Hakeem May Leave The 'Empire' Before Season 1 Ends

His girlfriend's been sent overseas, his allegiance with Jamal seems temporary at best... will Hakeem leave Empire Entertainment and give up his quest to take over the business in the Empire season finale? He's never had the same entrepreneurial zeal of Andre, nor the moral imperative that Jamal does to bring Empire into the 21st century. Hakeem, as the spoiled youngest brother, has always been more interested in his love life than his business life, but the two finally crossed paths when his father bribed Camilla to leave the country in last week's episode.

That was pretty much the ultimate betrayal for Hakeem. And when it's undoubtably exposed in the finale, I'm sure Hakeem will lash out at his dad the best way he knows how — by screaming at him, causing a huge scene (probably while Terrence Howard does one of his classic, wrinkly, half-cry, half-pain faces) and then quitting the business "forever." But it doesn't seem like Hakeem will ever fully leave the family business. Even if Season 1 ends with him taking off and running to where Lucious hid Camilla, I'm sure the second season premiere will end with him returning with even bigger sunglasses and an even more obnoxious gold chain.

And I think the Lyon brothers are going to be the ones who bring him back. I doubt Hakeem will ever trust his father again after what happened with Camilla. But right now, he's singing lullabies to Lola, and even if things go south between him and Jamal, calling reference back to that time should help Hakeem realize that he needs to be there for his brothers.

But Hakeem might not even want to be the CEO anymore. If he removes himself from the running, it will instead come down to who he wants to support in their dreams of taking over the business. Jamal has strong artistic ambitions, Andre has plans for the company's IPO, and Hakeem? He was really only interested because it's his birthright and his father endorsed him, not because he has any particular vision. His family pressured him into a public relationship with Tiana, something he was OK with, but didn't truly want... though any latent feelings for her might be another reason for him to stay.

Now, I still don't see why Jamal and Andre shouldn't be allowed to both collaborate on the company and learn the ropes while Cookie takes over as CEO, but this is Empire, so if Hakeem leaves the company, you can better believe that he's going to be forced to choose between them. And whomever he doesn't back is going to have a real problem with Hakeem from now on. And they'll be missing his musical talents, too — no one else in the Lyon family could come up with "Drip Drop."

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