(spoilers ahead)
With all of the shady dealings of the past two weeks, the third episode of Empire’s second season focuses more on the musical side of the show in a fresh change of pace. Everyone’s favorite mobster/singer/rapper/producer Lucious is out on bail, and despite not being allowed into the building of his own company, no one is truly safe. Undaunted by prosecutor Roxanne Ford’s threats, he’s hellbent on gaining revenge on Cookie, Hakeem and Andre for what he sees as an unforgivable betrayal, something he makes clear at a fancy dinner he hosts for the rest of the Lyon pride. Cookie will have none of it, and she makes a mess of the table in the most elegant and badass fashion possible.
Meanwhile Hakeem is still tripping on his own ego, happily screwing around with the members of his proto-girl group (now operating under the slightly less cringeworthy name Mirage-a-Trois) as opposed to working- convinced his new trio will eventually make him the next big music mogul. His mom isn’t pleased when he promises Sway a live exclusive performance in a week’s time on his radio show, so she does what she can to quickly whip both him and the girls into shape, turning into perhaps the most glamorous drill sergeant you’ll ever meet.
The payoff comes during a pretty fun performance by Jamal with Pitbull at an Empire-hosted party. The Ne-Yo-penned song they sing is great and all, but following a Cookie introduction Hakeem crashes the stage with a diss song aimed at his father and big brother. The show’s writers may be limited by Fox’s standards and practices department so Hakeem can’t get too vicious with his raps, but his “I’m the Lyon you’re the cub” line still hits hard.
One could imagine Lucious is reaching a tipping point with how far he’s antagonizing his sons, unwilling tor reconcile with Andre even after learning of Rhonda’s pregnancy, which leads into another flashback into Lucious’s childhood and his mother’s mental illness. His concern over the baby’s health could possibly be a crack in his armor, but that remains to be seen. Meanwhile Jamal continues to deal with his frustration over running Empire as well as his own musical aspirations, unhappy with the crappy producers Lucious is handing him. He considers asking Cookie for help, but his pop convinces him otherwise and offers to personally guide him musically.
The villainous co-founder of Empire has a personal project of his own- singing the prodigy rapping daughter of the late Frank Gathers, Freda. On top of talent she also has quite a temper, whipping out the ratchet after her battle rap opponent crosses an unseen line lyrically. Jamal may be unimpressed with her, but Becky tries to make a connection, while Lucious arguably may see shades of himself in her (just a personal theory).
When the day arrives for Mirage-A-Trois’s Sway performance, Lucious, ruthless as ever, goes into SNK Boss Mode and reveals he’s purchased Apex Radio. This gains him easy and wide-ranging influence for Empire and essentially allows him to lock out all Lyon Dynasty artists. To make matters worse, lead girl Valentina turns Benedict Arnold on LD and makes a deal with the devil, leaving Hakeem flabbergasted but Cookie undaunted and determined to get revenge.
Odds And Ends
– Anika continues to float in something of a limbo this season, weighing the implications of both a possible alliance with Lucious before reconciling with Cookie and planning the party crash. Will Boo Boo Kitty become a stronger force down the road? Stay tuned.
– Is it safe to call Lucious the Triple H of prime time now? He’s just as dominating, and now like him he’s comparing himself to God. Better than doing like TNA’s Eric Young and declaring yourself “Guy”, to be fair.