The 8 Most Outrageous Things from Last Night’s Empire, “A Rose by Any Other Name”
(Episode 2.12)

For as much as I mock Empire and it’s often silly ways, I’ve learned to appreciate the emphasis on family that sticks at the heart of every episode. It reminds me of Bob’s Burgers or The Simpsons in that way. No matter what trials they go through or how terrible they are to each other, by the end of the episode or season, everything will be forgiven and we can all go to bed happy. That’s the warm, fuzzy feeling that I got watching Hakeem and Jamal performing a mostly touching ballad in honor of their older brother Andre, and when early on in this episode, Jamal stood by and watched with pride while his younger brother staked his claim as Empire’s CEO. That mutual love and respect will surely not last for very much longer, so I’m just going to enjoy it while it lasts. That is, after I’m done giggling at the craziness that took place in this week’s episode.
1. Lucious forces Camilla to commit suicide
After apparently filming his ex-girlfriend killing off her wife and trying to cover her tracks, Lucious decides that her best move is take a swig of the poison she used on Mimi. It made absolutely zero sense, other than maybe to feed the former Empire CEO’s bloodlust. If he’s got the video of her dastardly deed, why not use it as leverage to get himself back in charge of his company? Perhaps he’s playing the long game, but for right now, that move seemed really short-sighted.
2. Jamal gets called out by the Gay Mafia
Or, whoever the heck it was that surrounded him outside of Empire’s HQ and did a little song-and-dance number in protest of Jamal’s fluid sexuality. Is that how the writers of this show imagine that gay men approach activism: with a song in their heart and a pair of colorful flip-flops in their hands? It was the swishiest thing I’ve seen on a show that, up until now, has assiduously avoided that kind of campy nonsense with regards to Jamal’s sexual orientation.
3. Jamal’s anthem of defiance
What was more ridiculous: Jamal repeating the phrase “people tell me I’m just like my daddy” over and over again, his decision to reveal that his father wasn’t born Lucious Lyon, or the far-too-perfect timing of some dude with an iPad asking, “Are you saying Lucious is inauthentic?” I was somewhat charmed by the show trying to use music to move the plot forward, but this was far too much.
4. The ASA Awards