"Empire" season 2 premièred on Sept. 23 on Fox. (Photo : YouTube)
Fox aired a highly-anticipated high-on-drama premier episode of "Empire" season 2 on Sept. 23, Wednesday. The series picked the storyline three months from where season 1 has ended.
The premier episode of season 2 saw the return of key characters , Lucious (Terence Howard), Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Jamal (Jussie Smollett), Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), Anika (Grace Gealey) as well as the arrival of new ones like Frank Gathers (Chris Rock), Mimi Whiteman (Marisa Tomei).
"Empire" season 2 episode 1, titled "The Devils Are Here," opened with a scene in Central Park where a "FreeLucious" rally is on where people are talking how black men are prison for trivial matters. Knowing that his father is actually guilty, Hakeem is not happy to be at the rally and is furious with his mother over her fake behaviour.
Cookie puts up a show at the rally as she dresses up in a gorilla costume and goes inside a cage before asking "how much longer are they going to treat us like animals?" The crowd is stirred up and started chanting "how much longer."
Meawhile, Lucious is watching the rally from the prison and smiles proudly to see Jamal singing when a guy informs him that Frank Gathers is being transferred to his prison.
Back at the rally, Cookie takes Mimi Whiteman on stage to show off her future investment when the latter makes a sexual remark on the former revealing her bisexual nature. The conversation is seen by Lucious on live TV who is not happy with the encounter.
Meanwhile Frank arrives in the jail and Lucious is worried since he is the same man with whom he dealt drug many years back. The two confronts and then hug it out when Frank enquires Lucious about Cookie.
Jamal pays a visit to Lucious in jail and tells that Empire is eating all his time and he is not able to tour or record new music. Jamal also informs him that Hakeem has not recorded anything and is pissed at the artwork when Lucious says thoughtfully that Cookie has not even visited him once since he is imprisoned.
Lucious enquires about the woman with whom Cookie was talking to at the concert at which Jamal says he does not know her. Lucious instruts him to find about her and suspects that Cookie is planning something along with her.
Meawhile, Cookie and Mimi are at a LGBT party along with Jamal and his boyfriend when Mimi asks Cookie why she wants to dethrone Lucious. Cookie replies that Lucious has lost it and she wants to save Empire for her sons.
Things started heating up at the party. Anika arrives and Cookie is not happy to see her. Mimi seems to have eye on both Cookie and Anika when the former urges the latter to dance for Mimi.
Next day, Cookie tells Hakeem that they are about to get the investment money and he should be ready to take over from Jamal. Meanwhile, Lucious has a heated exchange with a new female prosecutor who comes to see him in jail.
Lucious gets to meet Frank's daughter who turns out to be a good rapper when he is informed that he has a visitor. Meanwhile, Cookie and Hakeem are preparing to tell the board that they are taking over when Lucious's voice boom in the meeting room via Skype.
It turns out that table have turned and Mimi has gone ahead and struck a better deal with Lucious. Jamal is furious when he comes to know about Cookie's moves and tells her that it is backstabbing. Cookie goes home and finds a package at her place, apparently from Frank. Cookie opens the box and finds a head in it after which she hurriedly instruct everyone to assemble at Lucious' house which has high security.
Cookie pays a visit to Lucious in jail and informs what Frank has done after which Lucious confronts him. Frank declares that the feud is between him and Cookie. Lucious tells him that he will first sign his rapper daughter and then will sleep with her after which he instructs his men to kill him.
Jamal turns everyone out of his house when Cookie reassures him that she will take care of him. Jamal is really furious and closes door on her face.
