Shonda Rhimes' mega-hit "Scandal," staring Kerry Washington, continues to blow fans away with rabid plot twists, fervent love affairs and indiscriminate acts of violence and betrayal.

Season 4 has proven to be relentlessly compelling, as it's already shown the aftermath of the deaths of Harrison Wright (Columbus Short) and Jerry Grant Jr. (Dylan Minnette), which was covertly orchestrated by Rowan "Eli" Pope (Joe Morton) but pinned on Jake Ballard (Scott Foley).

Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi), the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and Cyrus Beene's most recent saboteur (Jeff Perry), has also been introduced to viewers. North uses a male prostitute, played by Matthew Del Negro, to siphon information from Cyrus by playing on his weaknesses.

Additionally, the series shows Huck (Guillermo Diaz) continue to push for a connection with his family; Quinn Perkins/Lindsay Dwyer (Katie Lowes) has taken to her role as undeterred sleuth; and Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield) is now working in the White House and has been forced to deal with the whiny presidential pair Fitz and Mellie, and she also has to face potentially work alongside her abusive ex-husband (played by Charles Putney).

Two alums from the defunct ShondaLand series "Private Practice," Brian Benben and Paul Adelstein, will appear in the current season. And Khandi Alexander will return as Maya Pope in the fall finale of "Scandal," which will air on Nov. 20, 2014. The remaining 13 episodes of the series will air after the winter break, beginning on Jan. 29, 2015.

The seventh episode of the series "Baby Made a Mess" aired on Nov. 6, and it showed Olivia seek out Tom (who killed Jerry Jr.) for information, who wouldn't offer the information that she sought. Nonetheless, the episode ended with Tom being stabbed in the gut, which was a directive of Command.

On tonight's episode, "The Last Supper," Fitz and Jake continue to fight over Olivia, who wants to focus on dismembering command. Also, Cyrus' exploits catch up with him and viewers find out that Elizabeth North is much more influential than anyone thought.

The ABC series airs on Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. E.T.

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