Empire: Discussion Thread

[Juliajms]

Now that the whole family is getting attached to this little girl, I hope she really is Jamal's. I have my doubts though. The mother was married to a gay man who had sex with her once, tell me she wasn't cheating.

I would have felt a lot worse for Anika, if she hadn't drugged Elle earlier. That was low. I thought Anika looked a little guilty for what she did, but that doesn't change the fact that this could be the relapse that kills Elle.

When Cookie put her hand on the glass outside of the hospital room.

That breakdown made it pretty clear to me that Ronda really does love Andre. I was only a little surprised by that.

I continue to think that Jamal and Hakeem compliment each other musically.

[xtr]

I agree. I think that one of the best things about this show (and possibly the best thing) is the emphasis of the importance of family. No matter what issues the Lyons may have with each other, at the end of the day they still love each other and will ultimately come together when they need to. I think we saw several examples of that tonight, including Lucious and Jamal's conversation, the family looking after and caring for Jamal's daughter, and Hakeem/Jamal/Cookie rallying around Lucious after they found out about his illness.

I like that no matter what happens between the different members of the family, it's ultimately about all of them being a family. I think that aspect paired with the characters being interesting, helps make this show so good.

I am glad there is a good family soap on prime time again.

Edited February 19, 2015 by xtr

[All My Shadows]

Okay, WTF!!

http://bossip.com/129350/wth-raven-symone-has-a-baby-girl-by-her-gay-lover/

This is from 2009.

[Juliajms]

That site implies it's some kind of scandal, but even if it were true, so what?

[NothinButAttitude]

I'm glad that there is another family soap on primetime too.

Early on, I felt like Alexis, Blake, and Krystle were going to be redone but I am glad that Lee, Danny, and Ilene put their own spin on it. It's refreshing to see Lucious waffle between the two women instead of scolding and demeaning his ex and mother of his kids like Blake did.

How Empire is now is what Y&R should be. Instead of murderous sons coming back from the dead, a baby whining daughter, and an airhead son and daughter, we should be seeing Abby, Nick, Victoria, and Adam fighting for Newman at this stage while Victor slowly fades out much like Lucious. And I love the business dialogue between the characters on Empire too. While I may not be too business savvy, it's nostalgic to see characters have careers and aspirations instead of 90% of the show wrapped around bed hopping relations.

[NothinButAttitude]

It's not true. It was apparent that the two were just bearding for one another till they both came out. Jussie and Raven are nothing more than best friends. I didn't believe it back then when the alleged rumors were rampant.

[All My Shadows]

I only shared because I thought it was crazy how that rumor, which I figured was untrue bc I've never heard of Raven having a kid, is vaguely similar to the storyline playing out on the show right now.

[NothinButAttitude]

I think this is part of the reason why Lee hired Raven for the role. To *wink, wink* at their history in the press together. It was a popular urban myth throughout the urban blogs that year.

[Juliajms]

I see. I guess I found it a little believable, since they said he was a sperm donor.

[slick jones]

Lee Daniels and Danny Strong have done a phenomenal job! What an amazing episode, not one minute I wasn't glued to the screen!

Edited February 19, 2015 by slick jones

[Mr. Vixen]

Okay, finally caught up (except for tonight's episode, which I'll watch tomorrow).

Tried to catch up with this thread but I couldn't read 60 pages lol. Love y'all but no.

Main points:

Cookie is the best character on TV and Taraji is one of the most talented actresses of her time.

Love all the character relationships.

I like that they're developing Anika a bit more but I hate her.

Y'all can have Jamal and Andre….I'll take Hakeem.

Oh and, also...

Name's cookie…Ask about me.

[Vee]

Easily the best episode so far. And they're all good, but that was damn impressive.

What annoys me is when people dog on the show, dismissing it as just "camp". It's not camp. It's broad and operatic in its scope, but it is still packed with so much character, so much grit and raw emotion. They can paint Andre as a dangerous snake while also making you feel for him and his scheming wife. Everyone on the show has a point of view and it is valid. Even that bitch Anika - I was sympathetic to her until what she did to Elle Dallas tonight, which was horrific. Elle deserves her chance at redemption, and she did a great job on that new song.

I am a massive fan of "Money for Nothing" since I was little, and that cover was fantastic. Everything from about 25-30 minutes onward was beyond perfect. Cookie's speech, the finale, everything.

[Angela]

The show is camp but really delicious camp with pathos.

The scenes with Andre and his wife were really good. On the surface it seems to be all about money and power, but she's clearly ride or die for him and his breakdown was because, mental illness aside, deep down he probably loves or at least needs his father to be his father the most out of all the brothers.

I don't know if I'm appreciative of how quickly they got Lucious and Cookie back hooking up. I was thinking they'd hold out until Season Finale or the beginning of Season 2 at least. Cookie should be no hands in the cookie jar pissed until at least Season Two. She's clearly ride or die too. I'm perplexed but not mad.

Put together Elle's singing was still pretty much off-key. If Anika had heard her she probably wouldn't have done her so durty. I ain't mad at her though. I mean Cookie already got some poor dude murdered because Lucious sent her a rose. Both women are clearly a little bit dangerous.

TH did a wonderful job tonight. Taraji is usually stealing the show outright, but tonight he definitely got some good shine.

Hakeem confuses me. He looks like a butch girl but I do think he's cute when he's doing his rap thing. I like his rap thing better than Jamal's R&B thing TBH.

I can tell baby girl is so not going to be Jamal's baby girl with the family already getting so attached to her.

[NothinButAttitude]

I could've sworn you were already watching. But if not, welcome! Now if we can get Carl & Khan to start....

I agree. The only thing that is camp is the flashiness of the characters but they are all complex. It annoys me how some people online still feel that this show is just 'some soap' with no substance. Clearly they aren't watching the same show as the mass are. This show is stellar because it is filled with a bunch of round characters. Even Hakeem, who sadly is the most dogged character on the show [by the audience].

I think everything about this show is near perfection. I don't wanna hex it by caving in and calling the show perfect.

[Vee]

If you want Carl to watch the show you better turn the screws. It's been two years and I'm pretty sure he hasn't finished the last couple episodes of AMC and OLTL 2.0.