Does anyone on 'Scandal' deserve a happy ending?

There are few people on Scandal who actually wear the White Hat. The main characters of the ABC political fixer drama are a hodgepodge of murderers and cheaters. Hell, even POTUS (Tony Goldwyn) is a killer. And Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) has progressively found it harder and harder to stand in the sun as the seasons go on. So, when all is said and done, what does that mean for the end of the show: Can any of these characters actually get a happy ending?

“I don’t know if I would chase happy endings when I think of Scandal,” star Jeff Perry tells EW. “I don’t know if I would try to imagine them as actor or audience because I don’t know if that’s in the cards.”

To be fair, the definition of happiness varies wildly from character to character. It’s quite clear that Fitz would define happiness as moving to Vermont to make jam with Olivia. “Does he deserve it?” Goldwyn ponders. “I think he does. They both have done some terrible things and been responsible for some terrible things, but why wouldn’t he deserve it?”

However, Olivia’s idea of a happy ending may not even include Fitz—or Jake (Scott Foley) for that matter. “A real happy ending in life is when you’re able to hang onto your peace and joy and sense of self, regardless of what’s going on around you,” Washington says. “I hope for that kind of peace for her; an inner self-worth and self-knowingness that allows her to not have her happiness defined by the relationships she’s in and her professional success.”

But the same can’t be said for the Gladiators who have gone over the edge of a cliff for her. “Huck deserves a happy ending, but I don’t think he’s going to get one,” Guillermo Diaz says of the former B613 agent-turned-hacker, who lost his family to the shady black ops organization. “I just picture his life as a puzzle. The pieces are everywhere. It’s more interesting that it stays that way. Maybe part of the puzzle will be put together, but those pieces will still be scattered and it’s confusing and complicated.”

In that same vein, Quinn’s (Katie Lowes) happy ending is probably far from what she imagined as a child—long before she was dubbed the Molotov Mistress and framed for the murder of her old boyfriend. “Let’s be honest, there’s never going to be any normalcy in this girl’s life,” Lowes says. “She’s seen so far beyond normal that the things that make her content aren’t a happy ending. I actually think she’s happiest when she’s working and happiest at OPA. When that’s not in alignment, I feel like she’s lost. If she could just get a serious personal life, then it would be really great.”

Of all people, Abby (Darby Stanchfield) and David Rosen (Josh Molina) seem most poised to get a happy ending—whether together or apart, though, remains to be seen. “I don’t know if a happy ending for Abby is being married or being with a man necessarily,” Stanchfield says. “Abby seems to be happy working. I think her dream is to be more like Olivia, or the idealized version with the White Hat.”

Will the characters of Scandal get a happy ending? Find out Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.