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Based on the headline, there’s no doubt fans were in for some extreme script writing on this week’s episode of Fox’s No. 1 drama. From Andre, Jamal and Hakeem’s brotherly feud to Cookie and Anika’s battle for Lucious’ attention, Lee Daniels and Danny Strong have left the door of possibilities wide open. But one thing’s for sure: the series will never fall short on celebrity cameos.
Courtney Love’s ‘Empire’ debut puts her in front of the cameras as fallen A-list pop star Elle Dallas, who fights her way out of a cocaine and motel binge to give her career a comeback. But the unexpected celeb appearances also come in the form of Derek Luke as Empire Enterprises’ new head of security and Raven Symone as Jamal’s very long lost and unknown baby mama. While Luke’s role is sure to develop into some sort of scandalous after hours affair with Cookie Lyon, Symone’s could play out or be short-lived. And no one can forget It all comes down to crowd appeal.
As the end of the show highlights things to come in Cookie’s love life, the opening scene shows exactly where her heart is: with Lucious. She’s clearly still hooked on his street savvy charm. When her ex-hubby invites her to dinner days after leaving the rose on her doorstep, she assumes he’s considering letting their relationship go another round. Unfortunately, she’s in for a rude awakening. However, she has no problem letting her ex-husband, his new fiancee and her kids know what she came to dinner for when she strips down to a lingerie set. Get ‘em, Cookie.
Meanwhile, Malik Yoba’s character, better known as Vernon Turner, asks Lucious if he killed Bunkie after the detective investigating the case is seen scrambling through Lucious’ trash. And surprisingly, Lucious holds no qualms when it comes to confessing. “He chose his fate. He wasn’t the Bunkie we grew up with,” he admits. Turner opts to cover for his boss like he always does, but signs show he has a different plan in the long run.
Ultimately, this week’s theme is pain. Hakeem is having problems dealing with the fact that his girl got a girlfriend. Istead of taking advantage of the situation, he puts his anger into his music and finally puts together a lyrically intelligent track to deal with his tears over Tiana. Courtney Love’s character, Elle, is too scared to show her pain, but Cookie convinces her to strip down to the source of her hurt and go raw with her music. And Michael is heartbroken because Jamal doesn’t admit he has a “lady” at home when his singles get some social media traction.
Pain is obviously what it takes to run an empire here.
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