"Empire" recap: "Our Dancing Days"

AAAAAAAAAAAAUUGGGHHH!!!! Usually I reserve this kind of beginning for Downton Abbey recaps. But this time, this is for Empire! Also, this is a good scream!

Lucious’ ALS: Is the increasing intensity of ALS finally making Lucious act more like a human being? Or is he going to figure out a way to manipulate his symptoms into getting more stuff (and women) for himself? Like Jamal said in the promo for the next episode, Lucious loves himself over others.

For right now, though, it does seem like Lucious is thawing out a bit. He got Jamal and Hakeem to stop fighting (with a lot of help from Cookie) and he finally remembered that Cookie got him to the top in the first place. And of course, everyone on Twitter went crazy when Cookie and Lucious finally did the do. Even better was when Anika walked in on them. She might have thought her petty ways would win the day when she spiked Elle Dallas’ drink, but if she needed proof that she was obsolete in comparison to Cookie, this sealed the deal.

Anika: She’s really low. I didn’t really like her before, but I just dealt with her. Now I really don’t like her. I hate when people do low stuff like what she did to Elle just because they’re insecure about their own abilities. Yes, Cookie’s better at managing and rehabilitating stars than you, Anika. Yes, your debutante ways aren’t getting you anywhere. Get somewhere and learn about yourself, woman. Quit being all surface.

By the way, Cookie and everyone else will find out about Anika’s dirt, right? THEY NEED TO KNOW NOW! I HATE SECRETS.

Jamal and his daughter: Is Jamal about to turn out to be a deadbeat parent? I mean, of course, it’s logical to say that the girl could not be his, but he also doesn’t know. Instead of pushing the girl off on everyone else (like he did with Cookie), he could try to bond with the girl, at least just a little bit. Or here’s a thought—GET A PATERNITY TEST! You don’t need Olivia there to get a paternity test.

Hakeem’s lady problems: Camilla knows she’s too old to get played by a boy. She fact that she has to ask what “bae” means shows she’s too old to be messing around with Hakeem.

But, since Hakeem put her on the VIP list as an investor, Camilla might be setting her sights on Lucious as well as Hakeem. If that’s the case, that’s just foul.

The investor shindig: The party went great! It would have been even better if Elle Dallas was able to sing, but otherwise, it was fantastic. The best part was seeing Cookie take the stage and get those investors hooked, even more than Lucious or Anika could have done.

The big reveal: With Cookie impressing him and promoting the business as family-oriented, Lucious finally comes clean with the family about his illness. Hakeem reacts like a normal person, but Andre reacts…not so normal.

This is not to make a slight at people suffering from bipolar disorder, but if we take the bipolar part out of it, worrying about money when someone says they’re dying is a little not-good. But at the same time, Lucious is right in saying that Andre should be worried; Lucious is worth a lot of money, and there’s no contingency plan for what would happen if he were to die. Also, Andre wants to make sure he gets what he’s owed monetarily. He wants to run the company. But, as we saw from the investor party planning  meeting, Andre doesn’t really have what’s best for the company at heart. He just cares about money. He’d take the soul out of Empire Entertainment.

Cookie and Porsha: I was rethinking my stance on Cookie’s relationship with Porsha. I still think she’s loyal to Porsha to a degree, but now I’m asking if she really does think Porsha’s stupid. I know Cookie doesn’t think she’s got business savvy. But Cookie needs to let up a bit on Porsha before she does go to Anika. But like I said last week, at least Cookie’s upfront; Anika would stab her in the back and then pretend she didn’t do it (re: Elle).

Michael: Michael has left! But have we seen the end of him? I don’t think so; I think we’ll soon see him at Chef Roblé status, cooking fancy dinners for clients. Hopefully by then, Michael will be like, “Jamal who?”, which is just what Jamal deserves. By the way, nice cameo, Chef Roblé.

What did you think of this episode? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

Photo credit: Chuck Hodes