Tonight, we flash to Elis past, in the days leading up to the election.
He sits in on a professors class, and feels like Eli isnt just class-crashing.
He went to grad school with this woman named Sandra who had a keen understanding of dinosaurs.
Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC
It all seems very vanilla, as youd expect from two academics with a shared love of bones.
But thats never been who Eli is, so it doesnt take long to see him come out.
Upon inspection, seems like Elis team cant find anything on his colleague.
Eli even goes to Olivias apartment to borrow an album so that he can inspect her place for cameras.
The search turns up nothing, though.
She admits that people came to her and threatened her life so that they could get him.
But this crowd is just as crazy as Eli.
Their lead man pulls out a gun and kills one of his own men.
And when Eli asks what their end game is, its simple Mellie Grant in the White House.
If Eli goes along with it, his friend Sandra lives.
If not, well, maybe everyone will die?
NEXT: What I did for love…
In all fairness, this whole plotline has been played out.
So instead, Eli turns to Sandra because they could just run away and pull an Olivia and Jake.
Olivia cant have Fitz, and she cant have Jake, and now Eli cant have Sandra.
So when he goes home and finds Sarah sitting on his couch, he knows things are dark.
And if he doesnt?
He might as well have killed Sandra.
Thats how the assassination plan begins.
From far away, Rowans hired man takes aim while near-president Mellie drinks champagne in the tub.
Its bold, even forScandal.
Eli escapes and his hired assassin helps him.
Eli returns back to base, where Sarah and team are waiting with a plan to frame Cyrus Beene.
That Jennifer Fields call?
All orchestrated by Eli.
The team lets Sandra go back to Eli, and theyre in love and ready to lock it down.
This finally pushes Eli to launch into a classic Papa Pope monologue.
The team says, Dont beat yourself.
Were better than you.
Thats when Eli says, You people, always thinking youre better than us.
Eli pulls out his gun and shoots Sandra in the head.
But if he thinks hes out of the woods, hes not.
So he killed Sandra for no reason, and Olivia is still on the line.
Eli openly denies killing Vargas, which is what leads him to use Olivia to frame Cyrus.
Survival of the fittest.
