On this week’s Empire, Angelo takes Cookie into his world of upper-crust African Americans, and she’s not entirely comfortable. That doesn’t stop her from getting in the face of a couple of snoots she overhears calling her a hood rat. Do not mess with Cookie. Angelo realizes he has to meet Cookie half way, so he drops by an Empire Xtreme live event featuring Tiana “clapping back” at Hakeem’s diss track. Cookie’s time with the swells didn’t go to waste, as she hired the opera singer who performed at the fancy gala she attended with Angelo. It turns out the warring lovers of “La Boheme” describes the Hakeem vs Gram situation perfectly. And it goes without saying–it also illustrates Lucious and Angelo’s struggle for Cookie’s heart.
Lucious fights dirty though. He threatens Angelo, who isn’t the least bit intimidated. Meanwhile, Andre finds a kindred spirit in Nessa, who we learn runs the accounting side of Shyne’s record label. He reminds her that the combination of her brains and musical talent gives her the upper hand over Shyne. She could take what is rightfully hers. She decides to sign with Empire, and the deal is sealed after Andre and Lucious rough Shyne up. They weren’t too happy when Shyne tried to play them against the other record labels. Dumb Hakeem wrote Empire’s generous deal on a napkin DURING A LIVE STREAM and Shyne flashed the figure for the benefit of the competing labels. Andre and Lucious felt they had no choice but to force the issue.
In the meantime, it looks like Andre and Nessa are going to become a team. Watch them scheme to take over Empire in 5,4,3,2,1. As Nessa seduced Andre, he hallucinated his dead wife Rhonda engaging them in a threesome. YIKES. I can see it now. She’ll be Andre’s spirit animal cheering the duo on as they work to defeat Lucious. Speaking of defeating Lucious: Shyne declared war on Lucious and Andre after they forced him to sign Nessa’s deal at gunpoint. Shyne’s gang is locked and loaded and ready to go.
In the sad panda department: Jamal, still feeling guilty over Freda’s incarceration (Uhm…she shot you dude!) helps get her bail. After Freda is beat up in jail, he pays an attorney to trump up a mental illness defense. It works. But unfortunately, Jamal was played by Lucious who engineered Freda’s beat down. Now that she has been tagged a nut case, Lucious figures nobody will believe anything she has to say. In other words, if Freda decides to rat out Lucious as her father’s killer, she won’t be believed. Nevertheless, Jamal has accepted he has PTSD and decides to seek help. What he hasn’t come to terms with? His growing dependence on alcohol and pain meds.
Lucious’ half-brother, Tariq the Fed was given a break this week. So was Mama Lyon and Anika. But expect them back in the mix when Empire returns to FOX after the World Series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZqlw96-wU
