| “ |
Ladies and gentlemen, Empire's new CEO — Hakeem Lyon. |
” |
| A Rose by Any Other Name | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season Two, Episode Twelve | ||
| ||
| Air date: | April 6, 2016 | |
| Writers: | Ilene Chaiken | |
| Director: | Michael Engler | |
| Premiere: | 11.34 million | |
| previous “Death Will Have His Day” |
next “The Tameness of a Wolf” | |
A Rose by Any Other Name is the twelfth episode of the second season of Empire and the twenty-fourth episode overall. It aired on April 6, 2016.
With Hakeem acting as Empire's CEO, Camilla sinks her claws further and further into him. The rest of the Lyon family tries to get him to rejoin their side, but Hakeem has his own plan. Meanwhile, Jamal receives backlash from his fans and Andre and Rhonda's marriage is tested.
Plot[]
Songs[]
- Like My Daddy - Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett)
- Power of the Empire - Hakeem Lyon (Yazz)
- Good People - Jamal Lyon feat. Hakeem Lyon (Jussie Smollett feat. Yazz)
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon
- Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon
- Trai Byers as Andre Lyon
- Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon
- Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem Lyon
- Grace Gealey as Anika Calhoun (absent)
- Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon
- Ta'Rhonda Jones as Porsha Taylor
- Gabourey Sidibe as Becky Williams
- Serayah as Tiana Brown
Guest Cast[]
- Mike Moh as Steve Cho
- Annie Ilonzeh as Harper Scott
Recurring Cast[]
- Naomi Campbell as Camilla Marks-Whiteman
- Andre Royo as Thurston "Thirsty" Rawlings
- Jamila Velazquez as Laura Calleros
- William Fichtner as Jamieson Hinthrop
- Bre-Z as Freda Gatz
- Tasha Smith as Carol Hardaway
- Charles Malik Whitfield as Reverend L.C. Pryce
Major/Highlighted Events[]
- Hakeem's newfound position as CEO of Empire Entertainment is made public.
- Jamal also steps down as his position of Vice-Chairman.
- Hakeem changes Empire's logo from Lucious' face to that of his own.
- Jamal receives backlash from his fans for going from a gay artist to a gender fluid artist.
- Aware that Lucious broadcasted Skye and Jamal's affair, Jamal makes a song dissing his father, and reveals to the entire world that Lucious Lyon isn't his real name, shocking everyone (including Cookie, who was unaware of the fact).
- Lucious decides to use the revelation in his new song, as he no longer has to hide his true name and identity, and comes across the idea of using the revelation to tell the Dwight Walker story, of how a homeless orphan became the legendary Lucious Lyon.
- Aware that Lucious broadcasted Skye and Jamal's affair, Jamal makes a song dissing his father, and reveals to the entire world that Lucious Lyon isn't his real name, shocking everyone (including Cookie, who was unaware of the fact).
- Andre and Rhonda go to counseling with Andre's pastor, where Andre becomes paranoid that Rhonda may be cheating on him and that someone caused her to lose their baby.
- Cookie gets Mirage a Trois to be the opening act for Tiana's concert to improve the budget, since Camilla restricted all of Cookie and Lucious' activities inside Empire.
- Tiana, however, is jealous and bitter over Laura and Mirage a Trois' rise to fame, as Hakeem had found Laura in a coffeehouse as opposed to Tiana, who is a star. Tiana even asks Cookie if she'd have to sleep with Hakeem in order to prove herself.
- Andre continues to suffer from his breakdowns stemming from the death of his son. In order to console him, Jamal and Hakeem write and perform a song.
- Realizing that Camilla is not the woman he loves, and that her power at Empire comes from Mimi, who owns the majority shares, Hakeem makes a sex tape with Camilla and sends it to Mimi.
- As a result, Mimi dumps up the majority shares, which Andre quickly buys, regaining the Lyon family's control over Empire.
- Lucious, knowing that Camilla would be deceitful and possibly commit murder, sneaks into her apartment and records her pouring poison in Mimi's drink and killing her, as well as Camilla subsequently making it seem like Mimi had drowned in her bathtub. Threatening to use the recording against her, he tells her about the woes and dangers of prison and how she'd have to face Mimi's family during trial, and also mentions that it was Hakeem who had thrown her under the bus. Fearful and scared, Camilla asks Lucious to take her life; however, Lucious claims that he doesn't owe her any favors and tells her that she'd have to do the job instead, suggesting that she ingest whatever poison she used to kill Mimi. Camilla complies, and commits suicide.
Trivia[]
- This episode garnered 11.34 million viewers during its initial premiere.
- The title card for this episode changes to Hakeem's face for Empire Entertainment. This is the second episode where the title card is changed. The first episode is in The Outspoken King, where the title card is redone for series purposes.
- Power of the Empire, a song performed by Hakeem in season 1, was performed in this episode. This is the first time this song is performed by Hakeem physically this season.
- Lucious tells the interviewer that he is from South Philadelphia; however, in season 1, Cookie claims that they were from West Philadelphia. However, it is possible that at some time, Lucious and Cookie moved from the South to West Philadelphia.