‘Empire’ Season 5, Episode 7 ‘Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils’ Recap: A Box Full of Treats

Tonight’s episode of Empire has more shocking revelations that not even the Book of Revelation could ever give us. Season 5, episode 7 is titled “Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils,” and it looks like there is more to this episode than what’s previously teased. If you tuned in expecting the usual Lyon family drama and the power struggle between the new head honchos of Empire, well, there’s more. Call it a crazy hour, but this is Empire at its best.

Lyon Management Takes It Easy With Kingsley… until a Shocking Revelation

“Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils” picks up after last week’s final moments. Lucious (Terrence Howard), Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), and Giselle (Nicole Ari Parker) show Kingsley (A.Z. Kelsey) what the Three Black Divas are entirely capable of, especially now that they are signed to Lyon Management. Still, despite the bop that TBD performed, Kingsley is convinced that the data that he collected from what users’ search terms on the internet are what would propel Empire to success. He still thinks TBD won’t make the cut.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Giselle tries to convince Kingsley that keeping TBD on their artist roster will be good for them, but he has none of it. Even when Lucious returns to him with another track that’s better than what they produced earlier, Kingsley insists on Lucious following the keywords that users “want” to hear in songs that they love. It’s a bullshit excuse if you ask me. Creating music based on algorithms and keywords seems a bit way over the top here.

And so Lucious tries to up his game—toning down his anger and inviting Kingsley for dinner.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Elsewhere, Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and Kai (Toby Onwumere) gets a surprise visit from Wynter (guest star Joss Stone), one of Jamal’s best artists in his London label. She wants to finish her album with Jamal, so he takes her to the Lyon Mansion aka Lyon Management Headquarters to rehearse. Cookie is impressed by her vocal power and tries to sweet talk her into signing with them. But since Wynter is already signed to Jamal’s label, he tells Cookie to back off and respect what’s his. He also reveals that he’s engaged to Kai, irritating Cookie for not knowing about it sooner.

Later, Kingsley drops by for dinner with the Lyons. Before that, though, he visits his mom from the hospital (who’s in a coma?) and tells her that he will make Lucious pay for what he did to her (things get rough from here on). The meal turns out fine, with Kingsley awkwardly observing the Lyon’s bicker and be themselves. Lucious then invites him over to the living room to watch him, and his sons create music together. That’s when Lucious tells Kingsley that he may have his data and results with him to help him know what people want, but it’s the music within you who makes them want what you have. Kingsley considers this and finally allows Lucious to do his thing with TBD.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Again, Kingsley visits his bed-ridden mother, who’s revealed to be Lucious’ ex from way back. And Kingsley? Well, to make things more complicated, it turns out that he’s Lucious’ son too—and he has no idea what Kingsley is planning to do for revenge.

Andre’s Shady Crusade

After getting out from prison, it’s Andre who has a noble arc this season—or so we think. He’s still on a personal mission to help free Quincy (Skylan Brooks), with a little bit of sweet lovin’ from Quincy’s mom, Teri (Meta Golding). When Quincy’s lawyer seems to not care about his case, Andre does everything he could to free Quincy. Now, I don’t know what Andre is getting from Quincy’s freedom (aside from getting in bed with his mom), but this is starting to feel a little bit like the old Andre’s pre-sinister tactics. Of course, not much is known about Andre’s real intentions, but it seems as if he really wants to see Quincy out of prison and nothing else.

Andre visits his former prison colleague, Mouse (Anthony Lee irons), to ask for a favor that could help free Quincy. Later, Teri gets a call from Quincy’s lawyer that someone else has confessed to Quincy’s crimes, and the judge will now process Quincy acquittal. Despite the good news though, there’s still a question of Andre’s hidden intentions. Just what is it that he wants from Quincy and Teri?

Hakeem Learns a Lesson (Finally!) 

Well, to begin with, Hakeem (Bryshere “Yazz” Gray) has always been the most troubled among the Lyon brothers. Tonight, though, we see him taking the higher ground and sorting his issues out. He goes to the park with Tiana (Serayah McNeill) to see their kids Bella and Prince. It’s been a few days after Hakeem dropped his diss track against Blake (Chet Hanks) and subsequently took it down. Seeing how determined Hakeem is to change, Tiana decides to let him take care of the kids for a day.

Things work out fine until Hakeem sees a video of Blake’s diss track against him. Hakeem’s crew rile him up into releasing another diss track, but he realizes that this fight will go on if he doesn’t end this childish rapper feud. Instead, Hakeem goes live on Instagram to tell his followers that looking after his kids is more important than responding with a diss track against Blake. The bickering ends there. After all, Blake has no one special in his life, and Hakeem has all the happiness that his children could ever give him. This time, Hakeem truly wins.

The Sisterhood Falls Apart

Cookie’s sub-plot on tonight’s episode is where the meat of the story lies. It all starts when Porsha (Ta’Rhonda Jones) suggests a more real Cookie on social media. Her followers spiked since Cookie told them about how she doesn’t know everything but will do what she can to make someone a star. Carol (Tasha Smith) tells them how her followers have been piling up since. When a glitch happens, Candace (Vivica A. Fox) calls over her son Franklin to fix it. It’s no doubt that the kid’s a whiz.

As Cookie and Candace go through some more business, Cookie notices a bruise on Candace’s wrist. She tells Carol about it, and they both confront her about it. Cookie has a strong feeling that Candace’s ex-husband is doing this to her, but Candace denies it and threatens to beat them both up if they don’t go about their own business.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Cookie decides to let it go and apologizes. As she asks Candace for an idea to be more personal on Instagram, Franklin freaks out because his dad (Candace’s ex-husband) is there. He barges in and demands his black suit. He couldn’t get it from their house because Candace took his keys away. Cookie notices things escalating, so he orders Candace’s ex out. Candace then tells Franklin to hand over his keys so his dad can get his stuff out of their house. When he leaves, Franklin expresses concern over his father being there and insists that he and Candace should leave their house. Candace agrees and goes back home.

After a while, Cookie and Carol notice that Candace hasn’t shown up nor answered her phone. Cookie thinks that her ex-husband is abusing her, so she and Carol run to her place. But a shocking twist is revealed—Candace is indeed being abused. Not by her ex though, but Candace’s son Franklin.

Cookie and Carol arrive to see Franklin beating his mom up. The two also get hurt as Franklin goes on an uncontrolled rampage. He knocks Cookie out and destroys the door that Candace and Carol are hiding. Cookie regains her consciousness and calls 911 as she calms Franklin down. The boy slowly eases up just as the police arrive.

Chuck Hodes/FOX

Now, this is where things get too real. The police, seeing Franklin as a black kid with a possible weapon beside him, tasers him—never caring about Cookie’s assurance that Franklin’s not armed. Candace is shocked and reveals that Franklin has a mental condition while the police take him away. In her anger, she punches Cookie and tells her that she never wants to see her again.

The episode ends with Cookie back at the mansion. She finally gets an idea for a more personal image on Instagram. With bruises on her face and tear-soaked eyes, she goes live on Instagram to tell her followers about what just happened. “I was scared because I thought I would lose someone I love to a cop’s bullet,” Cookies says, referring to the harrowing experience with Franklin. “That’s what it’s like to be black and brown in this country. Who do we call when we need help? Who will protect us?”

‘Empire: Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils’ Overall Verdict

Ever since Empire premiered in 2015, it made sure not only to show what it’s like to make music as a black person but also what America does to them in our current political climate. It’s always been a theme, and “Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoil” delivers on that in a genuine no holds barred fashion. This episode deserves an Emmy for such a powerful sequence. Meanwhile, the revelation of Kingsley as Lucious’ son seems to give us a clue on that funeral scene four months after today’s events. Will Kingsley die? Is it possible that Lucious is shedding genuine tears for a son he never knew he had?

Empire returns Wednesday, November 28th, with “Master of What Is Mine Own” at 8/7c on FOX.