Last year’s breakout hit returns.
By Amber Dowling
“You’re turning into your daddy”
Truer words could not have been said, Cookie. Empire’s Wednesday night return very much capitalized on the idea that Jamal is becoming Lucious 2.0, and his soul is being chipped away bit by bit as a result. Or as much as it can be in a show fashioned after Dynasty. And that’s hard to watch as an audience member; in Season 1 Jamal was very much the heart of the show – the one character we could root for because he had all of the talent and worked so hard to prove himself despite his father’s ill wishes.
But in Season 2, with Jamal over to “the dark side” of Empire, that means there’s no one left to really root for. Cookie, while fun to watch, has done some terrible things in her time (snitching, anyone? Plotting to take Lucious down?) and Hakeem is immature and ridiculous at best. Although, he does ride around in style with that new segway of his.
With Lucious in jail, it was tough to see how the season could unfold, and indeed it seemed as though the show would focus much of the first half on the hostile takeover bid. Instead, the writers whipped through it with a frenzied speed, much to the benefit of the show. While Marisa Tomei’s Mimi character was so sexually super-charged it was comical, her surprise flip was one of the show’s best moments. Now, it’s secure that Lucious will maintain control of the company no matter where he is. Even if that is in jail.
“I have a sure fire hit song for you – it’s called ‘Straight Outta Locash’!”
The other major narrative push came in the form of Chris Rock, who played a cannibal gangster that Cookie snitched on back in Season 1. During what had been touted as a crazy scene from the premiere, he ate a fellow prisoner in order to gain Cookie’s name as the snitch. But rather than shock, the scene was more uncomfortable and weird than anything else, perhaps because buying Chris Rock as a gangster in that role was absurd.
Rather than draw that out, however, Cookie and Lucious reunited just long enough for the pair to declare their love/hate for each other, and for Lucious to take down the gangster once and for all. And all we had to sit through was one little head in a box.
Given the speed of which guest stars and storylines had been announced in the weeks leading up to the premiere, these were all promising signs that the show might actually be able to maintain its quick pace in the sophomore season, and won’t become bogged down by all of the hype.
Jamal is the new Lucious, Hakeem is the new Jamal, and Cookie is just… well, Cookie. And whether you’re into the show’s soapy storylines or not, that’s just plain old fun to watch. Unless she’s in an ape suit, which I can’t even begin to get into.
