‘Empire’ Season 6, Episode 6 ‘Heart of Stone’ Review: The Emancipation of Cookie

Despite the success that the label is experiencing, the Lyon Empire is crumbling on the familial front. There is no denying that the Lyon family will always be a problematic bunch wherever they find themselves in. After last week’s solid decision from Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) to finally leave Lucious (Terrence Howard) for good, things are nearing its boiling point tonight.

This week’s episode of Empire, titled “Heart of Stone,” Cookie decides to celebrate her newfound freedom with her sisters Carol (Tasha Smith) and Candace (Vivica A. Fox) in Miami. But it’s not the kind of celebration that ends up in a drunken stupor they’re all wishing to experience. And as Lucious learns to cope with losing Cookie yet again, an unlikely (and evil) person gives him the clarity he needs. His mother, Leah (Leslie Uggams), swoops in to bring Lucious that tough love. On the musical front, Andre (Trai Byers) struggles to get the right sound for Treasure’s new album. The fans don’t want her to sound like a Tiana bootleg, so Andre pours out his blood and sweat to rework the album—until Lucious delivers another wedge between him and his son. Meanwhile, Tiana (Serayah McNeill) gets an invitation to headline a music tour, much to Giselle’s (Nicole Ari Parker) delight and Becky’s (Gabourey Sibide) further annoyance.

It’s not exactly a fast-paced episode, but tonight’s Empire comes with a few surprise drops and hilarious decisions along the way. Spoilers ahead for those who missed the episode!

A Girls’ Night Out Gone Terribly Wrong

Just when we thought it’s the ultimate quits between Cookie and Lucious, the man comes strutting into Cookie’s new life forcing her to come back. Is it me, or is Lucious evolving into a more hateable character by the minute? With his plea for Cookie to come home ignored, there’s only one thing left for him to do—let time heal the wounds (although I doubt that’s going to work this time around). Carol and Candace surprise Cookie with a weekend in Miami and the promise of being teenage girls again. That could have worked if not for Cookie’s unavoidable attachment to Lucious. No matter how much she tries to forget him, Lucious will always find a way to snake his way back into her mind. During a party, a group of young men takes an interest in the three sisters, but Cookie sees Lucious in one of the guys.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Cookie breaks into a fit and causes a club riot, landing their three asses in jail for the night. But as Cookie mulls over her life choices, Candace and Carol help her realize the need for her to return to her first love and never lose sight of it now that she’s free from Lucious. Music helped her get to where she is now and that’s exactly the relationship that Cookie needs to rebuild for herself. It’s pretty cheesy if you ask me, but it makes total sense. But then again, we know that Cookie’s going to die (maybe? Probably?) in another car explosion eight months from now so to hell with that “first love” bullshit, I guess.

Lucious Clears His Clouded Head (But Not Really)

Our favorite fucked-up mom makes her not-so-welcome return tonight on Empire. Lucious’ mom, Leah, is safely tucked away in a nursing home. However, watching an episode of Cookie’s talk show triggers her to become violent again, causing her to stab a nurse’s hand with a knife. The nursing home calls Lucious over, who immediately figures out that Leah is looking for another guilt trip session with her estranged son. At first, she’s all coy and remorseful towards Lucious, but this fake persona swiftly shifts back to her ruthless nature when Lucious falls into her trap.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

“Why were you so weak? You let my words become your reality,” Leah says to his tearful son. “My sweet little boy grew up to be a diabolical son of a bitch and you deserve every awful thing coming your way.” But instead of retaliating, a surprisingly calm Lucious simply hugs his mother and leaves. Knowing Lucious, he probably has a newfound egotistical boost following this encounter with Leah. Tough love can do that to you, especially for a man like Lucious Lyon. Later, a surprise visit literally slaps Lucious in the face as Yana (Kiandra Richardson) returns for retribution against what Lucious did to her father, Damon Cross.

It’s Andre vs. Lucious For the Undisputed Empire Championship!

It’s becoming clear to me that Empire has no regard for corporate hierarchy, accuracy be damned. Andre becomes increasingly concerned about Treasure’s new album because it does sound like a Tiana record with a different artist singing covers for every track. Andre announces that he’s delaying the release, but Lucious stops him and insists to go his way. Andre tells Lucious to trust his son, so the Lyon King obliges—something we all know he’s bound to break soon after. It’s a new Empire, after all, and Andre wants to promote collaboration with their artists instead of the label dictating their sound.

Andre takes up extra studio time with Treasure to refine her album after being encouraged by his wife Teri (Meta Golding). The reworked carrier single doesn’t sound so bad, but Lucious thinks otherwise. Following that disturbing conversation with Leah, Lucious decides to take out his frustration on Andre. Lucious refuses to acknowledge the change despite the Empire executives liking the song and still insists on following his original vision for Treasure’s album. “Boy, you’re damn right I’m a narcissist. It’s what built the mansion that you live in. It’s what built Empire,” Lucious gloats. “My narcissism saved my life, changed music and the world. It’s my power. If you don’t like it, I suggest you find someplace else to be.”

At this point, I’m all for seeing Lucious get blasted to bits instead of Cookie. Seriously, fuck this guy.

The Jesus Freaks Try to Take Advantage of Tiana’s Choices

The Tiana fiasco still plagues Becky and Giselle over at Bossy Media. Tiana’s anti-choice sentiments are destroying her career, but an unlikely institution jumps into the mix to try and “save” Tiana’s downward spiral—a goddamn megachurch. Giselle is desperate for any kind of traction so she takes up Pastor Carol Clark’s offer to have Tiana headline their Christian music festival. If it draws the same kind of audience as Coachella’s then surely it might work! it all sounds good on paper, but Clark is a snake waiting to strike. It’s something that Becky saw coming, but nothing could be done as Giselle continues her monopoly over Bossy Media’s business decisions.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Here’s when things get really weird. At first, Clark’s camp agrees to maintain Tiana’s image but ultimately retracts their agreement by forcefully having Tiana wear less skimpy clothes and changing the lyrics to ALL of her songs. And then, during Tiana’s rehearsal at the church, Clark’s associates hand over a detailed 40-state tour with Tiana dubbed “The Redemption Tour” (complete with a cringy poster that shows Tiana singing her heart out to Jesus in heaven). That’s the final draw for Tiana.

Meanwhile, Becky asks Lucious for advice on the Bossy Media situation with Giselle. All she got was the shallow advice of embracing the darkness in her so that she can see the light that can guide her through. Oddly enough, it worked. Becky sabotages Tiana’s performance by having her wear a skimpy outfit underneath a choir robe. Just as her song reaches the chorus, Tiana strips down and methodically dances in front of the aghast congregation (with some young people having the time of their lives). It’s a scandal for Pastor Clark, but a massive win for Tiana. Social media is dubbing this as Tiana denouncing her conservative views and getting back on the right track.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Way to go, Becky! Embrace the dark side, she did. *Yoda laugh*

‘Empire: Heart of Stone’ Overall Verdict

Despite “Heart of Stone” being an overly dramatic and campy episode, it does echo that of Empire’s heydays when Jamal was still a part of the entire Lyon family clusterfuck. The episode does a great job of making us feel the weight of the Lucious-Cookie squabble and how it can potentially end up killing them both if they don’t get their shit together. The conservative commentary on tonight’s episode was also executed well, and I couldn’t agree more about how the church is portrayed as a problematic side to social issues that don’t even affect them in the first place. As a former Christian myself, it’s nice to see this kind of depiction that so accurately shows how most of “modern” Christianity operates. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud during the sequences with the Christian ladies.

All social commentary aside, “Heart of Stone” is not as straightforward as the past episodes but it does set up a crucial crossroad—now that the Lyon King and Queen are divided, what happens to the Empire? Will it finally crumble as its last hurrah or will Andre rise up to be the better version of his father? Call me a cynic, but I feel like Empire is going out with a literal bang on both fronts.

Empire continues Tuesday, November 19th, with “Good Enough” at 9/8c on FOX.