HOLLYWOOD—Well, season two of the FOX series “Empire” wasn’t as strong as the first season in my opinion, but the second season sure ended with one hell of a cliffhanger as Anika and Rhonda got into a catfight once, Rhonda remembered that it was Anika who pushed her down the stairs causing her to lose her unborn child. In the midst of that fight, Andre comes out on the balcony as someone takes a tumble? Who, the audience was kept in the dark about.
The season three premiere, ‘Light In Darkness’ answered just who fell off the balcony and it was none other than Rhonda, who tumbled over and crashed on top of Lucious car! Yes people Rhonda is DEAD, and it was a chaotic mess as Lucious and Jamal witnessed the death in front of them. Things got crazier when Andre attacked Anika over his wife’s death, but not before her water broke in the process, leaving Andre to do the righteous thing. Hmm, I wonder what will happen when he learns that Anika was responsible for Rhonda losing the baby.
Cookie did her best to console her oldest child, but he was stone-faced, and with the feds entering the hospital it only further complicated matters for the Lyons clan. Wow, Lucious is bold making threats to Anika as she delivered her baby girl, not a boy! Once again Hakeem continued to bark big orders, which only irritated Cookie and Lucious as parents. As much as these two despise each other, the spark, the chemistry is still there between the two.
Well, well, Shine (Xzibit) has returned to the mix to shake things up and it looks like he is making threats. Finally, Lucious has an enemy that is an equal adversary and dare I say Lucious looked quite scared of this face from the past, who already pushed Hakeem’s buttons and caused a bit of controversy inside the recording studio. Cookie was not pleased when Carol and Candace asked her to turn Lucious in to the authorities, but this woman is a ‘ride or die.’ Well, we meet Bella Lyon, and Anika seems to be in a good place, well for now, because with Grandma Lyon in the house, there is no telling what might transpire. I seriously thought she was about to attack Anika with that knife. Cookie is just livid with the betrayal that Lucious has dealt to her with Anika. Interesting moment to see Jamal singing a song putting a spotlight on the violence against Black Lives in America at the hands of police officers, bold move people (especially with all the controversy in the news this week), but Cookie was not impressed with the song.
Hakeem got his first taste of fatherhood as he held his daughter for the very first time, but Lucious interrupted that bonding moment. Let the party begin, because it looks like Tariq is looking to cause a bit of havoc with Lucious and his family, and to get proof that Anika and Lucious aren’t truly married. Man it was a tense scene having to watch Cookie endure those two deliver a performance of a lifetime to showcase they’re in love. Too bad Tariq is bonded by blond to the Lyon clan. Seeing Jamal go toe-to-toe with Tariq was quite hilarious as he discussed all the horrible things Lucious had did to him throughout his life.
Jamal was caught off guard by the flashing lights and loud sounds. He was revisiting flashbacks of when he was shot, which put Cookie, Lucious and Hakeem into panic mode; so much to the point that Cookie delivered a few slaps to snap her son’s face to knock him back into reality. The fact that he froze on stage on reignited the bad blood between Lucious and Jamal once again.
Gosh, is it bad that I think Anika needs to get whacked so Cookie and Lucious can get back together? The world can see that these two belong together. Andre continued to grieve for Rhonda, and it looks like the eldest son is continuing to be dealt blow after blow after blow. This is not good people, as we know Andre already has a very fragile mental state.
It looks like season 3 of “Empire” will be all about the Lyons clan finding a way to protect Lucious and their empire from falling from grace as the FBI and some faces from the past are looking for a bit of revenge. “Empire” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX.