"Previously on Empire..." "Loretha." " Barry..." " Come to get my girl." "Just so we're clear, she's mine." "I decided to hold off on the release of When Cookie Met Lucious." "I'm gonna join Dad's show in Vegas." "Giuliana is a cancer, and if we don't root that bitch out, we all die." "Charlotte is deadly serious about keeping the thug element out of Vegas." "We'll just have to give her." "Biggie and 'Pac times ten." " Mama, what did you do?" " They ruined one of mine, so I took one of theirs." "Wait till you find out where I found Bella." "Welcome to Vegas, bigdaddy style." "Welcome to Vegas, baby!" "Hey, put my mama on the phone." "Yes, sir." "It's Mr. Lyon." "Dwight?" "How long do you plan on keeping me cooped up in here?" "You're gonna stay in there until you're no longer having this episode you're having." "I'm not having an episode." "I put steel in the skull of your enemy." "You know what, I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm sure you don't either." "Take your medication." "Juanita will tell me when you're under control." "Thank you." "You know, it's not sanitary to keep that in here." "My goodness, Ma, you just need to, like, cut it." "You know what I'm saying?" "You know why I'm doing it." "I can't." "Shoot, maybe because your devilish father tricked you into pulling When Cookie Met Lucious so Inferno could get ahead." "Ma, it's not some sort of conspiracy." "If I do Inferno, then that'll get the fans excited for When Cookie Met Lucious actually drops." "Dad knows that, I know that, you should know that, too." "What does Giuliana have to say?" "Who..." "Did she put her two cents in?" "You know this is all her idea." "Once she gets rid of me, she coming after you and your brothers." " Trust me on that." " My Lord." "Ma, first of all I don't deal with that woman." "Second of all, she has no sort of power to get rid of you." "You Cookie Lyon, Ma." "Like, come on." "Just come to the show." "I can't, the bitch had me blackbooked." "Yeah, If I go anywhere near Laviticus Vegas... the cameras will recognize my face and set off the alarms..." "ain't that some bull?" "Yeah, that is some bull." "Look, you ain't got to worry about that, all right?" "I'll talk to Dad." "Just come to the show." "Yeah, you do that." "I'm only coming to see you perform, anyway." "That's the only reason you should be coming." "You think you could also get Hakeem to come, you know what I'm saying?" "He don't need to be by himself here and..." "I mean, we tried to convince him to be in the show, but..." "His head ain't been in the game since Bella went missing." "Don't you worry about that, though, I will take care of him." "I'm not gonna leave him by hisself, you know that." "I know." "Nothing worked, so I'm gonna try it my way." "Get off the phone!" "You're not gonna find Bella by releasing a bunch of idiots on the street." "Whoa." "Who you calling an idiot?" "Right." "We the new wave, mama." "This is how we do." "This is reckless." "Okay, Hakeem, you guys have already completely" " vandalized the DuBois..." " I don't care!" "Give me a second." "Let's go, people." "Hello?" "Hello, dear." "It's your soontobe exmotherinlaw." "What do you want?" "I want you to come and get rid of your things, Boo Boo." "I don't want to be reminded you ever existed." "Besides, you have a whole pile of mail." "Unless you want me to start opening it." "Don't touch it." "I will be back as soon as I can." "All righty." "I'll be expecting you." "Turn it around." "Look, Hakeem, listen." "I know that you're worried, I'm worried, too." "But don't be crazy, like your grandmother, all right?" "I know that Bella's all right." "I can..." "I can feel it." "Trust me." "Wow, the venue is amazing." "I can't wait to see Inferno light up this space." "Now, there is one thing I'd like to share with both of you." "September 7, 1996." "Yes." "That would be the day that Tupac was shot." "You know your Vegas history." "Well, actually, Charlotte, she knows her hiphop history." "Well, that's semantics." "In any case, earlier that evening," "Mr. Shakur and Mr. Suge Knight and a gang of their gangster friends stomped out their rival in the lobby of the MGM Grand." "My father was gaming commissioner back then, and he lost his job because of those vile thugs." "If there's any ruckus on the opening night of Inferno, it'll be the last time Empire sets foot on the Strip." "She told you." "She told you." "I ran the plan by Cookie, she's on board." "When the show starts, ten of our people will be positioned inside the theater." "We count down, another ten or 12 will bust through the door, and all hell breaks loose." "Cookie said no fireworks, just boots and bats." "She's just worried about Jamal and his PTSD." "Whatever." "If I can live through bipolar, he can live through this." "When it's all said and done, we'll be positioned to take over the lease and start our own independent venture in Vegas." "You tell Cookie about the final piece of the plan?" "Hell no." "No matter what he does to her, she'll always be in love with him." "You really hate him?" "What'd he do to you?" "Everything." "More than you could ever imagine." "I'm the only one that knows what he truly is." "That's why I got to kill him." "You sure?" "Positive." "Andre, this is Franco." "He's the best there is" " at blowing stuff up." " Really?" "How come I never heard of him?" "You aren't supposed to hear about guys like me, if we do our jobs right." "All right, here's the deal." "While the preshow's getting started." "Franco gets everything ready outside." "Soon as we start brawling," "Lucious' security will rush him out the back entrance, trying to protect his ass." "That's when we get him." "It's remotely triggered by this phone app, so, at the push of a button... boom." "Just like that." "Boom." "I'm not going to Vegas until I find Bella." "Listen, son, I've got it on great authority that Bella's all right." "What authority?" "I can't go into details right now, but I was this close to finding her, and then something... came up." "But I haven't given up my search for her, son." "Well, Grandma thinks you..." "No, no, don't even ever listen to anything that your grandmother says." "She is out of her freakin' mind." "Look, baby, I'm not gonna go to Vegas if you don't go, okay?" "I would never leave you alone." "Well, what about Anika, Ma?" "Don't worry about Anika." "Anika got her own mama, she's got her own daddy to look after her." " Yeah." " You worry about you." "Look at this place right now." "Why is she acting so calm?" "Like she don't even care about Bella no more." "Well, baby, women have a certain strength when it comes to when it comes to stuff like that." "We have to stay calm, even when we don't want to, for the sake of our children." "Listen to your mama." "She's very wise." "But you need to take care of you right now." "Don't feel the need to hide your joy." "I'm just as happy as you to be leaving this... hellhole and you." "I'm not hiding anything." "I've been dancing around in my skivvies for days." "Hmph." "Why do you need those?" "I just figured that maybe Lucious might want me to take everything with me." "Your mail." "Yes." "Don't forget to tell the post office you moved." "I think the big one is from your divorce lawyer." "Yes!" "Finally." "Careful." "You don't want to rip it, in case it's a check, or something." "Why don't you use the letter opener?" "Bitch." "As head of the Nevada Gaming Commission, it is my honor to welcome Laviticus Resort and Casino to the Las Vegas Strip." "I and the NGC have been working very closely with Lucious Lyon to ensure that Laviticus will provide safe, enjoyable, familyfriendly entertainment to our great city." "We hope that Inferno will be Vegas's next big sensation." "Thank you." "If you have any questions, refer to the press release." "Honey, why don't you, go to the car and get the kids ready?" "Commissioner Frost." "Nice to see you again." "Andre, good to see you." "This is my husband." "Mitt Frost." "Good to meet you." "Andre Lyon." "Pleasure." "I wasn't expecting to see you until later in the week." "I came early in case I'm needed." "Once I hammer out a deal, I like to stay on top of it." "Know what I mean, Mitt?" "Yes, speaking of which, we should continue the conversation we started in my office." "It's just, right now, we have to go." "Our son Brigham has a soccer game." "Understood." " Well, pleasure to meet you, Mitt." " You as well." "Charlotte." "Andre." "This is the official gaming license, we are no longer in probation." "Yeah." "You kept your promise." "Is this everything?" "Yeah." "Well, I just have a couple more signatures, and..." "Excuse me for a second." "Of course." " I don't even have it." " Send me the..." "Excuse me." "Cook." "Look, um..." "I got you invited to the opening of Inferno." "Thought I was blackbooked." "I pulled some strings." "I'ma have you sit in the V.I.P. section with Dre and Hakeem." "He needs you." "He needs both of us right now, 'cause..." "I don't know if we're gonna find that little girl." "I can't have you backstage though." "Bitch's rules?" "Look, I just don't want any trouble, Cook, this is a big move for the company." "I mean, we're thinking about franchising." "Laviticus clubs all around the world, so I'm talking about a global Empire." "Right." "So who gonna sit on the throne with you?" "Get out of my face, Lucious." "Hey," " Boo." "I know exactly who you should date next." "It needs to be, like, a dopeass businessman, not, like, an artist." "Like, we're both done with artists forever." "Nah, I'm done with the dudes for a minute." "Come on." "So there's a chance for you and me, then?" " Hey..." " What's up, y'all?" "Welcome to open mic night at Laviticus New York!" "Up first, we got a fine brother by the name of Warren Hall, let's bring him out!" "Sorry, I'm a little bit nervous, but thanks for having me." "In my other life," "I'm a buttonedup lawyer, so..." "I'm not used to all these cool people." "And frankly, if I had known" "Jamal Lyon was gonna be here," "I probably wouldn't have signed up to sing "Born to Love U."" "You good, man." "It's like trying to carve the David when you got Michelangelo sitting here watching you." "Okay, you the David and the Michelangelo, okay?" "Okay!" "Yeah!" "That's right!" "Hello, dear." "Lisel is just getting her ready for you." "Call the police, then!" " I don't care!" " Get the baby out of here." "I don't care, call the police!" "Get off me, man." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dubois," " he pushed past me." " It's quite all right." " I knew it." " Hakeem, what are you doing here?" "I followed you." "My grandma might be crazy, but she ain't stupid." "She told me you were sketchy." "Relax." "Easy, son." "I ain't your son." "Thank God my mom didn't marry yo ass." "Now, does these people have my daughter?" "We know where she is." "Where is she?" "She's safe and sound." "Tell me right now." "Look, I just want to see her again." "I'll do anything." "Well." "You heard him, he said he'd do anything." "I'm gonna choose to believe him." "I missed you." "We are very happy to reunite you with your daughter." "But it comes at a price." "First, you will reassure your family that Bella is just fine." "Social Services found her, she's safely back with her mother, and then, you will wait to hear from us what we require you to do next." "Time for the allnew Laviticus Resort and Casino on the worldfamous Las Vegas Strip," "Lucious Lyon's Inferno!" "Everybody start to sing." "Sing, sing, sing, sing." "Everybody start to sing..." "All right, you better get back to your family." "I saw Mitt in the lobby buying Tshirts for the kids." "Well, then, we have plenty of time." "Mitt's indecisive." "Plus, I want to tie up all of these loose ends on our deal." "You mean these loose ends?" "Yeah." "Damn, you make me crazy." "Every time I watch that video I made of us..." "You made a video?" "My favorite part's where you yank off my belt, moaning you can't wait to see if what they say about black men..." "You're extorting me." "That's a harsh word." "I think I like gentle persuasion better." "I bet Mitt's made up his mind by now." "Hope you and your family enjoy the show." "Goodbye, Mrs. Frost." "Good looking out, Pablo." "I got you." "Hey, how you doing?" "Cookie." "You understand me when I say take care of my family, right?" "Absolutely." "You know what time it is." "Watch for the signal." "I knew I would catch you back here." "What are you up to?" "I'm just coming to wish Jamal good luck, like any good mother." "That's why you're here?" "Aw, hell." "She just can't respect boundaries, can she?" "It depends on what those boundaries are." "I think you need to tell her to have a seat." "I think I'ma get security to do that." "Webb?" "That goon better not put his hands on me." " I know that damn much." " What's about to be said right here, you need to listen with both ears." "This club, my money, my fruits of my labor, that's all for the woman that I love..." "Get your finger out of my face." "And for my children." "So, Giuliana, it's time for you to kick rocks." " Webb, get her out of here, please." " Ma'am, please." " What are you talking about?" " Come on." "What are you talking about, Lucious?" "Cookie is the love of my life." "Always was, always will be." "But you said you loved me." "And then you took $10 million from me." "Okay." "That's fine, but this club still belongs to me." "Not according to those papers you signed in my conference room with all those lawyers;" "They were on my payroll." "Empire owns all of this." "Laviticus is mine, lock, stock and barrel." "I would tell you to watch your back, but I think you already know what I'm capable of." "Let's go." "Right now, you capable of getting escorted out of the club that we took." "Bye, bitch." "You just gonna let her talk to you like that and threaten you?" "I'm letting her leave with some dignity." "I got what I wanted." "Both of us made a bunch of sacrifices, baby." "You sacrificed 17 years for me." "I did all that with Giuliana for you." "Show's on in two, L." "But why make me suffer like that, Lucious?" "Because I wanted to see your face when this happens." " Come here." " When what happens?" "Come on." "When Laviticus Las Vegas presents." "When Cookie Met Lucious." "You were right, as you usually are." "The moment that I heard his finished album," "I knew that that was our show." "It's the story of that little girl that I fell in love with, that turned into this beautiful woman that's in front of me right now." "So, Jamal's been keeping this a secret for two weeks?" "Okay, wait, I got to make a phone call." "Yeah?" " Call off your boys." " What?" " Call them off right now!" " Why?" "Call them off now, damn it." "You hear me?" "That was beautiful, baby." "That was beautiful." " God, man." " Yeah, that was for trying to trick me." "We gonna have to start protecting you." " You want some more?" " No." "Yo, I can't get no family love?" "Hakeem!" "My brother!" "I knew you'd come." "How you feeling, man?" " Perfect." " Yeah." "I got something to tell y'all." "Can it wait?" "I've got to go out there." "Wait, wait, you performing?" "Yeah, I'm doing a song for When Cookie Met Lucious." " Kill it, Dad." " Thank you." "He wanted to write a song." "It's dope." "It's for the future." "Come on." "I have held dreams." "Tell it!" "Come on, Daddy!" "I love you, Mom." "That's a lot, baby!" "So, we are all very eager to hear about your little performance." "I was mediocre." "My voice cracked twice, and my chords were a little murky." "But Jamal Lyon thinks I'm gorgeous." "Fabulous." "Because we are." "The DuBois twins are ready for battle." "Lyons beware." "Well, knowing Jamal as I do," "I'm pretty sure this will be one of our easier conquests." "Angelo, do not be smug." "The Lyon family is formidable." "However, I am confident about Hakeem." "So, here we go." "¿Salud?" "Salud." "So, what you got to tell us, boy?" "Dad, you killed it." "Thank you, son." "Thank you, but who really killed it was this mug right here." " No, that's you, baby." " Yeah," " both of y'all were good." " All you." "Okay, look, look, what do you have to tell us?" "Okay, so, look," "Anika found Bella." " What?" "Where?" " Are you serious?" "Where?" "When?" " And, what... have you seen her?" " I seen her, Mom," "I held her in my arms." "I even got a picture of us." "Boom." "My God." "My God, it's amazing." "And she's okay?" "Where is she?" "Wait, whose house is that?" "It's Anika's parents' house." "She's there safe and sound with them." "This day couldn't get better, man." "Hi, yes, this is Anika Calhoun." "You guys... no, no, no, everything's divine." "I was just wondering, you guys wouldn't happen to have some, hot sauce, would you?" "Fabulous." "Yes, thank you, thank you." "Byebye." "Hello?" "It's your future exmotherinlaw." "Some more mail came for you." "If you're still at the hotel, I can just have it messengered." "Yes, actually, can you send it to The Peninsula in the penthouse suite?" "Thanks." "Thank you." "Finally." "Lord." "How long's it take to get some hot sauce in here?" "Anika Lyon?" "I prefer "Calhoun."" "You're under arrest for the murder of Tariq Cousins." "Excuse me?" "You have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say can and will be used against you." "You have the right to an attorney." "If you cannot afford one, the court will appoint one for you." "Hey, Loretha?" "Loretha." "Hey, Loretha..." " I know her." " Is that Barry Hudson from Philly?" "Hey, is that Bar..." "Barry?" "Let him in." "Let him in, Webb." "Come back." "Guys, guys, let him in." "Look at this." "See?" "Hey." " Barry, hey." " Hey." "What are you doing here?" "We're on vacation." "My goodness, have a seat." "How are you, brother?" "Good to see you." "Actually, celebrating a big milestone." "Y'all want something to drink?" "No, no, no, no, no, thank you, though." " This is my wife, Michelle." " Hi, how are you?" "Nice to meet you." "This is Cookie." "She saw that Lucious Lyon was opening a show here." "Sold out, but we got scalped tickets." "She's a huge fan." "She always teased that I was confabulating when I claimed I used to know you." "Can you blame me?" "I mean, Barry isn't exactly a hepcat." "Yeah, Barry knows us." "I'm sure he wished he never met us." "Come on, we were just crazy kids, right?" "Everything worked out." "I'm a doctor, married to a doctor." "Michelle and I had a nice, little family practice out in Bala Cynwyd." ""Had"?" "What happened?" "Well, the big milestone that we're celebrating is retirement." "OOur daughter, Sarah, graduated from med school and joined the practice, and we just turned the whole thing over to her." " Your daughter's a doctor?" " Wow, that's amazing." " Congratulations." " Thanks." "So now we can just... cut loose, see the world, enjoy each other." "Anyway, um, here's my card." "I know you've probably got a million people to talk to, but maybe we can all have dinner before we leave town." "I'd like that." "We'd like that." "Yeah, you know what?" "Let... why don't we take a picture together?" " Wow, that's nice of you to..." " thank you." "Let's just break protocol." "Appreciate it." "Come on, y'all got scalped tickets." "You might as well get a real picture." "Appreciate it." "There you go." "Good one, baby." "Okay, good." "Thank you so much, really." "No, no, thank y'all." "Thanks y'all for, having us come in." "Yeah, thanks." "It was such a pleasure seeing you." " I can't believe all these years." " You, too." " Congratulations again." " Thank you." " Yeah." " My man." "Pleasure seeing you again." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." " Y'all take care." " Thank you." "Come on." "Hey, man, I told you we could see them." "They're so sweet." "They're nice people." "That's crazy." "Wow." "I'm not gonna lie... that kind of stirred up my feelings." "Did you see the way they were holding hands with each other and looking at each other?" "Say to hell with it." "Why don't we just take a page right out of Barry andand Michelle's book?" "I want to see the world with you, Cook." "I want to write a new page in our story, far away from the backbiting and the drama." "You created that drama by pitting your sons against each other." "I created it, but together we can uncreate it." "What you doing down there, Grandpa?" "Better get off them arthritic knees." "What do you say?" "What do I say what?" "Say yes." "See the world with me." "I say your ass need to have a ring." "I can buy you a whole jewelry store." "Andre." "I've been looking for you all day." "Where the hell you been?" "Shine told me you backing out..." "Shut up." "Shut up, boy." "We not gonna mention that no more." "Hey, y'all, look who I found." " Dre." " Hey." " What's up?" " Hey, what's up?" " There you are." " Bro, bro, what's up, man?" " What's up?" "Listen up, y'all, um, your mother and I have something we want to share with you three." "We made a decision." "What kind of decision?" "A big one." "We have decided to step down from the daytoday operations of Empire." "Hold on, wait, is one of y'all sick?" " No." " No." "The opposite." "We are actually very well and of sound mind, and now that you've got Bella back..." "And that bitch is gone... and I don't want to ever hear her name again." "Okay." "Forgive me." "Um, we just realized that life is too short." "And we want to spend the rest of it doing something we fantasized about when we were kids." "Being happy." "Being happy." "And, Jamal, you been talking forever about us breaking the cycle." "Well, it's time." "And it's time that I... do something I should've done years ago." "What's this?" "The keys to the kingdom, literally." "Those are my office keys." "Thirsty is gonna have some papers drawn up for the board's approval, but it's all yours, Dre." " Mine?" " Yes, baby." "We should've done this a long time ago." "Hakeem andand Jamal are artists, with huge careers ahead of them and they need a strong company to stand behind them." "And, baby, XStream," "Empire XStream, that was all you." "This Vegas deal was all you." "You are the one to take Empire to the next level." "Said that I was a liability." "I was scared of you." "Because I'd grown up with a mother that had your issues and so they became issues for me." "But I've found out that condition that you were born with, it gave you a brain that can outmaneuver any man on the chessboard, including myself." "And you can control it when you have the support of your family around you." "That's right." "And when you're taking care of yourself, son, you're unstoppable." "And I want y'all to make sure y'all give him the support" " that he needs." " That's right." "You deserve it, bro." "Congrats." "Y'all already know." "The boss." "Congrats, man." "Look, your mother and I want you to know know how very proud we are to have you as our firstborn." "Lucious, just tell the boy you love him." "The hell out of here." "Well, look, I'ma fly back on the jet tonight." "I want to get back so I can be ready with Bella." "All right." "Give her a hug for me." "Kiss her for me." "Wait for me 'cause I'ma roll with you, a'ight?" " Hurry up." " You have a show to do." "When Cookie Met Lucious is officially dropping." "I know, but we a hit." "Look, I'll be back on Sunday." "I just want to spend the weekend in New York." "Yeah, I met somebody." "Dang, all up in my business." "All up in here." "It's all good..." "Shine!" "Where's Franco?" "He's not answering his phone." "Franco left already." "I got the app right here." "Well, give it to me." "I'm calling it off." "Come again." "My family just handed me control of the company, Shine." "Okay?" "I promise you you won't be left out." "Okay, Lucious just mounted a hit show." "You get a piece of that, too." "Give me the app." "Give me the phone." "Come on, give me the app." "Shine, give me..." "Man, keep your promises." "It's so funny." "You always saying we from the same place." "We ain't the same!" "There's a code." "And the code says you can't bring it back when the bullet leaves the gun." "You started this." "I'ma finish it." "Now get him out of here." "You'll have to shoot me." "Get off of me!" "Pop!" "Let's go to Bermuda." "We talked about that when we were kids." "Bermuda is played out, child." "You have to take me to Turks and Caicos." "Well, then why don't I just buy us our own island?" "You think you slick?" "You think you can get in my drawers by saying something slick like that?" "No, I want to get in your heart." "Come on." "Pop!" "Ma!" "What, boy?" "Move!" "Get away from the car!" "Why?" "Go!" "Ma!" "Dad!" "No, it's lit." "No, no, no, no." "Lucious!" "No!" ""To my friend, Lucious Lyon." ""I can't wait until you come back roaring." ""Best wishes" ""for a speedy recovery." "All my love, Stevie."" "Dad, that's amazing, man." "It's Stevie?" "Yeah." "He's in a coma." "He can't hear nothing." "Shut up, boy." "He can hear a lot more than you think." "I've had patients in your father's condition come out of comas after months, actually, sometimes even years, and recall everything." "So, you might want to watch what you say." "Can you please make sure that those scans that Dr. West ordered are loaded in?" " Yes, ma'am." " Thank you." "So, it's, story time." "Tonight I was gonna read the short story by Borges, the one you said that he loved." "Yeah." "Dwight." "Dwight." "Dwight." "Dwight." "You can go." "No, we're not going nowhere no time soon." "You mind telling us why you sent that nurse for the scans?" "Mrs. Lyon, you know that I am not at liberty to discuss his test results." "Okay, well, then are you at liberty to lose your damn job?" "Ma." "Because... no, we are paying for all of this." "Okay, but calm down." "She's just trying to help, Mom." "You supposed to do what I tell you to do." " Just calm down." " It's okay." "She's just helping out." "It's all right." "She doesn't need to calm down." "I understand." "This is very stressful." "Yeah, I'm stressed and the last thing you should be doing is telling me how stressed I am." " It's rude." " Ma." "Mom, let'slet's just go." "You know what?" "All right." "Give me my stuff, boy." "Look, I know you some kind of special nurse and all of that, but it's been three months and he still look like a vegetable, so maybe you ain't so damn special." " Come on, Dad." " We'll see you tomorrow." "Yes, you will see me tomorrow." "Mom, Mom." "Look, Ma." "Come here." "What?" "Dad." "I'ml'm not tripping." "HHis eyes were open." "They're closed now, but I swear, theythey fluttered." " Pop, can you hear us?" " Dad." "Lucious?" "Ooh!" "There he is." " Lucious." "Lucious!" " Yeah." " Lucious!" "Lucious." " Yo, what's up, Dad?" " Come on, man, what's up?" " Hi, Dad." "It's Hakeem, Dad." "Welcome back." "Wait, Ma, he's trying to say something." "Cookie, yes." "Cookie." "Who are you?" "Cookie." "It's us." "Yeah, we're here." "Yeah, Dad." "It's Hakeem." "It's okay." " It's your family." " Yeah, man, it's all right." " We're here." " Yeah." "Who?"