I'm more than willing to believe Gathers can send roses from prison, and that he can kill in prison, and that he can even behead in prison without much fanfare. Let's talk about that head in a box for a moment. So he does the only thing that makes sense - and sends Cookie a severed head in a box, which appears to belong to Cookie's confidant (the head only receives about a second of screen-time). What Gathers suspects (and learns) that no one else knows is that Cookie's grand jury testimony put Lucious there. In Wednesday's premiere, two people were murdered, both incarcerated black men killed at the hands of other incarcerated black men.įrank Gathers - Chris Rock icily portrays him against type in one of the best guest appearances I can remember on television - has been transferred to the prison where Lucious is being held without bail. Perhaps the only thing Empire mines for dramatic scenes more than the Lyons' relationship with homosexuality is gang violence. Speaking of Jamal, last season's gay rights activist couldn't have looked more uncomfortable when his boyfriend's entourage appeared in his office.
Empire season 2 episode 1 jamal and tv#
In Wednesday's premiere, all it takes is one glance at Cookie and Whiteman chatting at the concert - on a TV screen in jail, no less! - for Lucious to figure out Cookie's plan with "that lesbian bitch in the red suit" and completely subvert it, keeping the company in Jamal's hands. Last season, Lucious went from wanting to put Jamal, who is gay, in both a literal and blatantly metaphorical trashcan to naming him the heir to Empire Records. are concerned.īut unlike Cookie's allegiances, some things don't change, and the show's fluid relationship with gay rights and homophobia is one of them. Manhattan may as well be Westeros as far as Cookie and Co. Sex sells, but money is power.Īnd in this sense, Empire's season premiere reinforces the show's guiding principle: Every man for himself. Whiteman invests, but she does so with Lucious, who offers a more lucrative deal. So Anika, against her wishes, sleeps with Whiteman, but fails to secure the dough. She pimps her sexual nemesis out to earn a controlling share in her jailed husband's company. (Remember, at the end of last season, Lucious named Jamal his successor, angering Cookie and her other two sons, Andre and Hakeem.) When Cookie discovers Whiteman has a crush on Anika, Cookie couldn't be happier to use this information to her advantage. Cookie is honey-potting her, hoping to bleed $250 million from Whiteman to purchase a controlling interest in Empire Records. Yes, her name is Whiteman, and she is played by Marisa Tomei. The extraordinarily wealthy Mimi Whiteman is also at the concert. Cookie opens the show dressed as a gorilla in a cage, complaining of the incarceration of black men before screaming for someone to let her out the second she's back behind the curtain. In typical Empire over-the-topness, the concert includes an Al Sharpton cameo and a nod to #BlackLivesMatter. Not justice for some, but justice for all!" - to support the family company Empire Records in public, while privately convinced (and hoping) her ex-husband will spend his life behind bars. Cookie's playing the crowd - "Justice for all. The concert and its hashtag are both a farce.
The episode opened with a #FREELUCIOUS concert - remember, he went to jail in last year's finale for the murder of Cookie's cousin Bunkie Williams.
No twist is too crazy for Empire.Īnd in that vein, Wednesday's episode, "The Devils Are Here," bailed on the first season's slow build to crescendo, and instead jumped right to murder, star-studded concerts, famous guest cameos (if you needed any proof that Empire is a phenomenon, just look to Chris Rock and Marisa Tomei's considerable roles), double-crossing, more murder, triple-crossing, brothers fighting brothers (literally), Cookie's increasingly eclectic wardrobe, sex parties, and partner swapping. So when Chekhov's single rose on the doorstep from season one reappeared in the season two premiere as a severed head in a box, I didn't even blink. And still, Wednesday's season two premiere might be Empire's greatest hit yet.Įach episode of Empire is catchy, crazy, soapy, absurd - and totally enthralling. Almost 17 million people watched the season one finale in March. Empire has been a smashing success for Fox, crushing its competitors in the ratings last winter to become broadcast television's number one show.