Empire’ Season 2 Recap

Last night marked Empire‘s midseason finale. Star-studded to the core, Fox proved they 

have what it takes to pull out celebrities at the drop of a hat.

The show’s 60-minute midseason finale kicked off with Jason Derulo appearing as himself 

as he announces the 2015 American Sound Award nominations live from Los Angeles.

 Please keep in mind, the American Sound Awards – or the ASAs – are not real, but in the 

interest of not paying to use the title of an actual awards show, Fox invented the next best 

thing. While announcing music’s hottest nominations from the West Coast, Lee Daniels and 

Danny Strong tapped Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club to simulcast ASAs contenders from

 New York. In fact, The Breakfast Club held their own nomination party, referred to as

 Charlamagne’s Nomination Party, on the show.

Performances are going on throughout the day, but Jamal and Skye Summers, played by 

Alicia Keys, make their musical cameo with the premiere of “Powerful,” it seems like the two

 did a little more than just kiss when things wrapped during last week’s episode. Lucious 

walks in on the two canoodling with one another, and asks Jamal point blank, “are you 

hitting that?” And with a smile on his face, Lucious finishes his statement with a simple, “She

fixed you!”

Now, fast forward to Skye and Jamal’s nomination performance. If you know Charlamagne 

tha God, you know he doesn’t hold anything back. So, after the two finish their debut 

duet, Charlamagne hits the stage. He commends the duo on their song, but quickly finds a

 way to erase the compliment by challenging Skye and her racial identity. “Powerful” 

addresses the brutality and civil injustice going on across the world, so Charlamagne 

seemed a little surprise to hear Skye lend her vocals to such a track since her career has 

thrived in the pop lane. “So you Black, now?,” he asks her. Skye may have built her career

 with a strong pop influence, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that she’s Black

.

While Jamal is feeling the fruits of his musical labor, his father is busy illegally

 purchasing 

Swift Stream, “the fastest streaming service in the Universe.” As he’s explaining his plan to 

his business partner, Mimi, she’s recording the entire conversation with her pen. Lucious, of

course, is none the wiser. So when Mimi pulls Empire together for a staff meeting, the devil

 himself is totally caught off guard. Mimi moves to hold an emergency board meeting to 

overthrow Lucious as Empire’s chairman and CEO now that it’s a publicly traded company

 and all.

Andre, Thirsty and Lucious work to round up every board member they can to vote in favor 

of keeping Lucious on the team. The family needs one additional board member to vote with

 them, but Hakeem heats things up when he lobbies against his father. Thus, Lucious loses

 the empire he’s spent 15 years building, and Mimi Whiteman is named as Empire’s new 

chairman. However, Mimi’s battling breast cancer so she authorizes her wife to act in her 

place. Who’s her wife might you ask? Remember Hakeem’s ex-girlfriend Camila Marks?

 Well, looks like she’s back. And looks like this entire hostile takeover was orchestrated by

 her. Well played, Camila!

Everyone in the family clearly has their own problems, and during this round of familial 

drama, Cookie takes Hakeem and Laura to perform during Family Day at the prison she 

was incarcerated at for 17 years. Here, Da Brat finally makes her Empire debut as Jezzy, 

Cookie’s “family” in prison.

Cook always promised Jezzy should would make her a star after she was released, but it

 looks like Jezzy’s locked up for life. After Cookie got out, Jezzy thought she bounced and

 bailed on her, so she didn’t see a reason to fight anymore. Thus, Jezzy got life while locked

 up by offing her bunk mate over some toothpaste.

But before over-saturated celebrity drama could bid farewell to 2015, there was one last

 story line left to leave viewers cringing on their feet: Anika and Rhonda.

For weeks now, Anika has kept her pregnancy a secret. She’s befriended Rhonda, who’s

 having Lucious’ first, and only, grandchild, as far as anyone knows, and lets the jealously

 spill over instead of coming forward with the truth. Boo Boo Kitty asks to see the nursery 

one more time, not knowing Anika had ulterior motives up her sleeve. That same night,

 Anika sneaks into Rhonda and Andre’s home wearing all black and pushes Rhonda – and 

her baby – down the stairs. Talk about going out with a bang.

For all those rocking with anticipation for the next episode, sit back and take a breath 

because things don’t heat back up until Mar. 30.

Read More: 'Empire' Season 2, Midseason Finale Recap | http://theboombox.com/empire-season-2-midseason-finale-recap/?trackback=tsmclip