S02.E10: Et Tu, Brute?

[Tara Ariano]

Lucious makes a reckless play for the streaming service that he believes will put him on the map as the most powerful man in music, but in the end this move could cost him big time; and Cookie decides to stage a concert at the prison where she was locked away from her family for 17 years.

[Neurochick]

Very Richard III. Or is that Henry IV?

Edited December 3, 2015 by Neurochick

[SimoneS]

Great episode. Damn, I was terrified that Anika would push Rhonda down the stairs to cause a miscarriage and she actually did it. I now hate her ass.

 

I loved Camilla turning up as Mimi's wife. Camilla conning Mimi to help take down Lucious was cold and I loved it. I wondered if Hakeem would vote with Camilla to spite Lucious and he did.  I did not like Cookie spitting on Camilla. That was low.

 

"She fixed you," followed by trying to undermine Jamal's career. Lucious is so pathetic, but damn I actually felt sorry for him when he was ranting. It was a great performance from Terrence and Taraji. Of course, I went back to hating him after his mean spirited reaction to the nomination. He will try to destroy Jamal to win.

 

I liked Cookie doing the concert even though she was scared of going back there. I liked the song he and the new artist performed at the prison.

 

I could not stop laughing when the woman told Thirtsy that it was good, but not that good. Bwah.

 

What is Jamal thinking hooking up with Skye? I am glad that she is chill and accepted the truth. I didn't like the mention of Michael. I don't want him showing up again. Time for Jamal to find a new boo, maybe William Fichtner's character.

Edited December 3, 2015 by SimoneS

[wanderingstar]

I screamed when Camilla came on screen! Naomi Campbell DA GAWD!

 

Glad they didn't drag out the Jamal/Skye stuff. I didn't mind the story, but Skye was boring AF.

 

Character continuity: Lucious remains THE WORST!

 

Anika is so perpetually pissed. I totally get it and love it. But if she pushed Rhonda down those stairs, she's gonna be in a world of hurt when Andre finds out.

 

Hakeem & Laura performing at the prison was great.

 

Cookie looked amazing! Loved her going back to the prison to see...DA BRAT! 

 

Thirsty went above and beyond, and that lady still said "It was good, but it wasn't $10 million good." Ha!

 

I'm glad Hakeem voted against Lucious. Lulu brought that on himself.

 

ETA: Is it wrong that I want Jamal to get back with Ryan (the filmmaker from S1)? They were so hot together.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[Neurochick]

I was glad Cookie spit on Camellia, what a witch. Hakeem is a jerk, I mean the sex can't be that good, especially if you've ever seen Naomi Campbell's hairline...shudder.

[Scarlett45]

SimoneS I think it's more likely Camilla and Mimi were working the long con TOGETHER for Camilla to seduce Hakeem and get Intel on Empire. Mimi's no fool, I don't think she'd marry some fly by night fling, and given her battle with breast cancer I'm betting they've had a LONG relationship.

Poor Rhonda! She's only ever tried to be a friend to Anika and her crazy ass shoved her down the stairs! I knew Anika was no good when she drugged Elle but this was LOWER than low.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Scarlett45

[emjohnson03]

I liked it but it lacked a bit of punch. I didn't gasp too much as it was all too...expected. The close up of the pen, obviously he was being recorded. Anika coming in and realizing the life she could be having, knock her down. And Lucious at the end was just silly, "game on bi*ches." He said that at the end of last season and I thought it had much more impact.

 

I'm not left wondering too many things only because you know somehow the Lyon family will work on getting Empire back under their wing, Jamal will have fights with his father on who is better and Anika will show up with the baby. I wish they didn't go all Lifetime movie with throwing her down the stairs.

 

Music was good but overall it was a bit of an underwhelming season. But don't think I won't continue to tune in because the characters are complex and I really enjoy the themes and music!

Edited December 3, 2015 by emjohnson03

[SimoneS]

Cookie looked amazing! Loved her going back to the prison to see...DA BRAT! 

 

 

Da Brat! That is why she looked so familiar. Cookie did look stunning in that dress.

[Scarlett45]

I liked it but it lacked a bit of punch. I didn't gasp too much as it was all too...expected. The close up of the pen, obviously he was being recorded. Anika coming in and realizing the life she could be having, knock her down. And Lucious at the end was just silly, "game on bi*ches." He said that at the end of last season and I thought it had much more impact.

I'm not left wondering too many things only because you know somehow the Lyon family will work on getting Empire back under their wing, Jamal will have fights with his father on who is better and the baby will be somehow disappear and Anika will show up with it later. I wish they didn't go all Lifetime Movie with that.

Music was good but overall it was a bit of an underwhelming season. But don't think I won't continue to tune in because the characters are complex and I really enjoy the themes and music!

Rhonda's going to lose the baby, and then Anika's child will be the ONLY "Lyon Heir". Of all the evil on the show her doing that to Rhonda irks me, because Rhonda's been nothing but kind to her.

[tennisgurl]

I literally screeched when Camilla showed up! This show, you guys. This show. Shondra is just sitting there, wishing she could have come up with something that amazing and ridiculous. 

 

Poor Rhonda. I hope she survived, even though I`m sure the baby wont. Screw you Boo Boo Kitty. I don`t understand why you went Fatal Attraction, and I don`t care anymore. You suck and you deserve whatever poor Andre is going to do when he finds out what you did. 

 

God, I hate Lucious, but Terrence Howard can still make me feel for the bastard from time to time. His rant with the gun to Cookie actually made me feel for him, for a second. I do love seeing the weird bond he and Cookie have. They just are connected to each other, even if they hate it. 

 

But then he says shit like "she fixed you", and I remember why I hate him.

 

The second I saw those giant stairs, I knew Rhonda was going to be falling down them. 

[Neurochick]

What pissed me off about Anika shoving Rhonda down the stairs is why didn't Anika just open her damn mouth and tell Douchebag Hakeem that she was pregnant and it was HIS baby, I would have loved to see the look on that boy's face if she told him that.

[Syndicate]

I remember reading there was some kind of twist concerning the Skye Summers character.  What was it?  Did I miss it?  So I guess Jamal and Skye did more than kiss.  They fucked too!  So the moral of this lovely little story was what?  To show that a good hot fuck with a woman can straighten (pun intended) out a gay man?  Hard to believe that Jamal's plight was once so serious that his daddy literally threw him in the garbage when he was a small child.  Now Lucious is thrilled that a hot woman "changed" Jamal.  No sell!  Camilla as Mimi's wife was a neat twist though!  Anika pummeling Rhonda down the staircase was something that we've seen many times before, but I welcomed it because it's always something that happens on soaps, and I desperately want this show to be more soapy.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Syndicate

[SoapDoc]

 

What pissed me off about Anika shoving Rhonda down the stairs is why didn't Anika just open her damn mouth and tell Douchebag Hakeem that she was pregnant and it was HIS baby, I would have loved to see the look on that boy's face if she told him that.

 

True. She may not be able to get Hakeem in a relationship but the Lyon family would not abandon her if she was having a member of their family. I don't know why she is holding on to that information.

 

I was trying to figure out who else could possibly have pushed Rhonda down the stairs because that is such a heavy burden to lay on a character but I couldn't think of anyone else who would have something against them and who would do such a thing.

[Scarlett45]

True. She may not be able to get Hakeem in a relationship but the Lyon family would not abandon her if she was having a member of their family. I don't know why she is holding on to that information.

I was trying to figure out who else could possibly have pushed Rhonda down the stairs because that is such a heavy burden to lay on a character but I couldn't think of anyone else who would have something against them and who would do such a thing.

Anika pushed Rhonda because her baby would be competition for hers as the first born grandchild. Her crazy self can't have anyone else stealing her thunder.

[wanderingstar]

but I couldn't think of anyone else who would have something against them and who would do such a thing.

 

Unless Jennifer Hudson's character came back to do it...

 

Was that really QuestLove's voice we heard doing the ASA nominations?

[Syndicate]

True. She may not be able to get Hakeem in a relationship but the Lyon family would not abandon her if she was having a member of their family. I don't know why she is holding on to that information.

 

I was trying to figure out who else could possibly have pushed Rhonda down the stairs because that is such a heavy burden to lay on a character but I couldn't think of anyone else who would have something against them and who would do such a thing.

This is why I wish the show would infuse more creativity into it.  If they had bothered to elaborate more on Rhonda as a character, they could've turned that staircase moment into a whodunnit, making it possible that several people could've been responsible for pushing her.  It's just so unfortunately obvious that it was Anika.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Syndicate

[SimoneS]

I was surprised at the Slip Stream guy's reaction to the takeover. I thought he was in the scheme with Mimi. He did not look happy. I wonder if he will be the key to Lucious getting Empire back.

Edited December 3, 2015 by SimoneS

[represent]

 

True. She may not be able to get Hakeem in a relationship but the Lyon family would not abandon her if she was having a member of their family. I don't know why she is holding on to that information.

Because doing this would make sense, and people as insane as she is, don't do things that make sense.

 

Because....she's straight up mad. She's as off the wall as Luscious' mother, I don't think Andre has ever been shown to be this nuts, has he? 

 

But yeah, Luscious mother trying to drown him, yeah, I'd say Anika has now reached this level of mental illness.

[Athena5217]

This timeline makes no sense. Cookie has been out of prison a year. That means that it was less than a year ago when Hakem and Camilla's relationship ended. How was there time for her to date Mimi, marry her, and be by Mimi's side during Mimi's breast cancer treatment?

Also, how does Lucious not know who Mimi is married to? Didn't Lucious research Mimi before bringing her into his company? I guess I shouldn't be suprised that a person who thinks Jamal can be cured of being gay has never heard of a googling someone.

[Dee]

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!

Edited December 3, 2015 by Dee

[Dee]

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!

[missbonnie]

Mimi is totally playing Lucious, I wonder if Camilla is the other person she's working with. That would be delicious!

HA! Totally called it right for once! More later.

[stormborn]

 

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.

 

Yeah I don't think Anika pushed her either. I'm almost certain its Deputy Mayor Alvarez. 

 

Lucious is the worst and I'm happy Hakeem is like him in the way that he doesn't forget and he sure don't forgive. I hope Hakeem will bring his brothers and mother along with him to help run Empire.

 

And leave Lucious' ass twisting in the wind. All by his lonesome. 

Edited December 3, 2015 by stormborn

[Artsda]

The second I saw those stairs I knew that house was made for Rhonda to fall down the staircase. So CrazyBooBooKitty now wants to have the sole "heir"? She killed a baby because that one would be a few months older than her kid? 

 

Hakeem is so ungrateful and horrible, he should be disowned, disinherited and just expelled from the family. 

 

Loved the Lucious and Cookie scenes at the end. 

[missbonnie]

OK, I was out so I had to watch it afterwards but I basically yelled "I knew it!" at the tv when Camilla came slinking in. Bahaha the look on Luscious's face was priceless. Backing up, Freda freaking Gathers really? Yuck. Loved almost everything about tonight even though I was really, really disappointed that Hakeem voted with his dick, the dummy. Although, I think if Cookie had said that she wasn't aware that Camilla didn't take the money, Hakeem might have voted differently. The whole Skye and Jamal storyline I could have done without to be honest, it felt like filler. I will say that the scene of Rhonda falling down the stairs was damned brutal. Obviously she's going to lose the baby but I don't know how you fall like that onto a marble floor and it doesn't kill you.

[Actionmage]

I was trying to figure out who else could possibly have pushed Rhonda down the stairs

 

Do we know if Olivia, Lola's mom, is supposed to be coming back?  Or is the possibility of Ponytail Manstealer showing up?  Hopefully, we meet Rhonda's parents in the back half. As great as Andre and her brothers-in-law can be, this would be the time to intro Mom and Dad Rhonda.

 

I loved Becky's calling  "FIVE!" for Jamal at the announcement/ ad release party. Then again, I also sorta liked the ad. ::shrugs::

 

I loved everything about the prison Family Day. If Lu can record during his incarceration, I don't see why Jezzie can't record either.

 

Was I alone in thinking that Lucious had somehow bought Freda's nomination? Not that he had to, just that it felt that way, to me, due to how Lu taunted Cookie about it.

 

Lucius, after seeing Cookie, getting so upset about  what she did- her 17 years- was actually touching. Cookie, at the first shot, knowing what was going on and protecting her babies again, some more. Then trying to help Lu keep it together and fussing at him, like the old married folks they are at heart. They're getting statues next Emmy show, right?

 

March?! Dang. That's so far away from now.

[Amethyst]

As awful as Lucious is, I did feel for him in the end.  Strong performances by Terrence and Taraji.  Ngl, I thought it was leading up to pity sex.  But honestly, what did Lucious expect?  He's been pushing Hakeem all season, right to the rap battle with Freda.  Eventually something was going to break.  Hakeem ditching the Lyon name wasn't going to cut it, this is his final "fuck you" to Lucious.  

 

That said, Hakeem will regret this in the end.  And the added bit of doing it for Camilla...um, no.  This will mess up things up even more.  The bond Hakeem and Cookie have made this season is really nice and this will jeopardize that.

 

As for Rhonda being pushed, I would expect something like that from Thirsty (I kinda think it was him), but I can't believe Anika has gone so far off the deep end.  Just a dirty move by whoever pulled it.  It's bad enough for Rhonda to lose the baby but she could have broken her neck on the way down, suffered internal injuries, etc.  If Rhonda died, (I know she didn't) whoever pushed her would really be in the shit.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Amethyst

[memememe76]

I'm wondering if what happened to Rhonda has to do with Vernon. Someone enacting revenge--I just can't think of who would do it for Vernon. 

 

The Camille reveal was brilliant. I was getting impatient about Mimi's reveal--I so did not expect Camille. Brilliant. 

 

The scene between Lucious and Cookie was so well played. So good. 

[Kendall]

Hey y'all, it's been a minute. I haven't posted this entire season, but I had to come back tonight.

 

I know that it's a TV show and that in the end, they will get Empire back, but I just feel so sad about Lucious losing it for the next three months. All of what he said to Cookie and the long overdue acknowledgement of what she did for him and those boys would be enough to pour a little out for Lucious.

 

But, the fact that Berry Gordy's family doesn't have Motown really, really disturbs me. Oprah has no children and I've never heard about any nieces or nephews that have been taken under her business wing. Puffy and Jay have long since been mascots, so they don't have anything to pass down. I don't even think Russell Simmons owns anything outright to pass down.

 

It's just a shame to see these one generation corporations when they should be multi-generational.

 

I know that with Hakeem taking over, in theory, it's multi-generational, but this wasn't the way to take his father's company. They really should've never gone public, but you absolutely do not go against your father like that. Not with all of those people that Lucious used to obsessively see as the enemy: white people.

 

If it's partially about Camilla, then that makes it even more painful. That white woman with Thirsty knew the value of sex, but Hakeem doesn't.

 

Ugh. This storyline is the most stereotypical thing of all the many, many stereotypical things that have been displayed on this show and it hurts.

 

I really hope it's not Anika that did the shoving as this would've been the perfect way to bring her back into the fold. She has an heir and even Cookie would deal with her if it meant getting Empire back, she did it before.

 

I also hope they don't have Andre completely renounce his faith. I know Lee really doesn't have any respect for religion, but it would be nice to see a realistic portrayal of a religious man that is trying to keep his faith.

 

Man! How that dude fall for the okey doke?!?

[Dee]

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.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Dee

[jhlipton]

I was really, really disappointed that Hakeem voted with his dick, the dummy. 

 

I disagree -- this was Lucious' karma biting him in the ass.  He had spent the entire season dissing Hakeem -- from buying the radio station so Hakeem's song wouldn't get played to setting up the rap battle.  Hakeem saw a chance to hit Daddy Dearest where it hurt the most and took it.  It may not have been the best move, but it made sense to me.

[funkopop]

Lucious is scum and his whole idea of Jamal being fixed by Skye was ignorant but I got a kick out of his response when he walked in on them.

[Badsamaritan]

I disagree -- this was Lucious' karma biting him in the ass. He had spent the entire season dissing Hakeem -- from buying the radio station so Hakeem's song wouldn't get played to setting up the rap battle. Hakeem saw a chance to hit Daddy Dearest where it hurt the most and took it. It may not have been the best move, but it made sense to me.

Totally agree. I don't think this is really about Camilla at all, it's about revenge on Lu for what he's done to Hakeem. Yes, there's a lil bit of payback for Lu lying about Camilla taking the money, but they showed the scenes of Lu screwing over Keem all season, so I think Camilla just showed up at the right time to help Keem get revenge. And because he is young and still pretty naive he has no idea of the true consequences and repercussions that's about to pop off come March. And I agree with another poster, this was a long con. I think she was already with Mimi when she first hooked up with Keem.

Boo Boo Kitty...gurl, you done lost your rabbit ass mind as my granny would say. It was her that pushed Rhonda, no doubt. She wants her own version of Rhonda's life.

T&T slayed me in their scene when Cookie was talking Lu down. He is the devil, no doubt, but when she hugged him and the camera switched angles to show Terrrance's face, and you could see him squeezing her tighter? They truly are acting soul mates. I believe everything they feel about each other. Which is why more flashbacks of their early life together is on my wish list.

[luckyroll3]

I'm sorry, but Team Empire didn't try too hard to get more board members on their side.  They only went after 2?!?  Last season, they went after at least 4 and did it more creatively.  Not to say Thirsty didn't try, but if you gonna munch the box for votes, it needs to be spectacular!  

 

Glad the Skye/Jamal thing is over and done with.  I had to laugh at Charlemagne being his normal rude ass self and calling Skye out in front of everybody.  How embarrassing.

 

I knew as soon as Mimi said her wife was coming into town that it was Camilla.  Absolutely beautiful plan.  But it made me wonder how Mimi ended up on Cookie's radar, as it was initially Cookie who went after Mimi for her money/connections.  Speaking of Cookie, i hated that she spit on Camilla.  Gross!  I was hoping for a straight up Dynasty slapfest between the two of them, and in front of all the board members.  That would have been gold.

[skotnikov]

Boo Boo Kitty...gurl, you done lost your rabbit ass mind as my granny would say. It was her that pushed Rhonda, no doubt. She wants her own version of Rhonda's life.

It makes no sense though, as we know she comes from a wealthy family and has everything she needs already. 

[wanderingstar]

Forgot to add: when they mentioned that Twitter was dragging Skye and that one tweeter put a Rachel Dolezal wig on her, I literally looked around for some pearls to clutch.

[skotnikov]

The way they treat women on this supposedly "progressive" show is horrible. The very message that it's better to be trashy Cookie than a well-educated reasonable female (they got rid of most of them by now) is just unbearable. 

Edited December 6, 2015 by skotnikov

[Primetimer]

In Empire's winter finale, the Lyons come together and fall apart.

Read the story

[tennisgurl]

I am pretty amused by the fact that Empire got us to sit down and watch a whole commercial, right in the middle of the show. Well played, marketing people.

 

"That was good, but it wasn't 10 million good" was probably the line of the night.

[SimoneS]

I am pretty amused by the fact that Empire got us to sit down and watch a whole commercial, right in the middle of the show. Well played, marketing people.

 

It was slick as hell. I actually thought it was one of Jamal's videos before catching on that it was a Pepsi commercial. Kudos to Pepsi. They played us good.

 

I hope that Anika did not push Rhonda down the stairs as some of you suggest because I hate hating her.

Edited December 3, 2015 by SimoneS

[Neurochick]

I don't think Hakeem did the right thing.  Cookie, his mother, was the one who told him not to vote Lucious out, because Empire is THEIR dynasty.  It proved once again why Hakeem is a little boy and thinks with a little boy's brain.  "Daddy mean to me, so I vote him out."  He can't see beyond his own penis.

 

Bed partners come and go but your parents are your parents forever.  If Hakeem is THAT pissed at his dad, then LEAVE and start your own stuff.  What a jerk.

[Milz]

I did not expect Camilla and Mimi teaming up. That was a complete surprise for me.

 

Anika---you'll join Vernon when Lucious finds out your tried to kill his grandson, that is if Cookie doesn't get to you first. Or Andre. Or Rhonda.

 

Hakeem, Hakeem, Hakeem....*shakes head*.... Hakeem!

 

Why can't Jamal be bi? It's not unheard of. I got the feeling that being bi is more of a stigma than being straight or gay.

[SimoneS]

I don't think Hakeem did the right thing.  Cookie, his mother, was the one who told him not to vote Lucious out, because Empire is THEIR dynasty.  It proved once again why Hakeem is a little boy and thinks with a little boy's brain.  "Daddy mean to me, so I vote him out."  He can't see beyond his own penis.

 

Bed partners come and go but your parents are your parents forever.  If Hakeem is THAT pissed at his dad, then LEAVE and start your own stuff.  What a jerk.

 

All this is true, Hakeem has made a mistake that he will regret, but Lucious has been so vicious to Hakeem since he left Empire that I understand why he could not resist putting the final knife in his back. I think that part of it is that unlike Andre and Jamal who have always been the recipients of Lucious' spitefulness and cruelty, Hakeem has always been adored and pampered by Lucious. This makes Lucious' cruelty even more unbearable for Hakeem. 

 

I am not convinced that Camilla played or is playing Hakeem. Her rejection of Lucious' money was convincing, wishing him a painful death, and those tears in the limo when she was being driven to the airport were real. I could believe that she set in motion a long term plan to get revenge on Lucious for how he treated her and got her out of Hakeem's life.

[Melvinvdriet]

Great finale! Love that Camilla is back, can't wait to see what more she has in her sleeve.

I honestly think that Rhonda losing the baby is too predictable. I think Rhonda will die during surgery and the baby will survive and Anika's plan will fail, assuming it was actually Anika who pushed her. That would be a complete shocker for everyone. As much as I like Rhonda, I would love that.

[Neurochick]

Is Anika even sure that she's pregnant?  

 

I appreciated the whole back and forth between Skye and Charlemagne.  When he asked if she was black, I was like, "dude, you look like you're going into MIchael Jackson territory."  I'm old and I don't get this, "you're not black your're mixed" stuff.  Shit was so much simpler in the 70's; if a person was mixed and they said they were black, everybody would be like, "okay."  Now it seems that unless you're the color of LeVar Burton, you're not "truly" black.  

Edited December 3, 2015 by Neurochick

[sunsheyen]

This timeline makes no sense. Cookie has been out of prison a year. That means that it was less than a year ago when Hakem and Camilla's relationship ended. How was there time for her to date Mimi, marry her, and be by Mimi's side during Mimi's breast cancer treatment?

Also, how does Lucious not know who Mimi is married to? Didn't Lucious research Mimi before bringing her into his company? I guess I shouldn't be suprised that a person who thinks Jamal can be cured of being gay has never heard of a googling someone.

That's what bugged me. Lucious tries to know everything about everyone. He was able to find out about Mimi and circumvent the takeover from jail. There is no way he didn't have research on someone who he already knew was treacherous and open to the highest bidder. He did all the work to find out about Camilla and her business, but didn't bother to keep tabs on her, especially after the threat/promise to come back and claim Hakeem. That took me out of the story. Also the part with Mimi naming Camilla as her stand in without even being voted CEO, nor having had C voted in as a backup (like Vernon and Andre tried on Lucious) as required for incapacity. All it would've taken was a sentence or two. I hate nonsensical mess, especially when it has been addressed properly in the past. I also didn't like Cookie (convicted felon who can usually expect delays in just getting approved to visit a prison) and company just walking into the cell block. They could've portrayed the prison experience a bit more realistically. Something in the yard or cafeteria/auditorium would've worked better. Not a huge stretch in budget or set, but would make more sense.

Why can't Jamal be bi? It's not unheard of. I got the feeling that being bi is more of a stigma than being straight or gay.

For a lot of people, it is. Folks look upon it as not being a real thing. Whether one 'agrees' or not, most people accept that gay is gay. Bisexuality is spoken of as a 'step' on the way to gay, confusion, hyper sex drive without self control, 'experimenting', etc. I was glad that the show didn't backtrack from Jamal's identity as a gay man. The entire first season revolved around that, not him being bi, and when I saw the kiss, I (Unhappily) thought this was Daniels' way of erasing it as a response to some public reaction.

Why did Becky seem to be back in the assistant role, reporting to Lucious and wearing her headset? *sn, I love Gabby and Jussie's RL relationship. They are the cutest besties!

I knew bitter, babyish Hakeem would screw the family over, but still hoped he wouldn't up until the last moment. Just as he was showing some maturity in running the business while Cookie was blinded by dick, he regresses. Whether she took the payment or not, Camilla still chose to leave, so his loyalty is misguided. I wish Cookie was able to express that in a way that he could understand before the vote.

I hate Crazy! Anika. I can't stand huge character shifts like this. Based on season one bad ass businesswoman debutante Anika, I would've expected her to shrewdly leverage this pregnancy, not snap over some 18 yo dick. And she was with Lucious for a long time. She would've known enough about his desires and doubts about his kids to know how important a 'good' heir would've been to him. Why not just get knocked up then, especially when he was scared of dying with a crazy, a homo, and a young fake thug idiot (his views) as his replacements? I wonder if the baby will ever come to fruition (murder, miscarriage) or if it will even be Hakeem's. Maybe something happened with Billy Baretti after all...

Cookie better work that damn broom on Hakeem's ass or I will be disappointed.

Lee Daniels...if you're reading...you better not take this down some Tyler Perry road. I'm serious.

Edited December 3, 2015 by sunsheyen

[Grace19]

Hakeem did leave to start his own company with his mama, but lucious wouldnt let them be, yes I love the fuck you hakeem gave him. I do agree that hakeem will regret it, but for the main time I will enjoy the fact that hakeem (probably lucious favourite) is the one that had the guts to hurt him as much as he hurt his family. I enjoy lucious, but I'm okay with him loosing for once. I think hakeem will come to see the error of his way and may help get the company back for the family. And please writers, don't make Anika the one who pushed rhonda, I like her.

[Soup333]

I knew as soon as Mimi said her wife was coming into town that it was Camilla.  Absolutely beautiful plan.  But it made me wonder how Mimi ended up on Cookie's radar, as it was initially Cookie who went after Mimi for her money/connections.  Speaking of Cookie, i hated that she spit on Camilla.  Gross!  I was hoping for a straight up Dynasty slapfest between the two of them, and in front of all the board members.  That would have been gold.

 

They had the shoulderpads for it. All they needed was a pool to fall into.

[Syndicate]

See, I believe Lee Daniels is trying to methodically erase Jamal's status as a gay man. Otherwise, why did kissing and getting laid with Skye happen? It wasn't a gay man experimenting since he'd already gone down that road with Olivia. I was ready to overlook the kiss as being somehow related to the song they sung together, but what accounts for full-blown sexual activity between them? It's Dynasty's Steven Carrington all over again I promise you.

[Grace19]

It would have been better if Anika was the one who teemed up with the billionaire to take lucious down.