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Empire's Cookie and Lucious Lyon get their own dolls

I don't think Empire's has much of an issue with colorism, especially compared to most other shows currently on television. Taraji has gone on record as specifically choosing Derek Luke as Cookie's love interest because she was aware of fans griping about colorism. And the main reason Adam Rodriguez was cast as another of Cookie's love interests is because he & Taraji had previously worked together. Tyrese, a dark skinned actor, is/was set to be cast as another of Cookie's love interests in future episodes for similar reasons. Becky and J-Poppa are a solid, drama free couple. They may be way in the background, but the reality is that no other show on television would allow an actress of Gabourey Sidibe's shade and size to have an active, on-screen sex life, without being made the butt of jokes. Empire's writers and producers may insist white latino Michael is Jamal's soulmate, but Jamal had no problem having a fling with Eka Darville's Ryan, who was as brownskinned as they come. While Hakeem is in love with Laura (a latina), had a brief fling with Becky G (another latina), and has gotten lightskinned biracial Anika pregnant with his child, his two other love interests were/are medium toned (Tiana) or dark skinned (Camilla) Black women. Though Andre's been committed to Rhonda since college, he was also quite receptive to dark skinned Jennifer Hudson's music therapist, Michelle in season 1. It was said earlier this season that Cookie's sister Carol (a dark skinned Tasha Smith) carried a torch for Vernon (a dark skinned Malik Yoba). And while Lucious hasn't romantically been paired with anything darker than a paper bag, he definitely flirted with Naomi's Camilla before he knew of her relationship to Hakeem and had definite unresolved sexual tension with Tyra Ferrell's Roxanne Ford.

Between Ruby's "Lez-Binns", "The homosexuals are here!," "Aint Nobody Got Time For That!," a distaste for feminist (hairy legged man-haters!) and her epic rundown of famous lesbians to Sharon (Billie Jean King!); Jenifer Lewis was on absolute fire this episode. I was glad that Ruby really made a earnest effort to embrace Sharon. She may have the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but she truly does love her kids. Loved seeing Curtis back! I hollered at Stevens referring to him as "The Bastard Miller." I still miss Charlie but the office scenes remain pretty great. I cracked up at Jack wanting to trigger his food allergy because he wanted to try out his new epipen. I side-eyed Rainbow only naming white feminists as women who paved the way for her and found her insistence at shaming other women for choices she personally didn't agree with pretty gross. Dre aint the only one with issues in that relationship. That said, this season is proving that Tracee Ellis Ross is more than deserving to be in contention for Best Actress in a Comedy Series at this year's Emmy Awards. I liked Rhonda, who's infinitely more grounded than her mother and brother, proving to be as quirky as the rest of the Johnsons when push comes to shove. I screamed at Junior & Zoey slamming Diane's '2012 Saddle Shoes,' and Jack referring to his older siblings as 'leathery old hags.' The Johnson kids are super great. I loved seeing Valerie Pettiford & Phil Morris (this show has the best casting director). They look amazing to both be almost 60. Black really doesn't crack. Fantastic writing aside, Pops absence was really felt this episode.

Hakeem & Tiana were an actual couple before he found out she had a side relationship (India) like he did (Camilla). When Tiana found out about Hakeem & Camilla, she was not thrilled but refused to let Hakeem's dalliances screw up her burgeoning career. After the truth about Tiana's relationship with India was brought to light, a devastated Hakeem pressed further into Camilla's embrace as Tiana floated to the background for a few episodes. When Billy Beretti began poaching Empire artists after Boo Boo Kitty jumped ship, Tiana was one of the first Empire artists Creedmoor tried to woo over to their side (via Anika). Luckily, Hakeem, Porsha and Chicken were able to stall Anika long enough to allow Cookie to make a semi-successful plea for Tiana to remain with Empire. Tiana expressed her reservations about staying with Empire because she was under the mistaken belief (via Anika) that Empire wanted to dump her since she and Hakeem were no longer an item. However Cookie made the case to Tiana that Creedmoor wasn't invested in her career beyond exacerbating Lucious & Beretti's feud. Cookie also stressed to Tiana that Empire was a family run business, and as a veteran Empire artist, Tiana was an important part of the extended Lyon family. Tiana then opened up about her regrets about how she and Hakeem's relationship ended and her desire for them to resume their status as "power couple." Hakeem, maturely, informed her that though he wanted her to remain at Empire he couldn't be in a relationship with her again because he was in love with Camilla. After their meeting at the restaurant it was later revealed that, in spite of her initial misgivings, Tiana decided to remain with Empire.

Lucious is the worst. That said the cast is really bringing it during the back half of this season, especially the T Trio (Taraji, Trai & Terrence) and even the weaker actors in the cast like Bryshere, Jamila and Serayah are turning in solid performances. I remain glad at Rhonda being featured more. Kaitlin Doubleday imbues Rhonda with the best reaction shots to her family's insanity. I'm also glad that Anika is being re-woven back into the family. I called it at the end of last season that as soon as the rest of the Lyons found out she was pregnant, she'd be back in the fold. For an unknown, Bre-Z is a natural, and her & Jamal's track was pretty great. Sad that there was no Thirsty this week but I'm glad Becky and Porsha are proving adept as assistants. Porsha & Cookie's pie exchange and Becky reading Laura were definitely highlights of the night.

In 'The N Word,' Rhonda, is briefly seen alongside Ruby & Dre as Pops is turning off the living room lights to conserve energy.

Zoey's always been mature. Sure, she's shallow and can occasionally be boy crazy, but she's always had a fairly level head on her shoulders. She's successfully monetized her popularity, twice, was crucial in keeping Junior from becoming a future Young Republican and completed every task Andre threw at her to land her car. It's Rainbow who began floating the idea that Zoey lacked depth, because she and Zoey aren't BFF's like Rainbow and D'Alicia.

Jamal and Hakeem are both brats. For all of the abuse Lucious foisted upon Jamal as a child, he at least respects his middle son as a musician. And he'd planned to have Hakeem as his successor until Hakeem proved too immature to shoulder the responsibility. If any of Lucious kids has a valid reason to act like a brat, it's Andre. What he lacks in musical talent, he more than makes up for in business acumen, and as he told his brothers it was his tremendous work ethic that played a large part in Empire becoming such a massive success. But Lucious, has absolutely no use for his eldest son outside of Andre being a durable workhorse. Jamal is Lucious favorite whipping boy and Hakeem is Lucious ideal heir apparent, but at least their Dad sees them enough not to deem them interchangeable.

I howled at Davis serenading Ruby with 'I Don't Have The Heart' as the bathroom caught fire. Also got a good laugh at Andre and Rainbow crying in stereo about tilapia. Anthony and Tracee are a fantastic comedy team. I'm glad that the show is utilizing D'Alicia a lot more. Anna Deavere Smith is a gem.

Green must be the go-to color for the second half of this season. Last week Naomi was stunning in emerald green, and now this week Gabby was equally striking in that deep forest green dress. Add in how stunning Taraji looked in every scene in this episode, particularly during Hakeem's press conference, and Tiana's hand-beaded see-through catsuit and it becomes crystal clear that Empire's wardrobe department deserves all the awards.

I wonder how much of Carl's commitment to being a cop is truly about him wanting to be better for Dominique or because he craves the power that comes with upholding the law. I also thought Frank's speech about loving his kids unconditionally was trash, given he's an inveterate narcissist, and I find it beyond gross that he used Blackness as a Carl's major "flaw."

The same reason the show painted Nick as an irredeemable thug yet treats Mickey as infinitely sympathetic and redeemable. From the very beginning, this show has always had a selective sense of morality in relation to its characters. Eddie and Terry are horrible fathers who deserve their respective fates, yet Frank is given an even more horrific mother to engender sympathy for a character who feels so little for his children that he later sics CPS on them because they dare to set boundaries in terms of his behavior? Monica is a bad mother for abandoning her family, jumping from one ill advised relationship to another, and refusing to deal with her bipolar disorder yet Sheila is a good mom despite refusing to deal with her mental health issues, jumping from one ill advised relationship to another and emotionally abandoning the daughter who always supported her because said daughter wants to give up her grandson for adoption? Mandy is empathetic and sweet for putting the effort forth to get Lip into college, in spite of running Karen over, yet Karen is an irredeemable monster who deserved to be punished for not wanting to raise a child she never had any intention of keeping and briefly taunting Mandy?

After the advice the pediatrician gave Debs, I wonder if she will try to mend fences with the Delgados next season. She still doesn't seem eager to fully forgive Fiona or further burden her brothers, plus she knows that they're willing to help with Franny financially, even if it was by way of extortion.

Knowing this show, Lip will probably skip rehab and reunite with Mandy which will magically cure all his flaws, since all Milkoviches are saints.

That was fantastic. The scene where everyone learns that Lip was expelled was truly heartbreaking. Their disbelief and disappointment in the Back Of The Yards 'One Great Hope' failing to make it out of the ghetto was awesome. Great work from all involved, especially Shanola and Michael McGill. I have always loved the ultra closeness of the Vee/Kev/Fiona trio, and tonight it was on full display. I love that three of them love and protect each other so fiercely, and I love how easily Svetlana integrated into their friendship/relationship. Svet is a ridiculously blunt opportunist, but underneath it all she's got a big heart, and I'm glad to see how genuinely warmhearted she is now that she's in a loving relationship. I continue to unabashedly adore Caleb and Ian's relationship. I loved that Caleb urged Ian to fight for his job, in spite of Ian's own misgivings, because he genuinely wanted better for him, and that he had absolutely no judgment about the Gallaghers usual dysfunction even after experiencing it up close & personal. And with Caleb proving totally willing to participate in typical Gallagher family shenanigans, via the episode's stinger, he's proving to definitely be a keeper. I also adored Debbie and Lip. Like Lip, Debbie is hardheaded and determined to do things her way, but the quiet fear she had at her big brother becoming Frank broke my heart. The two of them have long had a special bond once he accepted she was growing up, and I'm glad that he opened up to her despite not wanting to burden the rest of the family with his problems. Carl and Dominique were ridiculously sweet. That said, I still love that Officer Winslow remains a hard ass but that it doesn't bother Carl because he's committed to earning his respect. Fiona's bemused expression at him learning to iron his own clothes was GOLD. William H. Macy is outstanding. The sheer range of emotions he went through in this episode was amazing and his semi-breakdown at the wedding was Classic Frank. Frank is complete trash as a human being but he almost made me sympathize with his pathetic pleas to be included in the day's festivities only for him to squander any goodwill he'd just earned by turning on a dime and totally eviscerating every member of his family. Truly great work. All of that said, tonight truly belonged to Emmy Rossum and Jeremy Allen White. From Fiona's hopeful wedding planning with Sean and her happiness at Debs and Franny participating in the wedding to the abject horror that slowly registered over Fiona's face when she learned Sean was still using proved that even after six years that Emmy Rossum remains the backbone of this show and is able to effortlessly pull on viewers heartstrings. Jeremy Allen White, though, was the real revelation. If this season belonged to any Gallagher it was Lip and a huge part of that was because of JAW's commitment to fiercely deconstructing Lip's defense mechanisms. I thought it was a bit of a cheat to have Youens pay for both Lip's bail AND rehab, but I also liked that the episode ended without Lip entering rehab. If the bar scene exhibited anything, it's that Lip's real issue is that in spite of all his flaws, he genuinely feels he is better than everyone else in his life. Until he confronts just why that is, all the rehab in the world won't help him work through his issues. Most of all, I love that after six years the Gallaghers, Vee & Kev, are the exact same little makeshift family from the Pilot. They're a little more weary and a lot more worn these days, but each one of them is still clearly recognizable.

And it makes strong thematic sense once Cookie tearfully confesses her miscarriage later. In that incredibly heartrending earlier moment, Cookie was just trying to protect and comfort Andre, the best way she knew how.

I did love that Hakeem refused to shoot Lucious. Out of all the boys, Hakeem is the most like his mama, so there's no way he was placing ambition above family. That said, it had to sting to watch the rest of his family console Rhonda and Andre from afar. I also loved that as angry as he was with the deserved beatdown he received from Cookie, it didn't damage their relationship nearly as much as it would have, even six months ago. Hakeem is beginning to understand the real depth of Cookie's love and sacrifice for him. Hopefully he gleaned some of her legendary hustle because he's definitely gonna need it as Empire's new CEO. He's also gonna need it when it comes to his love life. He has no fewer than FOUR romantic partners (Camilla, Tiana, Laura, Anika) to satisfy, in addition to running a Fortune 500 company, so the youngest Lyon Prince definitely has his hands full in the upcoming weeks.

Naomi was truly stunning in that emerald green dress.

After Mimi was voted in as Empire's new chairman, she immediately handed over the reigns of the company to Camilla, so she could travel to California to undergo chemo and radiation for her cancer.

TV Ratings: 'Empire' Rises In Return, Bests Fall Finale

I missed this show and this episode was a beautiful return to form. Welcome back Empire!

I think the only one that doesn't want anything to do with Monica, outright, is Lip. Ian regularly kept in contact with her, Fiona allowed her back into the family on the provision she took birth control, Debs confided to Sheila that she'd forgive Monica everything if she returned and was committed to staying and Carl's been fairly amenable toward her whenever she surfaces. I also don't think the Gallagher kids, Debbie included, have any illusions about Frank; but the fact that he's the custodial parent who stayed paired with his admittedly rare lucid moments and sporadic usefulness has created a powerful degree of unspoken loyalty to him, despite the fact that they'd all have been better off if they'd completely banished him from their lives years ago. And it's not as if the show has been afraid to remove Frank from the Gallagher household for extended periods of time. He spent most of the first four seasons living with the Jacksons as much as he did his own family. It's only been since he destroyed Sheila's house, early last season, that Shameless has struggled to believably reintegrate him back into the Gallagher fold.

Exactly. They even allowed Sammi's toxic ass to still live in the house even after the debacle with Chuckie & Carl. It isn't until Sammi stabs them in the back, again, via Ian that they demand she leave. The only time Gallaghers truly turn on their own is when the patented Gallagher insanity threatens to irrevocably destroy the entire house (Peggy being banished to Sheila's post basement meth lab explosion), they're an immediate danger to themselves (Monica slashing her wrists) or there's revenge involved (Frank, Sammi). They're incredibly dysfunctional, but they're committed to scuffling to get by together.

I wonder if Svetlana is genuine about her feelings for Kev & Vee. She's pretty infatuated with Vee and seems to find Kev pretty amusing, but she's been much less forthcoming about her own feelings than either Kev or Vee. I really like the three of them, the twins & Yev, together, so I hope they live happily ever after, instead of their relationship turning out to be an elaborate scheme of Svet's to steal the Alibi as collateral to finance her Quizno's franchise.

The ironic thing is that even with all their faults, massively dysfunctional parents like Sheila, Terry and Eddie engendered quite a bit of devotion from their kids. For all of Sheila's quirks & Eddie's religious fervor, Karen was fiercely protective of her mother and strangely tolerant of her father. She had no patience for Frank and Lip poking fun at her Mom and happily reunited with Sheila once she returned from her travels abroad. Karen was also very accommodating of Eddie's entreaties for them to be close again, until he proved incapable of irrevocably torching their relationship. The same goes for the Milkoviches. Terry, is a garbage human being, but his kids also remained loyal to a fault. He physically and sexually abused Mandy, to the point where she held him at gunpoint to force him to admit culpability in her pregnancy, yet she downplayed it to Ian and refused to allow him to look down at her or her family. Mickey was also no stranger to Terry's horrific abuse, yet he continually debased himself & resorted to extreme measures, including attempted murder, to remain in his father's good graces.