This week's episode of "Scandal," titled 'Gladiators Don't Run', began with all the character working as a team to recover their most valuable player, Olivia Pope.

At the end of last week, Olivia had orchestrated her pseudo-freedom by masterminding her auction on the black market to the highest bidder. Her kidnappers severed contacts with the Vice President and took control of the terrorist operation at Olivia's suggestion.

On the jet to their next location, Olivia is back to her trademark image of strength and self-assurance. She is confident that her new plan will help her friends find and liberate her.

Back at the White House, the President makes moves to clean house. He begins by surrounding himself with a new Secret Service staff, and then moves to fire the Vice President. He shortly finds out that the Vice President has no intention of going quietly.

As Cy gets to work solving the Vice President problem, Mellie discloses to Fitz that she plans to run for President when he's completed his term. If he is fired, Andrew has threatened to expose his affair with Mellie. The trio has no choice but to find another way 'to handle' the Vice President.

Olivia's gladiators are struggling without their leader, and the strain is shown most prominently in Huck's decent into madness. The episode is filled with his wild eye ranting about Olivia's impending doom.

He focuses on her dissected body being returned piece by piece. The most violent scene of the episode was Huck's brutal murder and dismemberment of the drug traffickers, leading Jack to ask, "What would Liv say if she saw you right now?"

The episode only got more intense when bidding was cut off in the Olivia Pope auction. Olivia was sold to Iran, and the CIA wants to "neutralize the asset", AKA Olivia Pope.

Fans will have to tune in next week to find out what Olivia's new "owners" have in store for her.