Verna Thornton (Scandal)

Verna Thornton (Debra Mooney) was a recurring villainess during the second season of Scandal. She was a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as a client of Olivia Pope during her first appearance in episode 2.02, "The Other Woman."
== Backstory ==
As revealed during the course of the show's second season, Verna was part of the Defiance Conspiracy, which was led by Hollis Doyle. The conspiracy involved Hollis having the voting machines in Defiance, Ohio rigged during the Presidential Election, which resulted in Fitz Grant being elected President over Democratic opponent Samuel Reston. Verna had knowledge of the tampering, as well as Cyrus Beene, eventual First Lady Mellie Grant, and Olivia Pope (the series' main protagonist), but all of them covered up Hollis' role. Regarding Verna, she was promised a seat in the Supreme Court, but after Grant instructed Sally Langston (Fitz's former Republican rival turned running mate and Vice President) to compile a list of nominees for the seat, Olivia and Cyrus smeared the good name of Langston's candidate, leading to Verna getting the Justice seat.
== Events ==
Verna's debut appearance in the aforementioned episode, "The Other Woman," had her hiring Olivia to help her out with a TV interview, as well as hide the fact that she was battling lung cancer, as news of her illness would result in requests for her to step down. As the season progressed, bits and pieces of the Defiance Conspiracy began to be revealed by attorney David Rosen, who was working on exposing those involved in the conspiracy. After learning about the investigation, instead of confessing, Verna decided to plot to kill Fitz, hiring and paying assassin Becky Flynn to do the job. The murder-for-hire plot took place days before the events of the episode, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," which later saw the shooting take place. A remote controlled sniper gun was used, firing shots that killed Press Secretary Britta Kagen, and struck Fitz in his head (he survived the attempt).
The plan was to frame Huck, a former assassin and one of Olivia's associates, for the attempt on the POTUS' life, with Huck arriving at the scene playing into the plan. In the episode, "Blown Away," Verna was confronted by Acting President Langston regarding the revelation of her illness, which was leaked by Hollis. She was given an order to either step down or have her illness exposed publicly; however, the evil Verna decided to identify Huck as Fitz's attempted killer to Langston, doing so to keep her seat.
== Reveal and Death ==
Verna's reveal as a murderous villainess came in episode 2.13, "Nobody Likes Babies," coming after Hollis was accused and later cleared of the attempt to assassinate Fitz in the previous episode, "Truth or Consequences." A bank account number was discovered by Huck in the beginning of the episode, and after this, Olivia went to Verna in her hospital room (where she underwent chemo and was slowly dying) and confronted her about the bank account, which Olivia revealed was tied to Verna. When asked why Verna would resort to murder instead of coming clean, Verna callously stated that confessing wouldn't solve anything, and ranted that she wanted to "give America its country back" and make votes mean something. Olivia saw through Verna's facade and stated that her actions were cowardly and done to save her legacy, with Verna agreeing with the latter part of the statement.
Verna died following her reveal, with the report being that complications of her disease killed her. In actuality, as shown in flashbacks in the end of the episode (during Fitz's eulogy), Verna had confessed everything to Fitz: the election rigging and masterminding his attempted assassination. She stated that his charm led to her covering up the tampering, and she later stated that she would confess to a prosecutor before she dies. Fitz decided that Verna's legacy was too valuable to risk, and after promising that he would do her legacy justice at her eulogy, Fitz suffocated Verna to death.
== Quotes ==
*"(Olivia: "Why, when you're trying to clear your conscience, do you hire a killer, when all you had to do was pick up the phone and confess? It doesn't make sense to me!") Because confessing solves nothing! Confessing tells America that the country they love is built on a lie, that it's a fallacy. (Olivia: "Madame Justice...") You think I care about my conscience? Screw my conscience! I'm trying to save America's soul! I'm trying to give America its country back! The country they deserve! A country built on trust, where a vote actually means something! (Olivia: "By killing a man?") If I'm already going to Hell, why not?" (Verna Thornton's callous defense of her attempt to kill President Fitz Grant)
*"(Olivia: "This isn't about saving America. This is about saving your legacy. Killing Fitz means you never have to admit what you did.") It means for the rest of eternity, whenever someone utters your name, it's with respect and honor. So turn me in. Go ahead. If you're such a pillar of courage, march over to justice and tell them I shot the President. Tell them about the election rigging. Tell them about everything. Do it! Except you can't, can you? Because, just like me, you know confessing does more harm than good. Chin up, Olivia. Not like I'm getting away with it." (Verna's arrogant statements to Olivia Pope)
Category:2010s
Category:Ambitious
Category:Attempted Murder
Category:Callous
Category:Conspirator
Category:Deceiver
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Man Kills Villainess
Category:Murder: Indirect
Category:Murderer
Category:Politics
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Fate: Deceased
Category:Demise: Suffocation