Empire: Discussion Thread

[MoTheGreat]

Fox couldn't wait for this show to have a steady ground before they make a fool out of themselves.

[NothinButAttitude]

I don't think Lee Daniels or Danny Strong meant any harm. I think they were just being comedic. That's how I saw it. I thought it was funny.

Plus, Luscious in the first episode mentioned that he and Barack were cool, so I saw Hakeem posting the video about President Obama as a way to piss his daddy off. What better way to do it than publicly embarrass your parent and use a renowned figure, the President in this case, to do it.

Furthermore, these scenes were probably shot around the time of Mike Brown's death so Hakeem, being the street thug he thinks he is, probably did view President Obama as a sell-out. Many African Americans at that time were feeling that way before he spoke out about the Ferguson crimes. I think that Lee was trying to be socially relevant but comedic and display how reckless Hakeem is all at the same time.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Nothin'ButAttitude

[ChitHappens]

The Obama part was so stupid. Daniels can be catty at times so I wonder if there was an undertone to that.

Anywho, I'm am so in love with this show. Terrence owned last night's show. The elevator scene was Golden Vault material. Loved it. Are CookieLu gonna hook up? Absolutely! The only thing we need to do is figure out when - the night before a wedding to Anika would be perfect and soapy! Stank ass Anika coming out in her undies because she's intimidated by Cookie? Heffa!

Jamal has made a decision. He wants to be rich and live a very comfortable life style. Poor Jamal? Sorry, I don't get that network! !@#$%^&*] him!!!!!

[marceline]

Yeah the Obama stuff was OTT on a show that is already OTT. I'm chalking these missteps up to the show finding it's groove.

I'm so over Hakeem. His behavior in the restaurant was just disgusting. I'm glad Cookie called him out to Lucious for the entitled little [!@#$%^&*] he is. I'm trying to figure out where things are going to go with him and Tiana. I was sad to see how little it took for her to star clawing at Hakeem's zipper but every other woman on the show is so hardcore that I guess we need at least one with no self esteem.

Speaking of hardcore, hello Rhonda! Everything about the way she handled Andre was perfect. She's probably closest to Cookie in temperament so I'm going to enjoy seeing her work all these situations to her advantage. ("Some of us white girls actually are brilliant." Hee.)

Props to Terrance for all that fake ass crying about Bunky's death. He seemed genuinely upset then you would see just a little something in his eyes to remind you that he's a liar.

[ajsp35801]

I am not mad at Jamal one bit about not coming out because he needs his father's assistance to live. That is realistic and a battle that Jamal need to fight onscreen. Had he immediately decided to not give into his father's threats, we wouldn't see the stakes build or what went into Jamal's choice. We need to see the struggle. Plus, Jamal is human. What human being wouldn't consider how they would maintain their lifestyle. People put up with crap everyday at job's because they WANT to eat well, as opposed to just eating. Money matters!

Is CookieLu the ship name? I flove it!

I agree that Terrence Howard showed a lot of nuances and depth in his acting last night.

Edited January 15, 2015 by ajsp35801

[Eric83]

Edited January 15, 2015 by Eric83

[ajsp35801]

At least there is meaning to his madness. lol

[xtr]

lol, I like that Cookies just seems to view Anika, as kind of a pest. I think that Anika is just kind of there for Cookie right now. I think that the way that she's really going to annoy Cookie is if she gets in the way of Cookie's plans for Empire/Jamal. I don't think that Cookie cares too much right now about Anika's relationship with Lucious. But Anika already seems threatened by Cookie and this is before she's aware of Lucious's feeling for her. Imagine how she will act when she realizes that he still has feelings for Cookie.

When I first saw the previews of this show and I didn't know anything about the premise of it, I thought that Taraji might have been a playing a bitter woman from his past, that Terrence's character has a lot of disdain for. I am happy that is not the case. Cookie is a woman that Lucious was building a life with, and that he loved (possibly still loves). I think that he still has feelings for her, and he seems to respect her on some level, including as a parent. The last scene they had on last night's episode was nice,I like the connection they have as parents/former spouses.

I thought they looked good together in the scene they shared before she threw the shoe at him. He gave her another one of those "looks". I want to see how their relationship develops throughout the show. I believe that if Cookie had never went to jail, they still would have been together as a couple.

I think the family still might have had some dysfunction in it, but I think they would all been better off if Cookie had never went to jail. Especially Hakeem. I think that if Cookie hadn't went to jail, her and Lucious would have grown together as a couple, raising their family and becoming successful in the music business. Lucious seems to have changed since he's become rich, and evolved to a degree, but I think that Cookie would have adjusted to that lifestyle and evolved right along with him, had she never went to jail.

Edited January 15, 2015 by xtr

[ChitHappens]

Cookie and her "what did I ever do to you for you to treat me this way". Lawd, if that was not soapy greatness, I'm not sure what is! My heart was all over the place. Luscious loves him some Cookie, but of course, he can't admit it.

[xtr]

I was glad that the scene with him and Jamal in the car at least showed that Lucious has been looking out for him financially like he has for the other sons. As bad as he's treating Jamal, at least up until yesterday's episode he wasn't threatening to/hadn't cut him off financially. Also I was glad that Lucious seemed kind of proud of how Jamal and Hakeem performed together, and that their performance helped him see that both of his youngest sons are talented. Lucious/Jamal have a long ways to go in mending their relationship, and I'm looking forward to more interactions between them.

Also a couple of random thoughts about yesterday's episode. Did anyone else think that the young lady playing Hakeem's love interest looked like Malinda Williams off of the Soul Food TV series? I thought that she looked like she could be Malinda's younger sister, I think they are both pretty ladies.

Also, did anyone else notice how rude Lucious was to his housekeeper? First he told her in a rude way that he didn't want her around him in the room when he's exercising and then he told her to be quiet when she had said something at the dinner table. Cookie asked her if she talked, lol. I wonder if this Housekeeper has witnessed some of Lucious devious activities and has some dirt on him. Maybe he is paying her well to be quiet.

Edited January 15, 2015 by xtr

[marceline]

I'm looking forward to finding out why Lucious divorced Cookie while she was inside. He hasn't married Anika so it's not like he divorced Cookie for her.

[KMan101]

Ratings are UP from the premiere.

4.0 18-49

10.29 million viewers

[MoTheGreat]

I still think Jamal should have been playing music or writing songs for other artist in Empire.

2nd, how old is Hakeem for him to be drinking like a fish? & isn't one of his friends a girl dress like a guy? Why did she follow the boys to see about Tiana. We don't know if Tiana dancers are into girls who dress like guys.

[Eric83]

Yaaaasss Empire! Break the FOX curse!

[Cheap21]

bc she was sentenced to jail for over 2 decades. Most men arent going to stick around and IMO they dont need to give a reason. To me thats enough and it wouldnt make sense if he was still married to her

Hakeem is 18. He could have a fake ID or with his long cash, bartender may not have cared

Edited January 15, 2015 by Cheap21