Lena Dunham guest-starred on Scandal as a woman shopping a sexy tell-all that could get Abby and David Rosen fired in “It’s Good To Be Kink.”

Scandal 4×16 Recap:

Leo Bergen (Paul Adelstein) and Abby (Darby Stanchfield) are in a pickle: Leo got his hands on a book proposal that details, in explicit detail, the author’s sexual relationships with various, powerful men of D.C.. One such man – known only in the book as ‘The Dustbuster’ – is Leo, and he knows that if the book is released it’s only a matter of time before he is identified and laughed out of politics. Abby is furious, and swears that she is going to get it handled, so she takes it straight to Liv (Kerry Washington).

Liv takes the case and decides to pay Sue (Dunham), the author, a visit. Sue, a young, bright eyed woman, answers the door. She immediately recognizes Olivia Pope and assumes she’s in trouble, but Liv says she just wants to talk about her book. It’s simple, Liv says, Sue cannot publish the book, and she promises that she will end Sue’s career if she goes forward. Liv considered the matter handled, until Sue showed up at Pope & Associates demanding $3 million in exchange for the manuscript.

To get the $3 million needed, Liv tasks Huck (Guillermo Díaz) and Quinn (Katie Lowes) to dig up everything they can about Sue and try to get their hands on Sue’s manuscript. They’ll need to identify every power player described in the book and get them to fork over some cash so they can pay off Sue. Huck and Quinn call Charlie (George Newbern) and get him to try to take Sue out on a date so that Huck and search Sue’s apartment for the manuscript. She’s smart – she didn’t keep any portion of the tell-all on her laptop or electronic device, something Huck admires. Huck finds the book, and soon they manage to identify all but one player: ‘The Doctor.’ Abby and Liv, who have both read the entire thing, are stumped until Abby realizes that ‘The Doctor’ isn’t the man’s profession, it’s his initials: D.R. David Rosen (Joshua Malina). David is, of course, horrified, and attends the gathering of the men at Pope & Associates.

Many of the men, especially Leo, are eager to pay off Sue, but David refuses. He makes a speech about integrity and not giving into extortion and leaves the room, causing the deal to quickly fall apart. Convinced she’s going to be fired, Abby drafts a resignation letter. She knows what Leo doesn’t: that even though she’s not directly named or involved in the book, once Leo and David are identified, she will be trashed in the press thanks to her previous relationships with them. If they go down, she goes down because that’s just how it works for women in politics.

Huck Kills Sue

David, too, is convinced he’ll be fired once the book goes public, and he tries to tell Huck that if he loses his job, he won’t be able to get Huck immunity for his involvement in B-613. In the end, it seems like that’s not going to happen, as Liv and Quinn finally realize what Sue really wants. She doesn’t want money, she wants work. Her old boss had found out about her sexual activities and tried to force her to have sex with him, when she refused he fired her and blocked her from getting any other job in the city. Unable to use her intellect to earn her a position, she decided to write the tell-all. Liv sets her up with an attorney and a series of job interviews around DC, and calls it a day. But, when Quinn and Huck go to Sue’s apartment to pick her up for her interview, they find one of the powerful men alluded to in the book standing in her kitchen with a knife to her throat. Quinn and Huck are able to talk him down and he leaves, but then Huck takes the knife and slits Sue’s throat.

Huck killed Sue because she would have talked, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. He liked her, but he had to kill her because he needs David Rosen to be in a position to give him immunity so that he can go home. Quinn is still unsure of the whole coming clean about B-6113 plan, but she decides to accept it for now. So, she grabs the manuscript and leaves Sue’s apartment with Huck.

When Liv hears the news about Sue, she’s ready to move heaven and earth to find her killer and floats the idea of handing over the manuscript to the police, but Quinn points out the obvious: handing over the book would destroy Abby, and Abby isn’t just Liv’s client, she’s family. Instead of turning in the book, Liv locks it away in her safe.

Sue’s book did have a positive impact on Liv, however. It gave her the inspiration to branch out, leave her apartment at night and go pick up a man for casual sex. She needs to get her groove back, and Sue’s sexual freedom inspires her to get dressed up and pick up a stranger at a bar. On her first attempt, Liv has a panic attack in the bathroom and runs out the back exit, but on her second, Liv takes Russell (Brian White) home with her.

Meanwhile Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) has Jake (Scott Foley) monitoring Liv and reporting on her safety and on her perceived mental state. He’s worried about her, and so is Jake, but Liv seems determined to leave all the White house drama behind, and that includes her White House affairs.

Mellie Is Running For Senate

Finally, in the White House, Mellie (Bellamy Young) announces that she has decided to run for Senate in Virginia, and has even bought a farmhouse there to establish residency. Fitz is thrilled, but Cyrus (Jeff Perry) is far less enthusiastic. And, when Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi) hears the news, she puts two and two together and approaches Mellie to offer up her services as campaign manager.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.