‘Empire’ episode 9 reaction: More on that Lucious – Andre confrontation

Tonight, Fox aired an all-new episode of “Empire” that was all sorts of intense, and extremely emotional for the character of Andre. Over the course of the hour, we slowly watched him become more and more unhinged as he went off his medication, and all of his insecurities eventually came out about his father, his life, and much more. The fact that he was put under psychiatric hold at the end of the episode puts his future in serious jeopardy. He can recover from this, but it will require quite a bit of work.

So what went into this huge moment at the end of the episode? In a lengthy and informative interview with TVLine, Trai Byers, who played Andre beautifully throughout the episode, explained that there were so many different layers that went into that scene with Lucious before he was carted away:

“There’s a different energy with different people. Andre expects a lot from Lucious based on what Andre gives to Lucious and gives to the company. Right after the elevator scene, he gets physical with Malcom, Derek Luke’s character, so he’s snapped from one situation and then put into another. He’s still off his medication and he still has beef with people, particularly with Lucious, who has announced his disdain for him and his wife, his lifestyle, what he holds dear, what he thinks is important. He’s completely thrown it down. “What do I do to get the company? Ah, I can’t have the company anymore, but what if I do it like this?” His mind is moving. He can’t control himself, and then he’s frustrated with himself, and then his father comes in. ‘Oh! You’re the reason I’m frustrated. You beep-beep.'”

Maybe the story for these characters will become more clear by the point we reach the end of the season, since we are only a few episodes from the conclusion. In between his hold and Jamal’s difficult relationship with his father, the future of Empire is very much in jeopardy.

Where do you think the story on “Empire” is going to go from here with Andre, and the rest of the cast? Share with a comment.