TV Review: EMPIRE: Season 2, Episode 3: Fires Of Heaven [FOX]

FOX’s  Empire Fires Of Heaven TV Show Review. Empire: Season 2,  Episode 3: Fires Of Heaven begins as Roxanne calls Lucious (Terrence Howard) a sociopath on the steps of the courthouse. He may put a damper on her bid for Attorney General by her losing him to Thirsty’s (Andre Royo) bondage pics of the judge. Empire’s weave of sex drama meanders into Hakeem’s (Bryshere Y. Gray) apartment next as he gets busted by Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) who isn’t happy with him sleeping with Valintina Galindo (Becky G.). She lost her drawers in his apartment, but has time to ask for a shout out on Twitter.

Lucious thinks he is going to take over the music industry and monopolize it with his company.

Hakeem goes on SWAY, a radio show at APEX Radio, to perform and promote himself. Lucious calls during the interview. Daddy isn’t too happy about the album leak. Hakeem thinks he can run circles around Empire. He promises to get the girl group in the station for an exclusive by the end of the week. Cookie is floored.

At Lucious’ house, the whole family gathers for dinner. Jamal (Jussie Smollett) exudes that he is a total daddy’s boy. Lucious declares that the next day will be “war”. He has been thinking about his wonderful family and how they banded together to try to destroy him while he was locked up. He tells Cookie she will be sorry unless she dismantles Lyon Dynasty. He claims his threat is to keep his family together. She is defiant and wants to save her sons from his influence. He tells them they need to swallow their pride. Cookie gets up and pulls the tablecloth off the table and drags all the food with it.

So much for the lamb, the lobster, and the prime rib.

At the company, Lucious tells Anika (Grace Gealey) that he would have let her have sex with Hakeem if she had just asked. He has summoned her to speak with him about Lyon Dynasty. He knows things are bad for her with Cookie, and that she is worth manipulating to destroy Cookie’s goals. “You’ve always been a little dirty, Anika.”, he tells her. I guess so. She gets the scoop about the next underhanded thing she can partake in.

Cookie waxes control freak with Hakeem in their studio, which actually looks pretty good at this point. Mirage A Tois, the Latina girl group, is trying to prepare for their premature debut.

Lucious savors his martini while he reminds Andre (Trai Byers) that he isn’t allowed to come back to Empire although he’s suggesting a merger deal with APEX Radio. Andre is trying to be a man, but his caliber of talent comes a dime a dozen to Lucious who, naturally, wants Andre to reveal something to him that is simply priceless. Oh, and he can, but he will have to betray his wife. Tsk, tsk.

Young Ma, Frank Gathers’ daughter, walks out of Empire after Jamal offers her the deal of a lifetime. Lucious might regret giving Jamal his position if he can’t blindly take orders. Gutter Life Records was the label revamp he was going to use Young Ma to revive, and Jamal would rather think for himself than read Lucious’ mind on these awkward decisions.

Anika drops in on Cookie to tattle tell on Lucious’ proposition and reveals that it is very important to her to hurt Lucious. Cookie and Hakeem drop in on Lucious’ welcome back party during Jamal and Pitbull’s set and blow up the new label.

Andre needs convincing that his baby is good leverage, and in a total Cookie move, she lets him think it’s a good idea as if Lucious isn’t going to smell that,  but when Andre breaks the baby news it is bullshit to his dad who doesn’t want to see Andre use the baby this way.

Lucious shows up to Young Ma battling an MC who takes a cheap shot at her about her dad, Frank Gathers (Chris Rock) getting killed in prison. She pulls out a gun and fires, but Lucious grabs her and begs her to let him help turn her life around. I can’t tell if he actually still wants to bang her to get back at her dead father. It is something to consider the level of manipulation Lucious is capable of, even when he’s doing it to himself. Does he know whether he’s coming or going? I have no idea. That’s how narcissism works.

Becky (Gabourey Sibide) has to remind Jamal that Cookie loves him and the beef between his parents doesn’t involve him. He tries to pull himself out of his dad’s ass.

Roxanne Ford (Tyra Ferrell) just so happens to be waiting around the corner from the battle to take shots at Lucious for hanging around the bottom feeders. He offers to release her tension by inviting her to his place. Thirsty is a damn good lawyer, but all this time spent isn’t really billable hours for an attorney. I have no idea what the arrangement looks like between these two. She lies and says she has Vernon Turner (Malik Yoba) hidden away. She wants Lucious to fear more than murder charges. He continues his inuendos in a classic front.

Cookie whips Mirage A Tois into shape like a true dominant. Lucious reminds Jamal as he shows up to visit Cookie that she is trying to tear him down. How Lucious knows what people are up to is a mystery to this story, but if you have a narcissistic parent, you know exactly how they do this. Jamal needs a Cookie, but to Lucious, loving the other parent only translates to unloving him. Lucious wants to come between them all the time. He is a total narcissist.

Lucious tells Jamal he needs a god to produce him. Let Lucious produce. See him as a God, why doncha?

Valentina is late for the show. Empire bought Apex radio with no thanks to the tip from Andre. Lucious signed the fiesty Latina that morning. He reminds Cookie that without radio her label will dry up and die.  She isn’t giving in. If she were that type, he would have never married her.

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