***

If you aren’t watching Empire, I suggest that you fire up you Netflix and catch up pronto. It’s the soapiest of soap operas about the New York City Hip Hop world. Terrance Howard plays Lucious Lyon, a former drug dealer turned hip hop mogul. Taraj P. Henson plays Cookie Lyon, the mother of his three sons, who took the fall when a drug deal went bad. She gets out of prison after 15 years and wants what is hers.  There are secrets. If the NYSE found out that Empire was seeded with 400K worth of drug money, that would be the end of the company going  public. And Lucious. Unbeknownst to anyone, save his personal assistant (Gabourey Sidibe). he’s dying of ALS. He wants to take the company public and choose a successor amongst his sons to run the company before he dies.

Woven through the story, is a hip hop soundtrack, produced by Timbaland. The songs are TERRIFIC. You can download them all from iTunes.

This week was only Episode 2, so you have plenty of time to catch up!

***

Cookie has this habit of barging into places.  The woman is everywhere. EVERYWHERE. The episode begins with her interrupting Lucious’ morning routine. She wants to talk about their son Jamal.  She insists that he play with their other son, burgeoning hip-hop artist, Hakeem, at his big debut at Lucious’ new club, Leviticus.

Jamal is talented. And gay. And Lucious is incredibly homophobic. He believes Jamal is choosing his “lifestyle.” Like that. Really. “Jamal doesn’t belong on my stage” Lucious insists. “It’s not his audience.” Basically, Lucious is afraid that Jamal will “gay up” Leviticus. Allow that to sink in for a moment.

Empire’s head of A&R is the gorgeous Anika, who is also Lucious’ girlfriend.  She and Cookie square off almost immediately. When Anika reminds Cookie that none of the 9 acts she personally A&Rs are playing with Hakeem, Cookie is all “Bitch, we’re talking about OUR sons, and the family business I STARTED with MY 400K.” Lucious freaks out, because even his girlfriend has no idea how Empire was built.  When she came out of jail, Cookie was handed a wad of cash to keep her mouth shut. She also signed a non-disclosure agreement. But she doesn’t care. “You ain’t shutting Jamal out no more,” she warns Lucious.

Back at the studio, Hakeem is eyeing the new talent. Tiana, a Rihanna type, is pretty and talented. She also tells Hakeem to beat it when he insinuates that being “nice” to him would be in her best interest. “There are a lot of perks that come with being nice to me,” says Hakeem. “Get your rich boney ass out of here,” is her response. Hakeem wants her even more.

Needing a big name act to back up Hakeem at his debut, Lucious chooses Kidd Fo-Fo, who is in the middle of a very negative news cycle, after a man responsible for a shooting claims the violent rapper is his biggest inspiration.  Lucious is not worried. He sees controversy as a good thing.

Hoping to undermine Hakeem’s debut, is big brother Andre. He’s the eldest, business school educated, and figures he’s the heir apparent to Empire–except that Lucious has told him point blank he doesn’t have the charisma to lead. His wife, the blond Rhonda, is concerned that Andre has been missing his doctor’s appointments. He’s manic depressive, we learn–on meds that need to be “recalibrated.” Andre, so obsessed with Empire’s IPO, has not rescheduled. Rhonda figures she can convince him as she grabs a towel and sinks to her knees in front of him. “I’LL GO!” he promises. Before she gets to work, she suggests he get Cookie involved because “she’ll try to sabotage it.”  No blood on their hands! Of course, he’s already thought of that. Great and devious minds think alike.

Cookie, unannounced, has wrangled a key to Jamal’s apartment. She barges in with her comically inept assistant, Porsha, in tow.  She interrupts Jamal just as he’s getting busy in bed with the boyfriend. Her message is clear. No time for screwing around. She’s got a plan. Even though Lucious has said no, she’s going to find a way to get Jamal up on stage with Hakeem. Jamal is skeptical. But, Cookie is determined that the world see he’s just as talented as his brother.

While Lucious’ assistant, Becky sneaks the use of Lucious’ private bathroom, she finds some pills. A quick Google search on her phone reveals the horrible truth that he has ALS. Lucious catches her as she exits the bathroom. She confronts him. He’s angry at first, but then softens. “I wanted to tell you,” he says. “Nobody can know about this.” The two have a bond. “There is no cure is there,” Becky says. “I’m dying.” Lucious says flatly.

What’s weird here? In the real world, by the time a person is diagnosed, the symptoms would be  pretty apparent, no?

Anyway. The Po Po controversy rages on.  In a meeting, Lucious and his team work damage control. Receiving pressure to drop him, Lucious won’t because the dude is money.  Lucious uses the situation as leverage to get Po-Po to agree to back up Hakeem. “You’d be more of a mentor to him” Lucious explains. “Like Diana Ross was to the Jackson 5.”

“Who was Diana Ross?” asks Po-Po. Oy.

And wait for it….Cookie barges into the room. Dang it girl!  “You don’t need to drop him because of the shooting,” she says before she even takes a seat, “You need to drop him because his music sucks.”

“What’s THIS stupid bitch?” says Po-Po, who has no idea what he’s just unleashed.  “Someone who would have never given birth to your ugly ass,” Cookie sasses back. They almost come to blows.

Lucious drags her out of the meeting. “You need to start acting like a professional, rather than a hood rat,” he tells her.  She begins to nag him again about launching Jamal and Hakeem together at Leviticus.  “The press would eat it up. The crowd would love to see two brothers on stage!”  Lucious is still, stubbornly and ignorantly, “NO HOMO.”

The family has been looking for Lucious’ flunkie,  Bunkie’s. He’s missing because Lucious shot him in the head at the end of the last episode, after learning he was mixed up with some rival gangsters.  The police find his body is floating in the Hudson. Vernon, Lucious’ business partner, identifies the body at the local police precinct. Lucious plays it off like it was the rival gangster Shine, that knocked Bunkie off. We also learn that Bunkie was Cookie’s favorite cousin. This is NOT going to turn out well.

Meanwhile, Jamal plays Cookie his song “Tell The Truth,” which tells a deeply personal story, about coming out and getting honest. Cookie loves it. Since Lucious won’t listen, Cookie needs to find a way to steal focus away from Hakeem. Porsha, lounging on the couch reading a magazine, jokingly suggests that Jamal “come out as a big queen” the same day as Hakeem’s debut. That way, Jamal will “steal his whole thunder.”

Cookie is NOT laughing. She thinks they should hold a big press conference where Jamal will come out, followed by a performance of his song “Tell the Truth.”

“It will be all over the news!” Cookie exclaims. “I want to come out the way I want to, Mama Rose” says Jamal, not feeling it.  All Jamal wants is to write songs and be creative.

Lucious gives Cookie the bad news about her cousin over the phone, and the family gathers at the house. Cookie is devastated.  Lucious seriously needs to win an Academy Award for his performance here, choking up as he explains that the cops have no leads into Bunkie’s death.  “I’m going to find the person who did this to my friend,” he cries. CROCODILE TEARS. Wow. He’s cold. Cookie tries to comfort Hakeem, who rebuffs her.  As the youngest, he barely knew his mother before she was sent away. And after the ass beating she gave him in the first episode, after he disrespected her, he wants nothing to do with her.

Later, during a hazy pot smoking session, Jamal reveals Cookie’s plan to ruin Hakeem’s debut.  “Wasn’t she supposed to be locked up for like 10 more years?” says Hakeem, irritated. “She ain’t that bad!” insists Jamal. Hakeem also admits he’s got a thing for Tiana, before Vernon interrupts with a bag of Bunkie’s personal effects. He gives Hakeem Bunkies signature big gold necklace, before he leaves the room with a lecture about smoking reefer. Bunkie was like a father to Hakeem.

The next day at the office, Andre has bad news for Lucious. The underwriting bank for the IPO launch pulled out.  The Fo-Fo controversy may have spooked them.  “Controversy IS hip hop!” insists Lucious. “Corporate America may not be ready for hip hop,” says Andre, who wants to put off going public for now. Lucious becomes agitated. Nobody knows that he has no time to waste. He orders Andre to fix it. If he does? The company is his.  At that moment, believing that it’s now in his best interest, he spills Cookie’s plans to have Jamal come out on the day of Hakeem’s concert.

In the meantime, Cookie hires a publicist, via Andre’s wife, who puts together a plan for Jamal’s press conference.  “He’s also a homo,” explains Cookie, “I want you to organize his coming out.”  You could never accuse Cookie of being PC.

Hakeem and his posse hang out at a high end club, high and drunk. They become obnoxious. And even stupider–they film the entire thing on a cell phone.  They start by harassing the bartender. Hakeem unzips his pants pulls out his junk, and pees all over the floor.  The mostly white crowd is horrified. “You got a problem with a black boy in this establishment? I’ve got enough money to buy this bitch,” he drunkenly says.  “All you white people who voted for the first black president to make you feel good about not being racist? The joke’s on ya’ll. Because Barak Obama ain’t nothin but a sell out.”   Then we hear the sirens…. “So the po po coming to shoot me now?” Hakeem smirks to the camera.

The next day, the video goes viral. Back at Andre’s place, Rhonda laughs. “He’s doing all of the work for us!”  Cut to Lucious on the phone apologizing to Obama who eventually hangs up on him.  You mad Mr. President? I think so! Lucious’ problems just keep piling up.  He rips Hakeem a new one before throwing him out of the room.  Anika calms him down. It turns out, press RSVPs are through the roof since the controversy.  “This bad boy thing has launched him,” she says.  Still, it makes Lucious uneasy. More bad news. A FOX news type has made the Po-Po controversy a cause, and has been ranting about it all day, with the talking point that it would be irresponsible to allow Empire to go public.

Lucious decides to go on her show to defend Empire.  As he prepares for the press conference, answering mock questions and going over the talking points, his people warn him not to get angry. At that very moment–YOU GUESSED CORRECTLY.  Cookie arrives. She accuses Lucious of “growing a vagina.” He defends himself.  He’s got to go on white TV and not “frighten these folks to death.”

“The Lucious Lyon I knew would tell those idiots the streets ain’t made for everybody. That’s why they made sidewalks.” She adds, “I liked you better when you was a thug.”

Meanwhile, Cookie has been ignoring calls from an “Agent Carter.” What could that be about?

Lucious meets with Jamal with a stern warning. Dad pays for EVERYHING. If Jamal comes out as gay as planned, he can say goodbye to that 12K a month loft, and everything else.  Cut to the press conference. The publicist and Cookie wait with a pretty sparse crowd. Jamal isn’t showing up. Nor is he answering his phone.

At the same time, Lucious sits for his interview with the FOX News lady,  who congratulates Hakeem for dissing Obama. This seems to energize Lucious. The talking points go out the window. Cut to the loft, where Jamal, sitting at his piano, watches his dad on TV. He narrates the scene with an emotional “Tell the Truth.”  Cookie’s tentacles are everywhere. When FOX news shows up at her press conference to ask about Fo- Fo, her quote is aired during Lucious’ FOX news segment for comment. “Kid Fo-Fo’s tired rhymes ain’t nothing to what Lucious used to spit back in the day.” Cookie recites some of his lyrics and they prove to be even more incendiary than anything Fo-Fo rhymed.

Cut back to Jamal. “Everyone has a closet,” he sings, while Lucious rises up to defend himself and his culture. In his world, you either sold drugs or watched your children go hungry,” he explains. “Our music is more a narration of an oppressed people. The Empire artists are telling the next generation, that even though they live in a world where Treyvan Martin can get shot down like a dog…” Lucious chokes up. He says there’s hope when kids can express their anger with music and poetry, and not with a 12 gauge shotgun.  FOX news lady wonders if he can still reach those kids, even while he’s living in penthouses. “I try to talk to my sons.” he says, “I don’t think they’re listening to me. Jamal now has tears streaming down his face. “Maybe it’s me not listening to them,” he finally admits.

Tell The Truth. Powerful, powerful stuff.

After the press conference, Andre shares  good news. The bank wants to reschedule and there are others who want to opt in.  Lucious notices that his son is sweaty, not himself as he talks. Manic. Cookie pushes her way into the elevator with Lucious and his group. Po-Po insults her again, “I see you still trash talking me you bitch. You better be careful.” Cookie can’t believe that Lucious is going to let him talk to her like that. “If he says something I disagree with, I’ll let you know,” Lucious says coolly, while Anika laughs. Cookie lunges for her. The group intervenes. This is the longest elevator ride EVER. “What have I ever done to you for you to treat me like this?” Cookie cries as she exits the elevator.

“I see why you got rid of her ass.” says Po-Po, “She’s crazy.” And with that, Lucious TERMINATES HIS CONTRACT. “She’s right,” says Lucious. “Your lyrics suck.”

At Leviticus, Hakeem gets ready to take the stage. He apologizes to his father for screwing up. Lucious is over it. He just wants Hakeem to “bring that beast out for me tonight.” He says, “You’re a star. And one day, Empire will be all yours.” Oh, this pitting the sons against each other thing is delicious.

At the club, Cookie and Jamal face each other for the first time since he blew off the presser. “I thought about it. I didn’t feel right,” he says, without mentioning the conversation with Lucious. Cookie reminds him that he’ll have to do all sorts of things he doesn’t want to do. There’s a price he’s going to have to pay to get big. “That bill is gonna come,” she says.

Andre and Rhonda are in the house. He’s getting really drunk. He’s so drunk, he refers to himself in the 3rd person. He’s so pleased with himself, thinking he’s engineered the family disarray (not really). Obviously slipping into a manic state, Rhonda literally grabs him by the balls and says, “I swear I’ll have you committed if you don’t take those damn pills.” With that, she smiles and walks off, pulling him by his tie, presumably off to have sex somewhere. This chick. Watch out for her.

Jamal is backstage with Hakeem, who is worried about facing the club crowd alone, now that Fo-Fo is out of the picture. He looks at Jamal. “I’ll play better if you was up there with me.”

The crowded club waits as Hakeem takes the stage,  dedicating his performance to cousin Bunkie. He spits rhymes about his fallen cousin, fingering the necklace he’s wearing around his neck. Lucious looks uncomfortable in the audience. After a few versus, the lights come up, and it’s Jamal singing the chorus. Cookie goes nuts. He sings defiantly. “I do what I want and say what I want with no apologies.” TAKE THAT DAD. There’s no getting around it. The brothers together are GREAT. Cookie. RIGHT ONCE AGAIN.  The crowd eats it up. Tiana out in the audience, eyes Hakeem as if he were a luscious dessert. She comes to his dressing room later to seduce him.

In the end, Lucious ain’t that mad. He admits to Cookie that the brothers look good together. She tells him not to get used to it, because next time, Jamal will be on stage up front. She admits that Hakeem got it too. But she’s mad that Lucious let him perform even after the trash he talked about Obama. “He’s ungrateful and entitled,” she warns. “And you made him that way.” Cookie is the truth teller. Lucious NEEDS her in his life. Lucious tells Cookie that he dropped Kid Fo-Fo after he dissed her. Anika, who had been eyeing them from across the room as they talked, comes sauntering over. Do I detect a little jealousy here?

“What you need to do is drop this yellow bitch,” Cookie snarks. “Yeah, he probably will,” Anika replies. “When I’m your age. Except by then you’ll probably be 110.” ZING.

Cookie, gives Anika a death stare, before she turns around and leaves the club. Outside, she’s accosted by  a burly white guy who pushes her into a car. It’s Agent Carter, whose calls Cookie had been avoiding.  It appears that the two women have a history. They had a deal. OH THAT’S why Cookie’s sentence was cut in half. Cookie thought they were done. But it looks like the feds need her to “testify” in front of a grand jury.  Cookie says if she does, it will get her killed.  And that’s where we leave it, until next week.