Empire season 3, episode 2, “Sin That Amends” brings us Biz Markie and Taye Diggs as a city councilman, and we’re loving every minute of it! Read on for our recap.
In the season 3 premiere of Empire, we discovered Anika killed Rhonda and her death is quickly swept under the rug. Jamal is having a hard time coping after the shooting and Andre is still definitely struggling after Rhonda’s passing. He’s the only one though, unfortunately.
Let’s dig into episode 2, “Sin That Amends.”
WOKE
Taye Diggs graces our screens tonight as Angelo Dubols, a city councilman that created a program called WOKE. WOKE is a group of kids against violence. During a radio interview, Angelo invites Jamal to attend a summit about anti-violence. Jamal agrees, against Cookie’s wishes.
Jamal gives the kids of WOKE and Angelo a tour of Empire. Lucious tells them that they should have the anti-violence summit at Empire. He thinks Cookie wants it, but she doesn’t. Joke’s on him. Then Lucious said he wants to stream it live on Empire Ex-stream.
While in preparation for the summit at Empire, Cookie confronts Angelo. She accuses him of exploiting Jamal and goes on to tell him that he’s never had to overcome anything because they don’t have families like he does to get him out of a DUI scot-free. She continues to holler at him as she walks away in a truly hilarious Cookie moment.
At the summit the kids perform and then Angelo says a few words about anti-violence and how Jamal is a survivor. He then calls Lucious up to say a few words. At the end of Lucious’ speech, he calls out Jamal and tells him to sing. Jamal’s PTSD kicks in and he runs off to catch his breath away from the papz and attendees of the summit. Lucious then teases him saying that Jamal is “boring” him. Jerk!
When Angelo walks up to Cookie and Lucious and thanks them and applauds them for being together, Cookie quickly jumps up and says they are definitely not an item. Then she proceeds to flirt with Angelo and Lucious gets jealous.
Lucious and Cookie flashbacks
Lucious sends Cookie a bunch of gifts to win her over. WAIT A SECOND! Porsha alert! I’m glad to have her back on my screen even though Cookie won’t allow Porsha to keep the espresso machine Lucious sent. Maybe next time, girl.
Cookie returns all of Lucious’ gifts and tells him he should know she can buy all of that stuff herself if she wanted it. He points out that she kept that pretty gold gun he sent her, though, just as she rolls her eyes and walks away.
The first flashback occurs when Lucious hands Cookie something he’s been working on for Jamal and it has undertones of “Just a Friend.” How convenient. It’s of their first meeting again when Lucious is singing “Just a Friend” and Cookie then joins in on the singing.
After Lucious has Biz sing to Cookie (more on that in the Music section), he tells Cookie that the first time they met wasn’t actually the first time Lucious saw Cookie. The flashback starts where Lucious sees Cookie from afar with her then boyfriend. He’s a preppy school kid that went to school with her. He said he knew then that he wanted to make her “his.” He then practiced his rap-rhyme so that when she walked out it’d be perfect.
Lucious knew she wanted a gangster and not a school nerd and that they’re “destiny.” In the flashback, Cookie’s then boyfriend lays out their entire lives for them and Cookie tells him that’s not what she wants. She only knows she wants music in her life. Then Lucious suddenly appears.
Music
Hakeem and Nessa work on a new track called “Remember My Name” and it’s fire! Sparks are definitely flying between these two and Shyne is not going to like it when they eventually become an item.
Lucious gets Biz Markie to sing “Just a Friend” with a band in Cookie’s bedroom. If Lucious wasn’t the devil, I’d say this was super romantic with it being the first song they remember each other for. It was a sweet moment nonetheless and Cookie’s smile was ear to ear.
Loose ends
Becky with the good hair is back! Becky talks to Cookie about the A&R position but gets nowhere because Lucious interrupts the conversation.
Becky’s boyfriend surprises her later with the news that he’s leaving Empire and she freaks out. He asks her how the conversation about being head of A&R went and realization crosses her face. Maybe they don’t appreciate her. What is Becky to do? She can’t leave Empire! But then again, maybe she should.
Andre’s struggles
Andre is still struggling without Rhonda. Rhonda was the one who kept track of his meds and kept him in line, but now he doesn’t know how to do it alone. Jamal tells him that he’ll help because he’s trying to stop taking his meds himself.
Andre and Cookie share a sweet moment, too. She tells him that he got himself this far without his mom, so he’ll be just fine and will be able to pull through this rough time.
Jamal, Hakeem and Andre link up and show some adorable brotherly love. They need each other in these hard times and no one is going to back you up like family. I absolutely love these moments!
Just as the brothers band together, Andre gets into some serious trouble. He’s emptying out his old apartment when the police show up and ask him about the burglaries that have happened in the neighborhood. He tells them he lives, well, used to live here and they don’t believe him because they’re racially profiling the hell out of him. The boys in blue throw him down and accuse him of resisting arrest.
As if Andre needed anything else on his plate.
Cookie’s rap sheet
This section will now be devoted to all of Cookie’s best quotes of every episode. Her “Cookie-isms” are hard not to chuckle at or full on laugh out loud to.
- Cookie to Jamal about Angelo — “What’s wrong with you? Agreeing to do some stupid summit? That bougie bitch wouldn’t know the streets if it shot him in the ass.”
- Cookie to Jamal about Angelo — again — “I don’t trust black people, stupid!”
- Cookie to Lucious — “Bye, Felucious.”
- Cookie to Lucious — “No one could out dance me back then.”
- Celebrity shot! This is a Lucious quote to Cookie about Angelo — “That’s Angelo Dubols, some petty government bureaucrat from some bougie-ass Jack and Jill family.”
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