‘Scandal’ Finale Preview: Bellamy Young Says Mellie Will Find Strength ‘She Never Knew She Had’

“Everything must change.”

That’s how Scandal star Bellamy Young describes tonight’s season 6 finale, which sees the end of Fitz’s (Tony Goldwyn) presidency and the start of ex-wife Mellie’s. That is, of course, if she survives her inauguration.

Last week revealed that Olivia’s (Kerry Washington) mother, Maya Pope (Khandi Alexander), seemed to be behind the entire plot to assassinate Frankie Vargas and put Mellie in the White House. She’s been the puppeteer pulling the strings on Peus and Samantha. “The victory might be female,” says Young, “but the threat is also female.”

With the threat of getting assassinated herself, will Mellie even go through with this inauguration? “I think this last chapter leading up to her inauguration has really burned away the frivolity of her dream. She wanted to be president but she had such an unrealistic notion,” Young says. “Peus and Mystery Woman have made it blood-curdlingly clear at what price dreams like that are achieved.”

But Mellie’s presidency isn’t just her dream, Young noted. It’s a dream come true for women around the country. “She knows she has a higher mission,” says the actress. “As she faces this threat from Maya, I don’t know if she would be courageous enough to face it for selfish motivations. But I really do think that knowing it’s something that the country needs will embolden her to find the strength in herself that she never knew she had.”

As Young said, this finale ushers in many changes as Scandal goes into its seventh and final season. “This year is next level, because it’s the end of an administration. Literally everyone has to reinvent themselves. Everyone’s life will be different,” Young explains. “There’s so much to think about and worry about and hope for as we come into what will no doubt be a cataclysmic final season. I can’t wait to see how this whole story comes to an end.”

The Scandal season finale airs May 18 at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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