The 'Scandal' Series Finale Had An Ending No One Saw Coming

Spoilers for the series finale. It's hard to believe that Scandal has finally come to an end, but Thursday night's series finale brought the whole show full circle from where the whole thing started seven seasons ago. So how does Scandal end? After a series full of explosive endings, the finale actually wraps things up quite nicely, which was just about the last thing fans expected, knowing the way Shonda Rhimes does things.

The finale starts off with the gladiators about to risk it all — including their freedom — in order to take B613 down. They are prepared to testify in order to do the right thing, but then, there's a huge wrench in their plan. After Cyrus convinces David that he wants to strike a deal, he uses the opportunity to poison the Attorney General during their meeting. That's right: This finale had fans saying goodbye to David Rosen forever, but fortunately, he dies fighting the good fight.

At that point, it seems like all is lost, but Rowan swoops in to unexpectedly save the day. And it's was a beautiful thing to see him in all his glory one more time before the show comes to an end forever. He confirms B613's existence and makes sure Jake went down for it (and all the other crimes he'd committed, like the multiple murders) all in one fell swoop.

And once Olivia is able to get Cyrus to resign from the vice presidency everything else fell into place. Marcus steps up as Mellie's VP, because Rowan's testimony means that she doesn't have to be impeached. Charlie is released from prison, which means that he and Quinn get to live happily ever after with their daughter, Robin. Huck and Abby are stuck together, mourning David's loss at his grave, and as for Olivia?

Exactly where Olivia ends up isn't 100 percent clear, but fans do know that she seemingly gets the happy ending she's never managed to find before. She and Fitz are finally free to be together — in the sun, no less — and as she triumphantly walks away from the White House for good (iconic white coat included) it's obvious that she is truly ready to do whatever she wants, without limitations or fear, for the very first time. Hasn't that been her goal the whole time?

Oh, and she's still having dinners with her dad. Maybe she's finally been able to find that idea of family she's always been chasing, now that there's nothing like B613 to come between her and Rowan,

It seems like big things are definitely in Olivia's future, though, considering that the show ends with an epic portrait of Olivia hanging in the White House as two little girls (who might have been Olivia's children?) gaze up at it — leaving fans with so many questions about what that scene was supposed to be implying.

It's hard to say exactly who those girls are or how Olivia manages to get her own portrait hanging in the White House, but it seems like after she makes her grand exit once she's finished saying goodbye to Mellie, she might return in the future to do big things. Future President Olivia Pope, perhaps? That'll have to be left up to fans' imagination, though, because the finale doesn't answer that question.

It's hard to see Scandal go, but it's good to have so much closure on where these characters end up. After seeing them struggle, fight for good (and sometimes evil) and even come back from the brink of death, it's unexpected that they all finally get to have normal lives. Well, maybe. Knowing this version of Washington D.C., nothing normal is certain.