‘Empire’ Season 6, Episode 4 ‘Tell the Truth’ Review: The Lyons Hit Rock Bottom

Empire knows where it’s going and it’s headed there fast. In tonight’s episode, titled “Tell the Truth” (isn’t this the title of one of Jamal’s songs?), a flurry of complicated concepts and a newfound reason to hate Lucious is thrown at us in quick succession.

Last week’s episode was a tumble in quality and narrative, but “Tell the Truth” picks it up and sets things right again. Numerous issues are tackled head-on as Empire explores the true extent of just how much we value women’s empowerment in all its entirety. It’s a complicated web of nuances that don’t have a definite answer, but the show does right by it as it offers a way to consider all opinions on the table. Come to think of it, “Tell the Truth” wields more power than any of its episodic predecessors, one that carries weighty standpoints dealing with abortion, feminism, and mental health.

Tonight, the Lyons are reunited, but they don’t see eye to eye. Lucious (Terrence Howard) can’t help but dip his toes in the company’s affairs despite ceding his post to Andre (Trai Byers). And as Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) deals with another shift in their family’s rhythm, she finally breaks and considers going to therapy to iron things out. Meanwhile, Tiana’s (Serayah McNeill) controversial stand against abortion puts her career on the line.

Here’s everything that went down on tonight’s episode of Empire.

Now a Free Man, Lucious Regains Control Over Empire (Because to Hell With Andre)

Let’s face it—Lucious will never make it out alive anywhere without Empire in his hands (and vice versa). We knew that Lucious wasn’t going to be gone for long despite being on the run from the Feds. There will always be a way for him to creep back into the company.

Walker, Andre and Teri’s (Meta Golding) newborn son, was supposed to bring the Lyons closer again. But on the day of his baptism, the family seemed to be treading on thin ice. Lucious wasn’t able to witness the ceremony after he took care of Damon Cross’ (Wood Harris) weak attempt at stalking his grandchildren (ultimately, the two agreed on a truce), which was trigger number one for Andre. Later at Empire, Lucious doesn’t seem to be comfortable with Andre’s move to name himself as the company’s permanent CEO, despite trusting his son’s abilities initially.

Matt Dinerstein/FOX

When Tiana’s contract deal reaches an impasse over her insisting her pro-life remarks and the Empire film shoot not going the way Lucious wanted, the Lyon king decides to screw Andre’s authority and run things once again. First, Lucious assumes complete control over the movie—which means totally revamping the screenplay and having the actress who plays Cookie replaced. Lucious also throws a fit at dinner when Tiana’s remarks get more traction after a performance. And then, to make things worse, he completely oversteps Andre’s authority by organizing a meeting with Empire execs and leaving his son out of it.

Seriously, Lucious is yet again waging war against his son, and there’s nothing that poor Andre could do about it. But perhaps there’s one person who can go against Lucious’ ruthless tactics, and that’s Tracy Kingsley (Amanda Detmer). After acquiring Empire stakes in exchange for her son’s heart last season, Tracy gets her hands on the Empire film decisions too. And when Lucious writes off Philly Street (David Banner)—one of Lucious’ friends back in his teenage drug-dealing days—from the film, Tracy finds Philly for a not-so-welcome reunion with Lucious.

Cookie Struggles With Coming to Terms Over the New Normal

Cookie has always been strong, but tonight was when we saw her finally shatter the hard knocks demeanor. The producers of Cookie’s daytime talk show, “Tea Talk,” are getting concerned over her possible reconciliation with Lucious. They know something’s up with their relationship, so they want her to try out going to therapy. But it turns out that Cookie needed it now more than ever. In a heated discussion about celebrities leaking their nudes to the press on purpose, Cookie’s buttons are pushed by her co-host, Lizzie (Carisa Barreca).

“When’s the last time your musty-ass husband asked for nudes of you?” Cookie asks. Lizzie fails to answer, so Cookie roasts her further, saying, “well, there you have it, folks! You know what that means when you husband doesn’t want to see pictures of your lumpy ass anymore.” Lizzie is dumbfounded and reveals that her husband left her for their nanny a couple of months ago, stunning the audience into awkward silence.

Matt Dinerstein/FOX

This incident forced Cookie’s producer to have her see psychologist Dr. Paula Wick (Keesha Sharp) to see what’s up. But even with Dr. Wick’s unprobed questions, Cookie denies that she has any issues and leaves. On the night of Lucious’ dinner tirade, Cookie finally musters up the courage to talk to Lucious about their relationship. That’s when Lucious drops the bomb—he can’t find it in himself to forgive her, and that their last goodbyes at the airport hangar were their official way of breaking up.

Left with no other choice, Cookie finally lets her guard down and goes for her first session with Dr. Wick. However, it looks like the show will be ending with Cookie Lyon being gone for good. As we fast forward to nine months, we see Cookie running from their mansion in a panic. The clothes she’s wearing implies that she might be the one responsible for shooting Lucious.

As Cookie prepares to drive off, the car explodes. Talk about massive surprises, huh?

The Complicated Mess of Empowerment

As I’ve mentioned earlier, “Tell the Truth” has one of the most controversial narratives that Empire has ever executed. We’ve seen the show tackle gun violence, racism, sexism, and other relevant social issues, but tonight was different.

Andre was willing to extend Tiana’s contract with Empire, but she has to backtrack on her pro-life statements. At the same time, Becky (Gabourey Sibide) and Giselle (Nicole Ari Parker) at Bossy Media are struggling to get Lala’s single off the ground. The only way they think she could gain more traction is if Tiana sings as a featured artist on her new single.

So the two ladies invite Tiana over, and they also learn about Andre’s terms. Giselle encourages Tiana to stand by her beliefs, which is what Tiana does before a performance at Empire the next day. In front of her fans, Tiana declares that men will not dictate the terms of her career and beliefs, proudly declaring that she is pro-life. Here’s where things get a bit complicated at the Bossy Media front—Becky is pro-choice, where Giselle is pro-empowerment. Giselle wants to sign Tiana right under Andre’s nose but Becky thinks it’s a bad idea to show support for someone who doesn’t want to respect a women’s choice.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

“This company was built to empower women, and Tiana is the exact opposite of that,” Becky says. But Giselle has another point that also made sense. “If this company was built on empowering women, ALL women, then she has a right to be heard,” Giselle fires back.

In the end, Giselle got her way as Tiana voluntarily decides to sign with Bossy Media. Becky is furious, but Giselle promises to have her back no matter what. After all, for a company that is struggling to stay afloat, Tiana is the perfect flagship artist they need to finally break through financially in an otherwise male-dominated industry.

‘Empire: Tell the Truth’ Overall Verdict

Tonight’s episode left me thinking about the pros and cons of both sides of the issue. But in all fairness, Giselle does make a little bit of sense. How far are we willing to extend the empowerment that women need? Is it only limited to those that adhere to one’s liberal views? How about those who believe in empowerment as a whole but would still want to hold on to a few personal beliefs that apply to them based on experience and not the influence of others? It’s something that I can’t answer for sure, given the sensitivity of the issue for women in particular (and of course, being a man myself). But the episode perfectly shows a clear line between the two opposing sides. “Tell the Truth” doesn’t only come packed with loads of jabs at the whole abortion issue, it also tries its best to hear out the opposition’s defense albeit reworked into more of a personal circumstance for Tiana (one that’s not supported by bigoted, uninformed views).

Empire‘s hot take tonight—a complicated compromise.

Empire continues Tuesday, October 22nd, with “Stronger Than My Rival” at 9/8c on FOX.