Star – The Winner Takes It All

By: Gladys Luna

The show returns with the trio of girls filming a very fancy and amazing video clip of a new song. When the video ends, we are left with a scene where a very pregnant Star is at an OR surrounded by Carlotta (Queen Latifah), Alexandra (Ryan Destiny) and Simone (Brittany O’Grady). Suddenly, the blonde has delivered a beautiful baby boy. Just like that, Hunter’s (Chad James Buchanan) mother Arlene (Nealla Gordon), takes the boy from her alleging that since the girl has taken her son away from her so she will do the same. Star wakes up suddenly and it is revealed that it was just a nightmare and apparently it has been a recurring one. Jay Holland (Mike Epps), the girls’ new record label president, is standing by the window asking the girl if she is alright. Apparently, he and Star had spent a very intimately night together. Star is eager to know when their album will be released and their tour will start. She hands him an USB flash drive and asks him to listen to it and give her a call.

In the meantime, Carlotta is at her salon attempting to reach Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) while a little girl cries out loud in the background when Miss Bruce (Miss Lawrence) tries to do her hair. Bruce gets annoyed by the girl and scolds her, but Janice (who has accompanied the little girl) tries to defend the kid. Miss Bruce insults her making the other woman to attack her, leaving her on the floor while the others laugh out loud at her.

Suddenly, in the background it can be heard on the TV an interview that Arlene is giving announcing that she will be hosting a gala of her foundation in honor to her son. It´s been five months since the murder of Hunter, Eva (Sharlene Taulé) and Jahil (Benjamin Bratt). Meanwhile, it seems as though Carlotta recalls how Jahil was crying by the bed where Hunter and Eva where still in all covered in blood and then, someone appears behind him, shoots him on the shoulder and then drags him by the floor. Back to the present, Star shows up asking if they have found out who murdered them, but no news have seems to come about that.

In other news, Carlotta announces she was about to go to the record label and talk to their A&R Rep and asks Star to behave herself and stop doing any advances on it. Star confesses her that she keeps having a dream where she is having a baby, but then is taken away from her. Carlotta tells her that maybe that is just a message from the Lord telling her to cross her legs. Alexandra walks in carrying a basket filled with clothes and she tells the other girls that her mother would help her to move in with Derek next door. Star helps her to carry some things and tries to make the girls conscious about the big step she is about to take by moving in with her boyfriend and with the miscarriage she recently had. She just wants to make sure that Derek won´t be a distraction for Alex given his current situation caused by the accident he was in but Alex replies that she doesn’t think of him as that. Alex makes Star to confess that she loved Hunter, but Star believes that now is just overrated.

Star shows up in jail to pick up Simone who has been arrested for smoking weed at school. Simone excuses herself by blaming Carlotta, but Star would not allow her to do that. She tells her younger sister that all the woman has been trying to do is to keep her away from following that path yet Simone tells her that the foster system couldn’t even find her a home so they must have tried harder. Star asks her to focus on the next step that is to get their record released and confesses her that she had a meeting with the label president last night to which Simone quickly understand that her sister just slept with him. They both laugh about it and try to move on.

Carlotta is outside of the record label building yelling at her phone to their A&R Rep telling them they had meeting scheduled. She has just been informed that they have another new A&R Rep and, as on cue, she sees Jay Holland walking in. She stops him and introduces herself to him. He informs her that Star delivered him a copy of their music last night and that he believes she is really talented.

Carlotta implies that she knows he slept with her making the man feel immediately guilty about it. He doesn’t believe that their music is that good and what he is chasing now is a hit. Carlotta says they have been working with their producers, but she knows some people in New York that may help them create a hit. Jay gives her an ultimatum, people at the label will have a meeting the next day to get rid of their dead weight so she has until then to deliver him a hit.

Rose (Naomi Campbell) shows up at Derek´s house to help Alex to settle in; she suggests the girl to bring her interior decorator to help her with the house, but Alex declines. Her mother tells her that even though she´s been having a very rough months due to what happened to Derek she believes she is neglecting herself. She confesses that when she married her father, it was all about his needs and she thought that if it made him happy hence, she will happy too but that wasn’t the case. Alex announces that Cotton (Amiyah Scott) is getting out of jail and she invites her to the dinner they will have at Carlotta´s place. Rose seems uncertain to attend at first but then she gives in. Carlotta and Bruce are awaiting for Cotton to be released when they see her they hug her and they joke with her about her hair and her looks.

Arlene has come to the police to meet Detective Walter Batista (Phillip DeVona), she presented him a file with Star´s records. She won´t rest until she sees the girl behind bars.

Back at Carlotta´s house, she hands Cotton the keys to Jahil´s car since she missed his memorial service. She wants to make sure that her daughter at least have a piece of him. Cotton looks at the mirror and stares at a burn scar that she has in one of her blades and remembers how some inmates ripped a hole in her shirt and threw some acid at her. Carlotta tells her that she knows how it is to be alone in there, but Cotton devilish smiles and confesses that she wasn’t alone while she recalls her experience.

At Cotton´s dinner, Derek (Quincy Brown), Bruce, Star and Alex are playing dominos. Cotton arrives and the girls are happy to see her back. Cotton confesses them that she has to see her probation officer once a week, take a drug test and pay Elliott the money she stole from him. They all keep chatting until is Derek’s time to put piece of domino on the table, but as he is on his wheel chair he can´t seem to reach it and it has now turned uncomfortable to see him struggle until he finally manages to put the piece on.

Bruce asks him what does it feel to be in a wheel chair and he retorts with, what does it feel to be a freak and the whole table goes silence which is broken by Derek´s apology.

At the other end of the place, Simone, Ruby (Juanita Jennings) who is Derek´s grandmother and Rose are enjoying each other´s company when Carlotta walks in and sees that Simone has been smoking weed again. She scolds the girl and asks her to go back inside the house and assures Ruby that if the old lady wasn´t that drunk she will surely beat her up, then leaves. Alex greets her mom and Star questions Ruby about her, giving weed to her sister but the lady insults her so the blonde decides to leave.

At Carlotta’s kitchen, Star and the woman try to bring to some sense into Simone about what just happened, then Carlotta scolds Star for sleeping with Holland. Alex walks in and now that the four of them are together, the woman tells them they need to make a hit overnight to deliver to Holland for his next day´s meeting at the label. So, she suggests to do it right there on the kitchen as they don´t have time to book a studio. As they are about to start, Detective Batista shows up saying that he needs Star to go with him and answer some questions about the murder of Hunter Morgan.

At the police station, Det. Batista shows Star a video of her beating somebody and tells her that he is aware of her bad behavior since she was twelve and he has evidence to prove that. That is when the girl shows him every picture that proves every time that Hunter beat her so when the man sees them, he decides to release her.

Carlotta and the girls are at the studio trying to record something, they all argue over the name of the song but don’t appear to come with a unanimous decision about it. Carlotta decides to let them go and have fun with Cotton who has invited them out except for Simone, who has a curfew set by Carlotta. Alex and Simone arrive at a club where Dallas (Sidney Starr) and Cotton are already waiting for them. Then, they see Noah Brooks (Luke James) walking in and according to the girls his album was a hit and he produced it himself so Star comes up with the idea of asking him for help since they need someone to help them produce a hit. She walks over the man along with Alex who is suddenly recognized by Noah as “somebody´s daughter.” They try to do business with him, but the man doesn’t seem to give in. Alex and Star walk away from there when all of a sudden they hear a tune and record it. Then, they call Simone for her to listen to it and tell her about their night shenanigans. After they hung up, it is revealed that Simone is back at her support group where two girls walk in and threat her to give them their shoes to what Simone is forced to do it if she doesn’t wants to be stabbed.

The trio and Carlotta arrive at the label building and meet Holland, they make him listen to the song he asked for while a colorful video clip is seen, just as the man is imagining. When it ends, Star says they just have delivered the “hit” he requested for but the man confesses that he was just fired while on the meeting. He lets them know that a new head is coming to the board, Ayanna Floyd, the daughter of Charles Floyd that Alex seems to know well and refers to her as, trouble.

Cotton arrives at a club looking for Elliott; when the man sees her, he greets her happily but receives a slap instead. Alex and Derek are sharing a moment together, suddenly, she recalls the moment she went to a clinic and had an abortion. Arlene, is giving an interview at the red carpet of her gala when Star walks in wearing the same red dress as her she stands next to the woman. As she realizes Star´s presence, she asks for a moment and takes her aside. Star tells her that she raised a monster and has pictures to prove it so she suggests her to stop digging in her past and she will do the same for her. Arlene assures her that she knows she has killed in the past and she knows she killed her son, but Star just replies that she wishes that she had. The blonde steps at the front and tells the photographers to look for Big Trouble album debut release while Arlene watches her from behind.

In the meantime, Carlotta meets with Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett) and his aunt Carol (Tasha Smith) to ask her to help her talk to Ayanna (Michael Michele). Jamal introduces Ayanna and Carlotta, but the new head of the label doesn’t seem to be so happy that Carlotta ambushed her by using a Lyon. She asks Carlotta to make an appointment with her assistant and then they will talk. When Carlotta is about to leave, she sees on the news that a man has been arrested as a suspect for the murder of Eva, Hunter and Jahil. Then, the woman recalls that when Jahil was shoot, it was her holding the gun.

What a way to return! Things have gotten messier for the trio and friends. Excited to know what´s next? Remember to watch Star on Fox, every Wednesday at 9/8c and stay with Starry Constellation Magazine for more recaps.