'Empire' Season 2, Episode 3 Recap

Love (well, mainly sex) is usually in the air in some form -- the good and bad. On Wednesday night's episode (Oct. 7) of Empire, the point is illustrated when it comes to everything it shouldn't take to earn your father's love. And don't forget the continual theme of religion rearing its head in the background of all things Andre, especially when it comes to Lucious.

Things kicked off with the usual family drama. Lucious gets out of jail; Cookie goes into beast mode to protect the new company Lyon Dynasty, Jamal feels pushed to the side because Lucious wants to focus on everyone else's project but his, Hakeem is pissed since Lucious was granted bail and Andre is stuck vying for his father's attention. And to all of that drama, Lucious only has one thing to say: "At the end of the day we are family, and if I can have that I'll let go of everything else."

Ultimately, Lucious gives his family -- even Cookie -- a choice. They can dismantle Lyon Dynasty and prevent a very public family feud from taking place or they can continue trying to build their new regime and know that Lucious will always be there to knock them down. Cookie lets her ex-husband know she's going to eat regardless, but it just won't be with him.

Andre, on the other hand, he keeps letting his daddy know just how sorry he is by begging his way back into Empire. Andre asks again for forgiveness, but Lucious wants nothing to do with him. "I'm sorry, that's not just going to happen," dad states. Lucious is cutthroat and he truly thinks he is God. He tells Andre he's smart and has an MBA, but he can find 50 other people to do the same thing. If Andre truly wants back into the family business, he has to show he can bring something special to the table. When Andre asks what that should be, Lucious simply replies, "Pray about it."

Meanwhile, across the city, now that Lucious is free, Jamal is ready to get back to the music and become Empire's current priority. Unfortunately for him, the devil in a suit has his eyes on Freda -- Frank Gathers' daughter -- because to him, "musically she's my everything." Looking for a mentor and a father, Jamal's starting to get fed up with his father's business tactics. So, he has a heart-to-heart with Becky and she gives things to him straight: "Lucious and Cookie might have beef right now, but that ain't got nothing to do with you." If it's hard for you to catch up right here, Becky's telling Jamal to reach out to his mom for help.

Blood or not, when it comes to business, Lucious is all about the money. So it also shouldn't be a surprise that he reaches out to Anika for help in taking down Cookie and Lyon Dynasty. Of course, Lucious tries to manipulate Boo Boo Kitty by telling her Hakeem is coming back to Empire, but anyone with a brain would know that's a lie. But it's Anika we're talking about. She fell right for it all, right? Sike. Who knew Anika actually had a brain? She plays along with her ex-fiance only to turn right around and run to Cookie for help in bringing Lucious to his knees.

Things don't stop there, but that's what DVR and OnDemand are for -- the repeat at home.

But before we leave you hanging, pop makes its way to the Empire soundtrack as Hakeem attempts to introduce his Latina trio, Mirage a Trois; Timbaland finally made his way in front of the camers and hits the stage to perform alongside Hakeem, which happens to be a cold-blooded diss track that lays all of Lucious' business out on the table; and Pitbull makes a guest appearance and performs "No Doubt About It" with Jamal.

Let the countdown to next Wednesday night begin.

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