Original subtitles

You're witnessing the power of Empire.

I'm Cookie Lyon, baby. I'm unforgettable.

Catch all-new episodes Wednesdays.

And check out our other Fox programs-

Star, The Gifted, and Lethal Weapon.

That was the best idea you've had all day.

Only on Fox.

Previously on "Empire"...

We got one shot to put this bitch down for good.

We have a warrant for your arrest in the kidnapping of Bella Lyon.

Please don't take my baby.

You will no longer use her to get to me, or my family.

This is how it ends.

No! Jamal!

Oh, no.

There's been a shooting. I think someone is dead.

Something going on with the hormones, mama?

Who's the lucky daddy?

I love you.

I really think we should take our time this go-round.

Your son had a psychotic break.

I need you to come back stronger than ever.

Claudia.

My sweet, sweet Dwight.

What are we supposed to do now?

Just act like everything is normal?

Baby, look, we just gonna start putting this behind us, okay?

How does that work? Putting behind you killing somebody?

Look, I don't want to... hear no more about this.

You did everything in your power to save a life.

And what about Angelo?

You were acting in self-defense, Jamal.

What you did was heroic.

Look, I don't have no answers for Angelo.

All I know is I'm standing here with my baby,

and not burying him.

And that's all I care about.

Look, try to get some rest, okay?

Yeah.

Something's wrong, Thirsty.

Look, they are never gonna press charges, all right? Warren gave

a full account of the attack. Jamal is in the clear.

- Don't fret. - I can't find Lucious.

What, he... What do you mean?

He was supposed to come to the house last night;

he never made it.

I just got that message.

"Going away for a while. I need some quality time by myself."

- "Quality time"? - Does that sound like Lucious to you?

No.

Okay. Look, let me see

what I can find out, okay? D-Don't worry.

I'll call you when I got something.

Dwight?

Dwight?

Can you hear me?

Hello?

Take it easy.

What did you do to me?

You just still have a little of the sedative in your system.

Take it...

Dwight...

just take it easy, be careful.

I don't want you to hurt yourself.

You... look, you've mastered your prosthetic,

but your other leg is chained to the piano.

Do... you know who...

I am?

Do you know what I will do to you?

Do you know the kind of pain that I'm-a bring on your head?!

We can discuss this

when you've had a little bit more rest.

What'd you do to me?

I know who you are.

And I know exactly what I'm doing.

So, we doing this, or what?

Man...

Hey, look, bitches, don't play me.

If you're with me, then we gonna hit hard and we gonna hit fast

until that man bleeds.

So are we together or what?

Yeah, yeah.

We doing this.

- A'ight. We in. - Yeah.

Good. Okay, so I say we hit after chow.

It's only him and two other guards on the stroll.

We need to distract them, so Chyna, Tam, that's on you.

Oh, you always cheat.

Bitch, why you tripping?

Hey, sit down.

Sit down! Get in your seat!

And that's when me and Poundcake go to work.

- You know it. - Poundcake gonna tenderize his ass.

I'm gonna cut him a buck 50.

Then if I get close enough...

Mm.

I got a few choice words for his raping ass.

Sit down! Hey, sit down!

Quiet down!

Quiet down! Sit down!

- Get in your seats! - Move back, move back!

Go, go, go! Get him!

You, move back!

You sick bastard.

Not today, Cookie.

Stop it!

Stay down!

Get off her!

- Please, no more! - Don't make me tell you again!

She's got a blade.

Settle down, inmates. We're good.

Throw her in the hole.

Three weeks ought to cool her off.

Come on, get her up.

Playtime's over. Back to your cells.

All right, the show's over.

Back up, inmate.

This is what you get.

On the gate.

Hey, Cook.

Hey, what you got for me?

Well, it so happens, my cousin is an orderly

at the Parkway Institution.

That's where Andre's admitted.

Yeah.

And it's also the last spot where Lucious was seen.

He went to go visit Andre.

This is the feed from the security cameras

around the same time he was there.

Wait for it.

Booyah.

Claudia?

Well, does she work there?

No, not at all.

Look-look, I got to ask.

Do you think there might be a chance he relapsed?

Maybe went a little soft in the brain, gave her a call?

Do you think that's what he meant

by he "needed time alone"?

- You think he needed her again? - I don't know,

it's hard to say. You know, are we talking Lucious,

or we talking Dwight?

I mean, best we can do is ask Claudia,

but therein lies the rub.

This chick is off the grid.

I can't reach her at any of her numbers.

What about that doctor who vouched for her? Gloria...

- Gloria Rothman. Yeah, she's on my list. - Yeah.

I'll reach out to her, give her the ol' "what's up, Doc?"

I mean, she's got to know something.

I'll get back to you.

Thirsty.

Find him.

Yeah, we will.

Stay strong, Cook.

I really wish you wouldn't fight this.

Why you doing this, huh?

You know? What, is it some money you need?

Is it, is it... is this

some kind of a ransom thing

you want to do with me right now?

You know me better than that.

I want Dwight.

I don't know him no more.

I don't believe that.

When we were together, you were kind

and creative and brave.

And now you're just lost, and so full of rage.

That's not who you are, Dwight.

Bitch, you better stop calling me that!

My name is Lucious Lyon!

Your trauma is so deep.

But I know what that's like.

To have to shut down a part of yourself to survive?

But you are Dwight.

And we'll get him back, together.

Even if we have to kill Lucious to do it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

dropping this Tuesday on Empire XStream

is one of Empire's rising stars,

performing live at Laviticus, Tory Ash!

♪ They see my battle scars ♪

♪ They're not here just because ♪

♪ Cigarettes and tattered jeans ♪

♪ I'm a rebel with a cause ♪

♪ They say I'm troublesome ♪

♪ They want to back me against the wall... ♪

- Becky. - Hey.

Cookie don't want Tory Ash doing

no interviews with all this Dubois mess going on.

Of course. We only have every reporter

from every media outlet in the country.

Who wouldn't want a scoop on manslaughter?

Yo, don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you

- what she told me. - It's just...

where is Lucious?

♪ It only makes me stronger ♪

♪ Makes me stronger ♪

♪ Say it, just say it, just say it ♪

♪ They're gonna talk regardless ♪

♪ But my armor makes me flawless... ♪

He's the only one that can spin this.

He got one son at the police station,

and another son in the crazy house.

Lucious got enough on his plate.

This family loves drama. Look, hold this. I'm-a go pee.

TMI.

♪ I was poking at the king, they trying to wake up the beast ♪

♪ I put them in they place and tell them to take a seat ♪

- ♪ Try they hardest, oh, they try to tarnish my image ♪ - ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ But the lion in them means it ain't no dying in them, so ♪

♪ Hey, uh ♪

♪ Tell them they can talk as much as they want to ♪

♪ Let 'em talk now ♪

♪ I don't know what the hell you want from us ♪

- ♪ What you want from us? ♪ - ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ If it doesn't kill me, it only makes me stronger ♪

- ♪ Come on ♪ - ♪ Makes me stronger ♪

- ♪ Say it, just say it, just say it ♪ - ♪ Say it ♪

♪ They're gonna talk regardless ♪

♪ But my armor makes me flawless ♪

♪ I'm bulletproof. ♪

Excuse me, Cookie.

I got the doc.

Oh.

Dr. Rothman was kind enough to come in and talk with us.

Thank you for coming.

She's Claudia's therapist.

Well, in our profession, it's not uncommon

for colleagues to function as counselors for each other.

- Mm. Have a seat. - Uh-huh.

Yeah, we were hoping that you could, uh,

locate her. We have a couple of questions.

I haven't seen Claudia for a few weeks now.

I've been unable to reach her.

Is... there something wrong?

Look, Lucious Lyon is missing, okay?

And-and security cameras picked Claudia up lingering

around the last place he was seen.

So I'm-a ask you this once, and I'm-a ask you nicely.

Do I got to worry about this bitch?

Um...

Claudia has had her own fair share of trauma.

It's made her an ideal person to help others, but...

there have been times

when she took her methods too far.

Would you like to hear about your curriculum?

I was thinking that we would start

with some of the sensory exercises

that we did before. I'll just need you

to be open and cooperative.

Well, what if I don't feel like being open and cooperative?

Oh.

I have this if you refuse medication,

and this is for my safety.

There was this Olympic track star.

His team bus ran off the road one night,

but he survived.

To help with his rehabilitation,

Claudia moved in with the patient

and his wife up in Westchester.

The same damn thing she did with me and Lucious.

Well, his doctors could not believe his recovery,

but things took a turn when his wife decided

to discontinue some of Claudia's more nontraditional techniques.

- Okay, nontraditional? - Yeah.

She likes to get a little too hands on.

She thought it would be best

to take him to a more secluded environment upstate.

Upstate? You have an address?

Uh, I'm not sure.

The wife intervened before she was able to take him.

I- I'm sorry.

I really don't feel comfortable saying anything more

until I've had the chance to talk to Claudia, but I-I will

- continue to reach out to her. - Thank you. -Yes. Oh, please do.

All right, and when you talk to Claudia, I would like to know.

Nontraditional treatment.

- Upstate. - Yeah.

I don't know if you've seen it yet,

but the sun came out.

It keeps doing that.

- Yo, man, what are you doing? - Man, I don't like this, Mal.

You're getting into fights.

You're shouting at people, like a punk.

That's my gig, not you.

Come on, man. I thought we were like the princes of England.

You were the stable one.

What's his name? William?

Did you know that when you pull the trigger, it...

it's like the gunpowder just stays on you.

No matter how much you wash it.

It don't matter how many times I tell myself that we were...

we were both fighting for the gun.

I can still feel myself...

I can still feel it going off.

Look, the Dubois came after us with all they had.

- We still survived. - Did we?

All of us.

Get dressed.

- Where are we going? - We going out.

Put your Guccis on.

You know, you got a bladder the size of a thimble.

Why you got to tinkle all the time?

Yo, how much I tinkle and when I do it

is none of your business.

That's between me and the toilet.

You pregnant?

What kind of question is that?

Ain't that a pregnancy test in your hand?

Yeah, but these things don't even mean anything, so...

They're like 99.999% accurate. They mean a lot. What's it say?

- Can I wash my hands now, or... - What does it say, Becky?

You know, it really doesn't matter

what it says because until I see an actual doctor,

every single one of these are inconclusive.

So...

- And it's just not even... - Damn, Becky!

How many of those you done took?

You got, like, a dozen tinkle tests.

They positive?

I... I, um...

They positive.

I... I need to wash my hands, okay?

- Oh, Becky. - No, I...

It's okay.

I still didn't wash my hands.

That's ok... I didn't wash my hands, either. It's okay.

Dwight?

What's wrong?

My whole life, I never felt safe.

Even as a child.

Except within the music.

And being here in this cabin,

it's like... the fog is lifting.

I can...

I can hear the music again.

I should've never sent you away.

It's okay.

I'm here now.

- It's okay. - I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

It's all right.

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

Didn't I tell you?

I told you to let me go, didn't I?

You didn't want to listen to me. You should've let me go.

You should've let me go, shouldn't you?

Aah!

Aah!

Aah! Stop! No!

You shouldn't have done that.

What did you do to me?

Experimental medications heightened your receptors.

And with the synesthesia

combined with the music and lights,

it creates this intense pain.

Something maybe a little bit like a migraine.

- That wasn't music. - Oh, yes, it is.

That's all of your rap songs layered over each other.

That's what Lucious Lyon sounds like.

Pain.

Five minutes should be sufficient.

No! No!

Talk to me.

Well, Claudia has never owned any property upstate,

but her father owned a house up there,

and it's still listed under his name.

Yeah, well that must be it.

Text me the address. It shouldn't be too far.

All right, Cookie, maybe you shouldn't do this.

All right? The place looks a little secluded.

Don't know what you're walking into.

Look, I'll finish with the police,

- and I can head right over there. - No. Look,

if he's back to his old Dwight self, I just...

just want to have a mature conversation with him.

- That's all. - Cookie, have you met you?

All right, most of your conversations usually involve

a baseball bat and three weeks of carpentry repairs.

Get off my phone.

You got this, Cook.

You got this.

You got this, Cook. You got this.

You got this, Cook.

You got this.

Oh, don't get up. It's just me.

You busy?

I thought you might be interested in this.

"Rising rap star, Lucious Lyon,

attended The Source Awards last night."

He's a handsome fella.

Might explain this supermodel wrapped around him.

Come on, look alive. You got family here.

Lucious. Lucious came.

Lucious! My babies came to see me.

I ain't got nothing to say to you, bitch.

Burleson told me that I could see my baby

and get an early leave if, you know,

I just tipped him on anything that was going down.

But I didn't ask you for nothing,

and I don't own you a damn thing.

Yeah, that's right.

You saved your baby all by yourself.

Get the hell out of my face.

You got no family inside,

you got no family outside.

I'm gonna break you.

I'm gonna break you so you have to crawl out of here.

Did you let him know we were coming?

I thought we'd surprise him.

What are y'all doing here?

You know I'm coming home in a week.

We just thought we'd came to check up on you before you came back.

Is it okay to catch a hug or what?

I heard about what happened. You okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Yeah, we're just looking forward to you coming home.

Whenever you're ready.

Warren?

He's fine.

Lucky Mal was there to take Angelo out.

You know how stupid you sound saying something like that.

What would you possibly know about taking somebody out, Hakeem?

Huh?

It's not some damn movie.

Look, I'm sorry, all right?

I shouldn't have come here. I...

Jamal, you can't leave.

We got to stick together.

No, that woman,

that woman, Diana, she wanted to destroy us,

and she did.

She did, y'all.

Look at what she did to you.

And you and Bella and me.

And her own flesh and blood.

And now everybody's just patting me on the back

and I'm so pissed about that 'cause they're just like,

"Oh, good job. Good job." But for what?

Look, I ain't want to kill nobody.

But I did.

But I did!

Jamal, it's okay.

It's okay.

No.

Dre, man, I'm sorry. I'm fine, all right?

I'm really sorry.

Jamal, you listen to me, all right?

We all carry our burdens with us.

You don't have to carry them alone.

I'm with you.

I'm with you, too.

I'm with you, too.

I didn't mean to hurt you.

I know.

You weren't yourself.

It's Cookie.

Cookie!

I'm in here!

You better get rid of her or I will slit her throat.

She will not interrupt me again.

Hello, Cookie.

Is Lucious here?

Because if he is, I would like to speak with him, please.

Please.

How'd you find us?

Is there a reason why you're not returning my phone calls?

We had some very important work to do alone.

What's this "we", white wo...?

You know what?

You just...

Talk to me.

Ain't you got nothing better to do than looking for me?

I mean, yeah, you asked Lucious

to help you to take down the Dubois.

I did that, right?

But there was a part of me that was developed

w- with Claudia that-that I need to flesh out.

I don't know whether to call it Lucious or Dwight,

but whatever it is... I want to be a better man.

I don't know how this white woman got you twisted,

but we have a company to run.

So I need you to get up off your ass and come with me.

I need you to hear me. I'm writing new music.

Can't you hear that?

Are you serious?

I've got to have time to finish this new song. Please.

Okay, I'm not gonna sit here and beg you.

If you want to stay here with your wet nurse,

then you suck right on, baby.

♪ Yesterday, I had a dream ♪

♪ We were family ♪

♪ When I woke up ♪

♪ You were next to me ♪

Ain't you got nothing better to do than looking for me?

I've got to have time to finish this new song.

Please.

Yesterday, I had a dream we were a family.

It was Mom's idea to change your sound.

So she wrote you a love song.

♪ Yesterday I had a dream that we were family ♪

This love song.

I need you to hear me.

I'm writing new music.

Write new music?

Hello, Cookie.

We had some very important work to do alone.

It's new music.

That's a lie.

That's my song.

Great.

Come on, Cookie. Come on.

Come on, Cookie.

If you don't mind me asking,

how did this happen?

I mean, you know

- I know how it happened, you know? - Ugh.

But, like... you know what I'm trying to say.

It's a really good question,

'cause I hooked up with J Poppa one time.

All it takes is one time, Becky.

More like six times.

- Eight. - Eight?!

- Yeah. - Yeah.

J Poppa really better get on his knees

and pray about something.

Stupid.

Damn.

When this used to happen to girls on my block,

I would swear up and down it was never gonna be me.

I'm too smart for this.

And I worked too hard to get where I am.

I bust my ass to get my job.

I just never saw being a mother as a job for me.

So... what you gonna do?

I thought

you might be hungry.

I hope you meant what you said

about wanting to be a better man.

It was nice.

Maybe you could play me a song.

I only play when I'm inspired,

and my inspiration just walked out the front door.

I understand that you're angry and tired, Dwight.

You better just calm down.

You know what? I would walk a thousand miles

through broken glass, I would kill everybody on this planet...

- I'm warning you. - ...to save Cookie,

because I love her.

I love her. I love Cookie.

You'll never know what that feels like

because you're a broken bitch.

Damn it. See what you made me do?

Blown a circuit.

Shh, shh, shh.

You want to give me a heart attack?

No, no, no.

- Come on, I'm gonna get you out of here. - No, I can't.

The bitch chained me to the frickin' piano.

What? Okay.

Shh. Let me see what I can find and get you out of here.

It looks like the Cookie crumbled.

Get up.

Walk.

Oh.

You can't get up on your own?

All right, come on, get her on her feet.

Let's go.

Come on.

Come on. Get up, Cook.

You can do this. Get up!

- Stand up, Cookie. - Get up. You can do it.

- Come on. -Come on, girl. - Come on, Cookie. Get up.

- You can do it. Let's go. - There you go.

You got it. Let's go. Get up.

- There you go. - Show them, you got it.

- That's it. - Yes.

There you go, Cookie. Stand up, Cookie.

- Come on, girl. - Don't let them. There you go, Cookie!

- Come on. - You got it.

There you go.

That's it!

Yes!

Go ahead, turn the key, hack.

You ain't free yet.

Cookie?

Hey.

- Are you all right? - Ow.

What is going on?

Dwight made it

perfectly clear he didn't need you.

You shouldn't have come back.

So, what's your plan, Claudia? Huh? You can't keep him

chained to a piano on some Black Snake Moan kink.

I'm trying to save Dwight, not hurt him.

We have a... a connection you will never understand.

I love him.

Girl, do you think you the only bitch

that's been caught up in some fantasy puppy love

over that old salty dog?

Oh, this is not puppy love.

He loves me. He told me.

He ain't never told you that, heifer.

Are you serious, Lucious?

I'm strapped to a table because you led this psycho on?

No, it's not what you... it-it was a mistake.

A mistake?

Yes, 'cause I thought she was you.

- What? - What?

A mistake

like when you was hitting Giuliana in Vegas,

when you were on your long con?

Or like you and Angelo.

- Okay. - You want to throw bones?

- You want to throw sticks? - You a trip, Lucious.

You always act like you don't have a jealous streak, but...

Yeah, I'm not jealous of Angelo.

It was just the fact that Angelo was disrespecting me,

and you parading him in front of me

and the boy wasn't good enough for you in the first place.

Well, we don't have to worry about Angelo anymore, do we?

He got his dumb ass shot.

He's dead?

You need to pay attention, okay?

Giuliana's probably in the dirt somewhere, pushing up daisies.

So anyone that gets involved with you two turns up dead?

Well, I mean,

I wouldn't say everyone.

That's ridiculous.

I mean, we got a couple bodies.

You think this is funny?

That you ruin people's lives?

What you have is not love.

It's some kind of evil alchemy.

Like where you amplify the worst

and most vile instincts in each other.

You're toxic.

I'm not gonna sit here and let you head-shrink me, lady.

Okay? So do what you got to do.

How long were you in prison before he served you

- with divorce papers? - I told you I wasn't doing this

with you, lady.

Did you ever tell him how badly that hurt you?

Why'd you abandon her?

I did not abandon her.

Well, you did stop calling,

you stopped visiting and no letters.

So, what's that?

- That's abandonment. - Did you ever think

how difficult it was for me to come there every week

and see you with new scars, new scratches, new bruises

and not to be able to do nothing?

I felt helpless.

And when you got out, did he greet you with open arms

- or did he give you half the company? - Yes, I did.

No. What? No, you didn't, Lucious.

- I did. - You did not.

You were pitting our sons against each other, remember?

Well, because I thought I was dying from ALS.

So that stopped you from giving me what was mine? Huh?

As much as I sacrifice for this family...

No, if I got to hear one more time you talking about

you spent 17 years in prison for this damn family,

I'm telling you, Claudia,

you got permission to stab me in my neck.

Have you thought how hard it might have been for me out there

trying to raise them boys by myself

and try and build a freaking company?

Yeah, out there. Out there, Lucious.

You had help. You had my sisters.

You-you had my cousin, Bunkie,

till you didn't need him anymore.

Hey, Bunkie didn't deserve to die.

Yeah, you need to stop talking, Cookie.

- No, I'm not gonna stop. - You need to shut up!

I'm not gonna shut up!

'Cause Lucious don't shut up

until he gets what he wants.

You stole me from my boyfriend, Barry,

and that is what put my daddy in the grave.

You know the one thing that ain't never happened to you,

Cookie, in this lifetime, is you ain't never been took.

And you saw an opportunity

to get out of the ghetto and you took it.

I saw you, and I saw a woman that could help me

get to the top of this damn game and I took it.

That's what brought us together.

It was the game recognizing game.

It was hustle recognizing hustle.

Ah, so it wasn't love.

You said I was your muse.

You said you loved me,

so I guess that was hustle, too, huh?

Don't you get it now, Cookie?

After all that pain and suffering,

he didn't love you.

That's not what I said.

If you're really honest with yourself,

you don't love him, either.

You're in love with that gold logo

that spins around on the record.

Not the man, not Dwight.

When I was in prison, my family was the only thing

that kept me going.

I know we may argue over money

and power and turf,

but you can take all of that away

and I will continue to love them all, even Lucious.

So you can kidnap him,

you can chain him to a piano,

you can torture him

until he turns into a little church boy,

but I prefer that monster over Dwight any day.

You know why?

Because he belongs to me.

And if you think I'm gonna walk out of here without him,

you don't know Cookie Lyon at all.

So I suggest you ask about me, bitch,

'cause I don't make a move without him

and he don't make one without me.

Do what you got to do.

- So be it. - So be it.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

No, Claudia, you don't have to do this.

I'm sorry. This is not what I had planned.

No, you don't have to do this at all.

And if you had just stayed away

- and let me do my work... - Do it.

- Everything would've been fine. - No, you don't have to do it!

I just need to do my work!

- Do your work, bitch. Do it. - Shut up, Cookie.

- I wanted to do my work. - Do your work.

Cookie, shut the hell up!

Do it.

She's not supposed to be here.

This is...

You got to go see.

Gloria, you can't be here.

You need to go now.

What is going on? Do you have Lucious Lyon with you?

- His family is looking for him. - I appreciate your concern,

but this is not your business.

- Hey! - Wait, no, no, no, Lucious!

Lucious, Lucious, Lucious.

I got a plan.

- Claudia, I need to go inside. - No.

I am working.

I'm going inside.

Where is she?

She went to get the police.

Told you it wouldn't work out the way...

♪ Snitching is bitching ♪

Cookie!

You want to tussle? Come on.

Let's tussle.

You b-bitch.

Aah! Aah!

You can have Lucious,

- but Dwight is mine. - No.

Kill her.

Go ahead, just do it.

You're a killer. That's who you are, Lucious, so just do it.

Kill her!

Kill that bitch.

Do it!

No.

What?

- Thanks. - Mm-hmm.

Why didn't you kill her?

And prove her right?

I decide who I am, not her.

Who are we, Lucious?

And yet you look at me

like I'm some kind of mutant.

Why do you hate me?

I'm the only one that knows

What he truly is.

- At the push of a button. - Boom.

That's why I got to kill him.

The keys to the kingdom.

It's all yours, Dre.

Mom! Mom!

Get away from the car!

Mr. Lyon.

You all right?

Anything you need?

Yeah, I'm okay.

I have to tell him.

Oh, God. I have to tell him.