As far as Empire fall finales go, Empire Season 6 Episode 10 lacked the excitement we've come to expect from this soon-to-conclude drama. 

Instead of preparing for the looming endgame, "Cold Cold Man" was another hour that could have been cut down to a few scenes and tacked on to another episode. 

If you watch Empire online, you know fall finales tend to leave us questioning the fate of several characters after some wild event. 

So, I can't be the only one frustrated the final scene involved Tracy waving a gun at both Cookie and Lucious.

Empire Season 6 has already shown us flash-forwards to the final episodes, so we know Cookie and Lucious both survive their scuffle with this power-hungry woman. 

There would have been more of an impact if some other characters were left fighting for their lives through the holiday, but it appears the Empire writers are throwing all logic out the window as we approach the final episodes. 

Tracy needs to go. The only way this silly cliffhanger will work is if Lucious or Cookie manages to take her out to save both their lives. Tracy brings little to the series and is the perpetual conflict that pops up to stir the pot every single time things are going well. 

I swear to go, Lucious. If I'm not going to be your ex-wife, I will be your widow.

Cookie

• Permalink: I swear to go, Lucious. If I'm not going to be your ex-wife, I will be your widow.

Her ultimate goal was to get back together with Lucious, and that's sad. He supplied her with drugs 37 years ago, got her knocked up, and refused to acknowledge her existence or the existence of their son. 

It's bizarre, and she needs to wisen up if she wants to keep her skin in the game. Her days at Empire are already numbered, and I'm not quite sure how that works given that she was given a powerful position in exchange for Kingsley's heart on Empire Season 5 Episode 18. 

She's armed with a lot of secrets about the past that could destroy the entire Empire brand. 

As for Cookie waving the gun at Lucious, he deserved it. The man would not sign the divorce papers and kept flaunting his relationship with Yana. 

The cookie crumbled when Yana was wearing the necklace that belonged to Cookie's father. It was a cold and calculated move from Lucious and one that he will live to regret. 

Cookie wants to move on from Lucious, but he keeps trying to lure her into a false sense of security, telling her he's changed. We've spent six seasons with him, and he's only grown more wicked over the years. 

It's time for her to cut him out of her life for good. He's like a rot that keeps spreading, growing bigger by the episode, and infecting everything else in her orbit. 

We still don't know who pulls the trigger on Lucious, but we can now add Yana and Damon to the list of suspects. I appreciated Cookie talking to Yana woman to woman. 

Cookie: Did you sign the divorce papers yet?
Lucious: I told you...
Cookie: Ya-ya-ya, you having a heart attack stupid?

• Permalink: Ya-ya-ya, you having a heart attack stupid?

Yana is a smart young woman, and she knew from the get-go that Cookie was not a disgruntled ex-wife trying to get her husband back. There was pain behind Cookie's eyes as she explained how Lucious takes people for granted before cutting them off when he's manipulated them as much as he can. 

Yana is now a woman scorned, and she could be the one to take Lucious down. That would work, especially when you consider his past with her father.

Then there was Andre. It seemed out of character for him to threaten a woman, but I'm not a fan of the whole Mr. Robot-like storyline involving Kingsley taking over his body and calling the shots. 

Initially, it seemed the relationship between Teri and Andre was going to be about the pitfalls of history repeating. There's potential there for them to become as toxic as Cookie and Lucious, but now the plot is slipping all the way into soap territory. 

Empire is a primetime soap, so that's not entirely a bad thing. But this particular plot with Kingsley taking the wheel of Andre's body is so far out there that it's difficult to care about. 

It could work in Andre's favor because this could allow this part of his personality to get rid of the people who are causing problems for him. Andre is slowly but surely turning into a villain. 

His thirst for control of Empire is making him travel a dark path, one that will keep him away from his family, possibly for good. 

Bossy Media getting zero nominations at the ASAs was warranted. The company should be called Messy Media, because Giselle and Becky have no clue what they're doing. 

Bringing Cookie in to help steer the company in the right direction was the best course of action, but Giselle needs to understand that Cookie is a proven hitmaker. 

Giselle's jealousy was on full display when she stormed out of the nominations ceremony because she was jealous Melody's story resonated with everyone. 

You would think Giselle would have been glad Melody was so well-received because it meant Bossy would be in good standing with investors, as well as the public. 

But no, the producers seem to think pitting women against each other the best way to create some drama. The good they did by having Cookie and Yana understand each other was mostly washed away by this point. 

Yana: My daddy? What does my daddy have to do with this?
Cookie: You have no idea.

• Permalink: My daddy? What does my daddy have to do with this?

We have eight episodes left before Empire rides off into the sunset. Hopefully, the narrative isn't as confusing in those final episodes. 

What did you think of that cliffhanger? Did it fall flat for you? Should Cookie have killed Lucious?

Hit the comments below. 

Empire returns in March. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.