Olivia and Fitz are back together again and enjoying every scandalous moment together while Cyrus, Mellie and Huck are all still dealing with the aftermath of helping Command.

Dearbhla Molloy, Adam Fergus and Hilty Bowen guest starred in the episode, playing Queen Isabel, Prince Richard and Princess Emily of the royal family of Caledonia, respectively.

Production for the premiere began on May 21, 2015, when Rhimes announced on Twitter that the writers were in full swing mapping the fifth season.

[5] For the season premiere, ABC promoted the fifth season with several commercials featuring almost every principal cast member from the three Shondaland produced shows, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder since they were a part of ABC's Thursday primetime lineup, named "Thank God It's Thursday" (TGIT).

Cory Barker from TV.com praised the newly fixed relationship between Olivia and Fitz as he said "the Season 5 premiere, "Heavy Is The Head," did some of the show's best work in convincing me that the version of Scandal I like can still potentially exist while much of the screen time is dedicated to Olivia and Fitz as a legitimate couple.

"[13] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Isabella Biedenharn commented positive on the premiere's opening as she said "Is this how every episode is going to start and finish all season?