Sweet Baby

"Sweet Baby" is the pilot episode of the American political thriller television series Scandal, which aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on April 5, 2012. The episode was written by showrunner Shonda Rhimes and directed by Paul McGuigan. The episode introduces main character Olivia Pope, a crisis manager with her own firm, Olivia Pope & Associates, and its staff Stephen Finch, Harrison Wright, Abigail "Abby" Whelan, Huck and newly hired Quinn Perkins. Other main cast members include the staff at the White House in Washington D.C., President Fitzgerald "Fitz" Thomas Grant III, and White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene. The episode was watched by an audience of 7.33 million, and received positive reviews from television critics. Plot Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) comes to what she believes to be a blind date, only to find herself being interviewed by Harrison Wright (Columbus Short) for a job at Olivia Pope & Associates, a job that she's dreamed about for a while. At the same time, Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick) work on getting a Russian Ambassador's baby back from kidnappers, which Olivia successfully manages to do. Harrison takes Quinn to the office of OPA where she meets the other staff of the firm: Huck (Guillermo Diaz) and Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield). Just as they are all about to leave, Lieutenant Sully St James comes in pleading for help as his girlfriend has just been murdered; then Olivia gets a call from Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) because a woman named Amanda Tanner (Liza Weil) has been saying that she has been sleeping with the president and he requests her help. After Olivia talks to, and indirectly threatens, Amanda, Quinn questions if she wants the job. Olivia goes to David Rosen asking for 36 hours so they can clear Sully's name; As the clock ticks down, Abby and Stephen look for concrete evidence of Sully's alibi, eventually finding a security camera that reveals Sully kissing another man. Sully refuses to admit that he is gay, as he is both a military officer and a conservative; Quinn convinces Olivia that Amanda isn't lying as the president called her 'Sweet Baby', the same name he used for Olivia. Olivia goes to the Oval Office to confront Fitz about Amanda where Fitz confesses his love for Olivia. Olivia persuades Sully to admit his homosexuality by telling him he can't change who he is and he shouldn't be ashamed of that, and then accepts Amanda as her new client.