Who shot Fitz? That's the question on every Scandal viewer's mind after the president was critically injured during what appears to be an assassination attempt on his life in the closing moments of the episode.
"On our show, anything is possible," star Kerry Washington tells The Hollywood Reporter.
While the theories range from the obvious -- Huck's (Guillermo Diaz) nemesis Charlie (George Newbern) seems to be the clear consensus -- Washington says she's heard the first lady's name come up frequently considering Mellie's sudden about-face in the limo to the birthday bash she forced on Fitz (Tony Goldwyn). Also still a question: is Billy (Matt Letscher) -- the vice president's former chief of staff who exposed Fitz's "relationship" with Amanda Tanner in season one -- connected to the shooting?
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"I had that same question! I'm not sure, that's still a question for me," Washington enthuses.
Whether either Charlie, Billy or Mellie are ultimately involved remains anyone's guess as Washington says the cast is still learning details about who their characters are in the present day -- and who they were in the past.
"A lot of us have had ideas about who our characters are and we are even being challenged by the writing," she says. "What's amazing is not only do you not know what your character might do in the future, we're discovering things our characters have done in the past because of the way the show goes into flashbacks. We're still learning the lengths that we would each go for power."
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To that end, Thursday's "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" episode will flashback to the early days of Fitz's presidency, revealing more about the scandalous couple.
"We see some very personal memories and flashback to the first days of the presidency, including the inauguration," she previews. "You get to see what it's like in the early days. You'll see how the struggles that we saw from them on the campaign and how those evolve once he's president. You get to know all these characters on a different level and you learn more about their past and how they become who they are."
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Because who shot Fitz is not the only mystery circulating on the ABC sophomore political fixer drama, Washington notes that the theories about who the father of Mellie's (Bellamy Young) unborn baby is are equally amusing.
"Some think it's Hollis (Gregg Henry), some think it's Morris (Troy Winbush) the guy at the White House security gate, some people think it's Hal (Stoney Westmoreland), the guy who tells on Fitz and Liv," Washington says with a laugh. "Then others think Fitz is actually the father."
Either way, Washington is looking forward to the cast's weekly #AskScandal Twitter session. "We can't wait to be on Twitter this week during the episode when people do find out. We're looking forward to seeing their responses!"
Scandal airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. Hit the comments with your theories.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
