If Fitz Dies, How Can 'Scandal' Continue?

Something explosive is coming on Scandal (yes, pun intended). When we last left Olivia Pope & Associates, they shut down B613 while Charlie and Quinn were tailing Mama Pope and Adnan Salif under Jake's orders. The two had just received a bomb and disappeared, leaving Jake furious enough to rush down to the Gladiators, grab Olivia by the throat and proclaim that they had "just killed the President." It looks we're headed towards an episode that could see the death of Fitzgerald Grant which has me thinking, what could the show do to survive killing off a character that has been so essential since day one? There are a few directions Scandal could explore:

Mellie & Olivia Become BFF (Best Friends For-Some-Occasions)

After the loss of Fitz, Mellie bonds (A BIT) with Olivia. Considering she has her own political aspirations and desires, she convinces the Republican party to let her run in her husband's place and asks Olivia to be her campaign manager. She wins and keeps Cyrus on as her Chief of Staff to, you know, keep it in the family.

The Worst Happens

With Fitz gone, VP Sally Langston become the sitting President. The idea of Sally as the next POTUS becomes easier for more people to swallow and she wins the election as an Independent. Cyrus is out of a job, Olivia is no longer welcome at The White House, and the gang must come up with a way to take Sally down without revealing Cyrus' interference after Sally killed her husband. Eli, aka Papa Pope, secretly puts together a new B613-esque organization under Sally's regime, thereby proving this whole "helping Olivia take down the bad guys" mentality was just an act.

Andrew Takes Everything That Belonged to Fitz

Even though Fitz has passed away, the campaign must continue. So Andrew runs in Fitz's place and chooses Mellie as his Vice President. They use Olivia to help but after Andrew wins, she's no longer involved in the personal dealings of The White House. After an appropriate amount of time (if there is such a thing) Andrew and Mellie begin dating. While in office. It is weird for everyone.

Olivia Takes Revenge

In order to avenge Fitz, Olivia spends at least part of the next season hunting down Mama Pope with the help of Eli and Jake who reluctantly unite to take down a common enemy.

Andrew Gets a New President & Olivia is Forever Alone

The Republicans like Andrew but not enough to be President in place of Fitz. So they choose a new candidate and keep Andrew on as VP. Olivia stays away from the White House and is able to properly get back to her "white hat" duties. She puts her love life on the back burner. She also asks Cyrus to help out with different gladiator duties and he chooses to help so that he can do some good deeds for a change. He is, however, still haunted by James' death.

One Fitz Bastard, Coming Right Up!

Olivia is relieved of any White House duties and returns to just run OPA but she soon discovers that she is pregnant with Fitz's child! We've briefly toyed with this idea before and, to be honest, I'm surprised this plot point hasn't popped up yet.

No one ever knows for sure what's going on in that twisted, brilliant mind of Shonda Rhimes, but it never hurts to give the big boss some ideas. Scandal's finale airs next week and we'll find out the fate of Fitz and the bomb on April 10 at 10 PM ET.

Image: ABC