It’s time to baton down the hatches, with many armored cars. Believe me, I wish we were just talking about Empire‘s return. Now that our television schedule is getting back to normal, Empire is proving just how much fight you have to have in you to survive. Lucious Lyon is the ultimate beast when it comes to building himself up to the highest of heights, though his parenting skills could use some TLC at times. There’s a method to the madness Lucious instills in his children. At the moment Lucious is intent on showing Hakeem that being vicious isn’t just important for an artist or a man, but for a father.
Lucious knew Shyne wouldn’t take being muscled down well. Which is why Lucious, King of the Streets that he is, was prepared. From now on the family will be closely guarded and on high alert. They will continue to live their lives as normally as possible because while they can’t give Shyne everything he wants, it’s important that he continue to be involved so that Tariq can’t get to him. They need to find a way to bring Shyne to the table, which is where Nessa comes in. Nessa is very happy with Andre, except for that one part where she had to stand between him and Shyne’s gun. It’s troubling that Andre didn’t seem overly fazed when faced with a bullet, but that look of relief when Shyne walked away was encouraging. Though initially hesitant, Nessa agrees to bring Shyne to negotiations so long as she is assured her only family is singled out. When things start to go south, Anika saves the day. Her talents as a stay-at-home mother are being wasted. She jumps in with the idea of giving Shyne his own imprint in the company, which can include Freda if he chooses. Shyne is all about economics. He’d be foolish to turn down this opportunity, but he’d also be foolish not to hedge his bets. He doesn’t have to snitch on the things Lucious did in the past to make a point. All Shyne has to do is plant seeds for Tariq to breathe facts of life into. Frank Gathers’s death would be a good place to start.
Part of the family going about their business as usual includes Hakeem’s Empire XStream show. Sure Lucious beat up his producer, but that’s just show business in this family. Hakeem is more concerned about the message Tiana’s new boyfriend Graham (Hey Romeo!) sends by antagonizing him. Jamal hopes that he can set both of them back on the right course. If they perform together from Jamal’s apartment on Empire XStream, then Jamal can get over his stage-fright and Hakeem can one-up the competition in a mature way. Lucious tries to nix the mature path immediately. He knows that the nature of humanity is kill or be killed, and if Hakeem wants to protect Bella he’s going to have to decide what kind of a fighter he can be. As usual it’s up to Cookie to clean up Lucious’s effect on their children. What Cookie wants, Cookie gets, and right now she wants her sons to stop acting like babies, do the show together with pride, and for Hakeem to pick up his dirty socks! Also per usual, whatever Cookie tries to fix Lucious undoes. As soon as he points out that Nessa is already taken by Andre, Hakeem turns the live stream into a clap back towards his whole family. The world gets a nice, honest view of the Lyon family dynamics, which Lucious later tells Hakeem he approved of. Only Lucious could take a sweet moment like teaching his son to swaddle a baby and turn it into a lesson on being a “destroyer of men”.
Becky is not at all happy these days, which is really sad to see. The one person Lucious tolerates better than most, and this girl can’t catch a break. She’s still smarting from a potential promotion to Head of A&R being given away to privileged numbers cruncher who thinks it’s okay to “white mansplain” her business to her. Becky has every right to be upset, but it’s risky to go against Cookie’s wishes. Instead of having Tiana record a song that Cookie wants because it will raise her streaming numbers, Becky has Tiana record the song she wanted to record in the first place. Neither Cookie nor Tiana are pleased when they find out about Becky’s lie. Tiana’s album release is delayed and Becky is left out in the cold.
Cookie’s family is so crazy, she counts on the little things in her life to stay the same. Meetings with her parole officer are usually quick and painless. Cookie’s built up some nice friendships with the office workers, but suddenly that’s all changed. Cookie suspects Angelo is the reason her parole officer is suddenly so strict. Her first instinct is to put walls up before he can hurt her, but Angelo knows how to fight too. He fights for Cookie, proving his worth by talking to the parole advisor on her behalf. Since they happen to be old college buddies, why not use those connections to win over the love of a lady?
What kind of father will Hakeem be if he turns into Lucious 2.0?
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