If you’re going to snatch a show off the air for three weeks, you better damn make sure it returns with some heat. The latest episode of Empire, “One Before Another,” was definitely hot, especially with an all-out “shit hitting the fan” moment. I was reminded of the Beyoncé lyric, “Who runs the world? Girls!” when thinking about how the ladies of Empire were the real MVPs of the episode — and they could run the world if not for those pesky men.

Take Nessa, for example. Last episode, Shyne was poised to fill Lucious and Andre with bullets after they snaked Nessa from him, giving her her own record deal AND beating him black and blue. Shyne catches Andre at Jamal’s apartment and, just as he’s about to fire a shot, Nessa moves in for the save! Not only does she stop a bullet, she uses logic to convince Shyne to back down and even have a civilised sit-down with Lucious and Andre to try and hash things out.

During that meeting, things quickly go south. But in another “girls run the world” moment, Anika uses her powers to calm Shyne down. She allows him to believe that Lucious was just on the verge of offering him his own imprint backed by Empire with Freda Gats as his artist, thus saving the day. Of course, Anika later adds herself to the situation by reminding Lucious that Shyne’s imprint will need an A&R — and who better to fill that role than her? So Anika lives to die another day, girl power unscathed.