Scandal
White Hat's Off
TV Flash files “White Hat's Off” as a desk essential hour — Scandal (2012–2018) on ABC, season 2, episode 1, aired 2012-09-27, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E01: listed hour 8 of 124 in the Scandal guide, first listed hour of season 2. It aired 2012-09-27 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Grant: For the People” (S01E07). Next is “The Other Woman” (S02E02).
Essential hour: “White Hat's Off”. White Hat's Off makes the brand the title: gladiators, soapy twists, the hat coming off as the season's promise.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Quinn's identity is finally revealed, and the more the Pope & Associates team learn about her past, the more they realize she could be their biggest scandal yet. Meanwhile, a senator seeks Olivia's help when his personal life is about to become a public disgrace, and President Fitz is stuck between a rock and hard place when Mellie and Cyrus put him in a very compromising position during a live television interview.
Viewer FAQ
Where does White Hat's Off sit in the Scandal guide?
S02E01 is listed hour 8 of 124 — first listed hour of season 2, season 2 episode 1.
When did Scandal S02E01 air?
White Hat's Off aired 2012-09-27 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Season one, white hat on. The gladiators and the D.C. romance operatics are the engine from the jump; later years stack twists rather than reboot.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Olivia Pope and her gladiators clean up D.C. disasters she half-created — white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center of network drama in a way primetime had not sustained for decades. Seven seasons of #TGIT fixer chic. Political pulp as Thursday religion, representation stakes included, subtlety optional.
April 5, 2012, ABC Thursday: a white hat walks into a disaster she half-created. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope at the center of network drama in a way primetime had not sustained for decades. Gladiators, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Tony Goldwyn's president, Jeff Perry's Cyrus, Columbus Short, Darby Stanchfield, the firm keeping the pulp operatic. Political soap meets romance at full velocity. Max will call #TGIT a social chart. **It was appointment television with a hat.**
Filed against
- Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope made Scandal a Thursday national sport — Shonda Rhimes fixer chic, white hats, soapy twists, a Black woman at the center of network drama primetime had not sustained for decades. Seven seasons of #TGIT. TV…
- Tony Goldwyn as President Fitzgerald Grant
Tony Goldwyn’s President Fitzgerald Grant made Scandal’s White House a romance and a crisis at once — Olivia Pope’s gladiators, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center of…
- Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
Columbus Short played Harrison Wright on Scandal — Olivia Pope and her gladiators cleaning up D.C. disasters she half-created, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes putting Kerry Washington at the center of…
- Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan
Darby Stanchfield’s Abby Whelan worked Scandal as Olivia Pope’s gladiator with a reporter’s leftover nerve — white hats, soapy D.C. twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put Kerry Washington at the center; Stanchfield is the…
- Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins
Katie Lowes's Quinn Perkins worked Scandal's gladiator shop from the inside — Shonda Rhimes #TGIT fixer chic, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Seven seasons of D.C. disasters Olivia Pope half-created. TV Flash files…
- Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene
Jeff Perry’s Cyrus Beene worked Scandal like a gladiator in a gray suit — Olivia Pope’s D.C. disasters, white hats, soapy twists, live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes putting Kerry Washington at the center of network drama. TV Flash…