Raise your hand if you forgot the season premiere of Empire came on tonight. Raise both hands if you knew, but didn’t really care…Well, you know I have you covered with your Empire recap.

This episode opened up with a Christian Loubiton-wearing mystery figure stepping over Rhonda….after pushing her down the stairs and making her lose the Empire heir to the throne. She was rushed to the hospital where the family gathered in an emotional moment of togetherness.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…the “half-lesbian” (according to Cookie) Camilla was relishing her new position as the head of Empire after a takeover that gave Lucious a breakdown. In fact, he was so mad, he locked himself in his office and told police they’d “have to drag him out.” (Why do I love Thirsty, the gangsta attorney, who was packing two pistols ready to back Lucious up?) Lucious ended up rounding up some thugs to torture the candidates who had placed their name in the hat to take over Lucious’s job. After said thugs blew up a car, killed a lady’s cat, and beat up one of the candidates, all of them withdrew their names from consideration.

Cookie was waiting with her infamous broom for Hakeem, so she could give him some of that Black Mama medicine about voting his father out. When the broom broke, she went for the purse (page 321 of the Black Mama code book).

Jamal, Jamal, Jamal….I sho’ do like you, but what the heck is sexual fluidity???? Jamal was talking about how its cool that he likes men one day and women the next….I’m glad Cookie called him out and said “Boy that sound like you just wanna get freaky deaky.” Jamal felt so strongly about that sexual fluidity, he wrote a song about loving who he wanted..men or women….Hmmm, that’s one Empire song I won’t be singing along to (that and Drip, Drop….)

Cookie tried to come up with a plan to get back into Empire. Much to “Yo-ho’s” (i.e. Camilla) dismay, Cookie managed to convince Hakeem (who Camilla made the new CEO) to bring her company on board. Hakeem agreed. He probably was in a happy mood because he had just got through reading the cartoons on his suit.

Hakeem also created an argument with his Latina love, broke up with her, then went to the hood and took her virginity beneath the cross (side-eye on that symbolism)…..Lucious later lured Hakeem to the spot he offed Bunky, confessed to the killing, then gave Hakeem the gun to shoot him. Of course, Hakeem didn’t, and Lucious told him to “watch his back” as he walked away.

BooBoo Kitty lurked in the background this episode, bringing flowers to Rhonda after her miscarriage, then waiting for the right moment to tell the Lyon’s clan that she’s carrying Hakeem’s child. That didn’t happen this episode, but it’ll be good when it does!

This episode was definitely a better start than last season. But alas, it’s not rush-home-to-see TV. Maybe that’s because Hollywood thinks you should be reading anyway:-)….#AuthorPromo

I’ll keep tuning in for those of you that can’t….or don’t….at least for now. If you saw it, what was your take?