It’s a big day for Angelo Dubois. He’s about to announce he’s running for the mayor of New York. But he just has to stop by Cookie’s place to see her. Surprisingly, they still haven’t had sex. Cookie is taking this relationship really slow, and I don’t blame her. She still manages to have a little fun with Angelo by sneaking him a nude photo on his way out.
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Jamal is hitting the studio hard with Derek. He’s got a cool new jam, but Jamal’s overthinking things. He doesn’t think it’s good enough. He admits to Derek that he’s adjusting to life without his pain meds. He doesn’t want to be one of those musicians whose career tanks because of addiction.
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Jamal and Lucious both notice that Tiana’s song keeps blasting on their phones without rhyme or reason. The situation is far worse than just a phone glitch. Empire has been hacked! As expected, Lucious FREAKS. Lucious is adamant that Empire Extreme can’t be compromised. He doesn’t want all his money to go down the drain.
Meanwhile, Nessa and Hakeem are in the studio working on a hot new song. Hakeem is still going for Nessa, even after his nasty fight with Andre. He’s ready for Nessa to choose. Andre walks in the studio to talk to Hakeem. Andre stays calm, cool, and collected. As soon as Nessa leaves, he tells Hakeem, “You better fall back, boy.” OH MY GAWD!
Cookie’s Cookies
Lucious doesn’t waste any time pointing fingers at people for the hack, and his eye is on Vaughn. Lucious and Andre accuse him right off the bat, but he swears he had nothing to do with it. The tech guy who’s been hired to fix the situation comes running in and says that someone from inside Empire is behind the hack. The hackers are now demanding a ransom.
Lucious calls an emergency board meeting to figure out his next move. Other board members think he should consider paying the ransom. Lucious and Cookie are against that idea completely. Even with this hack revealing everyone’s emails and dirty little secrets, they can’t fall to their knees, not with so much on the line.
Tarik shows up at Empire to stick the knife in Lucious’ back. He’s literally just waiting to strike when the iron is hot. The hack gets a whole lot worse when a nude photo of Cookie is exposed. Seeing Cookie up on display for the world to see infuriates Lucious, and he throws a chair.
The song of Tiana’s that leaked is getting destroyed on the blog, and Xavier runs to Becky for help. She’s the one who wanted Tiana’s lead single to be “Starlight” in the first place. She agrees to help but only if he gives her credit when Cookie asks. Becky, don’t trust him!
Pray For Jamal
Angelo stops by Cookie’s place again, and she’s down. His campaign manager told her that she ruined Angelo’s announcement with her nude photo scandal. Angelo is appalled and wants to fire his campaign manager for disrespecting Cookie. Cookie tells Angelo to cool it. As much as she’s hurting, she does not want to be the reason Angelo loses the election. He deserves this and Cookie would feel so guilty if he lost. So Cookie decides to break things off with him.
Lucious and Andre get a tip about the hacker and confront Tiana, who realizes GRAM might be behind it all. Lucious and Andre pay Gram a little visit and let Shyne teach him a lesson.
As a reward for stepping up, Andre is named President of Empire Extreme. Xavier stabs Becky in the back in regards to Tiana’s song. Becky’s ready to fight him and even takes off her earrings, but Thirsty stops her. He agrees to teach her the true art of payback. Watch out, Xavier.
Nessa and Hakeem perform their duet with Andre watching in the crowd. Hakeem turns it on, but Nessa only has eyes for Andre. Hakeem notices what’s going down and tries to get himself back in the game. It’s no use. He’s lost.
Meanwhile, Jamal is reeling from all of his songs being lost in the hack. He’s back on the pills and drinking. Derek shows up and is giving a front row seat to a very high Jamal. They kiss and end up in the bedroom. When Derek tries to wake Jamal up, Jamal won’t move. Derek thinks Jamal ODed, but it’s just a really nasty blackout. Jamal, get yourself together!
The Ultimate Betrayal
Reporters rush at Angelo to get his thoughts on Cookie’s nude photo scandal. He reveals that he’s no longer with Cookie, the heartbreak visible on his face. Instead of avoiding questions, he defends her and strips down in solidarity. Cookie watches the whole thing on TV. Out of nowhere, she says, “I love you, Angelo.” Oh, girl!!!!!
Andre takes Nessa with him to an abandoned warehouse so he can do a little business. As it turns out, Andre hacked Empire with Vaughn’s help! Is he working with Tarik?! Andre realized he needed to start putting himself first, and this bold, dangerous move put him in a position of power. Lucious is going to be furious when he finds out.
Nessa watches Andre’s revelation unfold, shock and excitement in her eyes. Andre tells her that he thinks Rhonda would approve of their relationship. Andre has always been a step below in Lucious’ rankings because he’s not musically gifted, but Andre believes Nessa is the key. She’s the music he needs in his life. Together, they will be unstoppable.
HollywoodLifers, what did you think of tonight’s Empire? Let me know!