ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 3 spoilers: Darby Stanchfield talks Abby’s backstory

When “Scandal” has chosen to dive back into the past, great things have come out of it. Just take, for example, what we saw last year from Guillermo Diaz in what was one of the best singular performances on television. Olivia Pope is going to be the focus of some flashbacks on the upcoming third season, and we also know that she is not going to be alone when it comes to this; Abby will, as well!

So are we going to end up seeing Abby hunched over in a corner uttering some mysterious numbers to herself? It doesn’t seem like it. Instead, Darby Stanchfield tells TV Guide that there is going to be a certain element of surprise to it, and will tie into a number of other things that we see unfold on the show:

“They’re going to handle it differently than I thought they were, but we get to it right away. “It already is completely unpredictable and it’s not just one thing, it explodes into a bunch of other scandals.”

Thanks to “Scandal” having such an abridged first season, it almost feels more like this is the second season from a thematic perspective. Usually the first season is all about getting to know the characters, and the second revolves more around figuring out just what makes them the way that they are. We are just now starting to get to that point with many of these people, but finding out more about Abby should help us to understand some of the other puzzling decisions that she makes … including some when it comes to her relationship with the current Master of Shadiness David Rosen.

Don’t expect answers right away, but there is still plenty of be excited about when “Scandal” returns to ABC on Thursday, October 3 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Photo: ABC