Tonight on FOX Empire airs with an all new Wednesday October 14, season 2 episode 4 called, “Poor Yorick,” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, the Lyons collaborate on a music video, putting aside their differences long enough to capitalize on Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Jamal’s (Jussie Smollett) duet from Hakeem’s leaked album.
On the last episode, Cookie and Anika worked behind Lucious’ back to pull off a performance that caught Pitbull’s eye; at the same time, Lucious tried to convince Frank Gather’s daughter to sign with him; and Hakeem focused his energy on making Ménage a Trois a success. Meanwhile, Andre and Rhonda pinned their hopes of a return to Empire on their baby to come.
On tonight’s episode as per the FOX synopsis, “the Lyons collaborate on a music video, putting aside their differences long enough to capitalize on Hakeem and Jamal’s duet from Hakeem’s leaked album. Meanwhile, Lucious, who has the federal murder case hanging over his head, decides the answer to his problems is to find Vernon and make him permanently disappear.”
Don’t forget to join us for our live recap tonight at 9:00 pm when Empire airs on Fox. While you wait for the recap, check out a sneak peek of tonight’s episode below!
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#Empire begins with the FBI raiding Empire’s offices. Jamal is in the studio as the raid begins. They start taking files, computers, and papers. They yank out drawers and dump stuff everywhere. A Rolling Stone reporter is there watching Jamal work and he says his dad is producing his album called The Artist. He says Empire is home. Jamal’s assistant comes in and says there’s a situation. They are tearing up the upholstery and everything. Becky is filming and they snatch her phone. She gets another and runs off.
Anika talks to Cookie about taking her on again. Cookie says she’s crazy. Hakeem says you can’t trust anyone. Cookie tells Hakeem that he needs to get some songs viral online since Lucious has shut down the radio. Hakeem says he’ll find a new lead singer for his girl group. Anika shows them video of Empire getting raided by the Feds. Cookie tells Hakeem to call Valentina and tell her that Empire is going down like the Titanic. She tells Anika if she can sign Royal-T, she’s back. Then the FBI shows up there too.
Cookie is shocked. Thirsty wakes Lucious and says the FBI raided Empire and is likely on the way there too. They hear sirens. He says he’ll head them of downstairs and tells Lucious rise and shine baby. He greets Roxanne at the door and tries to stop her. Lucious greets her naked and tells her to look wherever she likes. Mimi tells the board at Empire that the FBI raid is unfortunate and says she’s supporting the company. Jamal says he’s canceling his Rolling Stone cover.
Lucious shows up and says now is the time to expand even though he’s not supposed to be there. He says the FBI has nothing which is why they pulled this stunt. He says they can use this press to grow Empire. Mimi says this won’t help. Lucious says hip hop was not born on Wall Street and if the Feds raid you, you’re OG and the public sees them as raw and dangerous. Mimi says that’s how players play to win and they high five. He tells Jamal to do the cover of the Rolling Stone.
He says they’re going to stick their foot so far up the FBI’s ass, they won’t know what hit them. Thirsty tells Lucious and Jamal, Cookie, Hakeem and Andre that this is typical. Lucious says they think Vernon must have switched up on them. Hakeem asks if he killed Bunkie but Lucious says he grew up with Bunkie and they looked after each other. He says he misses him every day. Cookie says she’s going to run her car down Lucious’ ass. Thirsty says they need to stick together and be vigilant.
He says they need to be one big happy. Thirsty says this will last until they find Vernon and convince him not to testify then the case will get dismissed. Andre wakes from a nightmare about Vernon’s murder and he throws up. Lucious cleans up the mess the FBI left behind and curses them for tearing up his house. He looks at photo of him and Bunkie. Cookie shows up and he asks what she wants. She says she wants a truce on the poaching, the masters and the radio. He says that’s a lot of demands.
He calls her Cookie Monster and she says Hakeem will do the video with Jamal to show they’re united as a family. She says it was Hakeem’s idea and she told him he was crazy. She says he also said there would be a lot of money rolling in. Lucious says he’s not budging on the radio and says if he wants to be on the radio, he’ll find a way. He says he never tried to take her masters and calls Anika a liar and she says that was his woman so she doesn’t know who to believe. He asks why she’s in business with her.
He calls her Grandma Moses and she calls him Grandpa and calls him fat. Then she says he’d better be nicer to Andre if he wants to see his grandson. She says show her a grandma with an ass like this and slaps her butt on the way out. Jamal is at his cover shoot and he says he feels stupid doing this. The photographer says to show him the pain of his father’s legal battle. Michael rolls his eyes at this. He tells him to change it up and play something on the keyboard. He snaps photo after photo.
Andre comes to see Lucious at the club and he tells Andre he knows they’re going through a lot. Andre says all he does is love him and all he does is shut him out. Lucious says he didn’t grow up the way Andre did. He thinks back to a social worker from child protective services at their house asking him if he feels safe. His mom says he loved him and he said he wants to stay with her. Lucious says he can’t change the past but can change the future. He says he wants to be a great grandfather.
He says he will love and protect his grandchild. Andre says the door is always open for him to see the baby. They talk about the case and Lucious says that bitch Roxanne is crazy. He asks if he’ll let him back in at Empire, can he be CFO again. Lucious says he can have anything he wants if he makes that happen. Andre says okay. Lucious later shows up at the video shoot to see Hakeem. He says he’s glad he’s doing it and Hakeem says he’s only doing it because he can’t get his stuff on the radio.
Lucious says he’s sorry about Valentina but wants to make it up to him and made a beat for him. He hands him the headphones but Hakeem refuses. Cookie asks why he’s slithering around and asks what he wants. Hakeem says he just had a beat for it. Hakeem says it’s her and him now and she doesn’t have to worry about that fool. Lucious asks why Mimi bought into Empire and she says when her cancer went into remission she decided to have fun with her life. Cookie tells Mimi – white bitch has to go.
Cookie asks Lucious if he’s best friends with kd lang now. Hakeem says to play nice. Andre washes his face then Rhonda comes in. She asks if he’s okay and he says he is. She says she heard him get sick last night and wanted to make sure. He says he’s going to dig him up. She asks why. He says it’s his only way back to Empire. She says she’ll go to prison if he gets caught. He says he’ll take the fall before he’d let her go down for it. Andre tells her God has been talking to him. He says he can’t explain it.
Rhonda is freaked out. He says God wants him to keep seeking Empire and he has to follow his word. Rhonda is worried but Andre hugs her and thanks her. The video shoot is in – it’s post-apocalyptic and Black Panther-esque. Lucious tells Cookie it’s nice to see them all together. An NYPD car pulls up on Cookie and arrests her. She tells Porsha to call the lawyer. They tell her she has a warrant for failure to appear. She yells out to anyone that hears that if she dies in police custody, she did not commit suicide.
Cookie has a flashback to prison and pounds on the windows of her holding cell and says she wants her lawyer. Roxanne Ford comes in and tells her to have a seat. Roxanne says she jumped a turnstile and they see it’s Porsha in the photo who jumped it and gave her name. Cookie says she’s pushing hard then asks what she wants. Roxanne says she’s on parole and can send her away if she finds the tiniest thing. Cookie tells her to dig away. Roxanne threatens to hurt her kids.
She says she can leak his medical reports and says she hopes he doesn’t kill himself. Cookie says she has a whack weave and Roxanne says give her what she wants or she’ll come after her boys. Andre loads a shovel into his car and gets ready to go. Rhonda startles him and she says she’s coming with him. She says she’s ride or die all the way. She gets in the car with her husband and they head out. Hakeem listens to the beat that his dad made for him. He says it’s dope.
Lucious says it’s his if he comes back to Empire and says the other label doesn’t have the resources for him. Lucious says Cookie is unreliable and if he comes back to Empire, he’ll be on the radio in the morning and then he can manage Valentina too. Cookie thinks about being in her cell begging to die and saying she can’t take it anymore. Cookie pounds on the door and says to get Roxanne in there. The photographer shows Jamal his cover and Lucious tells the guy he’s a genius.
Hakeem says can they work and says it’s tacky and ugly. Hakeem says it’s the ugliest thing he’s seen in his life. Lucious says he came to shoot a video and Cookie would have had this gone. Lucious threatens to shut it down until Cookie shows up. Lucious calls him mama’s boy and Hakeem gets mad. He puts a knife into the portrait of Jamal and says let’s shoot. Jamal and Hakeem end u brawling on set and Hakeem almost hits him with a bat then says they don’t have a real family.
He tells Lucious he’s out of there and is never coming back. Cookie tells Roxanne she’ll give her what she can and says she knows Bunkie and Lucious were fighting over Apex radio and Bunkie was trying to block the purchase then he came up dead and Lucious bought it right after he got out of jail. Cookie sa4ys she’s sorry about insulting her weave. Looks like Cookie found a way to get Roxanne to ruin the radio deal. Andre and Rhonda are digging in the wrong spot and they panic.
An upset Jamal apologizes to the artist about the ruined work. He says Hakeem just changed it and says art is fluid. He says it’s ephemeral and this is the painting now. He says it represents the violence and anger of a racist and homophobic society. Rhonda tells Hakeem they have to stop and they are out of time. She says they’re going to get caught but he says it’s his last shot. She says they need to fill the holes and get out of there and says there’s more to life than Empire. He agrees.
They see headlights and they duck down. The car pulls in and they hide in one of the graves. A man says to come out with their hands up. It’s Lucious with Thirsty and he asks why he’s there. He says he had Thirsty put a tracker in his car and thought something was up. He asks what they did with Vernon. Rhonda says he was fighting with Andre and she hit Vernon with a candlestick to save Andre. Lucious tells Hakeem he’s proud of him. Thirsty has a corpse detector with him and finds the body.
Hakeem sits drinking listening to an old school singer who’s crooning. He goes to text Jamal an apology then changes his mind. The singer introduces his cousin Laura who he says has never sung in front of an audience. She sings quietly and people talk over her. When she hits the hook, her voice gets strong and Hakeem takes notice. Lucious, Thirsty, Andre and Rhonda work together digging up the body. Jamal and Michael work with the artist putting up some copies of the print of Jamal.
He tells Jamal he’s more than an artist and is the art now. Laura finishes her song and it was wonderful. Andre and Thirsty load Vernon’s body in the trunk of a car and Andre says they need to say words. He tells Vernon he’s sorry for what they did to him and would change it if he could. He says he loves him and forgives him and says he wouldn’t be the man he was today if he hadn’t looked after him all those years. Andre says God help him and Lucious says it was beautiful. Then Lucious asks for a moment.
He says to Vernon he hopes he rots in hell and calls him a snitch then shuts the trunk. Lucious tells Andre he’s sorry and hugs him. Andre says it’s okay. They shake hands and he says welcome back to Empire. Cookie gets back to the video shoot and sees it’s done for the night. Anika is there and says they finished a few hours ago and says she’s glad she called her. She says they’re going to get Royal-T soon and Cookie says Lucious told her that he was never after their masters.
Anika says he’s lying and Cookie says she knows that but it’s Anika she can’t trust and tells her not to show up at her studios again. Lucious sits at his desk and sets afire a photo of him, Bunkie and Vernon. He watches it burn. He thinks about his nutty mom who loved him so much. Roxanne tells her people to send the press release of the FCC block of the sale of Apex to Empire. She gets into her car then screams when she sees a corpse sitting in her passenger seat.
THE END!
