S05.E12: Shift & Save Yourself

[Dee]

Quote

Cookie is offered a career game-changer that would put her future in the family business in jeopardy. Jamal works diligently to try to make Tiana and Treasure's track a success, as Lucious, Cookie and Giselle deliberate future plans for Hakeem and the rest of the artists at Empire. Meanwhile, the feds pressure Thirsty, due to his affiliation with Lucious and Damon Cross, and Andre receives startling news.

[SimoneS]

Wow, no comments. I hate this Andre has cancer story. I am sure that he won't die and will have a miraculous recovery though. I like his age appropriate girlfriend. She is very supportive.

I don't like where this Damian Cross story is going with Cookie. I do like Thirsty in the middle of it though.

I did crack up when Cookie told Giselle that she would hit her, but NY has a law against animal cruelty. Vicious. Bwah!

Treasure is a hot mess who should slapped. I don't like that Tiana's duet with her anyway.

[Empress1]

Called it! Nosebleeds = cancer/tumor. Is Trai Byers leaving the show or is a miraculous recovery a possibility?

Loved Becky's black and white dress in the "we're going on tour" announcement.

[milner]

I found the stuff with Thirsty and the FBI very boring as was a lot of the show. Cookie used to have lots of great if weird clothes and multiple outfit changes every week. Lately not so much and she wore one unflattering outfit the whole time except for flashbacks. Is the show on a tight budget now?

[woodstock]

I fell out when Becky threw up the deuces and left Jamal to deal with Tiana and Treasure.

I hated whatever the hell that was outfit Cookie wore during most of the episode.

Andre better not die!

[wanderingstar]

Watching Andre get his cancer diagnosis hurt my feelings. I also think it's sad that he doesn't want to tell his family. I hope he survives. 

Like Thirsty's girlfriend, Vera. I just really like that actress. 

Cookie needs to stay far far away from Damon Cross.

Liked seeing Jamal on the production/artist management side of things. Becky & Giselle remain a hoot.

And Cookie should definitely let Porsha manage the tour. She's probably one of a handful of people who knows Empire and its artists inside out.

[SimoneS]

5 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Loved Becky's black and white dress in the "we're going on tour" announcement.

That was a stylish dress, especially compared that monstrosity Cookie was wearing. WTH?

3 hours ago, woodstock said:

I fell out when Becky threw up the deuces and left Jamal to deal with Tiana and Treasure.

I rolled. Jamal's expression and response, "it's like that" made me laugh even harder.

[Biggie B]

Wow, no comments at all on this episode? OK, I'll start.

The outfit Cookie wore when that agent came to talk to her was atrocious. 

I loved the breakfast scene with Cookie and Carol, when Carol said, "These pancakes are dry." It was so...random!

What's all this with Thirsty now? Where'd this girlfriend come from, have we ever even seen her or heard mention of her? I get that he spelled it out for the FBI agent, as to how they met, but if that all actually happened, why have we never been so much as a passing reference to her by Thirsty or anyone else? I was sort of confused as to what Thirsty's doing...is he pretending to throw Lucious under the bus for Damon, or is he really doing so? Damon is a bad guy!

I don't even know what to make of Andre's situation. Unless the actor is leaving the show, I can't imagine he's going to die. And with the Jamal situation, the show will be down to Hakeem as the only available son! 

I'm glad Treasure and Tiana aren't at each other's throats any more (as entertaining that was at times).

[tennisgurl]

Normally I love outrageous Cookie outfits, but this week was full of weird, questionable choices. I mean, what was that thing she was wearing for most of it? 

The stuff with Thirsty and the FBI was weirdly boring, considering how much I love Thirsty and his antics. So what happens next, does he keep going after Lucious? Also, why are they were bothering with the Lyons and not focusing on this other clearly deranged murderer guy?

It was fun seeing Jamal doing more producer stuff, he does a good job with it, and I liked his scenes with Treasurer and Tiana a lot. And Becky just being like "NOPE" about dealing with them was hilarious.

Andre better be alright and this is all a fake out. I mean, Lucious started the series supposedly terminally ill, and yet his ass is still kicking around, so why not Andre too? I like his girlfriend, she seems really nice and supportive and well adjusted. Almost a bit too normal for this crazy family, but who knows? I just hope he isnt really dying, I would be so crushed. 

[Biggie B]

I think everyone is posting in the wrong thread. I don't think this episode has aired yet. Here's the description of last night's episode, which has its own thread (Episode 12, "Shift and Save Yourself"):

"Cookie is offered a career game-changer that would put her future in the family business in jeopardy. Jamal works diligently to try to make Tiana and Treasure's track a success, as Lucious, Cookie and Giselle deliberate future plans for Hakeem and the rest of the artists at Empire. Meanwhile, the feds pressure Thirsty, due to his affiliation with Lucious and Damon Cross, and Andre receives startling news."

Edited March 29, 2019 by Biggie B

[Dee]

I loved the Tiana, Treasure & Jamal scenes.

It would've been very easy for the show to let T&T remain immature brats, stuck in a cycle of petty squabbles. but the writers strongly pushed back against that notion by allowing both characters to express themselves, and the writers were meta enough to allow the girls to check Jamal enough about his own position & privileges within the cishetereopatriarchy.

Watching Maya try to hustle a promotion around Becky & Porsha is hilarious. Those girls have come a LONG way & put in a LOT of work to earn their positions.

That said, Cookie was wrong for not considering Porsha for tour manager. Porsha is a lot of things but she's proven to be surprisingly competent and unfailingly loyal.

Wood Harris is SO good. Cross probably won't last beyond this season, but he's established himself as a genuine threat in a handful of appearances. That's impressive.

Trai Byers is GREAT. He's had non-stop story since the dissolution of his marriage and he's always knocked it out of the park. Hopefully Andre doesn't end up in the casket.  

Giselle & Kelly are keepers. Nicole Ari Parker, especially, is doing admirable work considering she initially came across as Anika 2.0. Giselle & Cookie as frenemies has a ton of potential.

Andre Royo is AMAZING. He literally walked away with the entire episode. More Thirsty is always a good thing.

And, as usual, Terrence & Taraji remain flawless.

[Athena5217]

On 3/28/2019 at 1:59 PM, Biggie B said:

The outfit Cookie wore when that agent came to talk to her was atrocious. 

I have only 2 reactions to Cookies’s outfits—there is no middle ground. 

Reaction #1 is “Cookie looks amazing. She should be in magazines.”

Reaction #2 is “WTF is she wearing? When did Porsha become Cookie’s stylist?”

That outfit was #2 reaction multiples times. It was 5 different fabric patterns randomly sewn together. It was worse than Porsha’s crocheted Skittles dress. I think that outfit might be causing Andre’s nosebleeds. That outfit should be burned and the ashes put in a jar and sent to the edge of the galaxy.

[Chairperson Meow]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 12:59 PM, Biggie B said:

Wow, no comments at all on this episode? OK, I'll start.

The outfit Cookie wore when that agent came to talk to her was atrocious. 

I loved the breakfast scene with Cookie and Carol, when Carol said, "These pancakes are dry." It was so...random!

What's all this with Thirsty now? Where'd this girlfriend come from, have we ever even seen her or heard mention of her? I get that he spelled it out for the FBI agent, as to how they met, but if that all actually happened, why have we never been so much as a passing reference to her by Thirsty or anyone else? I was sort of confused as to what Thirsty's doing...is he pretending to throw Lucious under the bus for Damon, or is he really doing so? Damon is a bad guy!

I don't even know what to make of Andre's situation. Unless the actor is leaving the show, I can't imagine he's going to die. And with the Jamal situation, the show will be down to Hakeem as the only available son! 

I'm glad Treasure and Tiana aren't at each other's throats any more (as entertaining that was at times).

Tbh I low key would watch a spin off of Thirsty's random adventures around town being the lawyer for shady ass celebrities and rich people.   Like he just sits there telling these crazy stories every week like Greys Anatomy  

[jhlipton]

TV writers only know two life-threatening diseases, it seems -- AIDS and cancer.  Ho hum.

[AsiagoSauce]

Treasure's beef with Tiana is so juvenile, especially when the only insult she can come up with is the fact that Tiana's a mother. Why would she even mock the fact that Tiana has a child with the son and artist of the record label she's trying so desperately to stay with? Seems like the quickest way to be fired.