Alexandra is offended when a photographer keeps asking for more powder to be applied to her face at a photo shoot; she accuses him of trying to lighten her skin. Carlotta tells the girls they should do whatever Jahil says after he got rid of Otis' body. 

Simone finds a box of old photos and tapes of her and Star's mother, Mary. Derek tries to hand some Black Lives Matters flyers to Carlotta but she shuts him down. Carlotta remembers when she and Jahil used to be an item. 

Jahil brings Eva to the salon and tells Carlotta that she can help out while the girls are busy rehearsing for the next round of the competition. He then takes Star and Alexandra to a club so that they can get a look at their potential rivals. Pastor Harris asks Carlotta to step in as church choir director, but she turns him down. 

Simone tells Star and Alexandra she's found them a song, and plays them one of Mary's old tapes. Star storms out when Simone compares her to Mary. Carlotta remembers being in the studio watching Mary sing. The cops start sniffing around Otis' car. 

Star refuses to sing Mary's song, even though Alexandra loves it. Carlotta quizzes Eva about her experience doing hair and her reasons for being in America. Star meets up with Hunter, who gives her his credit card so the girls will have money to get a polished look for their auditions. 

Jahil says that in order to get an edge on the competition Star should be lead, but Alexandra argues that Jahil only wants Star to sing lead because she is white. Simone asks Jahil to tell her why Mary and Carlotta's music careers fell apart. He tells her Carlotta screwed it up with her jealousy. The police call Simone's foster mom, Ruth-Anne, and tell her they found Otis' car. 

Alexandra tries to convince Star to sing Mary's song but Star still refuses. Carlotta encourages Star to work with Alexandra, and they eventually agree on a new arrangement of Mary's song. 

The girls perform and bring the house down. Carlotta tells Jahil she wrote the song, not Mary, as he had believed. Jahil walks outside and is grabbed.

The girls find out they made the next round of the competition. Ruth-Anne calls Simone to ask about Otis but Simone hangs up on her. Hunter's mom confronts him about the big charge on his credit card bill; Hunter is furious that Star took advantage of him. 

Carlotta takes charge of the church choir. Star basks in the attention of the paparazzi outside Hunter's house. Meanwhile, Jahil is now captive.