Empire -- Dinner With The Lyons

Last time Andre revealed he'd gone gangster on his family and revealed this to Nessa. Jamal nearly overdosed. Cookie realized she loves Angelo. And Thirsty offered to team up with Becky to take down Xavier when he double-crossed her, yet, again.

Cookie arguing with Tiana on the phone. She hangs up on the Cookster. Angelo is at the door. Angelo asks if she's in or out with him and kisses her. She kisses him back. Then Cookie's all over him like a woman who hasn't had sex in twenty years.

Jamal being trashed on a TV show. Lucifer says everything that the guy said is true. Lucifer gets on his case for not producing anything. Jamal walks out on him.

Nessa comes to see Andre. She invites Andre to come to an annual memorial with her. She says Shine wants to kill him. Shine says Frieda is refusing to record for him, so Andre says he'll bring her to the party.

Phillip and Dirt Bag get in a debate about drugs and Jamal. Dirt Bag passes Jamal some drugs to take. Jamal asks Phillip to back off of him. Cookie enters. She's come to see Jamal's music. He plays his music and some old videos of Cookie as a child. She isn't happy when she sees her father. She freaks out and says he can't use those videos and storms out to meet Angelo's mother.

Oh, boy, Mama Angelo looks like she's going to be trouble. She asks where Cookie is, whose late. She says this will never do.

Carol working in a record store. Jamal comes to see her. Phillip comes with her. The guy that trashed Jamal comes up to him in the record store and Carol tells him to get lost. Carol tells him Cookie freaked out because it goes back to when she first met Lucifer.

Cookie arrives after everyone has gone home and Angelo is not happy. He says she disrespected his mother. She tells him the memories evoked by the old movies of her were hard to handle and she chose Lucifer when she should have chose someone like Angelo instead.

Flashbacks as Lucifer brings Young Cookie home. When she comes home, her father throws her out saying she has to go. He found drug money in her room. He says he won't let Lucifer ruin her sisters lives the way he's done hers. He hugs her goodbye and closes the door on her.

Cookie offers to make it up to his mother. I don't think it's going to be that easy. Angelo says dinner and to bring her sons.

Andre agrees to come until he learns what day and time it is. She says she never asks him for nothing. She also never gives him much attention. Just keeping it real. Hakeem is a big question mark on coming.

Jamal tells Cookie she doesn't have to lie to him. Cookie remembers her father having a heart attack and her sisters telling her to go be with Lucifer. She tells Jamal her father died that night. It was three days after her father kicked her out. She says Candace blamed her and she was right. Her daddy was her life until she met Lucifer. She says all roads lead to Lucifer. She says he can use the videos but she can't look at them.

Cookie asks Candace to teach her how to behave in society. Lucifer suddenly shows up at lunch. Lucifer planning a party the same place Angelo's mother is supposed to have dinner with Cookie. Candace tries to give Cookie a pep talk and suggests that Cookie have the dinner at her place.

Hakeem panics that he has to take care of Bella on his own. Wow! Two whole episodes without Baby Killer.

Cookie and Porsha make over her place with Candace's help.

Hakeem can't handle Bella so he decides to call Jamal to help.

Cookie dresses for dinner with memories of her father playing in her head.

Jamal arrives and he's high. She slaps him in the face for being high. Then Angelo and his mother, Diane, arrive. Diane knows Cookie redid her place. Jamal comes in and starts acting too friendly to Diane. Hakeem shows up with a crying Bella in his arms. Yeah, it's not going well.

Nessa at the Stone Parker memorial and so far Andre is a no-show. Shine says Andre isn't going to show up. Shine says this is where Nessa belongs. Andre wanted to come, but Cookie pulled the mommy strings on him, when she generally forgets he's her son.

Diane asks where Bella's mother is. Then Angelo says that Diane is allergic to seafood, which is what Cookie is serving for dinner. There's a knock at the door and it's Lucifer and Baby Killer who make matters worse. Lucifer fills Diane on all the dirt about the family. There's goes my hope of two episodes without Baby Killer. Oh, well. Hey. Lucifer, the Crazy One [Andre] is going to fry up your bacon and serve it to you on a plate and I'll be laughing my head off when you find out.

Andre doesn't show up at Cookie's. He takes Frieda to the memorial. Andre gives Frieda some tough talk to get her to enter the memorial. Nessa happy when Andre shows up. Nessa puts him in the position to choose between her and Cookie. She goes to sing a song in memory of Stone. Andre listens to Nessa singing, still standing on the edge of the party, not making his choice, yet.

Cookie takes control of the party and owns who she is. She gets Jamal to sing a song and he dedicates it to Cookie. Jamal tells Lucifer he's coming back. Lucifer and Cookie share looks during Jamal's song talking about how they got together. Then Lucifer takes Baby Killer and leaves.

Diane says her blood isn't blue. She says Cookie and her family remind her of where she came from. She warns Cookie not to let her fire burn her son.

So, Andre chose Nessa. Oh, he's gonna have problems from Cookie.

Lucifer and Baby Killer preparing for bed. I suppose he's going to screw her. I'm still shipping her and the hard pavement below after she gets pushed off the top floor just like she did to Rhonda.

Nessa gets Frieda to come on stage. Frieda thanks Andre for getting her to come to the party and fight. Shine is filming Frieda's rap about the Lyons and her father probably to give to Ty-Freak. Yet, he doesn't consider that being a snitch. Whatever helps you to sleep at night.