Meeting Lucious' Mom on 'Empire' Is Important

Big news, Destiny's Child and Empire fans: One of Destiny's children, Kelly Rowland, has joined Empire as Lucious Lyons' mother, and will appear in flashbacks during Season 2. (Am I right to hope that this means there could also be hope that Beyoncé may eventually be on the mega-popular show.) All jokes aside, Rowland's role is super important to the storyline as a whole: Lucious plays such a central role on the show and yet, there is so much that we don't know about him. From the first season, it was revealed that Lucious grew up on the streets from a very young age. His father was murdered, and he credits music for saving his life. Still, there is so much left unanswered about his life — and I have a feeling that the introduction of Lucious' mother will be a great opportunity for viewers to get to know Lucious even better. After all — during the dramatic Season 1 finale, Lucious revealed to his son Jamal that his given name is actually Dwight Walker: It seems like Lucious was the name that he chose to accompany his hip-hop persona, so I'm sure there's a lot about Dwight that we don't know.

Though it's common for people in the entertainment industry to choose a different moniker for the stage, I can't help but wonder if Lucious was trying to escape his past entirely. Flashback sequences have been increasingly important in the series, as they give us more context about the Lyon family's motives and their relationships with each other. Now that Lucious is behind bars for Bunkie's murder, he will have plenty of time to reflect on the past, opening a door for tons of flashback opportunities.

Rowland's role as Lucious' mother in these flashbacks could also reveal some extremely important information. Here are seven things we might learn from meeting Lucious' mother on the second season of Empire.

1. Where Lucious' Love Of Music Comes From

Lucious has always credited music with providing a better life for him. Considering his age, hip-hop was a fairly new genre when Lucious got into the game. However, his mother still could have been a major influence on his love for music. Considering the fact that Kelly Rowland has a beautiful voice, I would not be surprised if her role on the show also utilizes her vocal talent. She could have been a struggling singer who unfortunately never made it to the big time, which would certainly influence Lucious' own goals and dreams.

2. The Events Surrounding Lucious' Father's Death

In the first season of Empire, Cookie is wary about Lucious signing the rap artist Titan because of his connection with Nation of Islam. In Season 1's fourth episode "False Imposition," Cookie reveals that the Nation was involved in Lucious' father's death — so Rowland's character would certainly provide more insight into what occurred.

3. Lucious' Treatment Of Women

Lucious' treatment of women is questionable at best. He allowed Cookie to rot in prison for 17 years, while using the money she earned to start his company. Likewise, when she was released from prison, he thought nothing of casting his current fiancée Anika to the side in favor of her. He also shows quite a bit of disdain for his daughter-in-law, Rhonda. His temper is certainly out of control — so Lucious' relationship with his mother may provide us a great bit of insight into his misogynistic tendencies.

4. How Lucious Met Cookie

Cookie and Lucious met and started a family together at a fairly young age. She seems to understand him, and know more about his past than anyone else on the show. It will be interesting to know if Rowland's character had anything to do with Lucious and Cookie's introduction to one another.

5. What Happen to Lucious' Mother?

Going off of the casting information, Rowland will only be seen in a flashback sequence. If I were going to guess, I assume that means her character is deceased in present day (or the show won't be aging Rowland up). In the pilot episode, Lucious says that he began selling drugs the age of nine in Philadelphia in order to feed himself. Since he was homeless, it could be inferred that his relationship with his mother was severed around that time.

6. Where Is Ms. Dottie?

In the pilot episode of the series, Lucious reveals to Hakeem that he had a relationship with a woman named Dottie shortly after Cookie was imprisoned. Dottie apparently raised the Lyon brothers for a time, and Hakeem seems to vaguely remember her. When he asks more about her, Lucious reveals that she was killed. However, the way he says it makes me feel as if there was a lot more to the story. Rowland's flashback scenes could provide more clues into who Dottie was, as well as who the other people in Lucious' life were.

7. Andre's Bipolar Disorder Might Be Genetic

Lucious' reaction to his eldest son's bipolar disorder was one of disgust. Instead of learning more about the disease, Lucious decided that Andre was weak and undeserving of Empire Entertainment. His harsh attitude could mean that Lucious' mother also showed signs of a mental disorder, so maybe Andre's diagnosis triggered unpleasant memories for him.

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