Taraji P. Henson, who plays the Lyon matriarch Cookie, was the front and center of the fourth episode of Season 3 of the American musical drama TV series “Empire” on Fox that aired on October 13.
It was a gorgeous showcase of an episode, entitled “Cupid Kills,” for the actress as her character Cookie got invited by handsome city councilman Angelo Dubois on an opera gala date.
Interestingly, she was able to handle some deeply personal business in the ladies’ room as well from a pair of women who made the mistake of referring to her as a hood rat, not for anything but for the skin tight red mini-dress that she wore that night, details TV Line.
But she is not the type of person who takes negative comments slip away just like that so she gave the two a mouthful, winning the battle with a mere flick of water off her fingertips.
Cookie’s success actually emanates from her ability to read the situation or spot trends before they even happen. She was able to showcase that again during the fourth episode of “Empire” Season 3. She was also able to cultivate an air of luxury and glamor that further solidify her mystique as the empress of “Empire,” details the New York Times.
Angelo tried to salvage the bad evening by asking Jamal Lyon for advice but as he and Cookie seemed to have reconnected at a Tiana video shoot, Lucious Lyon came out of the picture, impersonating the soprano, which was a warning of sort to Angelo.
Critics believe that despite the intervention of Lucious, Cookie is still considered the alpha player in the supposed love triangle with Angelo.
Beaten in prison
The episode also saw Jamal doing his best to free Freda Gatz on jail after she was brutally beaten in prison.
It also helped that she managed to get the help of Philip, the counselor of both Jamal and Angelo for her cause.
Eventually, Jamal learned that his father had something to do with the vicious assault on Freda and that she was also tasked by the Empire patriarch to play on Jamal’s emotions.
She also lied to the court about having had a prior psychiatric problem so she was in no position to bring down Lucious for the murder of her drug kingpin father.
As he also knew what his father was up to, Jamal actually had to deal with Lucious boasting about the pride he felt watching his son help perpetrate a fraud in the criminal justice system.
An insufferable character
The most striking thing so far about Season 3 of “Empire” is just how insufferable Lucious has become, not just to Cookie but to everyone else.
During the fourth episode, he shows up at Tiana’s performance solely to bust the chops of his family. First, he goes after Cookie for dating Angelo. Seconds later he taunts Jamal for falling for a ruse he also concocted involving Freda.
So it would be very hard to find a single character in “Empire” now who does not wish that Lucious is dead.
The “anti” in Lucious’ antiheroic persona has been cranked up too high for storylines involving him, including undermining his family to get what he wants every time, which makes him pretty uninteresting.
Incidentally, Season 3 of “Empire” premiered with a bang on Fox on September 21 through a death of a fan-favorite character.
It could be recalled that the Season 2 of “Empire” left with a cliffhanger as Anika Calhoun, played by Grace Gealy, and Rhonda Lyon, played by Kaitlyn Doubleday, got into a brawl after Anika admitted pushing the latter down the stairs.
As they gotten more fierce and aggressive during their catfight, one seems to have fallen off a 30-story balcony and it was unclear who it was during the Season 2 finale.
Apparently, it was Rhoda who took the fatal tumble. As a result, social media mourned the demise of the character on their favorite show “Empire.”