7 Drop the Mic Moments From ‘Empire’s’ Epic Season Finale

An ALS reprieve, pregnancy and a drug-induced confession heighten the thrilling closer

Spoiler Alert: Do not read on if you haven’t watched Wednesday’s episode of “Empire.”

The shockers from the Season 1 finale of “Empire” were countless and hit fans about as hard as Cookie’s fist hit Anika’s face during the episode’s catfight.

And until the Lee Daniels hip-hop drama returns, there’s plenty to dish about and dissect. From Lucious’ epic medical miracle to the moment the police cuffed him, there wasn’t a dull moment when the soapy hip-hop drama wrapped up its debut year Wednesday night .

1. Cookie and Malcolm Make Love Not War
Team Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) fans undoubtedly rejoiced when the fur-loving diva and her handsome hero Malcolm (Derek Luke) consummated their passionate and budding romance. The steamy love scene even took place on a ridiculously large bear-skinned rug in front of a fire inside a sexy and secluded cabin. Bom chicka wah wah.

2. Hakeem Embarrasses His Dad
Still smarting that Lucious (Terrence Howard) made Camilla (Naomi Campbell) disappear, Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) showed up to Snoop’s promotional concert and dropped a freestyle rap full of insults directed at his father. After the show, to no one’s surprise, Lucious punched his youngest son in the face.

3. Lucious Fires Cookie
Nevermind all the times Lucious broke Cookie’s heart or allowed her to do prison time to save him. The fact that she had moved on with Malcolm was too much for Lucious to stomach and he fired her. But Cookie didn’t leave without a fight. “Seventeen years, bitch,” Cookie yelled in Lucious’ smug face. “Everybody’s just waiting for you to die.”

4. Lucious and Jamal Unite
Maybe it was the father and son collaboration on “Nothing to Lose” or the fact that Jamal went all Suge Knight on Baretti (Judd Nelson) but just like that, Lucious and Jamal were closer than ever. The pair’s unexpected peace accord even led Lucious to name Jamal as his successor — much to the chagrin of Andre (Trai Byers) and Hakeem and a homophobic and lyrically challenged rapper named Black Rambo. By the way, great nod to “Hustle and Flow” with that “Whoop that Trick,” line everybody.

5. Lucious Isn’t Going to Die
Miracle of all miracles, Lucious is going to live. Turns out, his doctor misdiagnosed Lucious and he doesn’t have ALS but a neuromuscular disease called myasthenia gravis. Lucious was so thrilled that he’d beat death that he took a sedative and started confessing to Bunkie’s murder to Bunkie’s ghost just in time for Cookie to hear. She was going to kill him with a pillow but Lucious stopped her and fired her (again) the next day.

6. Hostile Takeovers, Fist Fights, Murder and Pregnancy
Hakeem didn’t take getting passed over for Jamal lightly. So it didn’t take much for his new girlfriend Anika (Grace Gealey) to convince him to stage a hostile takeover. Andre joined in on the conspiracy and pulled Cookie into the fray, as well.

But Cookie still isn’t a fan of Boo Boo Kitty and the two ended up slugging it out like a couple of gin soaked alley cats. Speaking of fights, Vernon (Malik Yoba) tried to make peace with Andre but the two fought instead and Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) tried to break it up, but accidentally murdered Vernon. Whoops! When Andre suggested they call the police, Rhonda convinced him otherwise and told him she’s pregnant.

7. Lucious Goes to Jail
With so much going on, it’s amazing that the Lyons still had the energy to launch the company’s IPO and throw a concert featuring Patti LaBelle but they did. Backstage, Lucious showed Jamal more love and confessed that he was afraid for his son. He even told him his real name: Dwight Walker.

The tender moment was short lived when the FBI busted in and arrested Lucious for Bunkie’s murder. Although it seemed like Cookie snitched, it was actually Vernon. Too bad he’s dead. Now, everyone will have to wait until season 2 to find out how Lucious beats this murder rap (again).

“Empire” Season 2 return date not yet announced.

 

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