(spoilers ahead)
John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson vs. Prince, Biggie vs. Tupac, 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule, Drake vs. Meek Mill…can Hakeem Lyon vs. Freda Gatz measure up to the all time great musical feuds? The Empire universe certainly thinks so, as Lucious looks to continue his rivalry with his youngest son through his new protege. Hak visibly bristles while watching Freda’s call-out song “Shots Fired”, and quickly makes plans to answer her challenge.
Cookie’s initially not looking forward to the event, citing Freda’s battle rap background and feeling that a Hakeem loss could permanently damage Lyon Dynasty’s credibility. Hakeem for his part is increasingly irritated by Laz’s presence over Cookie, gradually getting angrier by his playing yes-man. This provokes Laz to try to shove Hak out the office, which earns him a hard slap and rebuke from Cookie, showing that his charms aren’t enough to come between her and her son.
Meanwhile, who knew that a tasty soft drink could provide so much Sturm und Drang? In what’s partly the show itself flexing its considerable market muscle (in its first broadcast year, no less), Jamal is devoting much of his time to composing a song for a Pepsi commercial, and in what is a remarkable display of (what at first looks like) naivete, he seeks both Lucious and Cookie’s input to get it just right. Lucious offers a heavier, street oriented chorus, while Cookie- who early on hides from Lucious in Jamal’s flat- prefers a more harmonious, R&B influenced sound for the track.
The R&B dynamo decides to secretly invite the two feuding producers to a recording session in order to break the ice, but Cookie has a point when she opines that this “isn’t the Disney Channel”, and Lucious- increasingly frustrated over the lack of traction in his deal to acquire the Swiftstream service- isn’t any more cooperative. In fact, they decide to make a not-so- little wager: If Freda wins, Hakeem must return to Empire, but if he can topple Gatz then Jamal’s album will be released under the Lyon Dynasty banner.
Meanwhile, Boo Boo Kitty finally has some plot momentum this season, musing on what appears to be a newly discovered pregnancy. After a conversation with Rhonda over Lucious’s affinity for children, Anika rushes over to Hakeem’s apartment to share the good news- only for him to innocently comment that he’s fallen for Laura, hoping to remain on friendly terms with her. Anika swallows her pride and accepts it….for the moment.
It’s funny how in Season One, Hakeem played more of a supporting role to Jamal and Andre’s more dramatic arcs. While the latter is still battling his demons, Jamal (in contrast to the last season finale and the first few episodes of Season Two, where he displayed some darker, Lucious-esque tendencies) has spent more time in an everyman role as of late, while his baby brother has gotten the bulk of the intensity recently (I expect that to change if/when he finally gets things sorted with Michael). His advice to Hak before the big showdown is to emphasize his skills as a performer and do something memorable, something he also attempts when he performs his final version of “Ready To Go” for his parents and the PepsiCo execs, a hybrid of their competing ideas. The track turns out to be a winner for them, and Cookie, Lucious and Jamal’s celebration is a rare bonding moment for the battling trio. When Empire sells out, at least they do it with style.
The much hyped battle between Freda and Hakeem doesn’t disappoint. With Funkmaster Flex himself providing the beats, both deliver some convincing rhymes even within FOX’s standards and practices. Hak steals the show after his verses by smashing out the last name of his sign with a mic stand, declaring his new stage name to be simply “Hakeem”- a small but symbolic gesture that earns him the crowd’s admiration.
In the middle of a rare celebration involving all five main Lyons, Cookie’s sister Candace (Vivica A. Fox) arrives and pressures Cookie to help her find their sister Carol, who apparently has gone on a bender and dropped off her kids with Candace. The Lyon matriarch isn’t exactly jumping at the chance to help, feeling that Carol has a long history of scamming the family out of money, but she reluctantly agrees to accompany her sister to Philadelphia to resolve the issue. Elsewhere, Laura steps inside her limo to head home after a long night, but Anika’s doing the driving this evening…
Odds and Ends
– Thirsty has trouble getting an ideal Swiftstream deal for Lucious, claiming that he can’t take advantage of its owner’s blatant hedonism. Insert a joke about your least favorite politicans here.
– Boo Boo, what was up with that knife? I know I like to give you a hard time on this blog, but you don’t need to take it that hard, girl!