Empire review: A Lyon family affair

Cookie puts family first, Lucious puts Andre in his place and a new problem puts things in perspective for Jamal on this week’s episode of Empire.

Andre finally gets out of jail and the Lyons are overjoyed, but the lack of fanfare at the jail when they arrive to pick him up is a reminder of how far they’ve fallen.

Andre is chomping at the bit to help Lucious out as he makes rounds to collect debts owed to him. But Lucious and Andre butt heads over Andre’s methods, which are informed by his time in prison and are more brutal and overzealous than Lucious would like. After one debtor arrogantly refuses to return this money because of the Lyons’ fall from grace, Andre shoots him in the knee, allowing Lucious to take all of the money he has in his safe. Afterwards, Lucious emphatically states again that the only person who’ll be risking his life for their family is him.

After losing Treasure, Cookie is looking for new artists to sign and comes across Devon (played by Mario) singing background on an Instagram video, but Empire is also interested. Though Devon is initially impressed by Empire and the star treatment he gets, he’s put off by their plans to manufacture him into a sex symbol. Meanwhile, Cookie appeals to Devon’s family-oriented side and wins him over by saying she plans to nurture who he is, rather than turning him into something he’s not.

Once she realizes that she and Lucious don’t have the money or resources to give Devon what he truly needs, Cookie gives him to Becky and makes her promise that Empire will take care of him. However, Devon signs with the Lyons anyway.

Although Kai is supposed to return soon from an assignment, a call to the editor reveals that Kai’s been incommunicado for 48 hours. Flashbacks to Jamal’s time in London show how he and Kai met at a bar — and include a reveal that Kai is HIV-positive as well as Jamal’s PTSD rearing its head when they first meet. Back in the present day, though, Jamal is distraught and admits to Becky that he was planning to propose to Kai before he left but didn’t because of their argument.  However, it only worsens when Lucious reaches out to his contacts and learns that Kai’s wallet and phone were found on the side of the road in Africa.

Tiana records with Blake, still unaware that Hakeem is the person who wrote the track. However, he surprises Tiana with dinner at the studio and tells her he’s already put the babies to sleep. The two get hot and heavy, proving once again that Takeem is never truly over.

Over on the villainous side of things, Jeff Kingsley is still meeting with Diana DuBois, but she’s unimpressed with his motives for going after Lucious. Giselle learns about the meetings and tracks down Diana herself. Diana shares that she wants the Lyons to know what it’s like to put one of their own into the ground. In yet another flash-forward, we see Lucious alone in a room with blood seeping out of his side suggesting that someone is trying to take his life, too.

If this week’s episode proved anything, it’s that Lucious is a man who contains multitudes. He proves that his own need for validation and power trumps everything else by scolding Cookie for giving up Devon despite her noble reasons for doing so. On the other hand, he’s more than willing to give his debtors grace when he realizes they don’t have the money to pay him back. It will be interesting to see which side of Lucious takes dominance as the season ramps up.

Once again, we see Cookie as the force behind Empire. Cookie’s empathy and “family-first” attitude will always be the perfect complement to Lucious’ hunger for power. This week, we saw the couple secure their first victory over the tech and algorithm-driven shell of its former self that Empire has become. It’s nice to know Lucious’ homage to Suge Knight paid off.

Andre’s newfound (or maybe amped up is the best way to describe it) darkness could cause a problem for the Lyons if he doesn’t know how to manage it. Lucious’ statement near the end of the episode, about teaching Andre to control the fire that Lucious himself placed in him, was a powerful one that could be applied to all three of the Lyon sons. Each of them has a passion, impulse, or darkness that can cause trouble if it’s left unchecked. But Lucious isn’t the same man he once was, and his sons are all grown. He may not be able to rein in each of his sons’ inner fire as much as he once could.

Diana’s vendetta against the Lyons is heating up now that Kingsley and Giselle are both involved. I’m anxious to know who she’ll target since all of the Lyons harmed her or her family in some way (except maybe Hakeem). As the season heats up and the flash-forwards get more intense (this week’s was already spooky enough) the question of whom Diana puts in the ground will finally be answered.

But until that happens, we have two weeks until the next episode of Empire.

What did you think of “Love All, Trust a Few,” and what are your predictions for the next episode?