04x13 - Of Hardiness Is Mother

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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04x13 - Of Hardiness Is Mother

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously on Empire...

You had a mild heart att*ck.

You might not be so lucky
the next time.

- The car b*mb. It was me.
- (YELLS)

- I'm sorry.
- I hope it's enough.

I'm done apologizing. I'm done

doing stupid interviews
that I don't want to do.

Got room for only one man
in your life.

He's sitting right in front of you.

- "Desperate" is what you've made us.
- Everyone will be paid

once I push this deal through
at Empire,

and we'll all be back where we belong.

When do we tell the Lyons
that I'm buying Empire?

- Leave the Lyons to me.
- You let Eddie into Empire,

and he's about to steal it
from under you.

I stepped in when you needed me.

I saved your ass!

Get the hell out of my house.

Come on, Ma.

Want to make sure you get in, Ma.

Boy, I had a heart att*ck.

Okay? I still got both my legs.

Oh, no offense, Lucious.

LUCIOUS: None taken.

Um, we're ready.

JAMAL: All right, Ma,

we got Chef Rahim here,

who has made you the healthiest

vegan Cajun soul food.

Yeah, well, one of them words
don't belong in a sentence

with the other words, but whatever.

LUCIOUS:
Honey, I have something for you.

What is this now?

It's a fitness bracelet.

What it does is it monitors

your heart rate, your blood pressure.

If you get too excited,
an alarm will go off

and, via an app,
it will alert both our phones.

- Okay?
- Mm. So, basically,

it's a fancy ankle monitor.

I'm on house arrest. Lord.

You're on love arrest
until you get better.

JUANITA: Delivery.

From Mr. Eddie Barker.

Eddie wants us to know that he's

sincerely apologetic for his outburst.

- Yeah, he got to be embarrassed.
- Was it that bad?

I thought he was gonna stroke
out on the floor over there.

Think about it... before we
roped him into all our mess,

he was retired,

on the golf course,
counting his money.

Now, who knows,
maybe he just got overzealous.

- Well...
- How you like your breakfast, Ma?

I don't know how he did it.
This is good.

Yeah.

See, told you some good
might come out of all this.

When's the last time we all sat down

and ate some breakfast together?

COOKIE: We? All of us ain't here.

- Where's Andre?
- Told him not to come.

Right. So I don't get to see my son

'cause you don't want him here.

He tried to k*ll me, Cookie.

Hey, you know what, Lucious?
I hate to break it to you,

but everybody at this table,
at one point, wanted you dead.

Look, I... I know
you're doing all of this

'cause you love me,

but if you really want
to heal my heart, Lucious,

please talk to Andre.

Please give him a chance.

Okay?

We play the game

Every time where nobody

- Keep it sexy. Keep it sexy.
- ♪ Wanting to say

But I'm thinking that

Maybe it's time

For a change, for you and I

CHOREOGRAPHER: Let's go.

Hey.

Pull me, pull me closer

- ♪ Love me till it's over
- Milk it.

Stay with me right by my side

And we'll make it,
we'll make tonight

Unforgettable

Let's go. Hey.

Unforgettable

- Clean up. Clean up.
- ♪ I wanted this

For so long

- Right here.
- ♪ Let's make tonight unforgettable

Y'all keep rushing the song.

Why do you keep rushing?

WOMAN: Sorry, T.

Thought we were on point.

Well, obviously, you weren't.

Look, T, if you just stop

skipping a b*at, they'd be on point.

No, no. Controlling them
is your job, right?

If not, then why are you here?

(SCOFFS) You know what?
Let's just take five.

Come on, ladies.

What's up?

Oh... Look, I know
you're going through a lot,

but every time you come in,
I can't keep getting sidetracked

when you need a shoulder
to cry on. I'm sorry.

Ain't no tears here, mama.

And get it right.

I'm here to rehearse.

So go ahead and move along.

Actually, you-you're not on the
schedule today, Hakeem.

- I don't reserve spaces we own.
- Of course you don't.

Yet, and still,
we have reserved this space,

so I'm gonna need you guys
to go, because we are having

a super intense rehear... Hey!

Excuse me! Off the snacks. Come on.

- Come on, let me walk y'all out.
- This ain't gonna work.

Come on, let's go.

Have a good night.
All of the cupcakes?

- Thank you.
- Selfish.

- Where you finna go?
- Ask her.

What?

She's useless, so I fired her.

- (DOORBELL RINGS)
- NEWSMAN: ...families and survivors

of the tragic mass sh**ting.

The president has been
petitioned to meet with..


Porsha, Miss Cookie.

Ooh! Oh, thank you.

I thought I was gonna have
to watch the news all day.

Child, this news is depressing.

- (TV TURNS OFF)
- What you got for me, huh?

Got some For info for me?

- What about Becky's A&R budget?
- I'm not supposed to

bring you anything
dealing with business.

That's Lucious' orders.

You know what stresses me out?
Not being at Empire.

I brought you some messages.

Bey and J sent get well wishes,
and some chick named Asia

been blowing up the phone
since you got sick.

It don't say Asia, stupid.
It says Chyna.

Chyna. That's what I said.

She been calling every day.
Who the hell is she?

We were in prison together.

Oh. She wants to see you.

Damn. I haven't talked to
Chyna since we got out.

Well, I'll tell her
you ain't up for it.

No. Call her back.

Tell her I'm sending a car.

- You sure?
- Mm-hmm.

Okay.

- Everything's starting to
look so dated now. - Pop?

Mm-hmm.

Pop. I need you to
take a look at this.

It's your problem, man, now.

You're the one who taught
me to follow my instincts.

Now, ever since Eddie lost it,

my instincts have been
screaming at me.

He flipped out specifically
because his deal fell apart,

like he personally stood to lose, Pop.

Six entities bought Empire stock
just before,

when Eddie thought we were
going to announce his plan

to sell Empire to Kelly Patel.

Each company bought just enough
shares so that they would remain

under the SEC threshold.

We are a globally traded company.

Everybody buys and sells Empire stock.

That's true, Pop, true.

But if the companies
were somehow connected,

someone would've made
hundreds of millions

on the stock valuation alone.

And your instinct says
that Eddie is behind this?

I know I'm right.

Prove it.

Hmm.

She Dragon Holdings, Incorporated.

They bought enough stock
to walk away with $ million

if Eddie's deal went through.

You know the company?

That's a name that Eddie
used to call his,

um, second ex-wife, Celeste.

She Dragon. Okay, what about, uh...

Blue-Z Ventures?

You're kidding me.

That was a corny quote

from one of Eddie's favorite films.

He used to say,
"It's a bluesy adventure."

(SIGHS) That's two buyers
with a link to Eddie, Pop.

That's no coincidence.

(SIGHS) I don't know, man.

Eddie has enough money.

I mean, why does he want to
screw me over?

Let's ask Celeste.

The She Dragon.

I am so proud of you.

I mean, all of us back there are.

I'm in here with you and them.

Ooh.

Uh, I got this. Thank you.

(CLEARS THROAT)

You know, Chyna,

I know you think I forgot
about you guys,

but it's really not like that.

I wouldn't have survived if it
weren't for you and the crew.

Yeah, well, sometimes
it's just easier to

not deal with life on the inside.

Yeah. (LAUGHS)

We spent all those nights

dreaming about getting out.

God...

Never really realizing
how hard it'll be.

Mm. And no one on the outside,
like, gets you. You know?

Hmm.

I mean, I was so used
to being on guard / .

You dis me, hey, we gonna fight.
(LAUGHS)

Yeah, you better calm it down,

'cause one false move, they
throw your ass right back in.

You remember how we used
to bet on how long chicks

would be making it on the outside?

Man, I used to hate seeing them
sad faces walk back in.

Well, I think the mama was a psycho.

Anybody that do this
to they own child...

Yeah, well, at least
she ain't k*ll her.

- She tried to.
- No, the mama was sick.

- She had her own pain.
- Hmm.

True, but still...

pain makes people do crazy things.

Oh, look who's back.

Five years gone, and I still knew

this bitch would end up
right back in here.

Can I talk to you, Cookie?

After you had me thrown in hell

for your "get out of jail free" card?

- You got the wrong bitch.
- (DROPS BOOK)

Uh-uh. Ain't nobody getting
no write-ups today.

Move on, Poundcake. Come on.

Yeah, move on, Poundcake.

Ain't nobody getting written up today.

I ain't messing with you,
Poundcake. You a snitch.

Sit down.

We reading the Bible next time,

'cause y'all acting crazy.

- What page are we on?
- ALL: .

- . Like I said, the mama is crazy.
- Right.

Poundcake still on the inside?

Uh, yeah, she's still locked up.

But I heard she was in hospice.

Hospice? (CHUCKLES)
What's wrong with her?

Cancer.

It's bad.

But maybe she finally getting
what she deserved.

No more crying now

They think our picture is broken

But maybe it was out of focus

They don't know we're gold

They don't know we're gold, go.

(MUSIC STOPS)

Becky, come on.

Literally, first of all,
the fans will love it.

It's unexpected, it's unapologetic.

It's that new stuff.
You know what I'm saying?

That's what we need.

You are a true artist,

and we are % behind you.

- Thanks, y'all.
- However,

we've been doing some testing,
and your fans feel differently.

Testing?

That's what we doing around here now?

Well, yeah, we've been testing

some of our For releases,

and that is just a bit
of feedback from them.

"Angry Jamal's k*lling my vibe."

"Who does Jamal Lyon think
he is, Migos?"

This is stupid. These-these are
obviously just trolls.

- Y'all know that.
- All right, but, Jamal,

this bad boy narrative is on you.

It's the Warren situation,
Angelo, Robin Roberts.

This sort of behavior,

along with this new sound, is just...

it's not what your fans
expect or want from you.

What they expect. Okay, well-well,

whatever's happening
outside of the studio, though,

is not the narrative that I'm selling.
The music is.

- I know.
- I guarantee you if y'all

pull together, do your job,

do it right, you'll sell the record.

Mm. I got to do my job.

Okay, look, I'm feeling
the verses, but the hook

needs a little work, so we're
gonna loop the track, let you

- work it out for a minute. All right.
- Okay.

You can take five.

(SIGHS) You were right, man.

I'm always right.

What about now?

I've been letting all that Tiana stuff

plus the whole thing
with my mom get to me.

I got to focus on my music.

So hook me up with
some b*mb-ass beats, Shine.

Smart man. I got you.

But I need one thing from you.

Young g*n in there...

he could use a little peer mentorship,

help learn the ropes of the game.

There's not a white boy in the
world that needs help from me.

My mom and dad taught me that much.

Blake's from Chicago.
He's the real deal.

Being from the Chi
and looking like him

ain't the same as being from
the Chi and looking like me.

- Lucious and Cookie taught me that, too.
- (CHUCKLES)

He wasn't raised by a Lucious.
Or even a Cookie.

The streets raised him.

See them tats?

It's to cover up three b*llet holes.

He says music is gonna save his life.

For the record, I don't
deal with no culture vultures.

The boy can spit.

You know, he's a fan
of yours, by the way.

(CHUCKLES) I got a lot of fans.

Let somebody else save his life.
You know what, man,

forget helping me out
with those tracks.

I'll do it on my own.



(COOKIE SIGHS)

Uh, excuse me.

I'm Cookie Lyon, and I am here to see

my good friend, uh, Sara Lee Williams.

Well, I call her...

Poundcake. Yes, she knows you're here.

We'll just be a few more minutes.

Okay.

(SIGHS)

- Gin.
- Again?

Again.

I don't know how, but
you's over there cheating.

No cheating.
Just age and wisdom, baby.

Age and wisdom.

Um, Ruth, can I
talk to Cookie, please?

- Why you asking her?
- I'm asking her to step away...

Okay, listen.

I need to talk to you in private.

Mm.

Thank you.

Listen, um...

you have every right to be mad at me.

Mad don't even begin to measure it.

I had to find my baby, Cookie.

Because every minute
that she's out there

and I'm in here, it feels like

she's getting
further and further away.

Now, I-I'm... I'm...

I'm sorry that you got hurt.

Really, truly sorry.

But if I'm honest with you, Cookie,

I'd k*ll everybody in here

if it helped me get my baby girl back.

You caused a lot of pain, Poundcake,

to a lot of people.

But I understand that b*at about

doing what you got to do
for your family.

Five minutes, ladies.

I spent five years out there

looking for my little girl,

and the one thing I know for sure

is that that bastard

made my baby disappear.

Hey.

What the hell you doing here?

Remember, you promised me
you'd never look back.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

- You look good, Cake.
- (CHUCKLES WEAKLY)

My Lord. Well...

if you startin' to lie to me,
then I know it's bad.

(CHUCKLES)

Mm-mm.

Stop staring at me
with those sad eyes.

Tell me some good news.
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)

Hmm?

Tell me about
that glamorous life of yours.

(CLICKS TONGUE)
Oh, please... it ain't all that.

- (LAUGHS)
- No? So Ebony,

Essence and Jet...

they just lyin' on your life, huh?

(BOTH LAUGH)

How are your boys doing?

Uh, they are great.

I mean, I'm-I'm just thankful to God

that they are all alive
and they're with me.

- Mm-hmm.
- You know, but my oldest, Andre,

(LAUGHING): I-I can't...

I can't even get into that, but...

Listen, whatever's going on,

you remember that you are blessed,

because you have them with you.

I think about my little girl
every day.

I'm sorry, Poundcake.

You still haven't found her, huh?

No.

She's probably in college right now.

Mm-hmm.

I like to tell myself

that she wants to be a doctor

or a lawyer.

Or maybe, she might
even want to do computers.

(SNIFFLES)

Yeah. I could, uh,

I could see that.

Mm-hmm.

What else is she up to?

She dating this boy right now.

Mm-hmm, and he... he cute.

Not too cute, you know.

- Mm-hmm.
- He's smart,

and he's real good to her.

You know what? Hell,
maybe she's dating a chick.

(BOTH LAUGH)

You know, I-I would be okay with that.

- (LAUGHS)
- Hmm.

'Cause I know that she got my spirit.

Yes, I know that.

Yeah, she won't put up with no mess.

Mm.

(SNIFFLES)

(CRYING): We've been
through hell, haven't we?

Yes. We have, Poundcake.

This is not right,

you laid up here like this.

And your baby girl is out there;

she don't know that you didn't
want to give her up.

She don't know how much you love her.

(COOKIE EXHALES)

Poundcake.

I'm-a find your baby girl.

I'm gonna find her,
and I'm-a bring her here.

Okay?

So you can see her.

Okay?

O-Okay.

(INSTRUMENTAL b*at PLAYING)

(BLAKE CLEARS THROAT)

Yo. Sorry to interrupt.

(MUSIC STOPS)

But you're doing it anyway.

What's up?

I heard, uh,

Shine kind of took a heavy hand
on the whole mentor thing,

and I just wanted to let
you know, it wasn't my idea.

I mean... (SCOFFS) don't get me wrong.

I respect you, and I know
it'd be a dope opportunity.

Don't worry about it.

(INSTRUMENTAL b*at PLAYING)

Yo, is-is this you?

Yeah.

It's nice.

Kind of reminds me of, uh,

"Bread Winner,"

off one of your early mixtapes,
Birth of the Young Lyon? Right?

That's what I'm going for.

Word. (CHUCKLES)

Heat seeker, you need fire,
I keep heaters.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Yo, uh, I must've played

that song like, over and over
and over and over and over again

when I first heard it, man.

I think it actually,
uh, blew out my speakers.

The bass, you know?

Hey, what's your name?

Blake.

Blake. Memorizing the song

is one thing.

Spitting your own bars

is another.

Right.

I got to get back to work.

Ah, yeah, yeah.

Cool, man.

Lord forgive what
I'm prepared to do


But if you look me in my eyes,
you can see there's a zoo

I mean, I guess growing up
in your beach chair is cool

Until a white boy got
more street cred than you

You can hear my hunger pains
if we clash for fame

The type to chop your head off
just to snatch your chain

Hold up, he think he got the sauce

Oh, he think he swagging on me

Well, I pack enough shells

To turn your sauce to ravioli

Got to habit to have it on me

It's magic, like pulling rabbits

From hats, I'm a hazard, homie

Had a tragic and
drastic lonely past


But now I got these
guys all stressed


'Cause I'm coming to
collect like the IRS..


I'm a Lyon, you just lying
under oath, that's perjury

All these diamonds
cut around my neck

I need surgery, emergency

I'm-a put this man in the dirt

You just a white boy lost,
that's an AMBER Alert

- Ugh.
- ♪ Okay, these next couple words

May be very unfamiliar

Cash, coins, guap, money,
moola, scratch, skrilla

Okay.

I'm fresh, cool and
fly, jets to Dubai


You belong in a cubicle with
dress shoes and ties
♪ - Damn.

You run around saying
you the best, who am I?

If I don't put you on the
guest list, yes, you denied

I'm the ruler, I'm the heir,
the prince of Zamunda

This a chest full of treasures

Verse a cooler full of beers

What's up?

Okay, I'm going to the top

I'm-a never stop

Plus, you got the swag

Of an undercover cop,
or a plumber or an opp

The dude from Dumb and Dumber,
hold up

No wonder you got
the floor covered, you a mop

Stop, how you think
we even see even

You got your whole style
from a BET season

How you pitiful and sloppy

Miserable and cocky

And I'm what separates
the original from copies

Watch me, meditate, levitate

You a featherweight,
you was never great

I'm a heavyweight, if you
hesitate, I'm-a educate

You a minute man,
just a second late

My crown is a heavy weight

If you put it on,
your whole neck will break

And I got next, I expect the hate.

Let's mess with this b*at
and see what happens.

That's what's up. Let's do it.

ANDRE: Okay, thank you very much.

Celeste is at her tennis club.

Why are you doing this?

You can't possibly think
that this is gonna

get you back in with me.

Pop, you and I may have
our differences, okay?

But an att*ck on Empire is
an att*ck on our entire family.

So now you about family?

(APP BEEPING)

Really?

Got you.

Okay, okay, so that rat bastard
Burleson lives in Wood Haven?

- Text me the address. Thirst...
- (PHONE VIBRATES)

Uh, Thirsty, let me call you back.

Hello, Lucious.

- What's up?
- Your blood pressure,


that's what's up. What are you doing?

You running laps?

No, look, I got upset.

All right? That bitch Tr*mp
is tweeting again.

How did you know...

It's called technology, baby.

This watch?

Look, I need you to sit down,

put your feet up.

Matter of fact, where's Porsha?

Porsha? Well, you know, I sent her out

to get me some more tofu. Look,

I'm gonna put my legs up
right now as we speak.


I'm sitting down, okay?
I'll text you later.

All right, bye-bye.

I can't have this watch
snitching on me.

- (PHONE VIBRATES)
- Yes, Lucious?

- Put it back on.
- How did you even...

Well, either you took it of

or you just d*ed.

Now, I need you to put it back on.

(PORSHA CHUCKLES)

Busted.

Shut your ass up

and get Thirsty back
on the line for me.

Treat me like I'm a criminal.

(CHUCKLES)

Okay, so here are the sketches
for the album.

I love this for "Unforgettable."

I'm thinking, like, the whole
Asian motif that we did before.

Classy.

You're the last person I need
up in my face right now.

Yeah, which one? You seem to be
wearing a lot of them lately.

Bye, bitch.

It really is so sad,
the way you just let Eddie

turn you into his little Barbie Doll.

Well, I don't see you giving
back the hits he gave you.

(CHUCKLES)

You know what? I'm just
trying to help you, okay?

The old Tiana was so confident.
And look at you now.

Are you even happy with
what he's having you do?

'Cause if so, then why is
everyone around you

so miserable?

You know what? You can stay mad, Tory.

I'm gonna be bigger
than you ever were.

- (CHUCKLES)
- And guess what.

- I don't have to be high to do it.
- (DESIGNER LAUGHS)

I love that one.

(SIGHS)

JAMAL:
You know this is boring. Like...


are these songs supposed to be awful?

It wasn't that bad.

With you on it, it's a safe bet.

Let's end for today.

Hey, uh, Jamal, I didn't mean
anything by that comment.

I know you didn't, man.

And we'll just,
we'll hit it hard tomorrow.

Okay.

TORY: What was that all about?

Becky and her team.

Apparently, the two and a half fans

I actually still have left

don't like the new music,
so I'm in here

looking for inspiration, but
it's just the same old thing.

No more crying now,
they think our picture..

It's like, just let me
have this one song.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, I think this is it.

I need a live audience
to really hear it.

Well, maybe you just need
the right live audience.

Baby, we just need to hold on.

- Okay, okay.
- When you come up...

So we just need to know if Eddie
advised her to buy Empire stock.

LUCIOUS: Well, just let me
do the talking,

'cause, um, Celeste loves me.

Ooh.

That's an amazing form
you got there, as always.

Lucious Lyon. Wow.

Please tell me why I pay
exorbitant dues to this club

when they let thugs
stroll right in here?

Come on, Celeste.
I mean, how've you been?

You mean, how did I make out

after you introduced my husband

to that slut Giselle while
he and I were still married?

You know that I had no idea

that Eddie and Giselle

was gonna become a thing.

Right. What do you want, Lucious?

I need to know
a couple things about, um,

She Dragon.

I don't have any idea
what you're talking about.

Sweetheart, don't-don't...

don't insult me, all right?

If you think you can come
in here and strong-arm me

into running my mouth
like I'm one of your rappers,

you are sadly mistaken...

sweetheart.

- Okay.
- All right?

- Yeah.
- Let's try another one.

LUCIOUS: I'm telling you,

this is a waste of time.

Well, I'll do the talking this time.

ANDRE: Hello. Hi. Hi.

Um, I think we might've gotten
off on the wrong foot.

I apologize for that. I'm Andre Lyon.

I thought I recognized you.

You're the smart Lyon cub.

- Went to Wharton, right?
- That's right, that's right.

I remember you, too.

And might I say, you look
even more beautiful now.

That sounds like one of your
daddy's tired lines.

- You can go.
- We could.

But we're here in the interest
of transparency,

if indeed She Dragon is your company.

Armando, can you give us
a moment, please?

Sure.

Thank you, Armando.

Transparency about what, exactly?

We know that Eddie promised
you'd make a lot of money

from Empire's sale to Kelly Patel.

Unfortunately, that deal
is not happening.

- Why not?
- Because we shut it down.

Eddie said you were on board.

That we'd all be richer than God.

Oh, don't worry, um, we're positive

that Eddie will take good care of you.

He did give you the same deal
points as Giselle, correct?

What the hell does she
have to do with this?

- Um...
- Yeah,

that-that looks about right,
yeah, Pop?

Um... yeah, I mean, Giselle,

she's got the job at Empire.

Oh, right. So her-her salary's a bonus

on top of her points, right?

That bitch is getting a salary?

- She's getting, like, $ .
- Uh, four, Pop.

- Four?
- Four, $ , .

Plus her cut of the clothing line.

CELESTE: Oh, hell no.

That no-good son of a...

Broke-ass loses all his money...

- Whoa, lost his money?
- Everything.

His, mine, the ex-wives.

Everything we had was invested

in Steve Lawrence's Ponzi scheme.

Eddie told me to sell all my property,

and buy up Empire stock.

And this is how he plays me? Come on.

PORSHA: The way you talk
about this Burleson,

you would think he live in a castle

in Transylvania or something.

Just because you have a nice house

don't make you no less of a monster.

I thought you didn't even
like this Poundcake.

Why you even going
out the way for her?

We went through a lot
on the inside, okay?

I owe her.

You have no idea.

What I do know: Lucious gonna k*ll me

for bringing you out here.

- Give me your hand.
- What're you doing?

What're you doing? Cookie!

(STAMMERS) What am I supposed
to do when he call me?

Keep calm, and he won't call.

Remember,

nice, slow, steady breaths, okay?

Think happy thoughts.

Pretend like you in the Bahamas.

- I don't know, child.
- The Bahamas?

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Uh... (LAUGHS) Oh, my. You're...

Yeah. Does Mr. Burleson live here?

BURLESON: Who is it, Joyce?

Yeah?

(WOMEN SHOUTING)

Throw her in the hole.

Holloway? Is that you?

- Oh, my God, it is.
- (CHUCKLING) Yeah.

I can't believe it.

After all these years.

See, now, I told you I wasn't lying.

Well, come on. Don't just stand there.

- Come on in.
- Come on in.

So, uh... what brings you here?

You writing a book?
Y-You want an interview

with me or something or...?

It's a nice, uh, life
you have, Burleson.

Bo, please. Friends call me Bo.

Hmm.

What do your kids call you?

Uh, we don't have any kids.

JOYCE: That's our one regret.

I just never could get pregnant.

Joyce, honey, come on,
that's not talk for company.

Bo would have made
such a great father.

I could tell by, you know,

how much of a difference
he made to all of you.

Yeah. Yeah, he really
changed our lives.

(JOYCE LAUGHS)

I always loved hearing
all about his "girls"

looking up to him for guidance.

I mean, look at you now.

Joyce, I hate to say it,

but I wasn't Bo's favorite.

- No?
- No.

- Poundcake was.
- JOYCE: Poundcake?

You didn't tell her about Poundcake?

(SCOFFS) She doesn't want to
hear about those old stories.

Oh, I do want to hear the stories.

Which one's Poundcake, Bo?

Joyce, honey.

Cookie and I got to talk about
that book she's gonna write.

Oh, where are my manners?

Let me go get you two some snacks.

Get your hands off me.

What the hell you think you're
trying to pull, Holloway?

Must've seemed like a real smart idea

up there in that cute
little head of yours, huh?

- You know, it's against the law.
- What?

Ex-convict coming to C.O.'s house.

Now, you get the hell out of here.

The next time you step your foot
on my property, I'll sh**t you.

You know what?
The days of you scaring me

are long gone, Bo.

I got enough dirt
to put your wrinkly ass away

for the rest of your miserable life.

Hell, I've had the governor
in my house for dinner.

You want to try me?

You want to see how fast
I could drop a dime on your ass?

What do you want, Holloway?

I want to know what you did
with Poundcake's baby.

And if you don't tell me,

I'll just tell your wife
how that baby came to be.

What the hell do you think happened?

Prison babies go in the system.

You're lying.

That baby never made
it into the system.

So what did you do, Bo?

Hmm? Did you k*ll that baby?

I didn't k*ll no baby.

(WHISPERING): Shh. I wouldn't
do that. (CLICKS TONGUE)

What kind of monster you think I am?

Okay, look...

that baby was half-white, you know.

- Really?
- The dark kids

go in the system.
The lighter kids got adopted.

They took the white kids
and the lighter-skinned kids,

and they put them into
a special adoption agency.

- Hope House, it's called.
- Hope House?

Yeah, you better hope
you're not lying.

Because if you are,
I will blow your life up.

I got lemonade and fresh
cinnamon pound cake.

Oh, that's so sweet of you,
Joyce, but I can't stay.

You know it's good to know that
Bo still like eating pound cake.

- Have a good one.
- What...?

Okay, Cookie, can we please go?

So Hope House is legit, huh, Thirsty?

All right, well, then I need you
to find out what you can

about a mixed-race baby
born on the dates I gave you.

Okay.

Finally, can we go now?

- No.
- No...

I'm not done.
Leave the engine running.

Oh. Uh, let me get Bo.

No, no, no, no.

- Joyce, it's you I want to talk to.
- Oh, I don't know.

I, uh... I don't want to get
in the middle of anything here.

Your husband is a r*pist.

He b*at us. He tortured us.

He r*ped lots of girls in prison.

He r*ped this one girl,
Poundcake. They had a baby.

He took it from her

and sold it to some baby brokers.

- No.
- You should get out of this.

You need to leave him. Your husband...

What the hell are you doing?

Believe me.

LUCIOUS: This is crazy.

I mean, Eddie had ten
shell companies set up.

I mean, he had some plan

in which he was gonna
put himself way back on top.

Yeah, a plan that exposed Empire
to an insider trading scandal,

could've gotten us all
thrown in prison.

You need to give Eddie
his walking papers, Pop.

Hey, Dre, you remember
when you were, like, um...

nine or ten

and the police raided our house
and you hid my g*n

inside of your box of Legos?

Yeah, I remember.

It seemed like you always
had my back back then.

What happened to that boy?

What happened to my son?

(SIGHS)

March , ,

: a.m.

That's the moment I was
diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

From that day on, that's all you saw

when you looked at me.

Damaged son.

But you are damaged.

And what about you?

Your sickness is so deep.

You're a sociopath.

You have no remorse
for anything you do,

ever.

You sound pretty damaged
to me, too, Pop.

Okay, I'm going to the top

I'm-a never stop

Plus you got the swag
of an undercover cop

Or a plumber or an opp

The dude from
Dumb and Dumber... hold up ♪

No wonder you got
the floor covered, you a mop

We got it.

- (APPLAUSE)
- Bring it in.

Yup.

Hey, I told you,
hard work pays off, gentlemen.

- Good stuff, boy.
- Yeah. So...

being that this is the end
of a hard day's work,

off to the strip club we go! (LAUGHS)

Unless you still locked down, right?

- Stop that, bruh.
- (LAUGHS)

Come on, let's move.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Where you think you going,
grasshopper?

You got dues to pay. Look around.

I got to clean this up?

Hey, don't ask me.
That's your sensei now.

Nah. Start with the ashes
in the carpet.

- (SIGHS)
- My dad hates that.

Enjoy.

So I'm not going to the strip club?

(SIGHS)

SHINE: Hey, man, you gonna love
this club, just opened up.

The girls is out of control.
Wait till you see Cinnamon.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- I'm gonna catch up with you.
- Yo, where you going?

Hey, hold up. Wait...

Whipped.

MAN: For real, man.

(TIANA GASPS)

You okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

What, are you back to
take back what you own?

You should probably get some rest.

No, I shouldn't.

Everything has to be right.

The-the costumes,
the lighting, the moves.

And right now, it's all wrong.

People out here doing
the best they can for you.

You cursing folks out.

f*ring folks on the spot.

That's not the girl I know.

I'm not that girl anymore, Hakeem.

Eddie saw something in me,

and he promised that
if I just stay focused,

that he'd get me here.

Okay, no distractions.

That's why you turned
down my proposal?

Everything is not about you.

Eddie knows what I have
to do to get what I want.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm
gonna get back to my rehearsal.

Okay.

This is how it feel to have
a winning streak, baby


Rockin' ... you can't pull off...

Hey, how you doing?

- It's good to see you.
- Jamal Lyon, DJ Selection.

What's up, man.
Thank you for having us.

- Welcome to my den of misfits.
- Can you play this track, love?

- Who's the artist?
- It's a new artist.

Who'd like to remain anonymous
for the time being.

Rings, got a few on

Got gold like a leprechaun,
my girl got a leopard on..

All right, y'all.

We got an exclusive here tonight.

No introductions needed.

You already know what to do.
So let's go.

They could see us falling out

But I can see us fall tonight

They could see us coming down

But I could see us going higher

Selfish teardrops

Fall from memories

I broke your heart

But no more crying now

(CROWD CHEERS)

They think our picture is broken

But maybe it was out of focus

They don't know we're gold

They don't know we're gold...

Yeah

You think Empire's ready for this?

It don't really matter, 'cause I am.

What'd y'all think?
How'd y'all like it?

They don't know we're gold,
they don't know we're gold

They don't know we're gold.

(DOOR CLOSES)

- Baby?
- Yeah?

What, you over here working?

You sure your cardiologist
would approve?

No, I'm just putting some money

on the books for some girls

still behind the wall, that's all.

Somebody shaking you down?

(LAUGHS): No. Not at all.

So, um...

How did today go?

It was good. It was good.

Okay.

You gonna let me just
walk away with that?

Are you okay, baby?

I saw two women today.

One was dying,

and one was just living a lie.

And after all of this stuff
that happened with my heart

and seeing those women, I just...

I don't want to take my life
for granted anymore.

And Lucious, I hear you saying

you want me back and you want things

back the way they were, but I'm
not interested in going back.

I-I want to move forward.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.
What are you saying?

- I mean, are you...
- What?

You're saying you don't want
to be with me anymore?

Is that what...

That's not what I said, Lucious.

For a minute, I thought you were

winding up to sing me some swan song.

I'm... Look.

I'm being serious. Okay?

I love you.

I do, but I don't

want things to go back
to the way they were

because I can't deal with
the lies and the cheating and...

and the competition.

I just... (SIGHS)

I just need things to be better.

You are my better.

I don't want half of what's yours.

I need to share what's ours.

I want to be your partner in business

and in life.

I need your respect, Lucious.

(SIGHS) Cookie.

I respect you

and appreciate you
more than anything in life.

Okay?

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