Picking up immediately after the events of the previous episode, Fitz and Olivia discuss the latter's decision to free her mother from custody.
The following morning, Maya manages to distract NSA agents and to remove the tracker which was implanted in her neck, thus narrowing further actions from Olivia and Jake.
Mellie decides not to cancel the oath ceremony, to put Jake as chief of operations and to duplicate the protection of her and Luna's children.
At the ceremony, everything goes perfectly well, though Olivia received a call from her mother, who was at the top of a building ready to shoot someone who was not Mellie.
Back at OPA, Olivia, Quinn, Huck and Charlie investigate on who was the high-ranking VIP who ordered Mellie's assassination.
At night, Abby persuades Quinn to stay in Washington and run OPA, saying that she will help in every way to take care of the unborn child.
However, Olivia argues that it is a lie since Luna asked not to put her children onstage the night of the death of Frankie, since she already knew that something bad would happen.
"Transfer or Power" was directed by executive producer Tony Goldwyn[1] and written by Matt Byrne and Mark Fish.
[3] The episode focuses on Mellie's oath and Fitz's departure from the White House, as well as showing a dark side of Olivia.
The episode features the songs "Hail to the Chief" by United States Marine Band, "The Light" by The Album Leaf, and a cover version by Aretha Franklin of "It's My Turn".
"Transfer of Power" premiered on May 18, 2017, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States, along with the previous episode, "Tick Tock", comprising into a two-hour finale event.
[6] Entertainment Weekly writer Justin Kirkland gave the season finale a mixed review, saying the episode "has taken so many twists and turns that it’s somehow gone further from its origin while also seeming to tap into its roots more than ever before.
Club rated the episode with a C+ grade, calling it "successful" since it "presents a tangible ending for [the show's] last season.