Obviously there will be spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned!

Episode 9 of Fox’s Empire, titled ‘Sinned Against’, opened up on Cookie’s family drama, a new relationship for Jamal, and Anika’s pitiful schemes to win back Hakeem. Cookie is forced to reunite with her spiteful sister, Candace, on a journey to find their drug addled younger sister gone missing. Rosie O’Donnell guest stars as an ex-prison mate of Cookie’s and aides them in their search. Meanwhile, Anika solidifies her status as the deranged ex-girlfriend, as she is seen actively stalking and plotting against the young lovers Hakeem and Laura. This episode’s highlight is Alicia Key’s cameo as the purple-haired songstress, Skye Summers. Her and Jamal’s interaction is so pleasant to watch, these two have a real connection on-screen.

Finally, Laz’s scheme with Lyon Dynasty is finally busted by Lucious, who arrives to play hero by saving Cookie from her ‘big bad wolf’. Strangely enough, Lucious didn’t even know that Cookie had rekindled her romantic life,  but once he found out he took it upon himself to do a little research on Laz. It seems that if Cookie had done the same, she would have avoided a heap of trouble. However, Taraji P. Henson does a phenomenal job portraying Cookie’s utter betrayal.

To distract herself from her heartbreak, Cookie becomes determined to help her sister get clean and devotes herself to planning her music fest. However, her sister seems to harbor deadly secrets from the drama of last season. We think that Cookie’s troubles follow her in every aspect of her life; she definitely will need a vacation by the end of this season.

Anika’s pathetic attempts to win Hakeem’s favor are jumpstarted by some terrible advice from Rhonda. She takes her obsessive stalking to the next level by crashing a party at Hakeem’s place and embarrases Laura in front of all the party guests! We at Spectrum are genuinely worried for Laura. The poor girl had no idea what she was getting herself into at Lyon Dynasty! Crazed a fans are one thing, but manipulative crazed ex-girlfriends are a different story.

Poor Skye Summers reveals to Jamal that she feels limited at her label, and actually admires Jamal for being himself. The two compose a soul stirring song together, and Alicia Keys’ vocals never fail to impress. Despite their obvious chemistry, this supposedly platonic duo’s relationship takes another turn when suddenly Jamal kisses Skye. While we acknowledge that sexuality can be fluid, this action is highly unexpected because Jamal has previously shown attraction to men only. We can’t wait to see how their relationship develops. We predict that these two together will only enhance Jamal’s artistry, which was probably needed after his breakup with Michael.
Spectrum gives ‘Sinned Against’ an exceptional rating of  ⅘,  for its engaging and continuous plot and superb acting from Alicia Keys and Taraji P. Henson. Stay tuned for future reviews of Fox’s Empire, the mid season finale is coming up soon!

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