It’s all hands on deck in this week’s episode of Empire, as the ultimate fight for Empire Entertainment begins. Every single Lyon has to come together this week to prevent massive damage to the family company in the wake of Anika’s betrayal.
When Cookie discovers Anika has been talking to Baretti, she’s only too happy to march over to Lucious and expose Anika. I’m sure everyone was cheering while Cookie was throwing Anika’s possessions over the banister and out the door. Anika is officially fired and dumped, and a full-time employee for Empire’s rival Creedmore. It was somewhat sickening to watch Lucious beg Anika not to betray him. She pointed out that she is not the person she wants to be when she’s with him, and she’s not wrong in her argument that he drove her to this point. Lucious then changes tactics to buy time, threatening Anika not to tell Baretti about his ALS, or else her father will pay the price by losing his medical license and being convicted of fraud.
The entire Empire office looks like it’s set up for war, and even Malcolm is using combat diction. Lucious tells everyone to draw blood if necessary to keep their artists from jumping ship to Creedmore. Employees are running scared, the company’s internal server is hacked, and guns are being drawn. Everyone at Empire hustles to keep their artists, with some going to extremes.
Cookie deals with keeping two major artists at Empire. The first is difficult because he doesn’t take Cookie seriously. That is until he makes a bet with her, and she out drinks his entire team. The result is a very inebriated and inappropriate Cookie needing to be rescued by Malcolm. Once she’s sobered up, she has to find a way to keep Tiana at Empire. This is a tougher sell because it’s more personal because of Hakeem. Hakeem actually does step up and makes his mother proud not once, but twice. The first time is by lying to Anika to keep her from getting to Tiana, making a point about family loyalty. The second is by personally backing his mother to Tiana. Despite no longer wanting to have a relationship with Tiana, Hakeem asks her to stay at Empire because she is considered apart of their musical family and they will protect her.
In the meantime, Lucious deals with Baretti directly, making it clear that this war is not exaggerated. When Baretti steals one of Empire’s biggest artists out from underneath them, a face to face meeting between the two label heads almost turns into a gun battle. Lucious walks away though, telling Baretti that he is beyond pity.
Once again, Jamal is the shining star who everyone but Lucious can see. He not only woos a platinum artist over to Empire (with a beautiful song “Conquerer,” which I will be immediately downloading), he proves that he also has the business acumen required during a crisis. Jamal tells his father to stuff down his homophobia unless it matters more to him than saving the company. So Lucious agrees to take a meeting with Delphin (played by guest star Grammy winner Estelle), and the result is a powerhouse performance of “You’re So Beautiful,” with Jamal, Lucious, and Delphin, who are joined by Cookie, Hakeem, and Tiana. The family that sings together stays together.
Andre can’t help anyone at the moment though, as he’s thrown out his bipolar medication and is on the verge of a breakdown. At first, his lack of restraint helps at a meeting with a difficult artist, and Lucious is impressed but not cautious enough, as he can see the warning signs that his son is unraveling. That process starts when Andre gets stuck in an elevator with his brothers and attacks them. Finally, we see the toll of years of being taken for granted that started when Andre was just a child protecting his little brothers in a violent neighborhood. In one of the most beautiful moments on this show, Jamal and Hakeem calm Andre by singing “Lean on Me” together as brothers. It’s the calm before the storm. Lucious sees his son is about to break so he calls Rhonda to the office before having his son committed. It’s Andre’s breaking point, and Lucious better hope no one believed Andre when he called his father a murderer.
Cookie’s Quotables:
-“Portia! Phone Check!”–ordering Porschia to snatch Anika’s phone before she can do any more damage.
-“I should have asked before I volunteered. That place is nasty”–regretting her decision to track down an artist when she finds out the studio he’s currently at.
-“I did 17 years in the fizz. I know a busta when I see one, mark”–telling off a Creedmore rat trying to steal an Empire artist.
-“Yeah, that’s my name, take a bite”–her name has so many innuendos.
-“Take these cookies!”–drunk Cookie offering Malcolm a sampling of, well, herself.
-“Lucious cares more about business than he does about Hakeem’s hurt feelings. Sad but true”–summing up just how well she knows her ex-husband while selling Tiana on staying at Empire.
Now that a member of the Lyon family has officially broken down, the only question is how will he get back up?
[Photo via FOX]
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I don’t know the name of the actor who plays Andre, but his acting these last two episodes is better than anything I’ve seen on TV in years.