‘Empire’ Recap: Who Called Child Protective Services On The Lyons?

Source: FOX / Getty

Empire is heating up because the Lyons are getting ready for a new battle—war with the Dubois Family. Tonight’s episode opens with Jamal and Lucious respectively working on finishing their projects—When Cookie Met Lucious and Inferno. Both are struggling with finding the right inspiration, but it comes from an unexpected place—Snoop Dogg.

Basically, Cookie visits Lucious to tell him about her breakup with Angelo, but their conversation gets cut short by Giuliana calling him in to a meeting to discuss Vegas business with Snoop, who might be an investor. Snoop suggests that Lucious collaborate with Jamal on a track because he thinks they’d be perfect together creatively and that is what people would pay to see. Lucious begrudgingly asks Jamal, but Jamal declines. This definitely isn’t over, though. Nothing is going to stop Lucious from getting coin.
via GIPHY
Speaking of getting coin, Andre and Shyne are not going to take being double crossed by Giuliana lightly. They are plotting a come back, but in the meantime, Cookie is trying to convince them that this is not a good idea.
The Lyons need to be as unified as possible because the Dubois have begun their attack. The first assault is getting Lucious’ club shut down by the Fire Marshall for code violations. Now that Angelo is heartbroken and his political career in shambles, the Lyons gotta pay.
Meanwhile, Cookie learns that Giuliana is actually staying in Lucious’ mansion and even Anika had to leave. You already know that Lucious is setting himself up to get got by Giuliana once again, but that’s his business. Cookie tells Andre that she thinks he’s trying to pay her back for Angelo and that it won’t last. Dre wants her to know that Giuliana is a lot more dangerous than she thinks, but Cookie doesn’t scare easily. Plus, whether Lucious is playing games or not, Cookie really needs to let him go.
via GIPHY
Back to Snoop. He tells Lucious that after much consideration, his banker said the Vegas situation might not be a good look. Lucious learns that this decision was actually influenced by Angelo (Snoop isn’t aware of their beef though), and he is livid. He finds Cookie and demands that she do something about Angelo for messing with their money. Cookie tries to talk to Angelo, but he’s cold and distant and then his mom appears with security and tells Cookie that they’re just getting started playing with the Lyons. She said that “When they shoot” they will burn them down to the ground.
Jamal thinks he can make peace with the Duboises and tries to talk to Angelo, who is still distant and cold. However, gives Angelo a $5 million donation for the Woke Scholarship Fund and says the Lyons will remain anonymous if he takes it. Angelo takes the check and Jamal thinks this means there’s a truce.
Bless his heart.
via GIPHY
Jamal agrees to collaborate with Lucious, which means that they can potentially get Snoop back on board as an investor in the Vegas situation. Things are looking up again for the Lyons so Lucious has a dinner with the clan celebrating the fact that business is going well and that the feds are off their backs. He even does something nice for a change by granting Hakeem’s request to have his name on Bella’s birth certificate and by granting Anika a divorce. But happiness is always fleeting in this universe. Child protective services shows up claiming that they got reports of child endangerment, and just like that they remove Bella from the Lyon home.
WTF! On what grounds? And who is behind this?