Will we learn the fate of Lucious’ mother this season on Empire?
In the first four episodes of season 2 of Empire we’ve caught glimpses of a young Lucious with his mother, played by Kelly Rowland. At first we didn’t really know how the storyline was going to play out.
In the season 2 premiere, “The Devils Are Here,” Andre went to visit Lucious in prison to apologize about joining the hostile takeover. Lucious was very cold toward him, when it cut to a flashback of baby Lucious in his mother’s arms. You can see the love this little boy has for his mother but something isn’t right. We then realize that Leah, Lucious’ mother, also has a mental illness.
The next time we see Leah is in the flashback where she comes home bearing gifts for Lucious. Unfortunately, she doesn’t realize that it is actually not Lucious’ birthday and she’s used up all of their grocery money on said gifts.
The most recent episode of Empire also had a flashback to young Lucious and Leah. This time they were in front of a social worker who was asking Lucious questions about their living situation. He told the social worker that he wants to live with his mommy and Leah made it seem like everything was fine. Although we could tell the social worker felt uneasy about their codependency.
Mental illness is a huge issue, especially as we’ve been hearing about it more in the media as of late. We hope Empire’s co-creator Lee Daniels continues to help everyone understand bipolar disorder a bit more and even mental illness as a whole.
According to WebMD, “People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling very sad, hopeless, and sluggish. In between those periods, they usually feel normal. You can think of the highs and the lows as two ‘poles’ of mood, which is why it’s called ‘bipolar’ disorder.”
Related: Empire season 2, episode 4 recap: It’s about the power
Lucious hasn’t disclosed to his family — or at least to Andre — that his own mother had a mental illness. Therefore, Andre isn’t worried about his unborn child having it. We can also speculate that Lucious himself may have the disease or maybe some remnants of it, it could also explain some of his criminal activity as well.
As of right now that is complete speculation, but we won’t be surprised to hear it’s true.
These events caused for a tumultuous childhood for Lucious and he’s probably still suffering from them. Lucious must link Andre to his mother in some form. It isn’t fair that he takes it out on Andre when it isn’t his fault. Does he not want to get too attached because Andre reminds him too much of Leah, or is it something else all together that we haven’t seen yet?