‘Scandal’ Recap: Did Olivia Pope Just Go Over to the Dark Side?

At the beginning of the two-hour Scandal season finale, it seemed as though Olivia’s mom was coming after the new administration. They found evidence that made it clear she was planning something around Mellie’s inauguration.

So Jake tracked down Mama Pope and brought her in for questioning. But after Olivia lost it and almost choked her mom to death, they decided to let her go free. Olivia had found out that someone hired her mom, so she felt like letting her go was the best way to find out who hired her.

The plan seemed to backfire when Mama Pope took out a sniper and set her sights on Mellie at the inauguration. She called her daughter, who was sitting behind Mellie, to warn her to move before she took the shot. Olivia begged her mom not to, but her mom told her she was just protecting her. And it turned out Mama Pope was actually trying to save the day, until Papa Pope intervened and shot her.

The pieces started coming together in Olivia’s head as she realized her mom was trying to take out Luna Vargas, who was behind the whole thing! So Olivia paid Luna a friendly visit and told her she was going to die … right then. Luckily for Luna, Olivia gave her a choice. Jake could shoot her in the face and disgrace her name, or she could gracefully take some pills and die from a heart attack.

After Luna chose door No. 2, Olivia was ready to take command … literally. Olivia got funding to reinstitute B613!

So with the threat neutralized and Olivia in command, she found herself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with Cyrus, who accidentally revealed that he was the one who got Luna Vargas to do everything. While white hat Olivia would have sent Cyrus to prison for being behind the assassination attempt, this new, more sinister Olivia crowned him vice president. The season ended with Cyrus asking Olivia, “How does it feel to be the most powerful person in the world?” to which Olivia responded, “It feels right.”

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of Scandal for free on Yahoo View.

Check out ‘Scandal’ star Darby Stanchfield teasing ‘hot’ Season 6 finale:

Read more from Yahoo TV:

• ‘Scandal’ Finale Postmortem: Bellamy Young on Olivia Pope’s Big Move

• ‘Scandal’ Recap: The National Nightmare Comes to a Bloody End

• Emotional ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season Finale Bids Farewell to More Cast Members

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below.