03x14 - Love is A Smoke

Episode transcripts for the 2015 TV show "Empire". Aired January 2015 - April 2020.*
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Hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment receives a medical diagnosis predicting he will be incapacitated within three years, prompting the sharks to circle. Without further damaging his family, he must decide which of his three sons will take over...
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03x14 - Love is A Smoke

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously on Empire...

It's the devil's chord.

And she told me you didn't
even want to use it.

- Do you love Angelo?
- I think so.

- Think?
- I don't want to lose him.

And that's why I have to come
clean about what happened.

No, no, no, no, no.

You just went Cookie crazy.

We are prepared

to call the Democratic mayoral primary

for Angelo Dubois.

We'd like to know when
you're gonna find the time

to wear this wire. Get Tariq to fess up

to all his illegal tactics.

I've been working on an investment deal

for Empire artists in Las Vegas.

Why don't you play the song
you wrote for me, Lucious.

You tell me why I shouldn't k*ll
you right where you're standing.

I think you might be the only person

that's ever played this old piano.

Who knows? Maybe it was put here

just so I could write a song about you.

That's hot.

Who's it for?

Nobody.

Just a 15-year-old demo
that I never quite finished.

"Crazy, Crazy 4 U"?

I was a bit of a romantic then.

Was it before or after you divorced me?

Does it matter?

I mean, we both know that love

and romance is all bull, right?

Well, it's hot.

Thank you.

But don't worry,
I'm not gonna put it on Inferno,

or nothing like that.

I mean, you and Jamal got
that corny sentimental corner

locked up with that.

When Cookie Met Lucious.

So... so, what's up, Cook?

I need to run something by you.

But, you know what,
now might not be the time.

What are you talking about?
You're already here.

Might as well spit the damn thing out.

Well...

Angelo...

has been hinting that,
if he wins the primary,

he would propose to me.

And he won it.

Good.

Maybe you and him will have a
much smoother ride than we did.

So, you're not gonna try
and burn it down if I say yes?

Whatever you and him got,

it ain't nothing
compared to what we had.

I mean, y'all ain't

torn up a room,
let alone a whole damn building.

But if he asks you

and you do say yes, um...

I'll fall back.

Have you spoken to the boys about it?

I plan on talking to them next.

Good.

'Cause you and me, we need to have

a "coming to Jesus" moment
with Andre about...

this whole Vegas deal.

Vegas is moving ahead, Lucious, what...

why do you want to k*ll it?

Because this woman
Andre is dealing with is...

a very dangerous woman.

Where the hell is Tory?

We need to get Nessa on point

before that gaming
commissioner gets here.

Why are we even dealing

with a junkie ex-pop star, anyway?

Because that junkie ex-pop
star is a genius songwriter,

and that's what Nessa needs.

Look, guys,

the head of the Vegas Gaming Commission

has flown out here
as a personal favor to me.

We're gonna have to
present facts, figures,

revenue projections and hit
songs by our headliner.

If Commissioner Frost doesn't think

this is a viable
enterprise, guess what.

We get no gaming license.

And you know what that means?

We are sunk from jump.

Does that make sense?

You're two hours late.

sh**t, I meant to make it three.

Hello,

I'm Giuliana.

My friends call me Giusi.

We're not friends.

Let me guess,

you were a big fan of
my generic pop anthems.

They made you feel empowered.

No, actually, I liked your first EP,

Rat Juice. Back when it felt

like you were actually
singing for something.

It's too bad.

I don't perform anymore.
It kills my sobriety.

Tory,

we want you to write a song for Nessa,

for a show she's doing in Las Vegas.

That could actually be kind of cool.

Unfortunately, Lucious has me

under lock and key for Inferno.

Well, maybe you and Lucious

- can do something together.
- No.

Hell no, that's not happening.

You know, I would really appreciate it

if you don't interrupt
me when I'm speaking,

because I actually know what I'm doing.

Co... Andre,
come on, man. What is this?

- It was Giusi, right?
- Yeah.

Maybe we could be friends.

I'm sure that I could
sneak one past Lucious.

I like the way you think.

Just give me a day or two,

I have a couple of things
I've been working on.

Great.

What is it... with you

and my father?

I saw you trying to talk
to him the other night.

What's going on?

We met a long time ago.

I saw him the other night,
he didn't remember me,

so clearly I didn't leave
much of an impression.

Well, for future reference,

me and Andre is doing this deal.

We don't need Lucious.

Okay, Shiny.

Calm down. I got it.

Hey, you know where a brother can get

one of them Coocious T-shirts at?

You stupid.

I don't think that's suitable

for the next mayor
of New York, my friend.

Yeah, you're probably right.

One step at a time, though.

One step at a time.

And speaking of steps...

I am about to take a pretty big one.

Um, and I don't...

I don't want to put a foot
wrong with your moms.

So, I figured that I would

come and-and speak with you first.

Wait,

you... you asking me for my
mother's hand in marriage?

- You... how did...
- Angelo,

- that's amazing. Really?
- But one step at a time, though.

I'm-I'm actually here to ask you if...

- I-if I should ask her.
- Yes!

Hell yes. Why would you even hesitate?

Well...

well, for starters...

No. No, no, no, no, no.

Come on. Look.

Old pictures, old news, a'ight?

Coocious is over.

- For real?
- I'm telling you.

Okay.

Okay.

That's...

that's all I really wanted to hear.

That's amazing, man.
Wait, wait, wait, hold up, look.

Look, a little advice, all right?

Stop.

You know, with the whole
"one step at a time" thing.

My mom is the one, so get her.

She likes showmanship, drama,
big gestures, so bring it.

Of course.

Okay. Good looking out.

Stepdaddy.

I'm putting all of Empire's
department heads to work.

Wardrobe, PR,
Art Department, everybody.

Wow, that sounds pretty damn ambitious.

I mean, something of
that size would require

approval of both CEOs, and
nothing came across my table.

Did you cosign something like that?

No, I did not.

Andre, you gonna introduce me?

Ma, this is Giuliana Green.

I thought you two met the other night.

No. I was too busy
celebrating Angelo's win.

But I feel like we met.

Not that I recall.

Lucious, you haven't changed a bit.

You look

almost as good as when we met.

My name's Lucious.

As if everyone in here
doesn't know who you are.

Then, what's the problem?

I mean, you saw me looking at you.

Why you walk away?

Well, time is money.

Maybe I decided you're
not worth my time.

You about as shady
as you are beautiful.

What's your endgame?

I'm my own endgame.

Spin coming up.

You look a little trepidatious.

Excuse me, let me show you
how the big boys do it.

Place your bets,
ladies and gentlemen.

This is for you.

No more bets, please.

No more bets.

Winner, double zero.

Ain't I gonna get a thank
you kiss or nothing?

I'll bet you
don't know the difference

between a biased wheel
and a house edge.

Teach me.

I'm Giuliana.

My friends call me Giusi.

Well, I'm going to call you Giuliana.

Because we're going to be
much more than friends.

Wait.

You two know each other?

We met...

once...

a long time ago.

I'm surprised Rafael
let you leave Vegas.

I mean, normally, he keeps
a tight-ass leash on you.

He knew Rafael?

- Who's Rafael?
- Rafael is...

Why is Shine referring
to Rafael in past tense?

Rafael Green

was a big player in Vegas.

A very corrupt, ruthless,

and despicable human being.

Giuliana is... or,
I'm sorry, was... his wife.

And therefore under no circumstance

will my business

or my family have anything

to do with her.

I know we've met.

Andre, we'll talk.

Ma, this from
the place in Flatbush?

I thought they hated you.

No, you know I can't stay mad
at them Jamaicans for too long.

Love that jerk chicken.

Look, baby, I ordered extra plantains.

I know how much you love 'em.

Okay, cool.

All right, boy, let it out.

Let what out?

Keem, you stopped talking

the moment I mentioned marrying Angelo.

So you're in your feelings about
something. Let's talk about it.

Ma, I don't care.

You are so obvious, man.

I'm too old to be having
a stepfather, okay?

Goodness. Hakeem, brother,
you need to grow up, for real.

- You grow up.
- No, 'cause it's not

about you, it's not about me.

It's about Mom and her happiness.

- Thank you.
- I'm saying it's about damn time

that she got through with Dad

and she found herself a good dude.

Hear, hear.

All I know is, the last track on.

When Cookie Met Lucious is gonna be

about our mother finding happiness,

the happiness that her
father dreamed for her.

That's amazing.
That's what's important.

Thank you, Mal. That's so sweet.

So that means I have
your support, too, Andre?

I'm in full support of you, Mom.

And, in turn,

I want you to support my Vegas deal,

no matter how hard
Lucious pushes against it.

And now it's about you.

Hey, I'm asking all of you to back me.

It's a big opportunity.

Giuliana's club's gonna be
the perfect spot for us.

Hakeem, you can do
a residency in Vegas.

And I know how important it is
to both of you to b*at Inferno.

So what about this?

What if

we launch a visual album on XStream,

with a party in Vegas?

I'm proposing all of that,

for all of us, to the gaming
commissioner in a few days.

That goes well,

we will have broken into a town
Dad's been too afraid to cr*ck.

I-It just seems weird.

She didn't say anything else
about Rafael?

We could've had this conversation

between the two of us, Lucious.

And you never spoke to him? Not once?

I already told you. No, Thirsty.

Now, the only reason
I'm not smacking you out

of that "buy one, get one free"
suit you got on right now is out

of respect for Lucious.

But you keep comin' at me like that.

Thirsty is the eyes in the
back of my head in this place.

And if he's asking you
questions, it's 'cause

I'm asking them.

Lucious, holy...

I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?

Yeah, we're in the middle
of something right now.

Well, I'm sorry. It's just that
I'm in the studio with Tory,

and you have to hear this.

Listen, I mean, the
only reason that I'm...

not gonna read anything
into you referring to this dude

as in the past tense

is 'cause I'm taking you
on your word, Shine.

Just do me a favor and
find out what really happened

with this dude, man.

You got it.

Thank you, boss.

Hey, Brandon,

let's take that next bit up

and see if Nessa can hit it, all right?

So, this was just
supposed to be a demo,

but do you hear those vocals?

Look at you, Miss Becky
with the Good Damn Ear.

I mean, nobody in the
world would ever suspect

that Tory Ash is a soul singer.

A white girl like that
blowing through black pipes,

- that's money for Empire.
- I know.

What I could do is I could take this

and polish it up and release
it on Empire XStream.

And that's what you're gonna do.

Except Andre commissioned this
demo for Nessa's Vegas show.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Well, that's not a problem.
That's a solution to a problem.

Look, this is what we're gonna do.

You're gonna release this tonight.

We're gonna get Hakeem
and Tiana to introduce it.

I mean, I think they'll
enjoy serving up a little

karmic retribution

for Andre and Miss Nessa.

- Hey.
- Come on in.

I was careful. Trust me.

Aw, you up already?

Come on, come on, I know.

Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo.

Yes, indeed. You come on over here.

Shh, now, be quiet.

We need to listen in on something.

If you can't keep her quiet,

- I can hold her... I want to...
- Hush up.

I don't want to miss this.

She not even fussing.

You just make sure boo boo kitty does

what boo boo kitties do.

"Boo boo kitty." I ain't heard you

say that in a while.

Yeah, well, I'm in a good mood today.

So, this is, um...

this is where all the...
the magic happens?

- You hear your mommy?
- It's going down.

What magic?

You know, the, um...

solving the cases and stuff.

You seem a bit nervous.

Are you scared of Lucious,

or are you scared of me?

No, Tariq. No, it's just, um...

I'm just wondering if maybe we might be

making a mistake.

Now, it's only a mistake

if you try to play a brother.

No.

The truth is,
you're all I've got right now.

I mean, you know what kind of animal

I'm dealing with here.

She never lied about that.

Because your granddaddy
is a savage beast.

- Don't be telling her that.
- Yes, he is. It's the truth.

Yeah, you're in a tight spot.

But you serve Cookie up on a platter,

they'll lift my suspension.

Suspension?

But I...

I didn't know that you were suspended.

How can you protect me
if you're suspended?

This is gonna get me reinstated.

Trust me.

Well, that's a wrap on his ass.

Are you sure?

You can't work on a case
while you're suspended.

I mean, Thirsty can get
him thrown out of the FBI

and thrown in jail.

Anika stepped up for us.

- Yeah.
- I got to give her props for that.

And she gave us Bella.

Take her. That's Angelo.

Come here. Come to Granddaddy.

Hello.

How come I'm at your apartment

right now, and you are not?

Something came up.

Okay, you remember I told you
I needed to speak to you

- about something, right?
- All right,

why are you getting so testy?

Well, be-because it's important.

- Tell me now.
- Cookie, face to face.

That's how important news is delivered.

Okay, you ain't got to get

all gangsta on me.

I'll come right now.

Well, apparently Angelo

has something he has to tell me now.

I-I have to go.

Sounds like he's about

to propose to you.

You think so?

Probably, so you might
want to get over there

before he change his mind.

Now that, um,

Anika's stepped up to the plate,

you gonna make her family again?

She was never family.

We're just kind of freaky
together, you know?

That should work out fine for you,

'cause you ain't nothing but a freak.

Well, you're the one that taught me.

Shut up.

There's only been two women

who could deal with you, Lucious,

and that's been me and Anika.

And I'm about to be off the market.

Don't remind me.

You're kind of a hard act to follow.

Bye, baby.

Shine.

Hey, I'm a little busy right now, man.

You ain't too busy for this.

Go ahead.

I found out what happened to Rafael.

I'm listening.

It's probably something we shouldn't

talk about on the phone.

Why don't you meet me at your office?

Done.

All right, I'll let you in,

but after that,
whatever happens, happens.

Come on, Thirsty will finish monitoring

that stuff right there.

What about Shine?

You just gonna roll over there?

No, Shine is in check.

He's no thr*at at all.

Well, if you need me to roll,

just give me the p*stol.

You got a man that's
about to propose to you.

Go on.

All right, come on over here.

Girl, take this.

Okay.

Been waiting all evening for this.

Let me get this chair for you.

There you go.

All right.

How was your day?

It was good.

It was good? Excellent.

Ooh.

You had something
you wanted to ask me?

Yes.

Cookie.

I have received a very coveted spot

on The Grant Kelly Show tomorrow,

and I would like you to be by my side.

Are you proposing...

that I, be on TV... with you?

- On TV with me, yes, please.
- Yeah?

I mean, it's... it's a huge show,

and this would finally put all
that Coocious mess to rest.

You know, show the world
that it's about you and me.

Yeah. Of course.

- You will?
- Yes, yes.

Thank you.

All right.

Lucious.

I don't want to sh**t you.

Well, that g*n in my face
is saying something different.

It's the only way I could
get your attention.

You got my attention.

Sit down.

I am about to make all of
our wildest dreams come true.

Look around.

This place.

I'm buying it.

In a minute, this is gonna be
the hottest club in Vegas.

Empire Vegas.

Look, I didn't want to say
too much, but you got to know,

I never thought I would ever
feel like this about anybody

ever again.

- Give me a minute, all right?
- Sure.

It's all there... $10 million.

You sure about this, Lucious?

It's pretty much all we got, and
ain't none of it exactly clean.

Get the cash.

Just give me...
just give me my girl.

Your girl?

That's my wife.

You have any idea what
I had to do to get that money?

How many bridges I b*rned?

How many of my friends I hurt?

Yes, I lied to you,
yes, I stole from you.

But you have no idea
what I've been through.

Rafael was an evil bastard.

Yeah, but you chose
to stay with him?

It took me 15 years to figure
out how to get out of that.

He was coming to take you down again.

I'm sorry about all
your little boo-boos.

But last time I checked,
you owe me $10 million.

I don't have $10 million.

Rafael took all of it.

The only way...

The only way I can pay
you back your money is

if you sign off on this deal.

I need you, Lucious.

The gaming commissioner is
coming to Laviticus tomorrow

to look over Andre's business plan,

and I need you to sign off on it.


Lucious, I k*lled my husband for you.

So if the commissioner
doesn't like, um...

Andre's plan, it puts you and him

in a really bad spot, right?

Yes. Yes.

Yeah.

It's a new day, Anika,
and I have some exciting news.

Um...

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

Wow. It's been such a
long time since I've,

- stayed up all night talking.
- Yeah.

I'm so glad we held off.

You know, um, thanks
for letting me take it slow.

What's the news?

Spoke to Agent Sweetwater.

She got Washington on board.

Okay.

We're handing Lucious and Cookie...

on a silver platter.

- Great, great.
- We'll both be free of them?

Great, great, great.

Wow. I, um... You know what? I...

felt really close to you last night.

Um, just-just let me go
to the bathroom. I-I...

- I really need to freshen up.
- No, come on,

- I've been waiting all night for this,
- God.

No, no, no, I got
morning breath, and-and...

- I just want to clean up.
- Damn,

- damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.
- Why you acting so skittish?

You don't got to be
nervous with me, Anika.

Sweetwater, wake your ass up.

What's wrong? Is there something wrong?

No, no, no, no, no.

I...

What up, Agent Sweetwater?

Yeah.

Yeah, I know the place.

Yeah.

All right.

See you at noon.

The ASAC is here from D.C.

He wants to meet at a hotel in Jersey.

I got to get going.

Anika.

We're almost there.

Yes, we are.

Only thing better than
breaking a new track on XStream?

Screwing over Andre and
Nessa at the same damn time.

And we're live. Action, Hakeem.

We got something special for y'all.

A new voice, a new talent.

Some white-hot, blue-eyed soul

about to take Empire and
the music world by storm.

This is Tory Ash like you've
never heard her before.

So remember where you were.

Tory, what's good?

Okay, that's how you do.

I like that.

Yo, bro, did you see Tory?
She was dope.

Who's this caramel
macchiato right here?

Tinashe, that's my brother, Hakeem.

- Hi. Tinashe.
- What's good?

You want to come party with us or what?

Thanks, but, um,
I'm actually in the middle

of laying down some tracks.

I'm helping Jamal
with his visual album.

- Yeah.
- Well, I'm down to do a duet.

- I'll put Schoolboy Q on notice.
- Okay.

Good luck with that.

Me and Jamal will talk about it.

I'll see you tomorrow.

- No doubt. All right.
- Bye, guys.

- Hakeem, what is all this?
- What?

You're not supposed to be
around this with your recovery.

I wasn't partying, if that's
what you're thinking, okay?

You're not supposed to be around it.

I can handle myself.

Come on, man, aren't you
gonna give me props?

- Finally found my voice.
- Yeah.

No doubt, I'll give you props for that,

but not for putting yourself in danger.

I see.

So it's perfectly fine for Jamal Lyon

to courageously kick his pill habit

and have his major comeback,
but not for Tory Ash, right?

Keep on talking out your ass, Tory.

See, you're problem is

you just can't handle any competition.

Even from your own father.

Want to get out of here?

Agent Sweetwater?

You're late.

Traffic on that Verrazano
must've been a bitch?

Put that away, little brother.

You know how many
people know we're here?

- Where's Anika?
- You mean my wife?

Who recorded every illegal
and pathetic move

you tried to make against me?

She was wearing a wire.

But you were so horny to get at her,

you didn't even stop
and check for a moment.

I took the liberty of calling the FBI

ahead of time.

They're on their way.

I packed you something.

Something to give you
a fighting chance.

I offered you an opportunity

to be a part of the family,

but apparently you
weren't interested, so...

now you got to run.

Mr. Dubois,
not only have you bounced back

from what could have been
an enormous scandal,

you're now seen as the front-runner.

That's quite a turnaround.

Yes. Yes, I'm thankful.

I also have to thank my team.

My team and, quite frankly,

I have Cookie to thank as well.

Ms. Lyon, you are being called

the breakout star of this campaign.

You drove up Angelo's poll numbers

after your first public
appearance with him.

- You ever thought of running yourself?
- Hell...

I'm sorry. No.

I believe in this man, and I...

I think he will make a great
mayor for New York City.

Tell me, because I know
that this question

is on the forefront
of everyone's minds.

With the prospect of Gracie
Mansion in your future,

do the two of you have any plans
to solidify your commitment?

Well, we take it one step at a time.

Right, Angelo?

Yes, yes. We've,
we've been discussing this.

As a matter of fact...

I know that you like
grand gestures, so...

I want to spend the rest
of my life with you, Cookie.

It's gorgeous.

Will you marry me?

My God.

Boy.

There you have it, folks.

Angelo Dubois just got
engaged to Cookie Lyon

right here on The Grant Kelly Show.

Congratulations, Mr. Soon to be Mayor.

Thank you, sir, I appreciate it.

My pleasure.

You do understand that
Nessa can't screw this up.

She's not gonna screw this up.

Nessa's gonna be one of
Empire's biggest stars.

I'm telling you.

I don't think you understand.

I have made some big
promises on this deal.

So have I, Giuliana.

What the hell?

- Did you know about this?
- No.

- Who is that?
- Charlotte Frost,

- the most powerful person in Vegas.
- They have live shows,

but our show itself is the show.

We're going to be filled

with all of hip-hop's latest artists,

telling their own personal stories

about the history of
hip-hop from right here.

I mean, Birdman and Snoop

is already filed in as investors.

So we've got a ton of
other people on there.

Giuliana.

Lucious.

Well, this is Charlotte Frost,

as you know, the head
of the gaming commission.

Say hello.

How are you, Giuliana?

I'm wonderful. And you?

- I'm good.
- Andre.

You and Nessa are out.

Wanted to share that with you.

I'm impressed.

Did not expect this.

Lucious, when Giuliana told
me I had to come to New York,

I was prepared to be irked
if it wasn't worth my while.

But this... this crosses the
threshold into interesting.

"Interesting." She said you
would call it interesting.

Initially, I was going to bore you

with a bunch of charts and graphs,

but Giuliana said that we should
put on a live-action show.

So you can get

- a tangible experience from it.
- Yes.

Thirsty?

What's up?

Would you mind taking
care of our guest?

Absolutely.

Great job.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

Do a little gambling, maybe?

Well, aren't you just
full of surprises?

What were you thinking,
putting me on the spot like that?

Wait a minute, J-J-J...

Jamal said that you liked showmanship.

I like a man who can
think for himself, Angelo.

Well...

I need a minute, okay?

I just, I need time
to think about this.

This is just happening too fast.

Think about it? What's
there to think about, baby?

What, are you scared? 'Cause...

we can talk about it.
Do you want to talk about it?

Angelo.

I've been trying to right my past.

- Right your past?
- Yes, the mistakes I made in my past.

With my father.

Trying to please him.

By being with a man like you,

because the relationship with
Lucious, that's what k*lled him.

Lucious.

I should've known
this was about his ass.

You're still in love with him.

It's not about Lucious at all.

It's about me.

And I'd be lying to you
if I didn't say that.

I still have feelings for him.

You still have feelings for Lucious.

I wanted to be honest with you.

I don't want to hide that.

We kissed.

It was just a kiss.

One time.

And I have been trying

to tell you.

No. Okay, wait, now... shh!

I compromised my integrity.

I compromised the
integrity of my campaign

over and over for you!

I got that Freda what's-her-face

out of jail for Jamal!

Fraudulently, Cookie!

Shh.

I broke the law for your ass!

The, the illegal handgun!

Th-The parole violation!

I did all of that for you, Cookie!

And now you're gonna tell me
that you still have feelings

for that greasy...

Hot mic, baby, hot mic.

My mama was right.

Your whole family is poison.

All of y'all are garbage.

Every last one of y'all.

Um, this is, this is my son.

I need to take this.

Take it outside.

Angelo.

Angelo, it's okay.

- No.
- It's gonna be all right.

Mama, how is everything
gonna be all right?

You have done nothing wrong.

That ungrateful bitch blindsided you.

She's wrecked everything,
but listen to me.

- Listen to me.
- Okay.

I'm taking charge now.

And I will not rest until I see
the Lyons groveling in the dirt,

begging for a merciful death.

They messed with the wrong clan.

They're going down.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please direct your
attention to center stage,

where you will see the
eighth wonder of the world,

the legendary Tory Ash!

First she steals my song,

now she's standing in my spot, Shine.

Now, tell me

you did not know about this.

No. Neither did
your punk-ass boyfriend.

Get your men together.

We're gonna take him out.

It's a beautiful song.

It's haunting.

Yeah, I wrote it for her.

I meant every word of it.
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