‘Empire’ Recap: Hakeem & Anika Face Off In Court Over Baby Bella

Hakeem and the Lyons went to war with Anika and the DuBois family over Bella on the Nov. 15 episode of ‘Empire.’ Who ended up with full custody of the littlest Lyon?

Warren is back in the studio with Jamal cheering him on. Dang, Terrell Carter has one amazing voice. Jamal doesn’t understand why Warren is refusing to be on the track. He says it’s because he’s an amateur, but Diana would probably be furious about it. Meanwhile, Andre is seeing a new doctor and starts going on about Pamela. He reveals he “can’t stop thinking about her.” She’s driving him wild. But the older Lyon brothers have to put their lives aside for Hakeem and baby Bella. They have to be pillars of support for Hakeem as he faces off against Anika in court.

Cookie tries to make peace with Angelo when they enter court, but he doesn’t budge. This is war. Angelo steps up and starts slinging mud at the Lyons. He calls Hakeem “unstable” and a “drug abuser.” He doesn’t stop there. He says Cookie and Lucious are “hip hop’s Bonnie and Clyde.” Tiana gets on the stand and really goes to bat for Hakeem. “She’s his everything,” Tiana says about Hakeem and Bella. Angelo attacks her on the stand by asking about drugs and threesomes. He’s super aggressive, and Tiana breaks down in tears.

While Hakeem should be thanking Tiana, he’s mad at her for not fighting back! He blames Tiana for even being in this position in the first place and snitching to Cookie. Tiana walks away and leaves Hakeem high and dry. BYE, BOY!

Cookie is next up on the stand. She’s so proud of Hakeem. He turned out good, even though she wasn’t there to watch him grow up. Angelo tries to destroy his ex’s credibility on the stand, but you don’t mess with Cookie. Cookie reveals to the courtroom that she was the one Anika turned to in her darkest hour. Lucious is determined to get on the stand, but the family is not so sure. He puts on quite a show and dupes Angelo with a moving testimony.

Hakeem decides on a whim that he’s going to represent himself. He calls Anika to the stand and asks all the right questions that she doesn’t have the answers to. Finally, Hakeem is showing some strategy! What the Lyons don’t see coming is Diana entering the courtroom. She destroys Hakeem’s credibility by showing recordings of Hakeem bashing his family. Anika ends up getting full custody of Bella.

The Lyons are in complete shock. Cookie runs into Diana in the bathroom and calls the DuBois matriarch a “filthy, treacherous b*tch.” At Anika’s celebratory dinner, Diana tells Warren that he’s up next in the takedown of the Lyons. Nooooo! Oh, and Andre’s doctor is also in cahoots with Diana.

Hakeem is forced to hand over Bella to Anika, and the scene is absolutely heartbreaking. But the Lyons aren’t giving up on Hakeem or Bella. The old Lucious is back, and he’s ready to rumble. “I want blood. I want blood to spill. I want blood to pour like a river,” he says to Cookie in the show’s final moments.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of tonight’s Empire? Let us know!