BWW Recap: Live Like You Were Lyon on EMPIRE

In the preview for the episode, they stated "A Lyon Will Fall" and I guess they were being literal. But, alas, we know not which one. Hakeem's wedding was anything but a celebration as Season Two comes to a close.

Jamal survived. Who saw that coming? Oh, right, everyone. He is still healing, but really has no interest in performing. He's pretty pissed actually and considers Freda to be a victim too. He's tired of the incarcerations and the violence and the dying and he's not going to perform again until it stops. Upon hearing these words, Lucious pays a visit to Freda and proclaims his innocence in her father's death. She, in turn, records a song as a message to Jamal. He is inspired and begins to write. D Major comes over and helps produce so that he can perform it the next day at Hakeem's wedding. He also seemed protective and affectionate toward Jamal. Maybe we can drag the big lug out of the closet next season?

Anika heads right to Lucious and Cookie to tell them about her being pulled in by the Feds. They promise her they won't let her get subpoenaed. Ronda barges in and punches her Odor style (Google it). Problem is, everyone thinks Ronda is crazy and Anika is innocent. Yeah, Ronda, we are just as surprised how quickly pregnancy gets you immunity from all past sins. Ronda even threatens Dre that he owes her for killing Vernon. Stressed out, Anika goes on the ledge (literally) and threatens to jump before she'll testify against Lucious. It is Cookie who talks her down telling her that she is family now and she will never be alone.

Lucious confesses to Cookie that they may be in trouble with the feds due to his dealings with their old "friend," Shyne Johnson. Cookie pays him a visit and all Shyne wants is for Hakeem to record a song his nephew wrote and of course, to be invited to Hakeem's wedding. Laura's father expresses his concerns over having a well known gangster at their wedding, but Hakeem guarantees it will be fine. #redflag

The wedding day arrives and all is well until Shyne shows up with a posse filled with, shall we say... undesirables. A woman disguised as a waiter is able to serve Anika and Shyne starts a brawl with security. Laura and her parents witness the violence and decide to leave as they don't want this to be their life. Hakeem is heartbroken and Lucious realizes the only way to keep Anika from testifying is to marry her. So now Lucious is married to his grandchild's baby mama. Cookie is devastated and leaves. Lucious commands Jamal to sing, but he can't. Tariq shows up and Leah reveals that he is Lucious' half-brother and the man Tariq thought was his father is the one who killed Joe, Lucious actual father when he found out he was Tariq's dad. (What?) Lucious tells Anika that he knows she pushed Ronda. Ronda finds Anika and a battle ensues ending in one... or both... (Or probably neither) falling from a balcony after Anika confesses that she absolutely pushed Ronda so she would be carrying the only Lyon heir.

Whew. Deep breath. A lot revealed, a lot unresolved and a lot of heartbreak and a lot of run-on sentences. (That last one is all me.) Cookie, Jamal and Hakeem are swallowed up by devastation and it looks like Lucious can join that club too. (I was missing Becky, was she at the wedding? I feel like she's tighter with Hakeem than Portia.) Also, no musical performances? Sure there were a few tidbits from guest star, V Bozeman, but no original Lyon music? I enjoyed what we got to hear of Jamal's song, but I was expecting a little something.

However, it was a juicy hour filled with twists and turns and possible deaths and girl fights and sudden siblings. I really did think Laura was going to get shot, but I guess we used up the gun fight in last week's episode. Overall, I think it was a pretty solid season. Not as impactful as Season One, but that's normal. I just hope next year that they put more weight on some good music as opposed to cameos. In the meantime, I'm gonna go back to my favorite song from season one and replay that over and over again. Here's a little reminder:

Photo Credit: FOX

Follow me on Twitter @eponineq and follow @BWWTVWorld for all the latest updates, scoops and recaps. And check out our new podcast, "Some Like It Pop" where we chat everything from TV to Movies to Broadway and everything in between.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/broadwayworlds-some-like-it/id1074041732?mt=2

To post a comment, you must register and login.