Tense US political thriller, Scandal, was back on American screens on Thursday night after an explosive season 3, figuratively and, of course, literally. And, while there may have been too many plot twists, storyline turns and character revelations for the average viewer to comprehend, we’ve got five refresher points that even the keenest watcher may want to scan over before embarking on the next season.

Scandal
Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope in the hit US political thriller, Scandal

Fitz won the election but lost his son

Mr President has successfully achieved a second term but it’s come at a hefty price. His son, Jerry, was infected with bacterial meningitis and stolen from the CDC during the campaign trail. So, what has he got to lose as President now? Nothing and it could be this that leads to him and Cyrus making some strikingly radial political decisions. But, with Porta Di Rossi’s character lined up as a big Washington power player for the Republican Party they may find themselves up against more than they bargained for.

Mama Pope was blamed for Jerry’s death but it was actually Papa Pope’s fault

Rowan Pope took out Jerry as an act of vengeance on the President as he believes Fitz took away his daughter. With the help of double secret service agent, Tom, it seems Rowan has successfully got away with it and helpfully pinned the blame on his daughter’s terrorist mother, Maya. Not only that, but his character doesn’t think he needs to worry about his heinous crime. Actor Joe Morton said: "The great thing about Rowan is he’s a great chess player. If you play really good chess, you not only set up what it is you’re after, but you set up all of the things that give you an escape and give you another avenue to attack."

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Harrison knows

Harrison was the only one to figure out the truth about Jerry’s death and Rowan’s part in the evil act. The last thing that audiences saw of Harrison was him in a particularly sticky situation on the wrong end of a gun. Will he really be dead in season 4? Probably as it’s Scandal by name and also Scandal by nature.

Olivia and Jake have left Washington

Olivia’s love interest finally pestered her enough to get her to agree to fly off into the sunset with him. She quit her company and he gave Fitz a bundle of confidential files to beat the bad guys before leaving B613 and they ran off to an undisclosed location. But will they stay away or will Olivia’s undeniable skills as a political fixer drag her back to where she rightly belongs?

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James has been murdered

Perhaps our favourite heroine shouldn’t stay alone with Jake for very long, what with him being the murderer of James and all. Cyrus is now a single dad in mourning and on a mission with POTUS to shake up the White House. But will Fitz’s Chief of Staff start to move in this season? And do we want him to?