Empire season 4 episode 3: Analyzing ‘Evil Manners’

This episode of Empire showed once and for all just what a truly dynamic character Cookie is, and how far Jamal has come.

This episode was the first one on this season of Empire to really be about Cookie. Cookie has always been my favorite character. She is the definition of both a ride-or-die and a hustler, who loves her family and those who have been good to her fiercely. In “Evil Manners,” we finally got to see something that has always been brimming under the surface finally take center stage — the intersectionality of Cookie Lyon.

Jay Z says credit is important – but Cookie can’t get any

After being denied a line of credit for Empire’s 20 for 20 and during the Forbes photo shoot with Diana DuBois, Cookie is repeatedly reminded of “her place.” That is as a black woman from the inner city, who is an ex-convict without an education.

We see Cookie’s gender and socioeconomic status at the forefront when she is denied a loan from the male and clearly upper crust banker (who turns out to be Diana’s cousin). Even Andre, with his Wharton degree and ability to identify with the banker as a Black male, proves to be an insufficient buffer for Cookie once the banker has made up his mind about her.

Her race, class and education cause her to be further othered by Diana and the other ladies at first during the Forbes “Top Women in Business” photo shoot. The other women at the shoot initially lambast Cookie for being an ex-convict without an education but ultimately rally around her, after she tries to make peace with Diana,  and offer to invest in her 20 for 20 initiative.

I enjoyed watching Cookie navigate and overcome (at least for now) the limitations that prevent her from moving freely in the business world. The use of outfit colors to indicate privilege was also spot on and in line with Cookie’s personality. Cookie may have ditched the faux fur coat and mini dresses for power suits and actual fur, but she is still Cookie and will dress the part.

I have to admit, the women supporting Cookie and complaining about the woes of existing in a man’s world seemed a bit hollow after seeing so much depth in Cookie’s storyline, but maybe that was the point. A group of women who have lived and/or grown up in privilege and never experienced being in prison can’t relate to Cookie’s complex plight, but they have been marginalized and denied progress in other ways.

Meanwhile, Cookie has shattered the glass ceiling that stops so many other women like her and sits as CEO of a company she helped build. It’s a sweet form of poetic justice that the person who everyone seems to count out has actually risen the highest.

Cookie’s prison flashbacks showed both how far she had come and how similar her past and present worlds are to each other. In both scenarios, Cookie finds herself initially out of her depth and on the defense ready to pounce at even the slightest indication of violence from another source. Upon closer inspection, though, she realizes that she has more in common with the women around her than she thought. She’s clearly making peace with her past and using it to create the present she wants.

Could Jamal be the key to Lucious’ memories?

At Lucious’ insistence, Jamal breaks him into Empire and plays “Chasing the Sky,” the song they wrote together last year, for him. All goes well until Shine (whose actual name is Moonshine) comes in and plays a beat that once again triggers Lucious’ violent memories.

So far, Jamal is the only family member who has been able to tell Lucious about his past life in a way that doesn’t trigger him. Honestly, I’m not sure if Thirsty is right about Lucious faking his injury. If he really is pretending as a way to find out who tried to kill him, he can certainly rule Jamal out. This episode shows that unlike his brothers, Jamal is the only Lyon son who has truly forgiven his father and made peace with his childhood. Jamal has come a long way since his rebellious “Keep Your Money” days, and it was beautiful to see him express that he has made peace with his father’s ways, at times violent and intolerant.

It’s also interesting to see how guarded Jamal continues to be about Warren. I doubt Jamal knows that Warren is up to something yet, but his tendency to protect himself after a series of exploitative and problematic lovers (D-Major, anyone?) will serve him well once Warren begins to show his true colors.

Other Thoughts

• Even though I’m not sold on Tiana as a mother figure to Bella, it is obvious that five months has made a huge difference in how Anika relates to her daughter. Her interactions with Bella seemed awkward and not maternal at all. Hakeem was Anika’s only permanent link to the Lyon family because of Bella and now he seems to be turning his back on her, in favor of building a life with Tiana and Bella.
• I definitely needed a glass of cold water after Andre’s striptease with Officer Rose. I’m still not sure what to make of their interactions, but this is shaping up to be a very complicated situation since Andre is still actively trying to hide his involvement in his father’s accident.
• We finally get to see Angelo for the first time this season. His descent into drunkenness and depression is sad and jarring, but it’s also difficult to feel sympathy for him as he watches his mother try to destroy an entire family when really, the only person he has a bone to pick with is Cookie.
• We already know what Warren’s angle is but Diana has also deputized new character Lana to go after Andre. With Officer Rose keeping Andre busy, I’m not sure Lana’s part of the scheme will go according to plan but I’m nonetheless intrigued to see how she will attempt to take down the eldest Lyon.
• The episode ended on a cliff-hanger with Lucious asking Cookie why she was in prison. I’m looking forward to seeing her tell Lucious about it, and I wonder what his reaction will be.

Next: Marvel's Inhumans: Previewing episode 4

What did you think of “Evil Manners?”