From “flip-flopping” to sex tapes, Empire 2×12, “A Rose by Any Other Name,” was packed with jaw-dropping moments. Read on for our top five moments!
In the mid-season 2 premiere of Empire, Hakeem was made CEO and the Lyon family made a pact to try and get Camilla out. The April 6 episode, “A Rose by Any Other Name,” threw so many storylines out of whack that I don’t even know where to begin. Here are my top five favorite moments of the episode, in no particular order.
1) Andre’s heading to the deep end
Rhonda looks like she’s doing much better, she still needs assistance walking but she’s still better off. She’s ready to get back to work and somewhat move on. Andre insists they see his reverend for some grief counseling.
Rhonda agrees as long as she can get back to work, which she does and ends up working with Camilla at her fashion design studio.
During their counseling Andre accuses Rhonda of cheating on him. She says that he’s paranoid about everything because he needs to calibrate his bipolar meds again. When they meet later with Cookie she tells Andre that Rhonda had come by after work to see her because she was spying on Camilla. Hopefully that puts him in check.
2) Jamal and flip-flops
First, can I say, Becky’s back! I just can’t wait for more Becky/Porsha moments. Okay, back to Jamal. So, there he is walking out of Empire when a fan comes up to him and asks if he’ll sign a pair of flip-flops. Of course he starts to do so and then asks what’s going on. The fan then says, “We put you where you are so why did you decide to… you let the team down.”
Then it was almost as if a flash mob happened right in front of their eyes. They started singing, “she made that thing go, flip-flop, flip-flippity-flop” to the beat of Hakeem’s “Drip Drop.” So very clever. And hilarious.
But then Becky yells, “That’s not even his song, stupid!” Gotta love Becky.
Jamal ends up finding out that Lucious was the one to spread the rumors about him. Obviously that pissed Jamal off, so he writes and drops the song, “Like My Daddy” which you can hear in the music section below. Jamal needs to write more hate-type music because it definitely works for him!
3) Hakeem’s espionage
That bitch has got to go! Well, that’s what Cookie says. Hakeem now has Lara in his life and since Camilla doesn’t like it he needs to find a way to get her out, plus he’s being pressured by the family, with good reason.
Hakeem tries to record Camilla talking about plotting to take over Empire and kicking Lucious out but she’s too good. Instead Camilla just tells him that Mimi is super possessive and she can’t be with Hakeem next week. So what does ‘Keem do? He records them having sex and sends the tape to Mimi. One of my favorite lines of the night is when Cookie called Hakeem, Ray-J. Ha! I have a feeling that Lara will eventually find out about said sex-tape though.
4) Camilla’s demise
The second Lucious found out that Mimi was giving up her shares of Empire and that Camilla was out, he told Cookie he wanted to go and celebrate… alone. Why Cookie believed that, I have no idea. But we then see him at Camilla’s place and she’s wiping off fingerprints from the bathtub handles. And Mimi is in the tub. Dead.
Lucious comes creeping around the corner, phone in hand, video taping Camilla. He tells her that he saw her spike Mimi’s drink and that she might as well off herself because jail is worse. He has his gun pointed at her and is going on and on about jail experiences and tells her how Hakeem was the one that gave the sex tape to Mimi. Camilla wouldn’t believe it but finally did and Lucious basically convinces her to take the rest of the pills herself.
5) The music
“Power of the Empire,” featuring Yazz (Hakeem)
Hakeem is at his finest when he’s behind the mic. Then again, that’s all the Lyon boys. He performed this song just before revealing Empire’s new logo, with his own head in the golden light.
“Like My Daddy,” featuring Jussie Smollett (Jamal)
This song. You can tell Jamal was pissed when he “wrote” it. When he performed it and called out Lucious out in front of everyone, I was in shock.
“I’d call ya Mr. Lyon,
If I did I would be lyin’,
Cause that aint even your name.”
Yeah. Jamal definitely went there. And when the reporter asked him to elaborate he said that Lucious Lyon isn’t his real name — and then he literally dropped his mic.
“Good People,” featuring Jussie Smollett & Yazz (Jamal & Hakeem)
Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything to embed here for you all to hear this beautiful song. Jamal and Hakeem wrote it for Andre (and we’re assuming Rhonda) about the loss of their child. It’s about why bad things happen to good people. It seriously brought tears to my eyes.