to be found, but a car peeled out shortly after. Jake chased after the car and was able to get down the license plate number … unfortunately it was all a set up.

The kidnappers had set up camp at the apartment across from Liv. They were able to time the kidnapping thanks to security cameras they installed and planted the car in order to throw Jake off. When Jake left they shot Liv’s neighbor and snuck out of the building by pretending to be paramedics with a body bag. But before they got Liv out, she managed to leave a clue behind. She tucked her ring under her neighbor’s rug.

Liv was drugged and woke up in a cell with a man named Ian. She immediately tried to figure out her surroundings but couldn’t get to a window. However she did hear an Islamic call to prayer. She figured out that she was outside of the United States, but didn’t know where.

“We’re going to die, they’re going to kill us,” Ian told her. Ian was a journalist in Egypt when he was kidnapped. He revealed to Olivia that he was being held for $2 million ransom.

Olivia promised Ian that she’d save them. “How?” he asked her. “I’m Olivia Pope,” she responded before laughing.

Although the timing is unclear, Olivia began to bond with Ian. She had him check her back for a tracking device, hoping that her father planted one on her just like he did with her mother. Unfortunately there was no tracking device, but Liv promised Ian that someone was coming for them – the President of the United States. “He will not stop until he finds me,” she explained.

Liv eventually lost hope on Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and discovered that there was a small window in the bathroom. Using the wire from her bra, Liv managed to unhook the lock on the window. However her captors stopped her from escaping before she could get through. One of the kidnappers pulled a gun on Olivia, but she wasn’t frightened. She knew that they needed her alive and taunted them with that knowledge. They didn’t need Ian though. Her kidnappers took Ian and shot him outside the cell.

Olivia began to go a little crazy alone after Ian’s death. She hallucinated that Jake entered the cell with soldiers and rescued her. When she woke up, she was in bed at her dream Vermont house with Fitz. She envisioned her life in Vermont with jam and Fitz as mayor. But reality started knocking. Secret agent Tom (Brian Letscher) appeared and told Olivia that she “asked” him to come and that he was protecting the president from her. And he wasn’t the only guest appearance. Abby (Darby Stanchfield) also showed up and told Olivia that she has to rescue herself because no man is coming to save her. Before disappearing, Abby told Olivia that she dropped a ring-like object.

Olivia woke up from her dream and was still in a cell. With new motivation, Liv looked to try to escape through the bathroom window again. Unfortunately her captors sealed the window to prevent any future escape attempts. But Liv spotted something – the ring-like object from her dream. The object was keeping a pipe in place. Olivia removed the pipe and struck one of her captors with it. She took his gun and keys and made a run for the locked door.

Olivia was almost at the door when her second captor appeared. Although she held the gun, he didn’t think she was going to use it on him. Boy, was he wrong. Liv pulled the trigger and shot him in the head. Without losing another second, Olivia managed to unlock the three locks on the door and run towards freedom. However freedom wasn’t a busy international street.

In one of the most jaw dropping scenes in “Scandal” history it was revealed that Olivia was being kept locked up in a warehouse. Her captors set up a screen and sound system to make it seem like she was being held overseas. As for the man in charge? It was none other than her cellmate, Ian. He had faked his death.

“I told you there was no way out of here,” Ian told her. “Clever girl. Well done … You always have to save everyone.”

Ian added that Olivia gave him all the information he needed– Fitz loves her and won’t stop looking for her.

“I’ve got the goose that lays the golden eggs,” he told her before leading her back into her cell.

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