Dee

I appreciated the attention to styling for Cookie, Candace & Carol. Carol's drug bender aside, you could clearly tell the sisters individual personalities from their wardrobe. Prissy Candace demurely dressed from head to toe in regal white and lavender, bold Cookie decked out in scarlet furs and flashy patterns and poor downtrodden Carol outfitted in muted greys.

Vivica Fox & Rosie O'Donnell have been pleasant additions to the cast. Hopefully we'll see more of them in the future.

I love the irony of Lucious downfall coming at the hands of a white woman after he warned Andre about the perils of white acceptance last season.

Thank you!

This was terrible.

I adored all the Empire shoutouts! Gotta love black shows showing each other love. I lost it when Junior hit Dre with a disappointed Sadatay! Pootie Tang references will always be hilarious. I'm glad Ruby went with Bow's original Christmas card idea. She may not like Bow's wardrobe or cooking but she's willing to be part of the team. Dre's barbershop was a burial ground of UPN sitcom sidekicks. Jason Weaver, Barry Floyd, Marcus Paulk. All that was missing was Ronnie & Peaches from Girlfriends. The twins shocked reactions to Zoe's commitment to elegance had me howling. "There's glass in your hair." "Is it shimmering?" "Does it matter?" I was happy to see Curtis back! "5 rings, no fades" Indeed.

Diahann Carroll is semi-retired, and not in the best of health these days, so I'm pretty sure she's not up to starring on a television show.

"What she smoke don't make me choke!" Cookie is the best!

This was such a lovely, character driven episode! It was great how Jamal & Hakeem took each others advice to heart. The Lyon brothers are always stronger when they lean on each other. Cookie & Lucious arguing during Jamal's session was embarrassing. You know things are bad when the entire band is throwing you side eye. Loved that they made Vivica the bourgie sister! Taraji & Vivica slayed their scenes together. Thankfully we get more of them, and Tasha Smith, next episode! Lucious is the worst parent ever. No, seriously, the worst. Rhonda being happy that Lucious visits now that she's pregnant was weird since she's never cared for him. Mimi is a trojan horse but Lucious pride is making him blind to her manipulations. Same with Cookie who is so busy wanting to understandably feel protected, for once, that she's literally sleeping with the enemy. Not enough Porsha or Becky this episode but plenty of Anika who has become a fun wildcard. Not looking forward to Alicia's goat bleating next week but she's proven to be a capable actress so I'm willing to give 'Skye Summers' a shot.

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Being from DC, I'm very familiar with Howard. lol While Andre admits that wanting Zoe to attend school in-state was partially so he could avoid flying, he also said it was partially because he wanted her to remain close. That said, he seemed as if he would've been awfully happy if Zoe had chosen to attend Howard, before Bow had her Brown spazzout.

Empire hasn't hit a sophomore slump, far from it actually, it has just refused to keep the characters static which has made for a much richer show with an infinitely deeper mythology IMO.

I like the little meta touches Black-ish is incorporating this season, like Bow & Dre being alums of Tracee & Anthony real life colleges and Cousin Dante being played by Anthony's real life son in the Halloween episode. It's cute without going overboard.

Empire has a lot of substance. Much more than Lee's precious Dallas and Dynasty. What anchors Empire most, however, is its unabashed embrace of its soap roots.

Another fantastic episode. Other than Lucious terrible rapping/singing, Terrence Howard should never be allowed to spit rhymes ever again, Empire has really solidified its reputation as a well written blockbuster television hit.

Evan's smug "What's up, Jessica?!" cracked me up.

Charlie, Junior, Jack & Diane as a group were on fire but tonight's Johnson MVP, in my book, was Jack. Now that Miles Brown's delivery has vastly improved; to the point where he doesn't have to solely rely on his cuteness, he's been subtly stealing every scene he's in, which is not an easy feat as part of such a talented cast. I loved that for once Andre unequivocally supported Rainbow. He admittedly wanted nothing more than for Zoe to attend his alma mater but he selflessly talked up Bow & Brown to her even though it would mean Zoe, his favorite child, would have to move halfway across the country. That's love. Deon Cole continues to be awesome as Charlie, but abandoning Eustace alone in the dark, TWICE, was terrible. Funny, but terrible. Still missing Dre's intern Curtis. Hope they bring him back at some point.

How 'Empire' set decorator gives the show its look

The writers have delved deep into Empire's characters and formulated story arcs for said characters that are both long term and cohesive. The writers have also provided significant resolution and payoff to most of, if not all, of their previous stories. Olivia and Lola will return, in due time, just as Cookie's hit on Teddy McNally and Frank Gathers were revisited this season.

Loved J Poppa and Becky together. They make a cute couple. Another cute couple was Becky and Jamal. I loved his glee at her happiness. Yazz has never been the strongest actor, but he really stepped up his game tonight. The scene where Cookie talked Hakeem into letting her have his gun was genuinely intense. Great work by Bryshere & Taraji. Lucious can't stand to see his children happy. Andre hasn't been back in the fold more than five minutes and Lucious is already threatening to banish him again. Anika is so totally gonna be pregnant with Hakeem's baby. It's gonna be extremely messy and Cookie's reaction will be hilarious. Adam Rodriguez is gorgeous.

Put Em On The Glass is from a Sir Mix-A-Lot song

Tonight's episode was, from top to bottom, flawless.

Sisters Kaitlin and Portia Doubleday on "Empire" and "Mr. Robot," Sibling Rivalry, and High School

"Tic Tacs in your face!" Between the belt, the shoe, the pepper spray and the tic tacs, I had to rewind Jessica & Honey's fight three times because I was laughing so hard.

I Dressed Like Cookie for a Week to Get Over My Imposter Syndrome