For those of you holding out hope for Angelo, he is deader than dead. Good riddance, Mr. DuBois! Jamal is feeling extremely guilty about what happened. He didn’t want to kill anyone. It just happened in the heat of the moment. Cookie and Thirsty try to convince Jamal that there’s nothing he could have done. He acted in self-defense. Given how vulnerable Jamal was after he was shot, this is not something he needs in his life right now.
Cookie’s not only dealing with Jamal’s situation, there’s also Lucious. He’s missing. She’s only gotten a text saying he needs quality time with himself. Cookie knows Lucious, and that doesn’t sound like him. Well, she’s right. Claudia has gone full Misery on Lucious, locking him in a secluded cabin in the woods. She has him chained up to a piano. When he doesn’t comply to her demands, she shoots him with a tranquilizer. Demi Moore is killing it, people.
Thirsty finds footage of Claudia lurking at the hospital where Andre has been admitted to after his breakdown. Now Claudia is totally off the grid. Thirsty can’t get in touch with her at all. Claudia is taking her time with Lucious. She doesn’t want Lucious, though. She wants Dwight, and she’s willing to “kill” Lucious to get Dwight back. Thirsty finds Claudia’s therapist and brings her to chat with Cookie. The therapist reveals that Claudia has taken her methods too far in the past with an Olympic track star. She moved in with the family and took him to a secluded environment upstate just like she’s done with Lucious.
Lucious plays on Claudia’s vulnerabilities in an attempt to escape. He tries to strangle her, but she manages to get away. In retaliation, Claudia tortures him with his music and bright lights. Cookie finds her way to Claudia’s cabin. Claudia threatens to slit Cookie’s throat if Lucious doesn’t push her away. He does put on a good show to protect Cookie. He claims he needs time to write new music. But when Cookie’s on her way out, she realizes Lucious was playing their love song. He’s trying to send her a message!
Lucious is done playing Claudia’s games. He tells her straight up that he would kill everyone on this planet to save Cookie. He’s in love with Cookie and always has been. “You’ll never know that what feels like because you’re a broken b*tch,” Lucious tells Claudia. Before Claudia can make a move, the power goes out. Cookie shows up to save Lucious. When she’s trying to find a way out, Claudia hits her with a shovel.
Cookie wakes up tied to a table. Claudia tries to get Cookie to understand that she and Dwight are in love. Cookie and Lucious bicker about the past. He admits that he’s tired of her saying she spent 17 years in prison for their family. He doesn’t think she can ever understand what it was like to raise their three kids alone. No matter how hard they fight, Cookie would take Lucious over Dwight any day, and she’s not walking out of the cabin without him. Claudia, feeling her control slipping, puts a knife to Cookie’s throat. Thankfully, Claudia’s therapist shows up. While Claudia is out dealing with her, Cookie has time to grab the blade she’s been hiding. Claudia comes back inside with an ax and gets into one nasty fight with Cookie. Claudia gets her hands on a taser and uses it on Cookie. Before Claudia can kill Cookie, Lucious comes in to save the day. But he doesn’t kill Claudia. He doesn’t want to prove her right.
Elsewhere in the episode, Tory Ash performs a hot new song called “Stronger” with Hakeem. Becky discovers she’s pregnant, and Porsha’s there to comfort her when she freaks out. Hakeem and Jamal go see Andre at the hospital. Jamal finally breaks down about how he feels about killing Angelo. Diana did a number on these boys. Andre stresses that Jamal doesn’t have to carry his burdens alone. The boys will always his back. But will Jamal and Hakeem have Andre’s back when they find out he’s the one who tried to kill Lucious? Andre knows he has to tell his father that he tried to kill him, and it’s not going to be pretty.