Not everyone lost in the fall finale, but all the victory laps in this winners circle probably will only last until spring.
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Tonight on FOX Empire airs with an all new Wednesday December 2, season 2 fall finale called, “Et Tu, Brute?”, and we have your weekly recap below. Maybe he was as surprised as we are? This season, however, as folks waited for the premiere and have watched the first six episodes, viewership has dipped (though still remaining very high), and I think it’s because the formula they had for season 1, they’ve kicked into hyperdrive for season 2. His day gets off to a fine start when he catches Skye and Jamal getting cozy and could not be more pleased that his son is “hitting that”. To be spiteful, Lucious told Jamieson (William Fichtner), Jamal’s promoter, that Jamal had a girlfriend and shouldn’t be promoted as a gay artist. As Empire descends further into its own weird, insular universe, it still holds these distinctions, and therefore provides an experience you can’t get anywhere else. He beams because Skye “fixed” Jamal. Sure it is, just like it’s possible for Porsha to jump a subway turnstile, pretend to be Cookie when she gets arrested, then get rehired by Cookie on the strength of bringing a dog into the office. It has been hinted at that this is related to Lucius attempt to get the music streaming business that he believes will make him the most powerful man in music.
Mimi and Lucious meet to go over the Swiftstream deal and she secretly records him making snide remarks about the board. Miss Whiteman is shady and a known double-crosser, he should know better than to get in bed with her, so to speak. Another interesting question to be answered is who will win the ASA for Song of the Year, as it comes down to Jamal and Lucious. How was Hakeem even in the running for Rapper Of The Year when all he had on the books this calendar year was a leaked album and a couple of freestyle verses? The poor thing is literally sitting in front of the screen with a bowl of popcorn, but the nom goes to his archrival and Lucious’ protege, Freda Gatz.
Needless to say, Hakeem ain’t happy. Spoiler: That day is today.
There also promises to be a lot of juicy father vs. son dramatics come March, with major Lucious/Hakeem issues after the younger Lyon deposed his father as CEO of Empire, with a little dash of Lucious/Jamal craziness, as those two face off in the big American Song Awards event. He invites Mimi on stage to make the formal announcement, which ends up being a huge mistake. Mimi is such a weirdo and doesn’t add anything to the show.
She called her wife to the stage!
I always suspected that Mimi Whiteman was up to no good but the Camilla Marks twist was Dynasty levels of brilliant. The crowd parts and in strolls…Camilla! I really liked this scene, is what I’m saying. “Aye”, he votes, and Lucious is dethroned.
Meanwhile, Andre is working on securing Lucius the votes needed to maintain control of Empire.
Then Anika paid Rhonda a visit and openly eyeballed all her luxurious nursery accessories. All signs point to Boo Boo Kitty as the culprit. This was considered an upset by the assembled peanut gallery, but if we’re being real, she absolutely had destroyed Hakeem in that rap battle a few weeks back. Hakeem still has no idea that Anika is pregnant with his child, but once he and the rest of the family find out, you can expect there to be a ton of drama and fireworks.
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Andre, Thirsty and Lucious work to round up every board member they can to vote in favor of keeping Lucious on the team. So, you know – the usual. Among those voting against Lucious is Hakeem, who had vivid flashbacks of tainted encounters with his father. Mimi has to leave for breast cancer treatments and needs someone to run things; of course, it’s Camille. Fortunately, Cookie is there to tell him to calm down and come up with a plan to protect his family’s legacy.
