Jake Ballard quotes from Scandal

Jake

I never thought I'd get out of that hole. Never. It's not just the dirt floor and the darkness that gets you. It's the isolation. It's the silence. It breaks something in you. I just kept picturing your face. Your face saved me. I'm here because you saved me.

Jake

I could sit here and rattle on about being framed and your father being behind the whole thing but really that's just my word and why should you trust my word? I've been lying to you ever since we met, right? My word's not going to change anything, it can't. We both know in the end you're not going to choose me. That's okay, Olivia. I want you to know, I need you to know... not choosing me is okay.

Jake

Captain Ballard. Jake is what my friends call me. You're not my friend, Mr. President. Friends don't put you in prison for crimes you didn't commit. They don't refuse to hear you when you're telling them the truth. They don't hit you when you can't hit back. So, when you refer to me from this point forward. it will be as Captain Ballard. Is that understood?

Jake

They warped me too. They added a beast inside me too and he's a really good guy. He's so much fun. You'd like him. But I do not let him out. Ever. Not when I fight. Not when I kill. Not when I hurt. Because he's not allowed out to play. He's not invited. He's behind lock and key. You have to keep your guy in, Huck. You have to lock him in all the time. Otherwise one day he will be strong enough to lock you in and you'll never get out.

Jake

You are owed, Olivia. You want what's yours? Go and take it. B613 is gone. Command is in jail. I have delivered you home safe and sound. My mission is complete. And it has been my pleasure. Take care, Liv.

Jake

You know why you don't know about any plan? Because you are not a part of any plan. The plan already happened. The plan was Olivia Pope standing on that sidewalk and with one word obliterating any life she's ever known.

Jake

You just let a murderer out of prison, not for the good of the Republic, but because you wanted to. Because it personally served you and I don't see any impeachment hearings and I don't see a wedding ring on that finger. You are Rowan's greatest achievement. You have become exactly the woman he raised you to be. Power hungry, entitled, dangerous, and the beauty of it is you don't even know it.

Jake

It's a date.

Olivia

What?

Jake

It's a date. You said meeting. I'm not a client. I don't have a problem. I don't need fixing. I asked you out. You said yes. We dressed up. At the end of the evening, if all goes well, there will be kissing. This is not a meeting. This is a date. And I don't want to insult you. You chose this restaurant. I'm sure the food is very good, but this is not a date restaurant. You can't have a date here. This is where dates go to die. You look extraordinary, by the way.

Jake

And one more thing...

Olivia

What?

Jake

Stock...your damn...fridge. If I'm going to be your fake boyfriend all day, I'm going to come home at the end of it and drink real beer and eat real food. Wine is not beer and popcorn is not food.

Olivia

I want to know. Who? Who made you do this? You tell me. Who made you do this?

Jake

Who?! This was my call. I am protecting the Republic. I keep this country running. I do what needs to be done. I am Command.

I'm the Commander in Chief.

Jake

And I am Command. Which means you don't tell me to do anything because I'm not your bitch. Your job is to shake hands, hold babies, pose with prime ministers, and sit down to interviews with your family. You comfort people, and you look pretty, and you talk tough. You don't do anything. I decide if there is a war. I decide if a world leader dies. I decide what to do with the Dmitris and the Ivans. I decide if America sleeps at night. I decide if America endures. This is not a game, Mr. President, and you're not getting your ball back.

Olivia

I didn't make sacrifices and endanger my people to end up right back where we started!

Jake

You mean the sacrifice of sleeping with me so you could hack into my phone? Crazy, right? All these years of thinking B613 is untouchable. And all it takes to kill us is a good, quick tug on a zipper.

Jake

He will reel you in with a trail of warmth and kindness. He will hold you in his arms and tell you that he loves you. And once you are comfortable, once you feel safe, he will take everything that matters from you, and he will leave you with nothing. He will break your bones and step over your body on his way out. Do you know how I know that? Because that's what he taught me to do.

Olivia

The one thing he wants more than anything is to bring my mother in to stop her. He'll do that.

Jake

Fine. I'm out. I'm free. You're on your own.

Olivia

Jake...

Jake

You think he's your dad, but that's just a part he's playing. A costume he puts on. A mask. Liv, once his mask comes off... Run.

Jake

Rosen, I killed three people right in front of you. I am not a good guy.

David

Deep down, I think you are.

Olivia

It's me. Everything that's happened... None of it would be happening if it weren't for me. My mother, my father, the man I love, an innocent boy dying, churches being blown up, you being thrown in the hole. The only common denominator is me. I'm at the center. I'm the eye of the storm.

Jake

So you're the devil, is that it? And this is your pity party?

Olivia

This is me doing what I do best. I'm handling this. I'm fixing this. I have been over every option. I have looked at it from every angle, and I have hoped and prayed that I was wrong. I have tried to pretend that I didn't know what the answer is, but I do. So now it's time for me to stand in my truth. It's me. I'm the thing that needs to be fixed. I'm the thing that needs to be handled. I'm the scandal. And the best way to deal with a scandal is to shut it down.