Previously on Empire...
Lucious' security will
rush him out the back entrance trying to protect his ass.
That's when we get him.
There's been a shooting. I think someone is dead.
You should go be back with your baby mama with your clown ass.
We're broke. You, me, the other ex-wife.
- It was a Ponzi scheme. - Let me handle this.
I'm trying to save Dwight, not hurt him.
What you have is not love. You're toxic.
I decide who I am, not her.
God. I have to tell him.
Move! Move!
Get away from the car!
Please don't hate me.
Lucious!
The bomb...
II tried to kill you...
Hell no.
So what else is on the agenda?
I need you to use all your police contacts
to get me all the information from the night my car blew up.
Well, look, look, I got the files,
but, it's a dead end.
Anything in particular you're looking for?
Yeah.
Witness statements.
Especially those given by my family.
- I want to see Andre's. - Are you serious?
- OK, what's this about? - I don't know.
A feeling and maybe a nightmare,
but... it's something I got to explore.
Well, I got you.
Feels good to be back.
Porsha, call Eddie and,
- see where we are with rehearsals. - OK.
I thought, since I'm back...
Man, I missed this.
Not as much as I missed you.
As a matter of fact, when you coming back to my bed, woman?
Lord Jesus, Lucious.
We've been through a lot these past couple of days.
Yeah, man. Forget that crazy bitch Claudia We've been through a lot these past couple of days.
Yeah, man. Forget that crazy bitch Claudia
and all that stuff she went through.
Yes, she was crazy and a bitch,
but she said some things in that cabin, and...
you and I said some things
that I just really can't get out of my head.
You're my one, I'm your one.
Now what?
Just let me think about it, Lucious.
Give me some time. I got a lot of work to do.
Cookie, Becky and the A&R team
waiting for you downstairs.
See? Work.
Don't forget Kelly Patel's
- coming by today. - Wait. Kelly Patel,
- the tech giant? - Yes. And
if he likes my proposal,
we got the money for the back end of our 20 For 20.
Just got to get that ink on the contract.
Not bad.
You just going to let him take the throne back that fast?
His face is on the label.
Look, he's hungry to make some noise. Let him roar.
Don't get it twisted. I still run this bitch.
No.
Really?
God, no. Yes. And I love this for the next look.
Just keep the belt, but lose the jacket.
She looks good.
I told you I'd get her snatched for the gods.
- Well done. Thank you. - You're welcome.
And I see the way you look at her.
Is she about to be wife number four?
What makes you think I'm done with wife number three?
Whatever.
You're looking pretty damn good in this pantsuit.
You know what?
- Don't even try to charm me, Eddie. - Sexy.
I'm not here for any of that.
I'm just here to get what I'm owed. You got it?
Trust me, you will.
That's a cut on rehearsal.
Take five, everyone.
But what is the plan?
Because we are running out of time. The bank...
Once I make Tiana Empire's MVP,
I'm going to push through a couple of deals here
that put me back on top.
Us back on top.
So now we're talking about us?
I just want my money, Eddie.
I want my money.
All right.
- Yo, Tiana. - Thank you.
I seen how you looked at me on stage today.
That was acting.
That's called "I miss you," idiot.
Listen, I'm sorry how I acted.
I didn't think I would see Bella again.
Yeah, well, if you ever treat me like that again,
it's on to the next.
- Eddie. - What's up, man?
My man, thank you for holding things down.
Anything for family.
Want to introduce you to Kelly Patel.
The king of Silicon Valley?
He needs no introduction in this house.
Glad to see that you're back running things, Lucious.
It's really nice to be back, man.
- It is. - So,
Eddie tells me you've got a hell of a deal for me.
- Absolutely. - Hold up a sec, Cook.
I want to run this by you. Now imagine this with your next
generation of phones and computers,
if it came with a free subscription to Empire XStream.
Free?
Well, we're going to give it to you at a discounted
rate so you can pass it on to your customers as a perk.
It's a perfect marriage between Empire's hipness,
your hot tech.
The synergy will generate millions.
Where's the data to back that up? And quite frankly,
I'm not certain if Empire is a good fit for me.
Well, why don't you let me get my people
to run these numbers by you, and you'll see the fit.
Why waste time?
- Pardon? - Look.
You already know how our demographics mesh up.
Otherwise you wouldn't be here.
Now, if you would like to negotiate how much
we're going to sell XStream to you for, then let's talk.
But don't pretend like you don't want this deal.
You and the whole damn world knows that Empire is the king
of cutting edge entertainment,
and that's exactly what you want for your company.
It's true.
Hell yeah, it's true. So are you in or out?
Yes?
This is going to be fun.
Hell yeah, it's going to be fun.
- There he is. - Welcome back to the game, Eddie.
I'll run Kelly through some details.
- Lucious. It was a pleasure. - My man.
- I know. - Sounds good, boss.
- Thank you. - Thank you very much.
Are you sure we can pull this off without the Lyons' drama?
Nothing to worry about. That's all behind them.
I appreciate you bringing me home, man,
but don't you have rehearsal for the showcase?
Yes, I do.
However, more importantly,
I have only one big brother.
So, welcome home.
This was the last place I saw Pamela.
She was so damn real.
If this deal with Kelly Patel's
going to go through, we're going to have to be squeaky clean.
No scandals, no, no bad press.
What bad press?
Come on, brother. Your kidnapping,
- Hakeem's messy custody trial. - Not to mention
Jamal beating up his ex and then killing Angelo.
- All right, all right, all right. - Hey.
I got some bad news, and it ain't looking good. - All right, all right, all right. - Hey.
I got some bad news, and it ain't looking good.
God. Every time Porsha comes in here with that tablet,
something done went wrong. What is it now?
My cousin works for TMI and got a hold of a teaser clip of TBD.
Who?
The Three Black Divas.
Wait a minute, wait a minute, I dropped them
from the label years ago.
The full interview go live tomorrow,
and it ain't looking pretty.
TBD was one of Empire's first groups.
I mean, Lucious even gave us our name.
So when we heard about Cookie Lyons' 20 For 20 project,
we thought we would get a call,
but clearly, she doesn't understand
how important we are to Empire's history.
That's 'cause while we were climbing the charts,
she was somewhere making license plates.
- Wow. - And her man
- was dipping his pen in company ink, - OK.
- So to speak. - Listen, Cookie ain't talking
- about the Empire sweatshop, - Right.
Where they locked up young musicians
until they produced a banger.
So we're announcing our reunion album.
It's going to spill all the tea
- on Empire. - And any label
that wants the reunion release
can buy it for the right price.
Empire sweatshops.
If this interview drops,
Kelly Patel's going to go bye-bye,
and this whole deal's going to be dead.
No, I'm going to fix this...
No, no, no, no, no.
I'll fix this.
Becky, Porsha, come with me.
All right.
- God. - We got to get this under control.
Attention, shoppers. Now performing,
it's the Three Black Divas.
This is sad.
Tyler!
My phone's dead.
Hello?
- My God. It cut off. - Get, get, get...
OK, Brooke still has vocals,
but they definitely need some new material.
Girl, they need more than new material, honey.
They need some new wardrobe.
- And some new wigs. - Girl.
Thank you,
- thank you. - Clapping for this?
Welcome to Cord's grand opening.
We got some free gift bags for you.
Everybody just take one.
Here you go.
Thank you so much.
Welcome to Cord's. Welcome to...
Don't act like you don't know me.
Not with my name all up in your mouth in the interviews.
Anything you have to say to us, take it up with our publicist.
Girl, you're singing in a damn mall.
You can't even afford a publicist.
Give me that. This is for you.
I knew it. I told you they were going to try to sue us.
We are not afraid of any lawsuit.
It's called free speech, sweetie.
Open it, sweetie.
Remember those? That's a contract.
For your reunion album.
What makes you think we want to...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
I got to hear this.
Well, see, underneath all of that anger of yours,
I see a comeback.
A really big comeback.
Those are the best terms you going to find anywhere.
One condition, though...
snatch that interview before it airs.
OK, guess I'll see you in the studio.
Uhuh.
I have a condition of my own.
Is it contagious?
We need an apology from Lucious.
He knows what for.
Get us that and you got yourself a deal.
We'll be in touch.
Come on, let's get ready for the second set.
Hey, hey, hey.
What's up, Uncle Eddie?
- Working on something? - Yeah.
We'll have to knock the socks off of this Kelly Patel
at the showcase tomorrow, so I was thinking about
doing something new, maybe previewing one of my new songs.
What you think?
Jamal, Kelly's not an artist.
He can be, you know, just a little bit uptight.
You understand?
It's not some crazy song. What's the problem?
Given your involvement with the...
Angelo death,
it might be better if you sit out the showcase.
That's a joke, right?
Just until the ink dries on this tech deal.
You'll be right back in the spotlight.
I see.
So now all of Empire is expected to bend over
to be in business with Kelly Patel.
My parents want me out?
No.
Not at all.
They'd never ask you to do that.
I'm coming to you,
and I'm telling you
what's best for the deal,
and what's best for your family.
It's entirely up to you.
You decide.
We'll talk later.
Yeah.
Wow, they spread this out for us.
Yes, they did.
And don't be putting nothing in your purse,
like you usually do, have some class.
Ladies, ladies, ladies.
You all look well.
Lucious Lyon. Look at you.
You haven't aged a day.
Nope. More like 20 years.
Forgive my tardiness.
I decided to stop and commemorate our reunion
with a couple gifts. Open them, please.
Wow.
Three lovely crystal chalices
for three lovely divas.
Cookie said that you guys felt
that you were owed an apology,
and I would like to say, sincerely,
if there's anything that I've done in my past
that has offended you in any way, I...
am very, very sorry that you feel like that,
and I hope that we can now be friends
and make music together.
That's what you call a "fauxpology."
What the hell else did you expect, Brooke?
We haven't heard anything about sabotaging
our album back in the day.
Probably as sorry about that as you are about
kicking Tasha out the group because she got too fat.
Wait, what?
- That's what that was? - You was thick.
- You looked good, though. - I was thick, and I did look good.
No, you know what? What you need to be
apologising for is letting
that jailbird ex-wife of yours run the show,
and cutting us out of 20 for 20.
Wait, no. No, let's not bring Cookie
into any of this, all right?
Now you're all concerned about Cookie.
We held you down and kept the lights on up in here.
- You kept my lights on? - Oh yeah.
And I'm sorry, where was Cookie
when you were feeling lonely
and, needed a little company?
OK, I see where this is going.
- Do you? - It's going nowhere, because,
maybe you guys aren't aware of it,
but after my accident,
I don't remember anything that happened before that.
But if you want a "sorry,"
I will give you a "sorry."
I am so sorry that,
Three Black Divas is ancient history.
- That's low. That's low. - We're done.
OK, you know what? You can stick your little showcase
where the sun don't shine 'cause
we already got an offer from Phil Weiss's label.
He's going to release our diss track
and burn your ass to the ground.
Well, that's cute, because I can fit
his promo budget in my sock.
It's better than standing taking this bull. Let's go.
Well, do that. But, Denise?
Time has been very favourable to you.
Not you.
Let's go.
You smiling? You sm... Oh my God.
Are you smiling for real? I can't believe you.
Lucious, you had one job.
One job.
You keep asking me to come back,
but you can't even do what I ask you to do, Lucious.
I don't want this, I need ginger ale. I can't drink that mess.
I been telling you, we don't need them bitches.
It's not about them.
It's about me always doing something for you,
but when I ask you to do something for me, you...
all you got is excuses.
That ain't true.
Those bitches are somewhere
recording a diss track right now with some other label.
A diss track that we can't even keep
Kelly Patel from hearing.
Just when I was five minutes from solving one problem,
we got another one, thanks to you.
I've been solving problems over here at Empire
for 20 years.
I don't need somebody to tell me how to do my business.
Your business. I can't with you, Lucious.
You know what, this whole ordeal got me so nauseous.
No worries. Me and Eddie will call those girls tomorrow
to fix your mess.
But you better pray that they are calm,
because if not, this Kelly Patel deal is dead.
Ain't nothing dead, baby.
And I'm going to show you how to get this thing done
the old fashioned Empire way.
Sorry, I thought it was empty. I'll go.
You don't have to go.
I ain't really working.
Yeah, I heard that you dropped out of the showcase.
You OK?
Sit down.
Yeah, I just
feel, like, radioactive around here now.
Well,
I...
am pregnant.
- Yeah. - Becky.
No.
What'd J Poppa say?
You didn't tell him?
No, he's just...
he's just so extraChristian.
If I told him, he would want me to have it.
I see.
Yeah.
Got it. So, you don't want it?
I really don't know what I want.
You know, I...
I dreamed about exactly everything
- that's finally happening for me. - I know.
And it's just the beginning.
And...
I worked really hard to get here.
And I am so sorry,
my emotions are just everywhere.
And I know that we haven't talked in a really long time,
but I really, really missed you,
and I didn't know how to tell you,
but you were the only one I wanted to talk to.
Aw, come here. Come here.
- I love you. - I love you just as much.
That's solid. Perfect.
You see? Hard work pays off.
Thank you, Eddie.
All right, this is what we're going to do. The VMAs
are going to be the coming out party
for your new look and your new sound.
Gonna book you on a worldwide tour.
- Kimmel, Fallon, and Colbert. - What?
But you're going to have to be all in.
You're going to have to eat, sleep and breathe music.
I am so grateful.
I'm all in.
Are you sure about that?
'Cause I saw you lip-locked at the rehearsal with Hakeem.
I couldn't believe it.
Tiana.
Tiana, look at me.
You don't got time to be distracted.
Got room for only one man in your life,
and he's sitting right in front of you.
You understand?
- Mr Lyon? - Yes?
The ladies are here.
Please send them in.
Ladies, thank you so much for coming.
Please have a seat.
So, they tell us we're finally getting a royalty cheque.
Ladies, you know Phil Weiss. He's the owner of
Righteous Records.
I see what this is.
Now that we have a label deal,
you want to apologise for real?
Well, it's too late.
Hey, sticky fingers,
this ain't the dentist's office.
Put those back.
And you, my friend, you need
to pull back on that divatude, 'cause I think
- you got it twisted. - I'd like to say
that, after a brief but...
healthy negotiation, Empire has acquired Mr Weiss's label.
- It was a lot of money, girls. - Wait...
- So what does that mean for us? - It means we own your ass.
But we have a contract.
Which is now the property of Empire.
Your name, performing right,
and copyright now belong to us.
- I'm a call our lawyer. - His punk ass
is on Empire's payroll as well.
Now, effective immediately,
you three are not allowed to perform at a car wash,
a baby shower or a bar mitzvah
without the express written permission
of Empire Entertainment.
This is how it's going to work, Divas.
You're going to take back that diss track immediately.
And you're going to apologise, and this is
what you're going to say.
Come here. Word for word.
So I'm going to need you to memorise it.
And you're going to perform at the showcase
with smiles on your face.
And if all goes well,
we will keep our word and give you your reunion album.
See, I think you ladies still got it.
And Empire will go all out,
but you got to play nice.
I think that's "check."
And before you leave,
will you be so kind as to apologise to my queen?
'Cause without Cookie, there is no Empire.
- Sorry, Cookie. - Sorry.
Accepted.
Drag your ass to rehearsal.
With smiles, ladies;
we just saved your careers.
I think that's "checkmate."
It was great doing business with your shady ass.
Damn, that felt great.
I will call Eddie, and he can... call Kelly...
Are you OK?
I guess I'm just a little dizzy from
inhaling all that smoke from putting all the fires out.
How many times have I told you I'm back?
Over a hundred.
Yeah, well, I'm not telling you anymore.
I'm telling you we are back, you and me.
You need to remember that we're a team.
Can't be doing deals without me.
Me, remember Cookie Lyon?
You're unforgettable.
I know.
Brother Andre?
We've missed you, son.
I reached out after Rhonda's passing.
I didn't think I'd find any comfort here.
God betrayed me.
God would never betray you, Andre.
Why are you here, Andre?
Family's having a welcome home dinner for me.
And the thought of them sitting there,
smiling at me,
after all I've done is hurt them...
It's too much.
What did you do?
Excuse me.
If you can't confess your sins to God,
then confess to those you've harmed.
It'll make you whole again.
What if I don't deserve to be whole again?
Thank you all for coming to the 20 For 20 Showcase!
Yes! Are you ready for some more Empire music?!
I got a surprise for you all.
Do you all remember the Three Black Divas?
Well, baby, they are back!
And they are bigger and better than ever, honey!
Feast your eyes on this!
They still got it.
Well, well. Look who's out the nuthouse.
I'm surprised the doctors released your ass so quickly.
What do you want, Shine?
I just want to make sure
my name's not coming out of your mouth.
Our arrangement still stands.
I'll handle my business, and you handle yours.
Who's ready for more 20 For 20?
Yeah, next up, give it up for J Poppa!
You know, you're my ride or die, T.
Me and Bella, can't imagine no days without you.
So,
will you marry me?
My God.
Um...
Keem, you know I've never loved anyone until I met you.
And...
I love Bella like she's my own.
Then say yes.
But we just made up.
I need time to think about this.
Think about?
What you need to think about?
I can't have any distractions right now.
This ain't a distraction.
I'm sorry, Keem.
There she go.
Look at you, baby.
I didn't know you were here.
Did you hear them out there like, "J Poppa!"
I got to talk to you, OK?
What is it, baby?
You know, we both have so much going on,
with your career and my career.
Yeah, it's great, right?
We're both rolling together like we should be.
No, no, no. You are not hearing me.
Sometimes you meet the right person,
but at the wrong time.
Screw timing. All right?
Do I look like I care about timing?
- I'm in love with you. - No, please.
I cannot do this.
I don't think that we should see each other anymore, and so...
No.
Please don't make this hard.
I'm really sorry. I'm sorry.
Becky. Becky.
- At least ten percent. - Ten percent.
Ten percent.
Well, here's to ten percent.
Here's to ten percent.
If only all of our partnership launches went this smoothly.
Look at that. Both companies up double digits
in after hours trading.
The Street loves this deal.
It's a natural fit.
I don't mind saying, I'm excited.
Me, too.
So, you're ready to move forward, then?
When do we tell the Lyons that I'm buying Empire?
Leave the Lyons to me.
Well,
I have a board meeting
in Palo Alto at 7:00 tomorrow, so...
Always a pleasure.
My love.
- So good to see you. - You, too.
That's what I'm talking about.
I forgot how fun you were.
Daddy's going to get you all the money you want, and then some.
Pour me some more champagne.
But don't stop.
To Andre.
Like the Lyon you are,
you roared your way back to life.
To you, Andre.
- To Dre. - Dre. To Dre.
You know, your father and I have been talking,
and we want you to know that nothing's going to change.
We still believe in you.
So, at the appropriate time, your mother and I are still
going to hand the business over to you
and you will have the reins of Empire.
Just like we discussed in Vegas.
Yeah, but that was before.
Like we said, no time soon.
But when you're ready,
you deserve it.
Yeah, so shut up, Dre.
- Yeah, you the one. - Yes, indeed.
What's wrong?
- Nothing. - Dinner is served.
Yeah, let's eat.
You followed my recipe for that mac and cheese, right?
Yes, Miss Cookie, I did.
Then it should be good.
Um...
this is supposed to be a celebration.
Why all the long faces?
Jamal, what's wrong with you?
- Mum, nothing, I'm eating. - Boy.
I mean, I don't really appreciate being benched.
Well, that's funny coming from you.
You're the one that asked to sit out today.
The deal went through, anyway, Jamal.
Pick your lip up. Hakeem, what's your damn problem?
I asked Tiana to marry me.
Lord Jesus.
Well, I guess you all talking again.
I love her, and now that I got Bella back,
- I'm ready to lock it down. - You know what?
- I, for one, approve. - OK.
Let's just find out what she said.
- Hakeem. - She said she had to think about it.
What? Why everybody made that face?
Baby, sometimes when people say they'll think about it,
it's just a nicer way to say no.
Really?
But if two people are destined to be together,
then you'll find your way. Keep your head up, Hakeem.
Nice cleanup.
Andre.
This party's for you.
You haven't touched your food.
Pop, may I have a word with you?
In private?
Of course.
I went to church today.
Tried to make peace.
I know what it's...
what it feels like to feel incomplete.
I mean, ever since the explosion,
losing my leg, and my mind,
I keep having these dreams, you know...
more like nightmares...
where I'm trying to...
put all the pieces together.
But it's like this puzzle, it seems...
like something's missing.
That's what I want to talk to you about, Pop.
Yeah, I know,..
Thirsty said that Giuliana
was overheard threatening me
before the explosion.
Now, I know Giuliana.
But a car bomb, that's too complicated for her.
That takes somebody a little more cunning.
More calculating.
I need to tell you something.
I've been keeping this from you.
I can't keep it anymore.
It's OK.
Just say it.
The reason that you almost died,
the car bomb...
it was me.
It was you?
You planted the bomb?
Yeah.
I tried to call it off, Pop.
I wanted to believe
that love made me save you,
but I know the real reason is because you gave me the company.
I made my peace, Pop.
You do what you have to do.
I won't stop you.
I'm sorry.
Are you out of your mind?! What the hell is...?
You almost killed your mother!
- What is happening?! - Dad!
- What the hell is wrong with you? - He's got a gun.
- Dad! - You almost killed your mother!
- It was him! - Get off of him!
It was him!
- It was him! - Get him out of here!
It was him!
"It was him," what, baby?
He tried to blow you up.
He tried to kill us.
OK. OK.
It was him.
My beautiful little boy...
tried to kill me because
I wouldn't give him my Empire.
He's not well, Lucious.
He's sick.
I know that.
That's why he's still alive.
He planned this, Cookie.
He almost killed you, and that's why I'm so angry.
You don't think I'm angry, Lucious?
I mean, if this is true,
then I'm just as heartbroken as you.
Wait, wait, "If"?
He admitted it.
Don't you know, for the rest of my life, every step I take,
I'm reminded that my...
my boy wanted me dead.
All right, man, keep it 100.
Tell us those pills ain't out your system yet.
What, so he imagined this, too, like his girlfriend?
No, it's real.
I did it.
We grew up in a violent crib.
Dad was shady as hell.
So Lucious made him do it?
Look, that's not what I'm saying.
I'm just trying to make sense of this mess.
You know, one time, Lucious put a gun in my hand...
- and told me to shoot him. - You know what, man?
We could sit here all day sharing evil Lucious stories.
The son of a bitch threw me in a trash can when I was a kid.
He made me marry a girl, blah, blah, blah.
Put it in a damn song.
I went to sleep a thousand and one nights
dreaming about putting a cap in his ass but I didn't.
You want to know why? Because you don't kill your father!
OK.
Look, man, if I could, if I could take it all back,
and give up my leg for his,
give up my life for his, I'd do it. I can't!
At least I told him.
I told him.
Yeah, at least.
I guess you should just feel all better about yourself now.
I'm out of here.
I don't know who you are,
or what you turned into,
but somebody stole our big brother.
I don't know what to do with him.
If you love me like you say you do, Lucious, just...
please, don't hurt him.
I'm just so disappointed because I don't...
I don't know our boy.
Who is he?
Well, don't act like
we don't have blood on our hands.
Hey, this ain't on us.
We had nothing to do with this.
Are you sure? Huh?
Because you pitted your sons against each other
when you thought you was going to die.
Yeah, but that was then, I mean, and we worked past that, babe,
we were going to be a family, and now,
how in the hell can we ever even imagine
being a family again?
He confessed, Lucious.
OK? That's a start.
Maybe he's coming back to his right mind.
No, I think you living in a fantasy, hon.
My baby, my son,
he's not capable.
Lucious.
Hey you. Hey, hey.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey.
Hey, baby, you OK? Come here, come here.
Come on, come on. Are you OK? What's wrong?
I can't catch my breath.
Juanita!
- Hold on. - My arm.
- Hello? - 911. What's your emergency?
Hello. My wife, my wife. Something's wrong.
I need an ambulance.
Please send an ambulance.
Corrected by DB