Empire strikes back!!! And I’m back with your recap with this edge-of-your-seat episode. So we opened with Grandma Kizzy watching her roots rewrite her life story. Lucious, who had told everyone his mother was dead, wasn’t trying to have his mother’s reappearance blow up his sob story about a mentally ill mother killing herself. So while Grandma convinced Andre to take her to the ASA Awards, as usual, Lucious was one step ahead and had his trusted lawyer/henchman, Thirsty, lock the two of them in the panic room.

Hip Hop Producer D. Major was feeling Jamal….but only in private since no one could know he was on the d-l. But of course, Lucious knew…telling his son “A real dog can always tell a fake b*tch.” Well, alrighty then. But that conversation didn’t just go south, it plunged past the border in an emotional and raw scene that had Lucious tell his son, “The day you die from AIDS, I’m gonna celebrate.” Just when I think Lucious can’t get anymore lowdown….he proves me wrong(On a side note, I sure hope this is all from Lee Daniels warped mind and someone in his life didn’t really tell him that).

Cookie’s sister, Carol, was all too happy to hook up with their ol’ friend from Philly….but he was really with the FBI and Cookie wasn’t fooled. She knew he was just playing Carol, trying to dig up dirt on the Lyons. After a big blow-up, Cookie sent Carol packing. But when have crackheads ever followed the rules? Carol fell off the wagon and showed up to the ASA Awards, drunk, high or both. Either way, she acted a plum fool and Cookie smooth jacked her up by her weave and had her removed. On the way out, Carol did what crackheads do…spilled all the tea. She wanted ThugTasia, I mean, Freda Gatz to get her inside the awards. When Freda said no, Carol all but told her that Lucious was behind her father, Frank Gatz’s death. That sent Freda down memory lane and the realization set in that Lucious killed her daddy. Freda Gatz did what thugs do….and went straight for the Gat of the unsuspecting security guard. She opened fire right there at the ASA Awards….but Jamal jumped in front of Lucious and took the bullet for the dad that had just disowned him.

As the family rushed to the hospital, a hysterical Cookie went off on Lucious…who was devastated because of the hateful things he’d just told Jamal. While Jamal fought for his life…and the family waited…Grandma Kizzy decided it was time to make her presence known. She wandered outside, right into the lights and cameras of the waiting paparazzi. Of course, everyone wanted to know who she was. Will she tell them? Guess we have to wait til next week and see.

Next week is the season finale and it’s going to be a wedding…or a funeral….as Rhonda discovers Boo Boo Kitty may have been the one who pushed her and caused her miscarriage…and Boo Boo Kitty comes thisclose to jumping off a ledge. Literally.

Yep, can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.

Empire….my, how I’ve missed thee…

PS-Lee, just checking if you have the right phone number because I still haven’t gotten my call to come play TeaCake, Cookie’s gangsta cousin.