Dee

Anika drugged Elle, in a room full of people, on one of the most important nights for her soon-to-be family & their company. All because she wanted to sabotage Cookie. That's not calculating, that's petty. Anika wearing a wig to get info on a rival is no different than her hiring a P.I., with no provocation, to dig up dirt on her fiancee's ex. She's just doing her own dirty work this time instead of outsourcing. So the writers haven't destroyed Anika, they're just building on the foundations that they've already set from season one.

In The Heights would be perfect.

Anika's always been insecure, neurotic, jealous, paranoid and emotional but not crazy. She's dedicated so much of her recent life to Empire & the Lyon family, that she feels lost without them, despite own wealth & accomplishments. To find oneself on the outside looking in of a tight-knit family you were once a part of, on top of feeling used & abused by various members of the aforementioned family, has to sting. Painfully. Only now, her behavior seems amplified because she's outside the Lyon inner circle instead of inside as she used to be. She's treating Laura the same way she treated Cookie. From digging up dirt on her new "rival" to slinging snide putdowns at her nemesis in front of the man she's desperately trying to impress. It's all textbook Boo Boo Kitty.

Anika has never been calculating. She was good at her job & bragged about being a boss but it was all lip service. Boo Boo Kitty being a jealous, emotional headcase isn't a huge leap for the character. Not in the least.

The reason Jamal hasn't had much of a life beyond his ever blossoming career as a musician, is because Lee insists on keeping Rafael de La Fuente on the show. I know Lee's extremely loyal to his actors, but Jamal & Michael ended very organically last season and there was absolutely no need to bring him back this season.

The reason Jamal hasn't had much of a life beyond his ever blossoming career as a musician, is because Lee insists on keeping Rafael de La Fuente on the show. I know Lee's extremely loyal to his actors, but Jamal & Michael ended very organically last season and there was absolutely no need to bring him back this season.

I loved, in the previews for the second half of this season, that Cookie is waiting at Hakeem's place with a broom. lol

Tracee is indeed Diana's daughter.

I wish Taraji would, at least occasionally, wear her natural hair. The cornrows she rocked for a photo-shoot this season were gorgeous.

Hakeem constantly complains that his mom favors Jamal, which she does, but she greatly repaid the steadfast loyalty he's shown her all season by entrusting him with her proxy. It was an ill-advised decision with huge consequences, but it shows just how far their relationship has progressed; that she specifically, put her faith in him instead of Ivy League business whiz Andre or creative wunderkind Jamal.

"We're off the hamster wheel man!" Bow: "Give me the carton, little girl!" Diane: "I'll kill it for the family!" Diane is the absolute best. I'm sorry to see Charlie go, given how much Deon Cole really came into his own this season. He will be missed. Faizon Love is really, really gross but I'm glad that Sha was a genuine friend to Dre instead of just a straight up mooch. Jack dreaming of starring in a LeBron James hip hopera was awesome. I love Wanda Sykes but she was an unnecessary cameo. The paying it forward motif was surprisingly powerful in this episode. Great use of Otis Redding's 'I've Got Dreams To Remember' as a thematic thorough-line too.

This was a GREAT episode. Taraji & Terrence really showed why they are Academy Award nominees tonight. Lucious is a right bastard & Cookie is no angel they made you really believe they were completely broken & despondent about their entire life's work being ripped away them. Loved the resolution to Jamal & Skye's relationship. The writers didn't make Skye overly obsessive about Jamal or Jamal ridiculously regressive about his sexuality. It was a beautiful, bittersweet subtly rendered relationship between two passionately creative people. Lucious relationships with Hakeem & Jamal are about to get majorly rocky. One of the main themes of this season is Lucious inability to deal with his children surpassing him, and with one of them running his company & another lapping him creatively, his ego is about to take a whole lot of L's. Taraji was magnificent in the prison scenes. Every part of her body screamed that Cookie wanted to turn tail & run, but she stood strong and Da Brat, who has never been much of an actress, seriously surprised me by turning in a great performance. Too bad her song was cut, because if there is anything she does well, it's rap. Speaking of bad actresses, Naomi Campbell has never been the strongest actress either but Camilla is the perfect role for her. It's just meta and arch enough to allow Naomi's inherent fierceness shine through. Camilla told Lucious that she'd get her revenge & Lucious pride kept him from seeing that Andre possibly losing Rhonda and/or the baby is sad, but in a way, it's karma for his & Rhonda's transgressions. You reap what you sew sometimes. Anika is high strung & prone to intense jealousy but I don't think she pushed Rhonda. If anything, I'm betting on the Assistant DA for doing the deed. Thirsty is a goon, but he's a loyal goon! More Becky & Porsha in the second half of the season please!

This was a GREAT episode. Taraji & Terrence really showed why they are Academy Award nominees tonight. While Lucious is a right bastard & Cookie is certainly no angel, they made you really believe they were completely broken & despondent about their entire life's work being ripped away from them. Loved the resolution to Jamal & Skye's relationship. The writers didn't make Skye overly obsessive about Jamal or Jamal ridiculously regressive about his sexuality. It was a beautiful, bittersweet subtly rendered relationship between two passionately creative people. Lucious relationships with Hakeem & Jamal are about to get majorly rocky. One of the main themes of this season is Lucious inability to deal with his children surpassing him, and with one of them running his company & another lapping him creatively, his ego is about to take a whole lot of L's. Taraji was magnificent in the prison scenes. Every part of her body screamed that Cookie wanted to turn tail & run, but she stood strong and Da Brat, who has never been much of an actress, seriously surprised me by turning in a great performance. Too bad her song was cut, because if there is anything she does well, it's rap. Speaking of bad actresses, Naomi Campbell has never been the strongest actress either but Camilla is the perfect role for her. It's just meta and arch enough to allow Naomi's inherent fierceness shine through. Camilla told Lucious that she'd get her revenge & Lucious pride kept him from seeing that he himself allowed the fox into the henhouse. Andre possibly losing Rhonda and/or the baby is sad, but in a way, it's karma for his & Rhonda's transgressions. You reap what you sew sometimes. Anika is high strung & prone to intense jealousy but I don't think she pushed Rhonda. If anything, I'm betting on the Assistant DA for doing the deed. Thirsty is a goon, but he's a loyal goon! More Becky & Porsha in the second half of the season please!

Jamal sleeping with a woman once doesn't make him not gay.

Anika going crazy is completely in character & every good soap needs its resident crazy bitch.

From interviews, it's been said that Jussie's songs were the most popular last season, which is why they doubled down on his music this season.

If the network didn't want Gathers cannibalism made explicit, there's nothing Michael K. Williams or any other "high profile" actor could've done to make it any clearer, no matter how good an actor they are. Chris Rock may not be considered an A list dramatic actor but he's no slouch. He recently had a richly lauded star turn in 'Top 5,' a film which he wrote and directed, AND an acclaimed run on Broadway in The Motherfucker With the Hat. That's not the resume of a lightweight actor. Besides, it seems silly to raise so much hay over a one episode character that was essentially used to bring closure to a story that began last season. Chris acquitted himself well and Terence & Taraji sold Frank for the badass he was purported to be, so all is well that ends well.

The lack of clarity regarding Gathers cannibalism wasn't Chris Rock's fault. It was a consequence of re-shoots demanded by the network.

From what Taraji & Vivica have said in interviews, Candace is the oldest sister, Cookie is the middle sister and Carol is the baby.

And to other viewers "lesser" or "unknown" actors are just as likely to viewed as distracting as "known" actors would be in these roles. Fans of The Wire or Boardwalk Empire might very well find it hard to see Michael K. Williams as anyone else other than Omar Little or Chalky White. So, it's all subjective. The guest appearances aren't overdone. Of the guest actors this season, the only ones that have lasted beyond a single episode, have been Marisa Tomei's Mimi, Becky G's Valentina, Jamila Velazquez's Laura, Andre Royo's Thirsty, Tyra Ferrell's Roxanne Ford, Kelly Rowland's Leah, Adam Busch's Chase One and Vivica Fox's Candace, all of whom tied directly into the larger storylines. The smaller cameos have made sense and been played, other than the first episode's triumvirate of Andre Leon Talley, Don Lemon & Al Sharpton, by seasoned actors; and if any of those characters were played by "lesser known" actors, nothing about their characters would change.

That's not the show's fault. That's the viewers problem. Nothing about Frank Gathers would change if the character was played by a lesser known actor.

The guest star appearances don't bother me because they've all been fairly well integrated into the show's universe. It's funny how so many have taken issue with the various cameos since any non-'name' actors could have played the same characters and nothing much about the overall story would change. Substituting Michael K. Williams for Chris Rock as Frank Gathers, changes what exactly?

The guest star appearances don't bother me because they've all been fairly well integrated into the show's universe. It's funny how so many have taken issue with the various cameos since any non-'name' actors could have played the same characters and nothing much about the overall story would change. Substituting Michael K. Williams for Chris Rock as Frank Gathers, changes what exactly?

In "The Word" Andre referred to Jack as being 8 years old, so Miles & Marsai are playing younger than their actual ages.

Cookie isn't one for idle threats, especially when it comes to her family, but she also isn't a killer; except as a last resort.