‘Scandal:’ 5 questions as Season 3 returns

OK, bad news first: Olivia Pope’s cavernous wine glasses are on back-order at Crate & Barrel.

The good news is that “Scandal” returns Thursday night!

Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on

Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on “Scandal.” (ABC/DANNY FELD)

In anticipation of reuniting with our favorite Gladiators, here’s a look at what to watch for as Season 3 starts back up. If you haven’t had a chance to binge-watch the first half of the season, don’t read any further — spoilers abound.

What is Olivia’s mother up to?

We know that Maya managed to escape from her Hong Kong-bound plane, which was later located in Mongolia. By the end of the winter finale, Maya appeared to be in front of the White House, where she paused to call her daughter and deliver this cliffhanger of a promise: “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll see you real soon.”

That’s not exactly comforting, considering that Maya, with her terrorist-abetting past, is starting to look more dangerous than her husband.

And speaking of Rowan…

How will Rowan try to get back at the helm of B613?

Joe Morton, left, and Tony Goldwyn, in a scene from the TV series,

Rowan and Fitz. (AP Photo/ABC, Randy Holmes)

How is the key word here because I don’t believe for one second that Papa Pope is going to sit idly by as Jake assumes control over B613 (nor that he’ll take the program’s aptitude test as Jake snidely suggested). It’s more likely that Rowan will go toe-to-toe with Fitz and Jake, who appear to have put aside their love triangle-related differences. No word on whether that alliance will last, since both Jake and Fitz professed their love for Olivia in the most recent episode. I’m not buying Jake’s “goodbye” to Olivia, either. That word means nothing when it comes to Liv and her love interests.

In an interview with The Reliable Source, Joe Morton, who portrays Rowan on the series, hinted that his character may become a bit nicer … at least in comparison to others (et tu, Maya?).  ”I think you’re going to find out in the rest of Season 3 that the scariness kind of gets spread around to different people,” he told The Post’s Helena Andrews and JulieAnn McKellog.

Will James help David Rosen take down Sally Langston (and Cyrus in the process)?

When we last saw the vice president, she was unraveling, clearly haunted by her murderous actions. But her conscience is the least of her worries. David Rosen initially dismissed James’s assertion that Sally or Cyrus may have had something to do with Daniel Douglas’s death, but now he’s got cold, hard proof, thanks to a programmer with ties to the NSA.

Anyone who watches “Scandal” is familiar with James’s — however wayward — ambition. Now that Cyrus has granted his demand to be White House Press Secretary (because that’s the kind of thing that can just, you know, happen), will he be willing to disturb the peace by looking into the shadiness surrounding Daniel Douglas’s demise? If the sneak peek below is any indication, he may have no choice.

Is Quinn still a Gladiator?

It’s hard to tell whose side Quinn is on these days. She did make an attempt to return to Pope & Associates during the winter finale, but ran back to Charlie after Huck made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. It’s unlikely that Quinn is actually in love with Charlie, though he seems to melt around her. Now that Rowan is out as head of B613, it’s hard to imagine Charlie throwing his support behind Jake. My theory is that they don’t call Quinn Baby Huck for nothing. The girl has to have a plan and if I’m betting correctly, it will be to do something so deliciously evil (something that helps Olivia, mind you) that Huck will be forced to welcome her back into the fold.

We’re finally going to learn more about Harrison, right? Right?!

Harrison’s fuzzy back story is a point of (good-spirited) contention among “Scandal” fans because…Columbus Short, hello. We did start learning more about Olivia’s most loyal gladiator in Season 3. Fans have theorized that Harrison is in love with Olivia, but there’s also speculation that the two could be related, an idea that yielded the nickname “Brolivia Pope.” We know that Olivia rescued Harrison from a long-term prison sentence and that Harrison’s evasion of said prison sentence made him the arch nemesis of his former insider trading partner, Adnan Salif. So far, Adnan Salif has been a distant (read: overseas) worry for Harrison, but thanks to some strategic work on Cyrus’s part, it looks like that will be changing very soon.

Bonus question: Will Olivia and Mellie be BFFs?

(KIDDING.)

“Scandal” returns Thursday, February 27 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

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