Written by Diane Ademu-John & Jamie Rosengard
Directed by Sanaa Hamri
Cookie: "Show me how you fight!"
Okay, in what universe does a one year old have a Prince themed birthday party? I appreciate Empire for wanting to celebrate the late singer but like Glee with some of it's themed episodes (remember when Gwyneth Paltrow sang an Adele song during an episode about neglected artists?), this wasn't the place for it.
Don't get me wrong - I loved the costumes and I loved Jamal and Hakeem's take on Let's Go Crazy but having it for Bella's birthday jarred a little bit though. Of course, it wasn't too heavily focused and the main thing was Anika having the cheek to apply for sole custody of Bella, thanks to Angelo getting his Lyon hating groove back on this week.
While Hakeem is hardly father of the year, Anika absolutely doesn't deserve custody of Bella either considering what she did to Rhonda. Speaking of Rhonda - how terrible was it that Andre actually had to remind his entire family that it was a year since her death as well? I know they weren't close to Rhonda but that came across as rather callous to me. Even the new detective was more sensitive to Andre's plight than his family. Personally I was disappointed that Andre didn't get to take Anika down a few notches but hopefully someone will this season.
When the episode wasn't remembering both Bella and Rhonda, Lucious himself was also unsure about wanting to be the man he used to be for Cookie. He was able to listen to her prison stories but found himself put out by her ruthlessness over the 2020 showcase that ate up into a lot of this episode as well.
Much as I enjoy Cookie's fiery side, even I found her a bit too blunt in this episode with most of the artists competing for a spot at times, so I liked that Lucious called her out on it a little. However it seems that Claudia has certainly sank her claws a little further into Lucious's vulnerable as the episode ended with something of a past reminder for the latter as well.
As for the rest of the episode, Jamal did a love duet with Warren, which sounded nice but at the same time, Warren is still gloating to Diana about getting information out of Jamal, which Diana went to the media about. Then again we did see Warren showing some guilt as well when Diana was at her most smug over Lucious's current state, so there's that.
- Just noticed Porsha's new hairstyle in this episode and Cookie herself had a few different looks throughout this one. Cookie's prison flashbacks were excellent as well.
- Again, who has a Prince theme for a one year old's birthday party?
- Standout music: Has to be Love Is A Drug from Jamal and Warren this week.
- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.
Bleeding War had it's moments - good music, great flashbacks but I am starting to wonder how much longer Diana can be sustained as a villain and surely we're at the point now where Lucious's memories should resurface, right? Other than that, this was pretty enjoyable though.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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