Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) makes a grand entrance in the March 30 spring premiere.Photo: Chuck Hodes/FOX “Empire” finally returns March 30 for the second half of its second season — and it looks like the Lyon family is, once again, knee-deep in drama and intrigue. When we last left Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Lucious (Terrence Howard) and the rest of the Lyons in the Dec. 2 winter finale, an unseen lunatic — probably Anika Calhoun (Grace Gealey) — shockingly pushed expectant mother Rhonda Lyon (Kaitlin Doubleday) down a staircase. While Rhonda bled all over the white marble floor, we had to wonder, between gasps, whether she survived — and if the baby was still alive. The new episode airing March 30 is entitled “Death Will Have His Day,” indicating that, perhaps, either mother or child will perish. Certainly, the coming attractions reveal that Andre Lyon (Trai Byers) is in anguish. He collapses in a hospital corridor as his parents, Cookie and Lucious, and younger brother Jamal (Jussie Smollett), watch helplessly. Later, two male members of the Lyon family are seen paying their respects at a grave in the snow. Given this grim scenario, it’s surprising that Cookie has the gumption to put her son Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) in his place when she finds that he’s keeping company again with his ex-lover, that cougar-with-bangs, Camilla (Naomi Campbell). Upon seeing them together, Cookie remarks, “If this isn’t the saddest sight I’ve ever seen, and I’m just not talking about you, Yoko!” (You always know things are going to get good on “Empire” when Cookie thinks of another demeaning nickname for her female enemy du jour.) Lucious also faces monumental “Empire” problems. When we last saw him, the brooding dandy watched as his record company was taken away from him, thanks to an elaborately shocking coup staged by attorney Mimi Whiteman (Marisa Tomei) and her wife — none other than the evil Camilla! The betrayal enraged Lucious, since son Hakeem played a key role in his reversal of fortune. Oh, callow youth.
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