In a new flash forward in the opening moments of the Nov. 28 episode of Empire, Lucious is washing blood off his hands. Cookie walks into the room to tell Lucious someone is in surgery. When she sees the blood, she asks, “Lucious, what did you do?”
Four months earlier, Jamal is performing and teasing a Lyon Family Management showcase. He does a live interview and reveals that he’s engaged to Kai, who is not happy about this very public announcement.
Lucious is trying to distract Cookie from the fact that he sold the Derek Adams painting that he gave her two years earlier. They’re both staying busy, though. They have their fair share of trouble getting Devon and Carlito ready for the showcase. Lucious and Cookie are both blindsided when Kingsley pulls all of Lucious’s music from all streaming platforms. Becky comes to tell them all personally that Kingsley is vaulting Lucious’s entire catalogue. That means the money is going to slow down.
Lucious goes to Empire to confront Kingsley about vaulting his music. He knows that Kingsley has no strategy with this. This is personal. “I’m going to wipe you from the consciousness of an entire generation,” Kingsley spits at Lucious. “I’m going to make you extinct.” Chill, Kingsley.
Tiana confronts Hakeem about his beef with Blake. Now fans are threatening her and the kids. She demands Hakeem talk to Blake. Hakeem does just that, but things don’t get any better. Blake reveals that he’s spent quality time with Tiana and her kids. That pisses Hakeem off something fierce. Hakeem pulls a gun on Blake, and both of their teams pull their guns out. This beef is out of control.
Maya stops by Cookie’s place to tell her that she’s broken up with her boyfriend. She apologizes, but she also needs a place to crash. Cookie lets her stay, but not for free. She is Cookie’s new assistant!
Lucious, Andre, and Thirsty want to do some digging into how Kingsley is going to make up the lost revenues that he’s losing from locking up Lucious’s music. There has to be a supplemental revenue. Lucious wants to keep this digging quiet from Cookie. Keeping secrets is nothing new for Cookie. Back when Cookie and Lucious were in a bad spot over a year earlier, she crossed paths with Damon Cross. They got stuck in an elevator together. That can’t be the end of the story, right?
Thirsty calls upon Becky for help with Kingsley. He needs her to access Empire’s financials. It’s time for her to choose a side. She chooses the Lyons. She goes to Kingsley’s office and successfully gets the information for the Lyons. Turns out, Kingsley has been selling to law enforcement and tracking Empire listeners in real time. He goes to Kai with the information, who wants to dig deeper. Jamal is hesitant about Kai going all-in with this story, but Kai isn’t backing down.
Giselle’s private investigator finds out about the connection between Lucious and Kingsley. Giselle wastes no time confronting Kingsley about it in his mother’s hospital room. Giselle is ruthless. I love her.
Cookie finally sees Candace after Franklin nearly killed them. Candace is in no mood to forgive Cookie. She wants revenge. She reveals Cookie’s big secret to Lucious — that apartment. Lucious flips out on Cookie. He confesses that he sold the Derek Adams painting. “Everything we did is a lie,” he screams. The trust between them has been broken.
At the same time, Tiana and Hakeem are fighting over Blake. Tiana tries to leave with the kids, but Hakeem is holding her back. Suddenly, Bella walks out with Hakeem’s gun. Not knowing what she has in her hand, she points it directly at Tiana, Cookie, Lucious, and Hakeem. Then, she points the gun at her head. PROTECT BELLA LYON AT ALL COSTS!