Freda and Hakeem
Freda Gatz (Bre-Z, left) will face Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Y. Gray, right) in a rap battle that will feature Empire and Lyon Dynasty squaring off against each other on "Empire" episode 8. FOX/Chuck Hodes

Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and Hakeem’s (Bryshere Y. Gray) new company Lyon Dynasty has been competing with Empire all season long on Fox’s “Empire.” The stakes in episode 8, titled “My Bad Parts,” will reach a new high when Cookie and Lucious (Terrence Howard) make a bet with one another over who gets Hakeem.

In recent episodes, Lucious has shown he has an attachment to Freda and looks at her as his protégé. He’ll try to get under Hakeem’s skin once again when he has Freda call out his son and say she’s the true heir to Empire. Hakeem responds to Freda and a rap battle between the two is set up. Cookie makes a bet with Lucious that if Hakeem loses he can take him back to Empire.

The synopsis reveals that Jamal (Jussie Smollett) will look to get a big sponsorship deal. However, getting a deal done won’t be Jamal’s only concern in episode 8. Cookie helped Jamal with his latest song in episode 7 and he will continue to turn to her for help. Lucious will discover the two have been working together and he’ll force Jamal to make the difficult choice of selecting to work with his mother or his father because he can’t have both.

Anika (Grace Gealey) has had a difficult season on “Empire” as nothing seems to be going right for her. Cookie refuses to allow her to work for Lyon Dynasty and Hakeem basically used her for a quick hookup after he was kidnapped. It appears things might not get better for Anika in episode 8, where she is expected to get some “life-changing” news.

Cookie seems very happy with Laz (Adam Rodriguez), but she also doesn’t know who he really is yet. Laz is a part of the gang that grabbed Hakeem and is secretly trying to take money from Cookie and give it to his gang. Things are going to get a bit complicated for Laz when Hakeem calls him out for starting problems. The promo video shows Laz shove Hakeem, which strikes a nerve with Cookie. She slaps Laz across the face and tells him to never put a hand on her son.

Vivica A. Fox will make her “Empire” debut in episode 8 as Cookie’s sister, Candace. We all know how outspoken Cookie is, but is her sister the exact same way or will she be mellower? Candace will pay her sister a “special visit” but it’s unclear what her intentions are for dropping in.

Watch the episode 8 promo below:

"Empire" Season 2, episode 8, "My Bad Parts," will air on Fox Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 9 p.m. EDT.

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