| “ |
Lyon Dynasty is our company. But Empire is our legacy. |
” |
| Et Tu, Brute? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season Two, Episode Ten | ||
| ||
| Air date: | December 2, 2015 | |
| Writers: | Radha Blank | |
| Director: | Sanaa Hamri | |
| Premiere: | 11.54 million | |
| previous “Sinned Against” |
next “Death Will Have His Day” | |
Et Tu, Brute? is the tenth episode of the second season of Empire and the twenty-second episode overall. It first aired on December 2, 2015, and serves as the mid-season finale.
Lucious makes a reckless play for the streaming service that he believes will make him the most powerful man in music, only to learn that the entire business strategy was part of a scheme that might jeopardize everything for which he has worked so hard. Meanwhile, Cookie decides to plan a concert at the prison where she spent 17 years locked away from her family.
Plot[]
Songs[]
| Song Title | Performer(s) |
|---|---|
| Do Something Wit It | Tiana Brown |
| Powerful* | Jamal Lyon and Skye Summers |
| Miracles* | Hakeem Lyon and Laura Calleros |
- * denotes a song featured in a previous episode
Deleted Songs[]
- Dim Your Lights, performed by Jezzy (Da Brat).
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon
- Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon
- Trai Byers as Andre Lyon
- Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon
- Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem Lyon
- Grace Gealey as Anika Calhoun
- Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon
- Ta'Rhonda Jones as Porsha Taylor
- Gabourey Sidibe as Becky Williams
- Serayah as Tiana Brown
Special Guest Star(s)[]
- Alicia Keys as Skye Summers
- Naomi Campbell as Camilla Marks-Whiteman
- Jason Derulo as himself
- Charlamagne Tha God as himself
Recurring Cast[]
- Patrick Mulvey as Jago Locke
- Marisa Tomei as Mimi Whiteman
- AzMarie Livingston as Chicken
- Andre Royo as Thirsty Rawlings
- Jamila Velazquez as Laura Calleros
- William Fichtner as Jamieson Hinthrop
Guest Cast[]
- Da Brat as Jezzy
- Sara Sevigny as Edna Piasecki
- Terria Joseph as Judith
- Mercedes White as Spider
- Reggie Baker as Ralph Anderson
- Will Kinnear as Leonard Bernstein
- Jessica Klaas as Lucious' Assistant
- Dan Flannery as Anthony "Tricky" Trichter
- Jacqueline Williams as Warden Athena Myers
Major/Highlighted Events[]
- It is revealed that Jamal and Skye hooked up.
- Hakeem loses a "Best Rapper" nomination to Freda Gatz.
- Camilla Marks, Hakeem's older British girlfriend from season one, makes her reappearance in this episode, where it is revealed that she is Mimi's wife.
- Mimi Whiteman calls for a vote removing Lucious from his position at Empire.
- Hakeem, spurned on by Camilla, votes against Lucious, causing him to be kicked out of Empire.
- Mimi is appointed the new Chairman of Empire, but as she needs chemo therapy, she gives the control of the company to Camilla.
- An intruder (believed to be Anika) breaks into Rhonda's house and pushes her down the stairs in order to kill her unborn child, who would be Lucious' heir.
- For the first time in ASA history, a father and son are both contenders for "Song of the Year" - Jamal for "Heavy" and Lucious for "Boom Boom Boom Boom".
Trivia[]
- For the first time this season, every single member of the main cast appears in a single episode.
- 90s rap artist Da Brat, who appeared in this episode as Jezzy, also recorded a song for this episode named "Dim Your Lights"; however, the scene was deleted due to time constraints.