A candidate's political campaign may use some dirty tactics against the opponents on the upcoming episode 16, titled "The Miseducation of Susan Ross," of the fifth season of the political thriller series "Scandal."

The official synopsis from The Futon Critic reveals that Olivia gets a ruinous info that involves an opponent after the first Republican debate ended. Before taking action, Olivia decides to let the Gladiators look into the information presented, whether it's formulated or true. Meanwhile, David faces the aftermath of his dating life; Cyrus still pushes through with his own political agenda.

The promo trailer for "The Miseducation of Susan Ross" shows a glimpse of the Gladiators in action. After the mudslinging-filled Republican debate, a woman goes to Olivia to tell her that Presidential candidate Susan Ross is a liar and a thief who is "unfit to be the President." Olivia, who is capable of anything unimaginable, calls her underlings, the Gladiators, to verify the authenticity of the woman's accusations. Before the clip ends, Fitz and Olivia are seen face-to-face again.

In other related news, Danny Pino (who plays Alex Vargas) sat down in an interview with TV Line recently. In the previous episode, titled "Pencils Down," Alex was seen exchanging damaging dirt about Ross with Olivia in exchange for a sordid secret about another Presidential candidate Edison Davis.

When asked why Olivia agreed to the deal, Pino said, "She needs information to help her candidate [Mellie Grant] win, I need information to help my brother win.... [Edison may be her ex] but her current situation, her current battle, is to defeat Susan Ross. Once they each get out of the primary then it's "game on" for us in the general [election]."

The previous episode showed Olivia fixing Mellie's public faux pas. The Gladiators also discovered an info about Jake's new girlfriend.

"Scandal" airs every Thursday at 9 p.m. on ABC.