The latest episode of Empire put Cookie in a rather troubling position. After Lucious shared the trauma of his past with her, he mentioned that Frank Gathers was the one who turned him toward the life of selling drugs. So when Cookie learned that Frank was also Freda's dad, it was a big enough coincidence to make her raise some internal alarm bells. She may only have suspicions to go on for now, but deep down Cookie knows that Lucious probably killed Frank on Empire . The only question is what does she intend to do with this information? What's Cookie's plan for Lucious and his big bad secret?
Now anyone who knows anything about Cookie's character will realize how unlikely it is for her to rat him out to the cops. I mean, if she was willing to stick it out for 17 years in prison for this man, there's no way she'd turn him in now. Plus, Cookie isn't a snitch. Not now, not ever. So I think we can safely rule that possibility out for good. However, that doesn't mean she won't try to use this leverage on Lucious to her advantage, though, that could come back to bite her in the end because as Lucious points out in the promo: "You are bone deep with me." So if he goes down, odds are he'll do everything he can to take her with him.
In all honesty, though, I'm less worried about the cops finding out about this and more worried about what'll happen when Freda gets wise to this piece of information. Because, let's be real here, it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out. Shortly after she met Lucious, Freda pulled a gun on someone just for insulting her father, so if she were to find out that Lucious is responsible for Frank’s death, he and Cookie could both be in serious danger. So maybe this plot development is less about what Cookie will do and more about what will happen to her given her close association with Frank's killer.
Despite how tough Lucious tries to come across, everyone knows that he has one very big weakness: his feelings for Cookie. So if Freda found out about what he did and really wanted to get him back where it hurts, Cookie would be the main target. It wouldn't matter if she wasn't an accomplice to the crime. Just knowing what losing her would do Lucious is all the motivation Freda would need. Trust me, I hate the thought of any harm coming to our beloved Empire queen just as much as you do, but this show has already proven it isn't afraid to take risks — even if that means putting their best character's life on the line.
Cookie may not intend to do anything with Lucious' secret, but that doesn't mean her knowing about it won't still lead to trouble. Watch your back, girl!
Image: Chuck Hodes/FOX; Giphy
