Ajiona Alexus | Empire | Season 3

"Light in Darkness"

Following the events of "Past is Prologue", Hakeem leaves the altar, and a rooftop fight between Anika and Rhonda leads to Rhonda crashing down to a car, killing her. Anika gives birth to a girl named Bella Lyon, while Hakeem heads drunk to Tiana's house. Lucious uses Empire's new music-streaming service, Empire-X-Stream to pursue his music legacy and clashes with Tariq, who leads a federal task force to investigate him. Cookie is willing to focus on anything besides Lucious. Andre starts having hallucinations of Rhonda. Shyne's protegee, Nessa Parker, impresses Lucious at the Empire-X-Stream Launch Event. Lucious invites Tariq to a tense dinner with the Lyons.

 

"Sin That Amends"

Jamal partners with Councilman Angelo Dubois to host a summit for gun violence awareness; Lucious tries to win over Cookie; Hakeem and Nessa start to record new songs together; Anika finds Tariq's hidden camera; Andre is racially profiled by the Police.

 

"Cupid Kills"

Just as Cookie inches closer to Angelo, Lucious starts seeing him as a threat. Jamal returns to see Freda Gatz, who has been brutally beaten in jail, and Shyne and Andre physically fight after the latter informs Nessa that Shyne is exploiting her. Lucious forces Shyne to sign her deal. Andre starts to have feelings for Nessa and they make love as Rhonda appears and encourages Andre.

 

"What We May Be"

Cookie tries to set up the perfect family dinner to impress Angelo's mother, Diana; Jamal's use of old home videos chronicling Cookie's childhood cause her to face the truth about her father; Andre plans an unlikely duet.

 

"The Unkindest Cut"

Andre sabotages Tiana's big appearance at a fashion event, headed by designer Helene Von Wyeth (Gina Gershon) in order to get Nessa in the spotlight; Tariq teams up with Leah to bring down Lucious; Jamal has high hopes that working with Phillip will finally overcome his PTSD.

 

"A Furnace for Your Foe"

Cookie organizes a free park concert to strengthen Angelo's mass appeal as he works to win the mayoral bid. Meanwhile, Empire's assets are frozen by the FBI, forcing Lucious to ally with Shyne, unaware of his ulterior motives.

 

"Play On"

Lucious must deal with the increasing tension between Leah, Cookie, and Anika, which is compounded further when evidence surfaces suggesting that Tariq is planning to turn the latter into an informant. Andre and Shine meet with a Las Vegas club promoter to discuss doing business with Empire, but his abused girlfriend Giuliana kills him and reveals herself to be the real contact. Jamal informs D-Major that he will never be comfortable so long as he remains in the closet and Cookie struggles between her loyalty to Lucious and her chance to start fresh with Angelo.

 

"Strange Bedfellows"

Hakeem is annoyed to find that, despite his 21st birthday approaching, the rest of the family is too busy to celebrate. D-Major comes out of the closet in order to pursue a relationship with Jamal, only to find him sleeping with Philip. Anika contacts Lucious and returns home and he and Cookie threaten to let Leah kill her unless she turns on Tariq. At Hakeem's party, a new "friend" attacks a member of Tiana's entourage and Andre retaliates by stripping Hakeem of his XStream channel. Jamal warns Hakeem that he will never be taken seriously as an adult unless he starts behaving responsibly and Hakeem decides to spend the rest of the night with Bella.

 

"My Naked Villainy"

Lucious' condition worsens and Thirsty arranges for in-house treatment. Jamal pushes ahead with a new single exploring the relationship between his parents, causing Cookie to reflect on the sacrifices she made for Lucious. Andre, Giuliana, and Shine seek a license for Empire's Vegas operation and Anika asks Cookie to raise Bella should something happen to her. A lawsuit is filed against Hakeem over the club incident and he rails against Thirsty's sleazy approach to fighting it. With Jamal's help, he makes a public apology. Andre calls a board meeting to get the Vegas expansion approved. Lucious tries to fire him for "insubordination," but everyone, including Cookie, supports the idea. Angelo wins his primary and Lucious, bitter from defeat, performs "You're So Beautiful" at the victory party. It is subsequently revealed that he has a past with Giuliana.