Lyons heirs...Here's what we, and the rest of the Lyons, learned about the next generation of Lyons (or heirs, as they like to refer to them).... Thirsty approached Lola on a playground, and while talking to her took some of her hair for a DNA test. Meanwhile, while Dre (who is still on his meds, staying in a hotel, no longer going to church, and has stopped saying Rhonda was pushed down the stairs) is visiting Rhonda at Anika's house to discuss how they can get Rhonda back to happy by them being a team, they overhear Anika throwing up in the bathroom. They go to check on her, thinking it may have been the food they just ate, but Anika basically tells them the truth without telling them. She says she can't tell them given their recent loss, which obviously leads to Rhonda asking her if she's pregnant. Anika confirms she's pregnant, and when Dre asks who the father is she says it's Hakeem.
Now in a later scene, Dre gets the family together at Lucious' house, under the guise of helping to make the family better as he discussed with Lucious in another scene discussed later. Dre tells them he has someone who has something to share with them that can help them become better. First Rhonda walks in, and then Anika! And of course everyone is like what can she possibly say that would make the family better. She reveals to them that she's carrying Hakeem's baby. And when Jamal asks if she's keeping the baby, they learn Rhonda insisted she keep the baby, especially given the loss of her child. Rhonda makes another "heir" reference, to which Jamal says then they need to find Lola. But Lucious tells him they don't need to find Lola, because he had a DNA test done and Lola is not a Lyon!! When Anika tells them she wants something priceless from them, Cookie tells Lucious to cut Anika a check. But Anika tells them what she wants is for her child to have a family.
Later, repaying her for surprising him in his home, Anika comes home to find Lucious waiting for her on her couch. The two have an exchange of words about him sleeping with Cookie and her sleeping with his son. Then he offers her $10 million in exchange for her taking care of herself, bringing the baby to term, and then giving the baby to Hakeem. Anika scoffs at the offer, also throwing in that she would think a Lyons heir would be worth more than $10 million. Lucious tells her to strongly consider his offer, noting many mothers don't make it through childbirth. Anika attempted a threat of her own, by pointing out she never dimed on him to the FBI despite being with him for five years and knowing more than he thinks she knows. But Lucious is unbothered by her threat.
Freda Gatz v. Stacey Run-Run... In the studio, Jamal and Freda Gatz are making musical magic. Jamal likens it to Cookie and Lucious in the studio. But given her new knowledge that Frank Gathers is Freda's father, Cookie does not want Freda around her boys. When she essentially tells Lucious Freda could be a danger to their boys should she ever find out Lucious is responsible for her father's death, Lucious reminds Cookie of her own responsibility in his death. Then it cuts to a scene where Freda beats a man with a gun, and has her friends jumping him, all because he wanted to sit in the barbershop seat that no one can sit in, because it's Frank Gather's seat. If she does that over a barbershop seat, imagine what she might do if she discovers the Lyons had something to do with the murder of her father!
So while Jamal is in works to work on a second track with Freda for his album, Cookie is setting up a contract to have Stacey Run-Run (basically Nicki Minaj) do some tracks for Jamal. Jamal is excited about the opportunity, until he learns the contract has an exclusivity clause that requires Stacey Run-Run to be the only female rapper on the album. So Jamal is forced to choose between Freda and Stacey. He's torn, but Cookie isn't, reminding him he said he wants to take down his father. So while Freda is recording, Jamal goes to speak to her about the situation. She's excited for him upon hearing he's going to have Stacey Run-Run on his album. And though she is clearly let down when she learns he can't have both of them on his album, she basically tells him he can't choose her over Stacey Run-Run and seems to understand. Later, when Jamal goes to the studio to record with Stacey Run-Run he learns that she's in Tokyo and sent a pre-recorded track for him to record with. He's not a fan of the situation, but attempts to record his part of the song. But he just couldn't do it. So he goes back to the barbershop, which is where Freda works, to ask her if she'd come back and do the songs with him. She didn't speak to him at first, but then she asked if he wasn't feeling Stacey Run-Run. He told her she was cool and had heard him singing at a place in Incognito. Turns out Freda was also familiar with that place, and Jamal told her when he works with her he gets creative vibes similar to ones he got when performing there. Freda told him she would think about meeting him at the studio that night, and that was it.
Shareholders... With an upcoming shareholders meeting, Lucious had a private party at his place for some of the major shareholders, where he showed them his new music video. He used the party as a way to get the shareholders on his side, as a way to influence the board to make him CEO. Cookie came in as Lucious was walking the last shareholder out. After learning what the party was for, Cookie told Lucious she's trying to get the family back together. So she told him to tell her if he was trying to do anything at the shareholders meeting.
But Lucious wasn't just buttering up the shareholders in preparation for the shareholders meeting. He gave Dre a call requesting to see him. After the call, Dre told his brothers about his plans to talk with Lucious, and he also told them he's doing well and will be helping to ensure Hakeem does well at the shareholders meeting. He asked Hakeem what will be the biggest project he'd be sharing at the shareholders meeting, and Hakeem said it was the Anthony and Cleopatra clothing line. So Dre warned them Lucious would be going after that then. And sure enough he did, by having Thirsty and co. rob the warehouse, taking all of the Anthony and Cleopatra clothes. I assumed after Dre's warning, Hakeem had setup a ploy warehouse, but nope...those were the real clothes!! An upset Hakeem confronted Lucious about the clothes, and Lucious told his son a half-decent CEO would be able to clap back. Hakeem in turn told his father he's not Dre or Jamal and would never bow down to Lucious, and then his phone starts ringing. Lucious tells him he thought he would say that and that he should answer his phone. It's Laura on the phone telling Hakeem the trucks with the equipment for the tour were searched and drugs were found (yep Lucious planted drugs in the trucks). So all the equipment was confiscated!!!
O, but Lucious had more up his sleeves. Lucious took Dre to his grandmother's grave. After Lucious described what it was like living with his mother, Dre said that's exactly how Rhonda describes living with him. Then Dre began speaking to his grandmother's grave, noting he wish he had had the chance to meet her and that if she was still alive she would have the benefits of modern medicine that would have allowed her to live out her dreams on her good days. Lucious tells him he wishes she was able to meet him too, and then he tells Dre how proud he is of him. Dre responds by saying he knows that means Lucious wants something and that he won't help him take down his brother (this is when they have the making the family better convo that Dre thought meant he should bring them all together to hear Anika announce she's carrying Hakeem's baby). BUT...it turns out Dre decides to help his father after all, by giving him another item to use against Hakeem, a glitch in the app for the streaming music service Empire acquired! At the stakeholder's meeting when this comes up, Rhonda asks Dre if he did what she thinks he did, and he tells her he did so they could be a team (as she said going back to being a team fighting to take over Empire might bring her happiness back).
So at the stakeholders meeting, Lucious attempts to put on his final blow to Hakeem. The meeting starts with a performance by Tiana (this episode she's giving Aaliyah with her hair and outfit). Then Cookie comes on stage to introduce Hakeem, noting Tiana's recent success and the fact that she is under Lyon Dynasty, which was recently acquired by Empire. Hakeem comes out and things are off to a good start, until Lucious gets a chance to ask questions as a shareholder. First he asks Hakeem about the top 5 biggest issues facing the music industry. Hakeem has a facial expression that suggested he might not be prepared to answer the question (which I thought would be absurd), and then he killed it with his answer! But then Lucious brought up the stolen clothing, calling the warehouse robbery a security breach under Hakeem's watch, the glitch in the music streaming app, and the tour being pulled to a halt. Lucious even identified specific shareholders, and noted why they were depending on Empire to succeed and make profits. When he asks one of the shareholders what Empire needs, she says they need Lucious, sparking chanting for Lucious. Cookie went to the stage to get the situation under control, because that's what she does! She calls Lucious a legend who is to be respected, but then calls for everyone to respect Hakeem as a mogul, as well, noting how he helped her build Lyon Dynasty from the ground up. She then asked Lucious to come on stage, while telling the crowd Lucious and Hakeem are just showing how much they love Empire, which she adds should be telling of how hard they both will work for Empire (well she actually said they would kill for Empire, adding that she means figuratively, but it's actually literally...at least for Lucious). Then Hakeem and Lucious shake hands, and through the applause you hear a woman yell out, "Empire needs you, Cookie!"
Then it cuts to Hakeem leaving the boardroom looking defeated. He tells his parents that the board voted him out, and also said they liked Cookie. But it's like Cookie and Lucious didn't hear the part about them liking Cookie, or the woman who yelled out that Empire needed Cookie at the shareholders meeting, because the two of them just talk about the Board inevitably giving Empire back to Lucious. But I get the feeling the Board might vote to give Cookie a shot at CEO, and if not, the show is definitely foreshadowing Cookie having a turn at it eventually.
Leah Walker... With all of that, the biggest shocker was still yet to come! Thirsty went into a nursing home to ask about LEAH WALKER! He declined to see her and just gave the woman working the desk an envelope with money. Then the camera closes in on an older woman singing, cutting to flashbacks of scenes from Lucious as a child with his mother. Yep!! The lies continue!! Lucious' mother is apparently alive and did not kill herself!!!