'Scandal' Season 5 Spoilers: Olivia Pope Is A 'Different Woman' When Show Returns, Kerry Washington Reveals

By Jackie Villegas, Christian Post Contributor Monday, January 11, 2016

Following her shocking abortion and departure from the White House in the "Scandal" winter finale, Washington D.C. crisis manager and former 'First Girlfriend' Olivia Pope returns to the small screen "a different woman," Kerry Washington, who plays Pope in the popular political thriller, has revealed.

"She's definitely changed," Washington told Entertainment Weekly at the Television Critics Association's press tour where she promoted "Confirmation," her new film. "What happened at the end of the winter finale is a huge decision for her, and she's a different woman because of it," she added.

Washington's character, Pope, had been carrying on a tumultuous secret affair with Fitz aka President Fitzgerald Grant III (Tony Goldwyn) for several seasons before the two eventually went public with their romantic relationship. Pope then moved into the White House and assumed the responsibilities that a First Lady would have carried out.

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Sadly, the public pressure on the couple and Fitz's expectations on Pope as his consort led the former White House Director of Communications and the President to split up, with Pope leaving 1600 Penn trailed by porters bearing her suitcases.

The same Entertainment Weekly article says "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes also weighed in on Season 5B, saying, "We have had a really interesting time over at 'Scandal' with the stories that we're telling." She added: "We really went full White House for the first half of the season. The people that you're coming back to for the second half of the season have been fundamentally changed forever when we come back to them."

Rhimes also said that how the characters have evolved is exactly how she had hoped they would grow, and that she is very excited about what's coming for all of them.

Meanwhile, the new promo for the return of ABC hit shows "Scandal," "Grey's Anatomy," and "How to Get Away with Murder" reveals former First Lady and current U.S. senator Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) as a new client of Olivia Pope & Associates, Pope's crisis management company.

"Scandal" continues its fifth season on Thursday, Feb. 11, on ABC.