The Lyons are still split into warring factions, but they all decide to shoot a music video that will capitalize on Hakeem and Jamal's duet from Hakeem's leaked album. Lucious trades his real handcuffs for virtual ones. Knowing he can't fully control his company with a federal murder case hanging over his head, Lucious sets out to find Vernon and make him permanently disappear.
Empire Entertainment hit Lyon Dynasty with a devastating blow in the last episode. They were attempting to build momentum around Hakeem's leaked album and the debut of their new girl group. Lucious swooped in, got the album off the radio and signed lead singer Valentina as a solo artist. Lyon Dynasty is still standing but things aren't as hopeful as they once were. It didn't take Lucious long after getting out of prison to hit them hard. The start of "Poor Yorick" hints that the playing field will soon be leveled as the FBI raids Empire for any information regarding Lucious' case. Cookie is hoping that this news will force several artists to be cautious of Empire and want to sign with them instead. And yet, that hope lasts a minute before the FBI is at her doorstep as well.For better or worse, the Lyons are still family. They have this ongoing feud right now. Any trouble one company has, the other hopes to use it to their advantage. But they also have to be united in order to handle this federal investigation. Personal feelings can get in the way and threaten to tear this family apart. Despite all of the tension, no one wants to do that. They do have love, respect and trust for each other - even though they also hate what the other side is doing. Everyone wants to put on a smile and work to better the image of the family and the companies. But it doesn't take too long before the tension starts to rise again. Some of it is incredibly moving emotionally while others just feel like petty and unprofessional squabbles.
Hakeem is pissed that Lucious stole Valentina away from his group. She was a part of his company. He doesn't feel like it's right that Lucious could just do that. Lucious explains that it's just business. All of this is just one big obstacle that Lucious is testing Hakeem with to see if he can ever grow up and be a man. Hakeem has had moments of genuine maturity this season. But they are also frequently shrouded by childish actions and reactions. He proposes this big music video with Jamal in order to better the two companies in the aftermath of the FBI raids. That was a smart proposal that Cookie made sure to give him credit for. When the time comes to shoot the video though, Hakeem is jealous when all of the attention seems to shift to Jamal. He's the one the director talks to personally. He's the one who has his team there ready to produce this thing. He's the one being honored with the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. All of that boils up in Hakeem until he lashes out - first by destroying the portrait of Jamal and then getting into an actual fist fight with him. Again, it's not the most mature reaction. But it does make a little bit of sense. Hakeem sees himself as a mogul. He hasn't earned that title yet but he's doing his best to live up to that name. He deserves a little bit of respect and no one seems to be giving it to him. He feels betrayed so he has to do something in order to be noticed by these people who should care about him just as much as they care about Jamal. He is defeated in the end but there's a glimmer of hope too. This whole experience may have led to him discovering a new, very talented Latina singer named Laura.
Elsewhere, my suspicions were confirmed that the truth about Vernon would be the thing to get Andre back into Lucious' good graces. It has definitely been a complicated situation between the two of them this season. A change was bound to happen. But that change meant Lucious is proud of his son for killing a man. Not just killing any man, the man who did a much better job raising Andre than Lucious ever did. Of course, that quality wasn't all that apparent or important in the first season. But Vernon is still a crucial character in death. He's the one thing that stands in the way of getting these charges against Lucious dropped. It's the only thing that matters to him at the moment. That's why Andre has the dumb and potentially risky idea of digging up the body for Lucious to use against Roxanne Ford. It's all because Andre desperately wants to be welcomed back to Empire. That's the only thing he dreams about. He believes that's where God wants him to be. For all his religious talk though, he is still ultimately digging up a body he put into the ground in the first place. But it works. The only people who catch him and Rhonda are Thirsty and Lucious. The body is then used to scare Roxanne in the end.
However, Roxanne has a new strategy against Lucious. She arrests Cookie on some trumped up charge. The fear of going back to prison is enough to get Cookie to talk. The audience has only seen her in prison a little bit in the various flashbacks. So this episode needed to give weight to that fear of going back there for her. She is doing her best to build a life and a legacy for her boys. She will do anything to protect them. Going back to prison could destroy all of that. So, she talks to Roxanne. However, she still refuses to snitch on Lucious. Instead, she spins a crafty tale about Lucious and Bunkie having an argument regarding the radio deal that he just closed last week. It's a rather genius move on her part. It gives something to Roxanne. It's a story that she can easily believe. And yet, it doesn't hurt the case against Lucious because it's not true. So he can't be angry with her for snitching on him. Plus, it benefits her more now because it creates an opening for her music at Lyon Dynasty to get back on the radio where the company can start earning money again. Yes, the reveal of Vernon's body in the end could complicate the case in many unexpected ways. But this episode was just fun to watch as Cookie did whatever it took to help herself and her family.
Some more thoughts:
- "Poor Yorick" was written by Danny Strong and directed by Danny Strong.
- The concept for the big music video with Jamal and Hakeem was a little too complicated. It was post-apocalyptic but it was also about the discrimination and violence of African Americans at the hands of the police all told through the guise of the Black Panther organization. It was perhaps a little too much.
- The photographer who takes pictures of Jamal for the magazine keeps saying suggestive lines towards him that Michael doesn't really enjoy. I guess that is suppose to signal some tension between the couple. It's not handled all that well.
- Why did Andre, Lucious and Thirsty make Rhonda dig up Vernon's body with them? It made sense when it was just her and Andre. But once the other two guys showed up, why didn't anyone think the physical exertion would be harmful for the baby?
- Also, there were some weird music cues when it was just Andre and Rhonda digging up the body. It was strange and felt unnatural to the show.
- Will Hakeem want this new singer to be a part of his girl group or will he try to make her a solo artist? It feels like he's still focused on making the group work.
- Once again, Cookie tells Anika to stop coming to work for Lyon Dynasty. She remains a character in limbo at the moment. She doesn't have any purpose. She just doesn't seem to fit into the premise of this ongoing family drama.
- Cookie: "If I die in police custody, I did not commit suicide."
- Rhonda: "Til death do us part. Or prison."
