Empire Season 2 Episode 15 Review: More Than Kin
Paul Dailly
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Is Empire floundering?
On Empire Season 2 Episode 15, Lucious continued to try and regain control of Empire, and he managed to get somewhere after his most recent plan to get the board members on side.
The main snag for him was that he and Cookie would both be making decisions, with each of them getting fifty percent control of decisions made at Empire.
That sounds like a pretty good plan, but when you're a power hungry ass like Lucious Lyon, you just wouldn't settle for it.
I feel for Cookie. I really do. Whatever progress she thinks she has made with Lucious will all be thrown into turmoil in the coming weeks because it seems clear that he's about to do anything in his power to get rid of her.
I never thought I'd say that about him. I already knew his sons were expendable to him, but the fact that he's about to throw Cookie to the wolves just makes me sick to the stomach.
There are no redeeming qualities left in the man, and there's not much for Terrence Howard left to do on the show.
He never does anything nice for anyone without expecting something in return. That's part of the reason recent episodes just don't have the spark that earlier ones did.
Lucious and Cookie were great to root for because they seemed ripe to rekindle their burgeoning romance, but Lucious has just proved that he needs to pack his bags and leave New York for good because someone is about to take him out of the equation for good.
I can't actually believe that Hakeem is starting to like him again and get on the same page as him. It's very odd.
I know Hakeem isn't Anika's biggest fan, but he has to realize that Anika is just another casualty caused by Lucious and his reckless ways.
Anika's parents have the right idea wanting her daughter well away from the Lyon clan for good. She's in danger when she's near any of them.
Additionally, all the tripe with Harper and Lucious boggled my mind. Why the hell would he get down and heavy with a reporter? Doesn't he have any common sense?
Harper's reign of terror is far from over. She did make a great point that none of Lucious' children were there to save face for him at the fundraiser.
The fundraiser also made me furrow my brow at another character. Did anyone buy Michael as a caterer?
Why would he show up at an Empire event after what he did to Jamal? Better yet, why did Jamal even take him up on his offer of a drink?
Jamal can do so much better than Michael, so I hope the show isn't going to try and throw their relationship down our throats once more or I'll probably be finished with the show for good.
You know there's something amiss when not even Cookie can make you smile. Rather than have witty remarks, all she could muster up were vulgar innuendos.
Harper: My god, this woman got a tracking device in your sock, or something.
Cookie: This woman got a lot of things, honey. It smells fishy here.
Lucious: We were eating lobster.
Cookie: I'm sure.
It's like all of the characters have had personality transplants. None of their actions seem very logical. I'm beginning to think having all the guest stars earlier in the year was actually a good idea if this is the level of writing the powers that be can muster up for their most loved characters.
With three episodes left of Empire Season 2, the show really needs to get back to what it does best or there's a risk that a lot of viewers won't be returning with the show next fall.
"More Than Kin" was dull and predictable affair. The past two episodes haven been terrible and the show needs to stop retreading the same storylines over again. They also need to get establish some logical moves for these characters before they become the most disjointed characters on television.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- Harper has got to be one of the worst villains on the show to date. It was so obvious she had an agenda from the get-go.
- Freda is becoming one of the better characters, but that's all going to change when she finds out what really happened to her father.
- The music wasn't great this week. In fact, it was probably the worst music that has ever come from the show.
- Props to Lauren for standing by Hakeem and his looming fatherhood.
- Can Camilla please come back?
What did you think of the episode? Is it time that Empire got a revamp? Hit the comments below with your observations.
Remember you can watch Empire online, right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up on all the drama now!
Note: Empire Season 2 Episode 16 airs Wednesday May 4 at 9/8C on Fox.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
