By: Kelly Kearney

Big changes are on the horizon for the Lyon family and like most things, this probably means trouble. Sure Hakim’s (Bryshere Y. Gray) baby was born and Empire is kicking off its Extreme streaming service, but with Rhonda’s (Kaitlin Doubleday) death, the feds still gunning for Lucius (Terrence Howard) and Jamal’s (Jussie Smollett) stage career on hold the cracks are starting to show in the infamous Lyon Dynasty.

Lucius Wont Take No For An Answer

Lucius wants Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) back and he’s pulling out all the stops. From Jimmy Choo’s, lion statues and a gold plated gun, the Empire CEO is dipping deep into his wallet to try and buy his ex’s affections, but so far he’s gotten nowhere. Cookie wants no part of Lucius’ games so while their relationship is on ice, Lucius concentrates on playing Daddy to Hakim’s little girl Bella. After throwing out all of Anika’s (Grace Gealey) prospective nannies, the Lyon patriarch reminds her why she’s there – to be a mother. And her first order of Mommy business is telling Leah Walker (Leslie Uggams) to back off! Leah offered to watch baby Bella, but since the elderly woman has a tendency to play with knives and kill family members, Anika’s not having it.

Knowledge and Empowerment

Jamal is still trying to come to terms with his shooting and has decided not to release his long awaited album, “Black and White.” With his PTSD induced stage fright, the middle Lyon son is concentrating on being a voice to the anti-violence movement. During a radio interview, Jamal debates city councilman Angelo Dubois (Taye Diggs) about the problems facing the black community and the ensuing violence in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Dubois seems impressed with Jamal and invites him to attend his anti-violence summit. In walks Cookie and she reminds her son that he needs to nix this stage fright problem while simultaneously throwing massive amounts of shade towards Dubois. Obviously, the councilman rattled Cookie’s cage and from the looks of things Dubois is more than happy to take the brunt of her sass. Angelo is smitten and it appears the feelings might be mutual. The only person to ever make Cookie that flustered was Lucius and I’m guessing that’s the reason he later donates money to Dubois’ summit when Jamal gives him a tour of Empire. He’s staying close to his enemy and what better way than to use Angelo’s summit to highlight Empire’s new streaming venture, Extreme.

Going Back To The Start

Lucius isn’t known for stepping aside for any nerdy pretty boy and that’s pretty evident in the flashback we see. Lucius was a street kid who hung out on the corner spitting freestyles and flirting with the young girls. Cookie was a uniform wearing Catholic school girl who caught the bad boy’s eye and it was love at first sight. We later find out through these same peeks into their past that teenage Cookie had a somewhat nerdy boyfriend named Barry that Lucius was all too aware of. Being the schemer that he is, Lucius pledged to make Cookie his girl, boyfriend or not. That plaid skirt wearing, good girl was his destiny and nobody was going to get in his way. The decision to ditch Barry changed Cookie’s life forever and he was her “road not taken.” What would her life have been like if she chose Barry? Could Dubois be her second chance? She’s certainly giving her ex the cold shoulder especially when she returns all of his gifts, reminding him they’re business partners ONLY before dropping a, “Bye Fe-Lucius,” and leaving him to rethink his plan. She’s had enough of his schemes and the well-mannered and very attractive Angelo Dubois could be her do over.

Hakim’s Looking For Trouble and Trouble Finds Andre

Hakim’s laying down some new tracks with Shyne’s (Xzibit) sister Nessa. Last week Nessa (Sierra McClain) saved Empire when she covered for Jamal’s onstage ( as Cookie called it) “brainfart.” Lucius promised her brother he’d let her sing on a track and Hakim seems very happy it’s on his. Barely one week after his failed wedding and birth of his daughter, the young Lyon stud is making eyes at Nessa yet this girl is no brainless ingénue. She’s got his number and isn’t playing his heart eyes game, which is probably good for Hakim considering her brother is a raving lunatic who attacks anyone who looks at his sister.

While Hakim’s diving head first into another possible troublesome relationship, his brother Andre (Trai Byers) is trying to say goodbye to his. Unfortunately, Andre’s so distraught over the death of his wife and he’s having visions of the dead woman and she’s not happy. Dressed in her bloody clothes, Rhonda blames Andre for her death and the oldest Lyon son is having a full on mental breakdown. Luckily for him, Jamal’s having mental struggles of his own so he offers to take care of Andre and maybe together the brothers can heal.

New Ventures and Old Memories

With Lucius taking care of Empire’s business side and Cookie in control of the company’s talent, the A&R position is ripe for the picking and Becky (Gabourey Sidibe) has her eyes set on it. Unfortunately, with all that’s been going on with the Lyon family, Becky can’t get two minutes with Cookie to talk about the job. With her boyfriend jumping ship to a new record label and the feds swarming around Lucius, Beck is confused. Does she really want to stay on board the Titanic? Lucius is drowning and loyalty or not, Becky’s man doesn’t want her to go down with this ship.

Becky’s not the only person avoiding Lucius’ drama as Cookie’s done a great job of avoiding his declarations of love, but that’s not to say she doesn’t have a fondness for her children’s father. Earlier, Lucius told Cookie he wants Jamal recording again because Extreme needs streaming content. He brought a sample track and wanted Cookie to convince Jamal to record it. Cookie immediately recognized the tune as the song Lucius and his friends were singing when they first met. Later, Lucius proves he’s not joking about a reconciliation when he hires Biz Markie himself to sing the very song they fell in love to “Just a Friend.” Even though Cookie jams out to the impromptu serenade, she’s still not giving in. Lucius has too many people gunning for him and he’s stabbed her in the back too many times. Instead, the mother of three concentrates on her boys and their Empire legacy.

The Show Is Over

Hosted by Empire records, the anti-violence summit kicks off with some killer music by a young survivor but not before an awkward encounter between Cookie, Angelo and Lucius that resulted in Cookie accepting a date from the dashing councilman. Lucius does not seem pleased with his third wheel status. While his number one priority seems to be Cookie, the Empire CEO is also hell bent on getting Extreme up and running. This Summit will give the company some positive PR, especially after all the tragedies surrounding the Lyon family as of late. Lucius expects Jamal to represent Empire at the summit and show the fans that a Lyon does not lay down. Jamal agrees, but when the moment comes for him to perform, he can’t go through with it. A dizzy and panicking Jamal runs off stage and his parents follow him to see what happened. Jamal’s freaking out and tells the family he’s done and he can’t perform anymore. Not surprisingly, Lucius becomes enraged. He sees this as a sign of weakness, something he’s always accused Jamal of being. With all the enemies looking to settle the score with record mogul, you’d think he’d do right by his family. Unfortunately for Lucius, it looks like time might be running out. Remember that camera in the nursery last week? Well, Anika discovers it and Lucius destroys it, but is it too late? Maybe. But Lucius is smart and now he’s one step ahead of the feds and his vengeful brother.

Speaking of overzealous law enforcement, while Jamal is quickly becoming the face the anti-violence movement Andre gets a taste of what his brother is fighting for. After Rhonda’s death, the elder Lyon son has been avoiding his apartment. He wasn’t ready to see his wife’s things. After a pep talk from both Cookie and Jamal, Andre goes to clean out his place when a couple of racist cops assume he doesn’t belong in that neighborhood. Andre tries to explain why he’s there, but these cops don’t want to hear it. They slam Andre to the ground and threaten him with force. With Andre’s already fragile state of mind, this senseless act of racial profiling will surely have lasting effects on the grieving man.

Will Andre survive his tangle with the cops? Can Cookie be there for her sons while fending off her ex’s advances and still find time for a new man? Will Jamal quit singing for a new career in activism? Will Tariq’s plan work to take Lucius down once and for all? All this and more will be answered next week on “Empire.”