Our most recent foray into the Lyon family has me questioning my opinion of its eldest cub. Is Andre really the villain of Empire? I prefer to think of him as the Percy Weasley of the pride. He may not be the son you most want to hang out with and he's aligned himself with some bad people, but he's not all bad himself. He's also, to keep the Hogwarts Express of Harry Potter references rolling, the only one of the Lyon men to show up at last week's white party not looking like he was at the Yule Ball. According to Kristen Dos Santos of E! Online, this Wednesday's episode, "Unto the Breach," will focus on Andre via flashback, so get ready.
Last week, we delved a little deeper into Andre's bipolar disorder and what that means for him. At the end of the episode, Andre had a bit of a breakdown, and we discovered him playing fast and loose with death in the recording studio by playing Solitaire Russian Roulette. The official description for next week's episode reveals that Andre will be "pushed way beyond his limits" — how much further can he go?
Before this episode, we'd seen some manic rage. This is the other end of what Andre struggles with daily. The depressive episode was triggered by a fight with Lucious, who chided Andre for going to business school and marrying a white woman, suggesting that Andre was distancing himself from the family and trying to assimilate into white culture. This, apparently, is why he did not vote for his son to become Interim CEO of Empire Entertainment.
Andre has always provided an alibi for Lucious. He is the most loyal of all three sons to his father. The "lego incident" revealed that he's probably a little smarter than dear old dad as well. I really want to know more about Andre's past. Did he once try to play an instrument and fail? It's absolutely fascinating to me that in this family, the Arts are so supported that going to business school is deemed a disappointment.
Plus, you have got to love Andre and Rhonda's relationship on Empire . What's the saying about the couple that schemes together? They're like Frank and Claire Underwood... at least in House of Cards' first season. As twisted as their relationship is, she does seem to be a supportive partner.
Whether Rhonda's concern for Andre's medication regime was a way to humanize her character or just another manipulative move in "the game," we don't know yet. However, it appears that they are on equal footing. There's an unfortunate stigma surrounding mental illness in this country, and I'm sure that will come into play in later episodes.
Seriously, why would you not want Andre to run Empire Entertainment? Jamal and Hakeem can fight to continue Lucious' musical legacy. However, the only Lyon who has the maturity and business savvy to actually run a company is Andre. Come on! I'm not sure who the villain is on Empire. That's one of the reasons the show is so great. It could be Rhonda or Anika, Vernon or even Lucious himself. Just give Andre Lyon a break — he clearly needs one.
Images: Chuck Hodes/Fox; Giphy (2)
