On the set of "Ain't About the Money," Lucious is serving up slightly backhanded compliments Hakeem's way, which can only mean that he's up to something. Cookie, dipped in red leather and gold chains, ain't feeling that and makes those feelings known to whoever is in earshot. Hakeem quiets her, though, as it seems he really is on some "Kumbaya" ish and is ready to film the video, which looks to be a bootleg version of "California Love" mixed with some Black Panther imagery. We guess.
Andre, meanwhile, seems to be having a rough morning after having a sleepless night. He informs Rhonda that he plans to dig Vernon up. Rhonda, having common sense, is visibly distraught at the news. However, Dre clues her in on something: God's been speaking to him. "How has he been speaking to you," she asks as her eyes give away that she's considering booking him a return stay at the nuthouse. Andre doesn't divulge that info, but he lets her know that he believes it's the only way he can get back in his dad's good graces.
On the set of budget "California Love" (seriously, Dr. Dre and Tupac's estate could sue) things seem to be going surprisingly well. During a break, Cookie decides to take a call, but instead ends up getting popped by the police. As she's stuffed into the back of the police car she yells, "If I die in police custody, I did not commit suicide!" The serious statement that came to light after Sandra Bland's mysterious death in police custody sounds comedic in this instance (and it might've have been a little too soon to evoke the recent event). As you'd expect, her arrest is part of the bullying tactics of Prosecutor Ricky's Mama, who is hell bent on putting Lucious behind bars. Unless the prosecutor gets some information she can use against Lucious, she intends on putting Cookie back in the pen on a trumped-up parole violation. Cookie, who's having flashbacks of the big house, can't go for that and devises a way to serve both her interests and the prosecutor's by throwing a kink into Lucious' impending radio moves by implicating that Bunky and Lucious were fighting about the Apex deal. While Cookie is absent from the set, Lucious tries to court Hakeem back into the Empire fold with a tinny trap beat that somehow he thinks is dope, but 'Keem is intent to staying loyal to his Ma Dukes. His ire is further stoked when he sees Lucious lavishing praise on the painting of Jamal that the photographer/artist has created for the Rolling Stone cover. Not one to use his words, he stabs the painting and storms over to the set (much to the delight of a scheming Lucious, who smirks when no one's looking). They try to finish the video, but as the cameras roll, it becomes obvious that there ain't no future in their fronting as the boys come to blows and Hakeem almost beats his bro with a bat before walking off the soundstage.
As night breaks, Andre gets ready to go on his digging mission, but not before ride-or-die Rhonda joins him on his quest. The duo commence to digging in the forest for Vernon's corpse. There's just one problem: the have no idea where they buried the body. They're in the midst of a frantic night of digging when the sounds of a car arriving in the distance cause them to pause and hide. Though it's not the cops, it proves to be something worse as Lucious and Thirsty step out of the vehicle to ask what they're doing. When Andre comes clean, Lucious embraces his son instead of chastising him while Thirsty, who just happens to have a device that finds buried corpses, discovers Vernon's not-so-final resting place.
Though Jamal almost ended up on the losing side of a baseball bat, he's more upset that his portrait has been ruined. But the artist, in a stroke of genius (or insanity) decides that slash mark actually makes the piece stronger, as it signifies the art and violence that seems to be a part of Jamal's life now that he's a figurehead at the label. Jamal, the artist and Michael spend their night plastering copies of the painting across New York (but wasn't it supposed to be the Rolling Stone cover...you know what, nevermind). Hakeem spends his night differently as he sits in a bar writing and deleting an apology text to Jamal. His plans are deferred, however, when he gets an earful of the club's singer, a Latina chanteuse named Lara with a voice that makes him take notice. Meanwhile, Cookie arrives back to the set too late for the action but just in time to foolishly dismiss Boo Boo Kitty, who could be an asset to Lyon Dynasty, because she can't trust her. How this move plays out in later episodes should be interesting.
The last scene of the episode see's Prosecutor Ricky's Mama walking to her car while talking on the phone. From her convo, we glean that she's successfully shut down the Apex radio deal (gold star, Cookie!). But as she gets in her car to go to the office, she's greeted by an unsettling surprise — Vernon's rotting corpse. Yikes!
- Advertisement -While giving us a few things to set this season's arc in motion, this episode leaves us with a lot of questions. Will Lucious get off? Will Cookie's Lyon Dynasty succeed? Is Jamal really going to smang that Tom Green lookalike? It looks like we'll have to wait until next week's episode to find out. Until then, feel free to comment on this week's episode below and be sure to look out for the next Empire Watch on the following day.
