(FOX)
Gossip Cop is officially adding “Empire” to our growing list of shows recapped weekly. Beginning with “Our Dancing Days,” the seventh episode of season 1, Gossip Cop will publish recaps immediately after each episodes airs. Without further ado, here are the most important things to know about tonight’s “Empire.”
1. Lucious continued to struggle to hide his ALS, and after he collapsed at the Empire office, he found out the doctor who had given him an experimental treatment actually had his license revoked, with the unapproved medication now killing him faster than his disease. Cookie didn’t buy Lucious’ explanation that he had food poisoning, particularly as he remained very obviously unwell at a family showcase for investors. When he suffered another setback at the event, he asked Cookie to take the stage for him, much to the chagrin of fiancée Anika and son/CEO Andre. Afterward, Cookie asked Lucious to tell her what’s really wrong, and he sat the family down to break the news. How did they react? Keep reading…
2. As the showcase loomed, tensions between brothers Jamal and Hakeem increased, and they nearly came to blows during rehearsal for their joint performance. Cookie demanded they make peace for “one night of [their] selfish lives,” but they continued to trade barbs in the minutes before showtime, until Lucious ordered them to drop their beef for the sake of hopefully making billions for the company. They ultimately rocked their performance, and later after his medical confession, Lucious told them to be “strong” in light of his fatal disease.
3. Michael dumped Jamal in the wake of both his radio interview, during which he passed on an opportunity to come out as gay, and the return of his secret ex-wife Olivia, who showed up claiming they have a daughter together. Jamal insisted the marriage was a sham and that they only had sex once, but after Olivia abandoned the little girl at Empire, he admitted to Lucious that she really could be his. With the paternity question unanswered, Lucious took the little girl in to be cared for at his mansion, and the family treated her as one of their own.
4. Hakeem continued to see cougar designer Camilla, who rejected being treated like a “backdoor slut” and demanded he take their romance public. He reluctantly invited her to the showcase, but kept his distance, even as she made her affection for Hakeem rather clear in a chat with Lucious, though he didn’t realize her interest in his rapper son wasn’t purely a business one. Previews indicate Hakeem and Camilla’s relationship won’t stay secret for much longer.
5. Cookie and Anika continued to clash over both their connection to Lucious and their visions for the company. Cookie successfully groomed a sober Elle Dallas for her comeback at the showcase, but Anika secretly spiked the singer’s drink. Elle was wasted in no time, and Cookie freaked out as she now had to tell Lucious that her star artist couldn’t perform. While unaware of Anika’s bad deed, Cookie killed it on stage when she had to take Lucious’ place, only further angering her nemesis and increasing her jealousy, particularly when, after her speech, Lucious exclaimed, “I love you, Cookie.”
When Lucious finally came clean about his ALS, Andre promptly freaked out and became aggressive, worried about the IPO and how Lucious’ illness would affect it and his own future with the company. Hakeem and Jamal were more concerned with their father’s well-being, and got in a scuffle with their older sibling before he stormed out. At home, he had a full-on meltown, with wife Rhonda finding him sitting in the shower fully-clothed and unable to speak. She tearfully assured him he would get control of Empire.
Cookie, of course, took the news the hardest, and cried, telling Lucious that she can’t lose him again. He told her, “You have me now. Let’s not lose this moment,” and asked her to dance to one of his old songs that was written for her. “You always did it for me,” she said, and he replied, “I never stopped doing it,” before going in for the KISS! The former spouses ended up in the bedroom… where Anika, who was supposed to be on a business trip, found them beneath the sheets. The episode ended with Cookie and Lucious completely unaware she saw them having sex. Now just four episodes remain in the first season. Thoughts?!
