Empire Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Sins of the Father

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Can you believe there's only one more super sized episode of Empire left?

I can already see myself going through some serious withdraws this summer! Empire Season 1 Episode 10 was solid on every level and it revealed a pretty big secret! 

Is there any redeeming Lucious at this point? Just when you think he can't get any worse, he gets worse. Is anyone else beginning to wonder if Lucious is going to make it to season two?

Yeah, I guess there's no way he won't, but I'm not sure how sad I would be if it happened. 

Lucious continued his closed minded reign of terror tonight, sending Vernon into a tailspin, refusing to visit Andre and taking shares from his sons to give to Cookie in the IPO deal. 

But none of this compared to the whopper he laid on everyone at the end. 

Raven Symone was back as Olivia this week and she came to town with a shadster dude named Reggie who was hell bent on getting Lola back. This may have been the seediest guy Empire has trotted out so far and when he showed up at the Lyon house, it was clear that something was going to happen.

However, I didn't expect him to pull out a gun! His anger towards Jamal was clearly misguided and a little abrupt, but it made for a pretty tense scene. I didn't think he was going to actually shoot Jamal, but I was still on the edge of my seat. 

Then I was wide-eyed and screaming when Lucious let the cat out of the bag. 

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! It was me! It was me! I'm the father. I put the baby in her, not him. I did it.

Lucious

What is wrong with him? Like honestly, what is wrong with him? So, he makes Olivia marry Jamal to what, keep up the appearance that he's straight and in return he promises to make her a star. And somewhere during their sham marriage, Lucious started sleeping with her. 

I reiterate, what is wrong with him?

Lucious's speech about everyone wanting him dead was pretty spot on. At this point, it's pretty safe to say he's a horrible person and after all the damage he's caused, it's not too far-fetched to think in that moment everyone wasn't thinking along the same lines, even if it was only for a moment. 

When Malcolm shot Reggie in the head, I jumped because for a second it looked like he shot Cookie. 

Can you imagine the outrage if Cookie died? Oh my God. People would never recover. 

With Reggie gone (thank goodness), Olivia and Lola departed as well. While I'll miss the adorableness that is Lola, I knew she was never meant to last in the Empire world. 

Aside from this monster confession, we checked in here and there with Andre, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. After the emotional upheaval in Empire Season 1 Episode 9, we only got to see tiny glimpses of Andre's treatment and a few flashbacks to show us just when Andre had his first break. 

The flashbacks were okay, they did give us Mary J. Blige and Jamal's amazing afro, but did we learn anything important? I can't really say we did. Except we now know Lucious has known Andre had a mental illness and SHOCKER he tried to act like it didn't exist. 

With only two hours left, there's no way Lucious can get worse, right? Right?!?!

Random Notes

  • Lucious tried to buy Camilla off because that's what Lucious does. It turns out she is heavy in debt and Lucious assumed she was a scam artist trying to milk Hakeem for money. Now, their relationship may be creepy, but I do think there is a genuine love there. Camilla was clearly devastated and there is no way that's the last time we'll see her. 
  • Cookie and Malcolm are officially a thing and boy are they hot together. That kiss was like, wow! I am absolutely loving these two together! Cookie deserves some good loving!
  • Jennifer Hudson made her appearance as Andre's musical therapist and she was okay, but we can all agree that when she shut the door and crouched down in between Andre's legs we were all thinking WTF! There's no way I was the only one who was shaking their head! Or maybe I watch too much TV. 
  • Jamal and Hakeem continue to be my absolute favorite thing in the world. I re-watched the scene of them singing Lola to sleep at least three times. 
  • Vernon had so many lines, but he also fell off the wagon. I don't frequent clubs much these days, but can you just snort cocaine openly like that? No one seemed concerned about his state when he showed up at the house, but then again, Reggie was with him and he was the creepiest dude in the world. 
  • Was that Bunkie in the flashback? 
  • Song of the week? Age Ain't Nothing But A Number by Hakeem was awesome! After the finale next week, we're going to have to rank our favorite songs. 
  • Most likely to take over the Empire? Hakeem. That's what Lucious seems to want. 

The end is near guys! What are your hopes/fears for the finale? Would this show actually kill Lucious off? What will Lucious do when he finds out about Malcolm and Cookie? Did you miss Boo Boo Kitty? Can Lucious be redeemed?

So many questions, but I'm sure you guys will have all the answers. Make sure to leave me a comment and watch Empire online before the first season comes to a close. 

Sins of the Father Review

Editor Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.2 / 5.0 (25 Votes)

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.

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Empire Season 1 Episode 10 Quotes

Well, I've been disloyal to my commander, by falling for his wife. That is a serious breach of every pledge I've ever sworn. So I hope you understand I will be keeping my distance. And I didn't want you to think I wasn't around. Yeah.

Malcolm [to Cookie]

Vernon: We got reasons to be cheerful, bro. Can't believe we about to take this thing public after all these years. Come on, don't leave me hanging.
Lucious: We? You mean me. This is mine, I built this.