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Lillian Cook, née Pearson, is the mother of Angela Cook and the paternal aunt of Jessica Pearson.
History[]
- "You a coffee man, or are you one of them chai latte drinking pretty boys?"
"Both. I'm a coffee man through and through, but there's no denying I'm pretty."
"Not as pretty as a young Denzel, but you'll do." - ―Lillian Cook and Harvey Specter
Lillian Pearson is the sister of Alan Pearson. Living in poverty, Lillian married and changed her surname to Cook and gave birth to a daughter named Angela. Residing in a public housing apartment in the North Park neighborhood on Avalon and 81st Street, Lillian was very fond of her niece Jessica and enjoyed Jessica's visits to her home. However, at some point, Alan became a successful surgeon and took his wife and children with him as they moved out of Chicago, eventually becoming wealthy. Alan never spoke to Lillian again, essentially abandoning her to her poverty and pretending she did not exist. Lillian continued to live in the public housing apartment with Angela, who resided there along with her two sons, Cory and Mark.
After Jessica moved back to Chicago, she discovered that the Cook family were being forced to evict from their public housing in North Park by Pat McGann, a property developer who, with the blessing of Mayor Bobby Novak, wished to place a building where the housing complex was located. With Alan having recently passed away, Jessica wished to reconnect with her family and contacted Lillian, offering to represent her. After being disbarred and having her law license revoked, Jessica was not able to file a TRO and had Harvey Specter fly to Chicago to replace her.
Following a chat with Harvey in her apartment, the pair went to court, where she explained that she had paid rent for 51 years and had attended all city council meetings, where she was promised a new apartment if the building was torn down, only to realize the agreement was not legally enforceable. However, Keri Allen revealed during the hearing that she was Jessica's niece, and Jessica's power of attorney to represent Lillian was removed.[1]
Jessica drops Lillian's lawsuit in exchange for a job with the mayor, which she informs Angela of. Angela returns home from work and talks to Lillian about Jessica giving false promises to the children in the ER about keeping their school open. When Lillian defends Jessica, Angela snaps at her mother, claiming that Jessica is all talk and that the sooner she realizes it, the better. Shortly after, Jessica pays her a visit, where she discloses to Lillian that she dropped her lawsuit in exchange for a job with the mayor, only for Lillian to inform Jessica that she had thought as much after Angela had lashed out about Jessica. Lillian, who has forgiven Jessica, invites her inside, although Jessica politely declines and leaves.[2]
The next morning, Jessica is looking through the crime scene photographs depicting the murder of Carl Jeffries when she receives a knock on her door, as Lillian had traveled from the South Side to Jessica's apartment to make her breakfast, despite Jessica's statement that she is running late for work. Lillian tells Jessica to call her boss and tell them she'll be running late, and as Jessica calls to say she'll be fifteen minutes late, Lillian spots the photographs on the counter, wondering what Jessica is doing with photos of Carl, her old neighbor.
Later that day, when Angela goes home and notifies her family that she has passed a nursing test with colors. She tries to celebrate with pancakes for her sons, only to see that the eggs are missing even though they were there that morning. Lillian explains that she brought them to Jessica's house to make her breakfast, much to Angela's displeasure, who then makes chicken nuggets for her sons instead. That night, as Lillian watches over Cory and Mark, Jessica visits the apartment, having brought groceries for Lillian. Lillian thanks her for it, stating that she cannot leave the house as a "blue flu" is impending, a term denoting the lack of an active police presence. Jessica states that the police are not allowed to go on strike, although Lillian explains that the officers would merely all call in sick and that while she isn't a fan of the police in her neighborhood, having no police around would make the neighborhoods dangerous.[3]
Shortly after, Lillian receives an eviction notice stating that they have to vacate the premises in 7 days as opposed to their original 90-day agreement, prompting her to call Jessica. Jessica realizes it is McGann's doing, but their conversation is cut short by the arrival of Angela, who does not like Jessica's presence. After Jessica leaves, Lillian asks her daughter what her issue is, explaining that she called Jessica because she thought Jessica could help, only for Angela to respond that before Jessica moved to Chicago, Lillian would have called her instead.[4]
The next day, Lillian is visited by Jessica at the apartment, as she offers buy her, Angela and the boys a house in Evanston. Lillian is initially hesitant but is won over when Jessica reminds her that it would be good for Cory and Mark. though she warns Jessica that Angela may not be on the same page. Lillian adds that she would try to convince Angela, but that she would make no promises.
Angela returns to her apartment after work and notices the house listing on the table. Lillian explains that Jessica wants to buy them a house, but Angela refuses to accept, not being a fan of Jessica trying to save them with her money and notifying her mother that she wishes to buy a house for her and her sons on her own, without Jessica's help. As she leaves, she tells Lillian to inform Jessica of her refusal.
Lillian goes to Jessica's office to talk about Angela refusing the house. Lillian mentions that Angela did not want her to get mixed up with "them", fearing they were dangerous; when Jessica presses further, Lillian claims she does not know exactly who, prompting Jessica to seek out Angela. Jessica goes to the Cook apartment later, where Angela welcomes her warmly and she, along with Lillian, inform Mark and Cory that their cousin Jessica is coming to church with them tonight. This prompts Cory to hug her, overjoying Jessica, who accepts. Jessica goes with them to church, and is surprised when she finds out that Angela is the lead singer of the choir.[5]
Appearances[]
| Suits, Season 7 | |||
| #01 | "Skin in the Game" | #09 | "Shame" |
| #02 | "The Statue" | #10 | "Donna" |
| #03 | "Mudmare" | #11 | "Hard Truths" |
| #04 | "Divide and Conquer" | #12 | "Bad Man" |
| #05 | "Brooklyn Housing" | #13 | "Inevitable" |
| #06 | "Home to Roost" | #14 | "Pulling the Goalie" |
| #07 | "Full Disclosure" | #15 | "Tiny Violin" |
| #08 | "100" | #16 | "Good-Bye" |
| Pearson, Season 1 | |||
| #01 | "The Alderman" | #06 | "The Donor" |
| #02 | "The Superintendent" | #07 | "The Immigration Lawyer" |
| #03 | "The Union Leader" | #08 | "The Political Wife" |
| #04 | "The Deputy Mayor" | #09 | "The Rival" |
| #05 | "The Former City Attorney" | #10 | "The Fixer" |