Welcome back to my weekly recap and review of FOX’s Empire. This week’s episode entitled “The Lyon Who Cried Wolf,” arrived just in time for Mother’s Day this Sunday. The evolving plot line of Lucious’s mother remained an integral part of the show as we continue to drag our feet towards the finish line of season two.
The Lyon
Leah Walker (Leslie Uggams) officially made her appearance in this weeks episode, and the hostile reception was anything but surprising. The Lyon family already had enough to deal with, having agreed to make a family appearance at the fictional ASA Awards and had to decide what to perform. In typical Lyon fashion, the bickering came to a screeching halt in a dramatic reveal: No one but Andre knew (other than Lucious) that Grandma Walker-Lyon was alive.
Andre has officially kicked off the end of the season by bringing Grandma back. It’s hard to tell if this was purposeful in a way of sabotage, or if Andre really needed someone to understand him. The poor guy has had a tough break this season, not to mention being called crazy left and right by his family, and if it was up to Lucious, he would have locked him up with Leah.
On another note, I’m not sure why audience members were surprised by the hate Leah still carries for Lucious. I mean, he kept her hidden, pretended she was dead and then paid her off. But, she did try to kill him when he was a kid. It makes me wonder: Is Lucious going to kill Leah, or is Leah going to strike first?
Although she’s initially viewed as a guest in Lucious’s den, the uncomfortable moments of interaction between the two, even the “lighthearted” ones, seem to have a warning sign.
The Witch
Rhonda is no fool, and I have said it time and time again. (Don’t quote me on that).
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In this episode, Rhonda’s memory of the fall she took on the stairs comes flooding back. She knows she was pushed. She knows who. The Christian Louboutin’s on Anika’s feet seal the deal.
Gasp. The reveal we all saw coming.
Anika gave the purposeful push that caused Rhonda to miscarry her son. In case you forgot, Anika is now pregnant with her own Lyon “heir.”
I expect this to be a full blow-out. I will be incredibly disappointed if the writers don’t allow Rhonda to have some type of closure to this.
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Also, “yikes” when Andre finds out.
The Wardrobe
Jamal has a new love interest. No, it’s not Michael, who made a reappearance in last week’s episode. It comes in the form of D Major, the showrunner of the ASA Awards (which now on top of Jamal and Lucious being nominated against each other, we’ve also got a family performance), but is also a man that is closeted in the industry.
We all know Jamal is an openly gay man who works in the industry. In spite of the differences, Jamal and D Major get into a sort of friends with benefits arrangement, with a little bit of feelings thrown on top.
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I’m unsure on where the writers are taking this particular route, but I can see Lucious using this to his benefit despite his homophobia. It’s only a matter of time before we see where this goes.
(I don’t see D Major sticking around very long).
More observations:
- I (and many other people) were right about there being some dirty work by Harper Scott, the journalist who popped up last week. Except she’s in on it with Thirsty, Lucious’s right hand man.
- Carol, Cookie’s sister, killed some people for Lucious while Cookie was in prison. This is the least interesting plot twist since Jamal kissed Alicia Keys.
- When will Empire writers stop using the ASA Awards for the core of 80 percent of their plot lines?
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