Empire Season 4 Episode 4 Review: Bleeding War
Paul Dailly
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Is Fox trying to launch an Empire spinoff that focuses on the world of talent searching?
It certainly seemed that way on Empire Season 4 Episode 4 when Cookie realized she needed to spend the $100 million wisely to keep the firm afloat.
The exciting thing about the panel for the competition was that Cookie had taken on the role of the villain, while Lucious took on a more delicate approach to all of the performances.
If the performers were some of Empire's best, then I would not like to see the worst. Aside from a catchy song here and there, there was nothing to like.
The good thing about the competition was that it allowed Cookie to have some of the best one-liners of the series, but it also further solidified the fact that Lucious was once one of the worst people on the planet.
He knows he was no Saint and is trying to better himself, and I don't think to be in the environment that is the company is going to help him. As he remembers more and more about the past, it's going to be easier to slip back into old habits.
And there's no way in a million years that his family will accept him back with open arms when he inevitably returns to his old ways. Cookie battled with his complicated personality for three seasons.
Even his sons had trouble with him. Lucious was never accepting and always had a plan up his sleeve to change things up at the company. You could call him a career-driven man, but how do you explain all of the sketchy stuff he has done over the years?
I was excited for Anika attending some social events to reaffirm her status as the latest jailbird from the family to get another chance at life, but I was not on board with the way she acted.
She may have been in prison for a murder she did not commit, but she sure as hell murdered Rhonda and her unborn baby. That whole storyline has been conveniently brushed under the rug for a long time now.
Andre is never going to forget what Anika did, and that's why I cheered when he opened a can of whoop ass on her at the party. Anika is one of those people who like to make everyone think their life is perfect.
In reality, her life is in tatters, and she should be rotting away in jail. That could be said for most of the characters, but we'll not get into that today. I am genuinely surprised that none of the other characters have figured out what Diana is up to.
That woman is not going to be happy until the Lyons are destroyed, and considering the stunts she pulled on "Bleeding War," that's going to be sooner rather than later.
Angelo returning to serve the papers was great because it proved to the family that Anika was not messing around. It also showed us that Anika cannot be trusted any longer.
She was done with the family the moment they allowed her to go down for Tariq's murder. She did not commit that crime, but she sure as hell deserved to spend a lengthy stint on the inside.
It's difficult to care for Anika because the character was destroyed on Empire Season 2. Are we supposed to forget her trying to be all Sydney Bristow and wearing a blonde wig to get some revenge?
There's a definite lack of consistency with this series, but Empire Season 4 seems to be starting combat the issue by bringing in some new series regulars, and I hope that means the weaker characters will be fazed out.
Whatever happens, I want Tory to find a way to cause some drama. She was up the whole night helping Jamal with the song, and he dropped her like a hot potato.
There's a creative process that goes into making music, and I don't think he came to that decision lightly. However, the politics of Empire meant that Tory could not perform on her own as a white woman in music and that's not okay.
It was great to see Warren singing with Jamal again, but I couldn't enjoy it because I felt terrible for Tory. Yes, she did some questionable things on Empire Season 3, but she's tried to make up for them.
"Bleeding War" was a decent installment of this Fox drama series. The show is still heavily flawed, but it's great to see the powers that be are at least trying to right the ship.
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What did you think of the episode? Whose team are you on? Hit the comments!
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
