'Scandal' : Who Has Changed Most in Alternate-Reality 100th Episode?

Scandal's 100th episode airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC

A version of this article originally appeared on EW.com.

The upcoming milestone 100th episode of Scandal features an alternate reality in which Olivia (Kerry Washington), Mellie (Bellamy Young), and Cyrus (Jeff Perry) never rigged the election, and most of the events that have taken place over the last six seasons likely never happened. How different is everyone in this alternate reality as a result? The cast cryptically teases what’s in store:

Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington)
Without a job in the White House or a group of associates working under her, where would Olivia be now? For one, as the promo revealed, apparently getting married. But otherwise, Washington is staying mum. “Everyone is so different, it’s really extraordinary,” the actress says. “We’re all still the same at our core, but the circumstances of our lives are so different, so it’s a really fun exercise in nature vs. nurture, actually.”

Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn)
If Olivia didn’t rig the election, then yes, Fitz would not end up in office. “He’s not the president of the United States,” Goldwyn confirms. “He’s very different. It’s something of a study of how the circumstances of our lives shape our identity, how we see ourselves, and how we present ourselves to the world. It’s subtle, the difference, it’s just really interesting who he is and what he struggles with. He ultimately is quite different.”

Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young)
Fitz and Mellie are not married in this alternate reality, which raises the question of why Mellie appears to be wearing a wedding ring in the photo above. Still, Young says that Mellie is both utterly different and also not at all in this new world. “I feel like our writers are geniuses because in as much as they stretch us in a million directions, they never lose our hearts,” Young says. “Mellie’s alternate reality is every bit as ambitious and every bit as flawed in just wanting to be loved, just willing to try sacrificing parts of herself for love and success, and realizing that it doesn’t work, just like it doesn’t work in this present reality.”

Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield)
While Abby probably wasn’t given the opportunity to join OPA in this timeline, she was still able to leave her abusive husband with the help of Olivia. “It’s not exactly flashback, but if Olivia had not rigged the election, it is where all these people would’ve been, so think Abby, post-divorce, big hair, baking scones, nail polish in Olivia’s apartment, maybe on steroids.”

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Huck (Guillermo Diaz)
Would Huck still be homeless, waiting to catch a glimpse of his child and estranged wife at the train station at 7:52 in this reality? “He’s a little bit more peaceful,” Diaz teases. “There’s a little bit more inner peace and a little bit more happiness in Huck than in regular Huck in this alternate reality, so that’s interesting.”

Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes)
In this reality, OPA wouldn’t have had to frame Lindsay Dwyer for the death of her boyfriend, who helped rig the election, hence Quinn Perkins probably doesn’t even exist. “I can’t say who it is [that I’m playing],” Lowes says. “It will be new all around. It’s basically my bucket list opportunity, what goes down in this episode for me. I don’t know how I will ever top it in my career.” Despite what looks like a potential beauty pageant crowning in the promo, Lowes teases that’s not what’s happening. “Nope,” Lowes says. “Wait until you see. I can’t say what it is, but it’s so insane.”

Jake Ballard (Scott Foley)
It sounds like Jake will still be the loyal soldier to B613 in the landmark hour. “Because it takes place around Fitz’s election, it happens in the past,” Foley says. “So Jake is not as evolved as he is now, but his motivation and the actions that he takes in this episode are what people have wanted him to do for a long time. It’s really satisfying.”

Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry)
Without his fearless leader in the White House, Cyrus’ life has changed in a very big way. Could not rigging the election have had an effect on his eventual marriage to James (Dan Bucatinsky)? “His circumstances are different, but his wiring is pretty similar,” Perry teases. “The circumstances are kind of shockingly different, but the inner Cyrus, people will go, ‘Oh, well, that’s Cyrus.’”

Rowan Pope (Joe Morton)
Without Fitz in office, Rowan’s position as Command of B613 is probably secure, though his goals are still murky. “It’s a very different thing,” Morton says. “I can’t tell you what happens, but things happen that certainly go against what he would like to see happen. His relationship with his daughter is very different. It’s Sliding Doors, if we went left instead of right.”

David Rosen (Josh Malina)
It also sounds like David is not the Attorney General of the United States in this timeline. “If only I could share that,” Malina says. “I will say that there are some very extreme doppelgänger characters. David’s is less extreme, but it was a lot of fun to do. There’s one salient feature to his alternate-reality life that people will like, but I can’t really speak to what it is.”

Scandal‘s 100th episode airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.