Season three of “Empire” is coming to an end. The first part of the season finale, “Toil and Trouble,” aired last Wednesday. Read our recap of the episode before you watch the finale this Wednesday.
Two major guest stars have recurring roles this season. Nia Long, who is best known for her roles on the TV series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and in the film "Friday," plays Giuliana, a nightclub owner. Eva Longoria, who is best known for the TV series "Desperate Housewives" plays Charlotte Frost, the head of the Las Vegas Gaming Commission. They both play major roles in the "Toil and Trouble" episode.
Cookie pulls off a Vegas casino heist.
Lucious tells Cookie that she is not welcome at his new nightclub, which is named Laviticus Las Vegas. Lucious has teamed up with Giuliana to open the club. Lucious told Cookie that any bad behavior at the nightclub would get their gaming license revoked.
After Cookie finds out that Thirsty has been fired by Giuliana, they team up to take her down. The plan is to steal her notebook from a locked safe. Giuliana keeps notes in the notebook about the crimes she commits through her businesses. Cookie calls on her sons and Shyne to help, but the team quickly falls apart.
Thirsty assembles a new team, which he calls the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Attitude.” The team involves Empire employees Becky and Porsha, plus Cookie’s sisters Candace and Carol. Candace is played by Vivica A. Fox and Carol is played by Tasha Smith.
The new team pulls off the heist and Cookie tries to turn in the notebook to Charlotte to get Giuliana in trouble. She finds out that Charlotte is being bribed by Lucious and Giuliana.
Lucious pushes back the release of Jamal’s album.
Jamal is releasing an album called “When Cookie Met Lucious,” or WCML for short.
Lucious suggested Jamal delay the release of his album until after Lucious’ own album, “Inferno,” comes out. Initially Jamal is resistant, but Lucious convinces him to wait and convinces him to perform at his new club in Vegas.
Cookie thinks Jamal should release his album anyway. The argument over the release date drives a wedge between Cookie and her sons. But Lucious encourages them to be understanding.
“She came for me hard, had her feeling hurt. Maybe she just needs to lick her wounds” he said.
Lucious almost finds his abducted granddaughter, Bella.
Lucious teams up with Tariq to find his lost granddaughter, Bella. Lucious invites Tariq to lunch. Mama Lyon puts glass in his food, but Lucious discovers it before it causes harm.
Lucious says Child Protective Services took Bella from his home based on trumped-up allegations. Now, the baby is completely missing in what CPS blames on paperwork mistakes.
Tariq finds someone who can help with the case and they rough up the man together, which creates a bond between them. The man admits that he takes children from foster care and illegally gives them to good homes to keep them from being in the system. Tariq discovers where Bella is being kept. Just before he’s about to reveal the location to Lucious, Grandma Lyon stabs him in the neck.
The episode ends with Cookie plotting how she’s going to take Giuliana down. Cookie discovers that Andre has a one-on-one relationship with Charlotte. Together, they devise a plan to take down Laviticus Las Vegas.
Watch the season three finale of "Empire" Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Live-tweet along with Action News Jax by following @AllThingsFOX30.