Spoiler alert: This blog details events in the second season of Empire, which airs at 9pm 23 September on Fox in the US; and goes out on 6 October on E4 in the UK
Lee Daniels’ Empire, the Dynasty-esque, Shakespearean melodrama centered around patriarch and music mogul Lucious Lyon, his three sons and (of course) his wife Cookie, is back. If you’ve not had the time to catch up with the first series – or read our handy guide – here’s the no-frills version. Season one began with the return of Lucious’s ex-wife Cookie, released from jail after 17 years to seek her place in the company she helped build. When we last saw the Lyons in a two-hour season finale, they were a grand mosaic of hot messes – dealing in murder, betrayal and plotting – which ended with Lucious’s arrest and middle son Jamal in control of the company.
#FreeLucious
We find the Lyons of Empire Records hosting a star-studded #FreeLucious concert in Central Park. Hip-hop producer Swizz Beats, who is on the show’s music production team, makes the first of several celebrity cameos, setting the tone by asking: “Did you know there’re 1.68 million black men that are being held in mass incarceration in America’s prison system today? Right now.”
Backstage, rising rapper Hakeem Lyon is conflicted about performing at a concert in support of his incarcerated and “guilty” father, who is in federal jail facing murder charges for the death of Bunkie Williams, his longtime bodyguard and Cookie’s cousin. “We should be performing for the brother and sisters that are innocent,” says Hakeem, the youngest Lyon, freshly denied what he was groomed to believe his birthright: becoming head of Empire.
Hakeem is already wary of Cookie’s plan to score investor Mimi Whiteman (Marisa Tomei) and a chunk of her millions to recapture Empire from Jamal, who is now proxy for Lucious. We see fissures in Cookie and Jamal’s relationship that will widen as they discuss Lucious.
Things get interesting when the universe of Empire bleeds together with reality: quick cuts between the crowd, a caged gorilla and police in riot gear. When the gorilla rips off its mask, Cookie Lyon emerges asking: “How much longer are they gonna treat us like animals?” I legit get chills. Henson channels something guttural and this spectacle becomes an actual protest.
‘I’m not feeling what you did out in Peterson …’
As the concert continues, we get more cameos from Al Sharpton, Don Lemon and André Leon Talley. Daniels tethers his audience with this conspiratorial wink, bridging audiences with real-life personalties, a kind of doubling that makes the show as relevant as it is entertaining. Cookie and her assistant Porsha maneuver through the crowd searching for Andre Lyon, the eldest and most business-minded of the three sons. Cookie keeps it moving until they are stopped by Lemon and Porsha quips: “I’m not feeling what you did out in Peterson …” The fourth wall breaks, perhaps inviting Black Twitter to reminisce over its widespread public criticism (and jokes) targeted at CNN’s coverage of the protests in Ferguson.
Hakeem and Jamal debut Born to Lose (featuring Sean Cross, Swizz Beatz and Yazz) an uplifting new jam that I make no apologies for downloading later. Lucious watches the broadcast in the common room in federal lockup and is visibly moved, but searches for a glimpse of future betrayal. He notices a chummy Cookie with Mimi. Cookie’s cousin, Jamel, asks Lucious for protection when word gets out that Frank Gathers (played by Chris Rock), the drug kingpin who employed both Lucious and Cookie, and whom Cookie served time for, would be joining him behind bars.
‘Nobody touches Frank Gathers’
Upon arrival, Gathers and Lucious exchange cordialities, surrounded by their respective crews. We are expected to believe Rock as Gathers is fear-inspiring and deadly. It’s a hard sell for Rock, who looks like he’s about to burst into a smile at any moment, but he trudges off, stone-faced, to track down Jamal and try to find out if there’s any dirt on Cookie. Jamal denies any knowledge, hoping to stave off Gathers’ suspicions, but his poker face leaves a lot to be desired.
Lucious directs Jamal to gather intel on Whiteman during a visit and it’s clear that he is very much in control, with Jamal as his proxy. Later, Andre wakes up in a cold sweat after a nightmare where he and his wife, Rhonda, are knee deep in a grave made for attorney and family confidant Vernon. Despite the Nightmare on Lyon Street, Rhonda is still focused on undermining Cookie’s efforts to take over Empire.
The Lyons sans Jamal woo Mimi, the investor, with a ribald lesbian-themed party. The pressures of running the company weigh heavy on Jamal as he tries to balance his creative ambitions and his personal life. Jamal’s discomfort with being a gay executive re-emerges when his original boo, Carlos, proposes to host a GLAAD meeting at Empire’s offices. Jamal bristles at the idea of performing a duet with Miss Lawrence and cancels his appearance for the awards ceremony where he is to be honored.
‘Game over, bitches’
Gathers breaks Jamal and realizes the depth of Cookie’s betrayal. A delivery of “ugly flowers” goes unnoticed when Andre scoops up the squad to announce their takeover. Jamal tries to assuage board members of the recent investment stock purchase which shifted controlling interest of Empire to an unknown entity. But Hakeem can’t contain his glee and announces that they – Cookie, Andre, Rhonda and Hakeem – with the help of the “investor” have seized a controlling interest that would oust Jamal as president. Jamal reveals his knowledge of the identity of the investor and Mimi spins around in her chair, Dr Evil style, revealing her partnership with Lucious, the incarcerated back-stabber supreme. Jamal flips on a large screen with Lucious’s video message for the takeover squad: “Game over, bitches!”
Cookie comes home to find her sister Carol and a large gift-wrapped box with Jamal’s head inside. Eat your heart out, Kevin Spacey.
‘Kill him. Make it loud and make it long’
Cookie and Lucious confront each other, but bitterness over the failed takeover is set aside to deal with the very clear and present danger to Cookie and her sons waged by that “Idi Amin man” AKA Frank Gathers, who looks nothing like the former Ugandan dictator. Lucious and Frank meet in a common room to discuss Cookie and his beef. Gathers makes clear that he carries no quarrel with Lucious and that Cookie must be dealt with. Lucious seemingly throws Cookie under the bus, yet sitting across from Gathers over a chess board Lucious reveals that Frank’s beef with Cookie is his, and Frank orders his henchmen to kill Lucious only to discover that Lucious bought their loyalty. Lucious leaves the common room and walks away from Gathers’s cries as his henchmen take him out. Cookie returns to Lucious mansion to tell everyone that the danger has passed. Jamal, remembering their attempted takeover, throws them all out. Cookie slaps him, but Jamal only responds: “You done now, lady?” Mother now estranged from her favorite child, Jamal closes the door, weeps, then walks away.
Recommended reading
For a primer on mass incarceration’s impact on black communities, begin with Michelle Alexander’s 2010 book, The New Jim Crow. Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Atlantic cover story, a real life accounting on mass incarceration and the harm it does to black families, is a great start for the uninformed.
Notes and observations
- Al Sharpton, Don Lemon, Swizz Beatz, André Leon Talley and the diva Miss Lawrence roundup this week’s cameos.
- Mimi’s money will probably have some very slippery strings later on this season.
- How is no one looking for Vernon? Like, for serious?
- Roxanne, the new prosecutor in “cheap shoes” is bluffing and Lucious suspects so.
- Lucious might be more powerful behind bars, unapologetically lethal and unlikely to relinquish control of Empire.
- Will Hakeem ever grow up?
- Jamal’s estrangement from Cookie is heartbreaking, it’s my favorite alliance, but it’s surely only a matter of time before Lucious will betray him.
