[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Thursday's "Blown Away" episode of Scandal.]
Another member of Olivia Pope & Associates is in deep trouble.
Following last week's shocking development that Huck was behind the assassination attempt on President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn), Thursday's midseason finale of Scandal revealed that the ex-CIA trailed killer wasn't the one who pulled the trigger.
Huck (Guillermo Diaz) reveals that it was his adorable girlfriend Becky (Susan Pourfar) who put the Gladiator in a Suit red hoodie in the hotel room from where the shots originated. After getting a panicked call from his AA comrade to meet him there, Huck walks in to see the gun fire round after round -- without an actual shooter present! -- and instinctively collects nearly all of the shells from the hotel room's floor and packs up the weapon before leaving the scene, instantly becoming the most wanted man in the nation.
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Fleeing to the one place he knows he's safe, Huck turns to Olivia Pope & Associates where Harrison demands Olivia (Kerry Washington) return from her work at the White House, where she's busy promoting the search for America's most wanted.
Not to be outdone, Hollis -- still fuming that Olivia and Verna (Debra Mooney) saved Quinn (Katie Lowes) and put him in the cross hairs -- tells vice president Sally Langston (Kate Burton) about the Supreme Court justice's terminal cancer. The information gives the politically ambitious Sally -- fuming that her candidate for the bench was sabotaged -- the opportunity to blackmail Verna and get her to roll over on Olivia's right-hand tech (and violence) whiz. The move lands Huck in the federal government's custody -- under the Patriot Act.
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Diaz to get the scoop on how Huck can escape facing treason charges, which allies he has left and for whom Becky, who he loves, would kill his "family."
The Hollywood Reporter: Huck was framed for treason!
Guillermo Diaz: Huck got framed -- by a chick! You see a little bit at the end of the episode after he finds his "family" where he's in Olivia's office and he's just zoning out. It's making him close up even more emotionally. If he was emotionally crippled before, he's even more emotionally crippled now and he'll probably have an even more difficult time trusting people, especially women or love interests who come into his life. Unfortunately, it's going to make him more closed up and unavailable.
THR: Will we see where Huck is taken by the Feds? He's taken into custody under the Patriot Act.
Diaz: Yeah! It doesn't necessarily mean prison or jail; it's the Patriot Act so they could do pretty much what ever they want with him. We'll see where they take him and he's going to be spending some time there. Huck is a tough guy and he worked for the CIA and he's done some crazy s--- to people and things have been done to him. In his mind, he's prepared for what ever is coming and he knows they're taking him away and he has to get ready for what ever is coming. He's a tough guy.
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THR: Could Olivia take on Huck's case even though it's a blatant conflict of interest considering she's still working for the White House?
Diaz: She knows he didn't do it and that Becky is involved and she framed him. She's not going to give up on him; she knows Huck is her guy and he's innocent and she'll do what ever she can to make sure people know it wasn't him. And if anybody can do it, it's Olivia and the gang -- they'll find a way even if Abby has to sleep with David again or what ever it takes! (laughs)
THR: How might Huck fare as a prisoner, if that's the route he goes? With his CIA background, might he see some familiar faces?
Diaz: He's going to be fine. If he does see some familiar faces, they're going to be a bit scared of Huck -- he's been through it and has a reputation within the CIA and the darker side of the government. The prisoners could beware of Huck coming into their circle for a short amount of time.
THR: Huck clearly still loves Becky. Will he continue to take the heat on this even though she set him up?
Diaz: Huck is still hung up on her but I don't think he's going to let her screw with him again. Huck is going to stay strong. It's going to be difficult for him but he's not going to let it happen again with her. She killed his "family"! This family represented what he doesn't have anymore in his life and he loved them like they were his real blood family that he grew up and she murdered them. That's pretty hardcore and I don't think he's going to forget that.
THR: Will anyone investigate the slain family or is Huck on the hook for that?
Diaz: It could go either way. I played it like Huck cleaned up that scene and got rid of all the bodies. This isn't part of what's in any script but this is what I used when I was playing it. It certainly could come up that they start investigating the family and what happened to them. Huck could possibly get pinned for that as well but who knows. There's so many other things that haven't been brought up, a lot could pop up again and you just never know when.
THR: Verna totally rolled over on Olivia to turn Huck in to save herself. Does Huck have any allies left right now within the secret circle who can help him?
Diaz: Maybe! (Laughs) Charlie (George Newbern) is definitely still around and looking for work and will kill anybody at the drop of the hat for some money. So that's always looming. There's some really crazy stuff coming up. Other than Olivia, he doesn't. Olivia is the only person who truly believes in him and will put herself out there to protect him and help. Olivia and the team -- David Rosen, Verna and those guy are a lost cause and I don't think they're going to help him at all.
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THR: Who is Becky is working for? It could be anybody: Charlie? Billy? Hollis? Sally?
Diaz: I've heard people say it could be Governor Reston (Tom Amandes) or Hollis; there are so many possibilities, which is cool and crazy at the same time. These are characters on the show that you don't necessarily expect to be hiring a trained killer to knock somebody off. We're always looking at each other like, "Oh my God! Your character is doing this?" It's exciting to be on the show right now because you don't know what your character is going to do.
THR: Will Huck spill the beans on all the things he has under his hat? He could be held accountable for a number of things including his role in the election rigging with Defiance.
Diaz: Huck is not going to say anything, he's trained for these situations. The only person he'll do something that he doesn't want to do for is Olivia. But he won't say anything to the government or the CIA.
THR: If he were to do that, would anyone believe him considering all the skeletons in his past?
Diaz: We remember in the early episodes how Huck's file reads like Helter Skelter and people know that this guy has done some pretty bad things so who knows if people will believe him if that were to happen.
THR: Even if he were to turn her in, how would they find her?!
Diaz:Who knows! Huck isn't even Huck's real name, but this is what he trained to do. He cracked Thorngate, so I have all the faith in the world in Huck finding who ever is responsible for the things that are going on. I believe that Huck will find them.
THR: As part of all this, will we get more back story about why Olivia took an interest in Huck in the first place?
Diaz: We keep doing flashbacks on the show and there's more coming up. Little by little you're going to keep getting these pieces of Huck and Olivia's relationship and where they came from and why she's taking him in and wants to stay connected with him. We'll keep getting snippets of their relationship and their past. It could flashback to any time, to even before Huck knew Olivia. There's definitely some stuff coming up that's going to tell a lot about their relationship and their past.
How do you think Huck will get out of this? Hit the comments with your thoughts. Scandal returns Jan. 10 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
