S03.E05: One Before Another

[Tara Ariano]

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Retaliation seems inevitable after Lucious and Andre's latest business encounter with Shine goes bad. Meanwhile, Jamal thinks performing with Hakeem could rid him of his fears; at the same time, Cookie finds herself caught off-guard during a routine meeting with her probation officer.

[sarkygal]

Has anyone else watched this???

 

Lucious is the worst. And Hakeem is just a little snot nosed gullible punk again. All the character growth of last season was lost this episode. At least, he's trying to be a dad of sorts to his kid. Jamal's spiral into addiction has been completely dropped and Andre's no longer seeing his dead wife. I didn't like any of the songs and they really need to treat Becky better.

On a shallow note, Cookie's face was flawless all episode.

[tricknasty]

The episode premieres tonight. How did you see it already?

[Primetimer]

The Lyons have a very public meltdown. Like, Times Square public.

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[Dee]

I LOVED this episode. Welcome back show!

[cali1981]

Quote of the season from Cookie: "It smells like my ass in here"  An absolute gem! 

[Dee]

I love that this show NEVER forgets that the Lyons aren't even one generation removed from extreme poverty and that very fact guides their every move.

Grace is a gem. A weaker actress would be adrift among such scene stealing performers, but Anika has finally regained her groove and it's highly amusing to watch Lucious begin to appreciate her again, now that she's tapping into her newfound inner thug.

I also love that as much as much of a rat bastard as Lucious is, he's right about a great deal. One of the main reasons why the rest of the Lyons keep fighting each other is because they refuse to make peace with that.

The additions of Shyne, Nessa and Tariq, this season, have been great; especially now that Shyne has been thoroughly humanized, Nessa has gotten to show off her personality and Tariq has been imbued with complex layers.

It's great what the show is doing with Becky. If you're gonna go big, then you better be sure you can close the deal when the situation calls for it. Just because you may feel ready for a top position doesn't always necessarily mean you are.

It's kind of great Derek is back. He brings out a dark maturity in Jamal so it'll be interesting to see how he reacts if/when Jamal, and/or Jamal's situation, requires him to step up.

From The Best Man to Private Practice, I've never been into Taye Diggs as a romantic lead but his charmingly offbeat work here, coupled with Taraji's wonderfully subtle choices as an actress, are really selling me on Cookie and Angelo's burgeoning relationship. All of which makes me excited about Diana's imminent arrival.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Dee

[thuganomics85]

As I say pretty much in every episode, Lucious is the worst, but man do I get a kick out of how he keeps causing chaos.  Having him goad Hakeem into going off on a live stream at both Andre and Jamal was already an evil work of genius, but watching him actually yelling at the camera men to keep filming when they tried to turn away, was hilarious!  You are a bastard, Lucious!  Never change!  And then they follow it with the scene with Hakeem and the baby, where I think Lucious really is sincere about wanting Hakeem to be a good father to her.  I never know what to expect from Lucious, and I love that.

Shyne is placated for now at least (thanks to Anika!), but it seems like he is now feeding Tariq info about Freda and what happened to her father.  Man, you can't trust anyone on this show!

I like Becky, but it was obvious that her plan was going to backfire.  I think she has potential, but she needs to know that there is a time and place to make big moves, and a time and place to listen to your boss.  Hopefully, Tiana will forgive her.  I'm still just glad Tiana is actually getting screen time this season.

Still not quite sure what to make of Cookie and Angelo.  Have to think it will only be a matter of time before it falls apart.

Well, at least Jamal is now able to perform in front of a few people and over the stream, but he still has ways to go, I imagine. 

Glad the long break into derail things too badly.  I'm still finding this season to be a blast and an improved compared to last season (which I still enjoyed, but admittedly had issues.)

[Syndicate]

Did I miss Jamal's "would've been" new boo D Major? I know I saw the name Tobias Truvillion appear in the show's opening last night.

[Dee]

He was shown at the very beginning of the episode working on new music in the studio with Jamal.

[mtlchick]

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Quote of the season from Cookie: "It smells like my ass in here"  An absolute gem! 

It was the "mwah" (SLAP!) that had me in tears from laughing.  Other line was "Fiddler on the Roof here thinks..."

 

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Having him goad Hakeem into going off on a live stream at both Andre and Jamal was already an evil work of genius, but watching him actually yelling at the camera men to keep filming when they tried to turn away, was hilarious!  You are a bastard, Lucious!

Lucious is a HORRIBLE man.  But he's a hustler through and through especially with deals and numbers.  A little clap back, a little "so son, about your brothers..." BOOM.  He creates drama because he thrives on it.

[Dee]

And Lucious hustle, dogged as it is, benefits the whole family.

Like he told Jamal after Jamal had a panic attack at the Empire X-Stream launch, everybody eats from his dirty work then bitches about it.

[Landlord]

Screw Tiana... I understand that Becky lied to her, but she isn't even going to defend her own song? When she clearly had no desire at all to record "me" and wanted "starlight" so bad? 

Also, Becky looked rocking, this week. Loved the hair, loved everything. I hope she cuts her losses. That boo of hers was right. 

[IntrovertGal]

WTF Hakeem?! Spouting homophobic slurs and dissing both of your brothers live on the air? That's just beyond low. I just lost all respect for Hakeem. He was way too easily swayed by Lucious who is as evil as ever. I guess it is time for Cookie to hit Hakeem with the broom again. I hate it when the brothers fight and are at odds with each other so this episode was not really enjoyable for me.

At least hot D Major is back! Too bad his scene with Jamal was so short though. Hopefully, he will have more to do in episodes to come.

I couldn't care less about the Shyne storyline, it bores me to tears.

Taye Diggs is growing on me. The way he told Cookie he would fight for her was hot. Cookie thought so too.

[Dee]

2 hours ago, Landlord said:

Also, Becky looked rocking, this week. Loved the hair, loved everything. I hope she cuts her losses. That boo of hers was right. 

Yes! Paolo is hooking Gabby up this season. He wasn't kidding when he said he was giving Becky a 1950's vibe. She looks like she just stepped out of Pillow Talk or Pal Joey.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Dee

[cali1981]

2 hours ago, mtlchick said:

It was the "mwah" (SLAP!) that had me in tears from laughing.  Other line was "Fiddler on the Roof here thinks..."

 

Hah! I forgot about that one.  The racial jokes be they Black, Jewish, Hispanic or whatever are downright hilarious and not in the least bit offensive.

[Joimiaroxeu]

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The Lyons have a very public meltdown. Like, Times Square public.

They literally put their business in the street. It was hilarious.

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 I'm still finding this season to be a blast and an improved compared to last season (which I still enjoyed, but admittedly had issues.)

I feel the same way. The overwhelming and immediate success of the first season seems to have tripped them up for a while but in this season I think they've gotten their groove back.

[Dee]

24 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I feel the same way. The overwhelming and immediate success of the first season seems to have tripped them up for a while but in this season I think they've gotten their groove back.

The best part is you can tell the cast is having a great time. Their energy practically leaps off the screen.

[wanderingstar]

My stream of consciousness while catching up on this ep.

*Shirtless Andre - YASSSSS GAWD!

*LOVED this episode - especially the music and the cuts between scenes at the beginning of the ep.

*Jamal is right - Lucious does love the Shyne-type drama. 

*"Do not white mansplain to me." YASSSSS, Becky!

*So Shyne is now even more ensconced at Empire. I can't see this ending well - especially with Shyne playing a long con with Tariq.

*Speaking of Tariq - Morocco Omari is beautiful.

*I'm here for Anika returning to scheming. 

*Hakeem is so damn immature. How does he let Lucious play him every. damn. time. I can't believe he went for the jugular with Jamal. Their relationship is one of my favorite things on the show.

*Baby Bella is a cutie.

Sorta related: I was digging the promo for Star. I'll definitely give that show a shot.
 

[LaChavalina]

I totally agree with the author of this week's blog recap. Cookie's storyline is the only one that interests me right now. All of the Lyon men seem stuck in a giant rut: Lucious and Shyne have another big anticlimactic confrontation, the sons fight amongst each other, Jamal is afraid of his shadow, and Tariq is back creeping on all of them. 

I really miss having Rhonda on screen. You know, in an alive sort of way. 

[Dee]

When did it become a rule in television viewing, that if a show does not tell an entire season worth of story in a single episode then it qualifies as a "dropped" story?

Edited November 14, 2016 by Dee

[Mrs OldManBalls]

Why is Lucious always the one with Bella? Are they trying to soften him? Is this one more person for him to control? Does TH really like babies and asks to have extra scenes with the little miss to get more snuggles than the others? Maybe they should go all in and have Lucious up to his shenanigans with Bella in a designer snuggli. 

[darkestboy]

Good episode but it took me a while to get into it for some reason though.

Hakeem is a dumb little shit at times. The way he blew up at Jamal and Andre made him look so pathetic and he totally played into Lucious's hands there.

I guess they're setting a Shyne/Tariq/Freda team up to take Lucious down.

Cookie and Angelo, still not too into it at the moment.

Becky is clearly going to end up leaving Empire at this rate, 7/10