Empire Season 6 Episode 12 Review: Talk Less

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Rebuilding your life after a traumatic event is tough. 

Empire Season 6 Episode 12 zeroed in on Cookie's PTSD as she struggled to cope every time she heard a loud bang. 

When Cookie killed Tracy, she was under duress. She and Lucious were about to become casualties of a deranged woman who held a grudge against them since the dawn of time. 

Surprising Feedback - Empire

I appreciate that such an event would force Cookie to consider events from her past, but the revelation that she killed Carol's lover when she was younger came out of the left field. 

We needed some context on what pushed Cookie to murder, and the answers made sense. If you watch Empire online, you know she would do whatever she could to keep her family safe. 

Cookie, Yana, and Lucious - Empire Season 6 Episode 12

Even though Carol's lover attacked her on countless occasions, he also hit the children. Cookie was was always left to pick up the pieces, and her primary concern was that she was going to get a call that Carol or the kid was dead. 

While it didn't seem like Cookie to kill someone in cold blood, she didn't go into the house with the intention of murder. She wanted to threaten him into leaving town. 

Candace: Why don't we have a toast to Cookie divorcing Lucious?
Carol: Oh, yes.

It was only when he lunged at her that she pulled the trigger. That I can get on board with because it is well-written in terms of how far Cookie would go to keep everyone safe. 

We know someone puts a bomb in Cookie's car and murders her before the series wraps, and Carol doing that seems like a big stretch of the imagination. 

Chatting About Their New Lives - Empire Season 6 Episode 12

But Carl has proven to be unpredictable when put in certain situations. If the truth comes out before the car bombing, we can't rule out Carol,

For now, Cookie is going to continue struggling unless she seeks help. There's a part of her that will never truly be able to leave her crimes in the past. 

She's pushing herself into Bossy Media under the guise that everything is fine and dandy, but she's going to have to confront the past before long. 

What I liked was that she was on board with bringing Yana into the fold. There was, understandably, some apprehension because Cookie only just legally got rid of Lucious, but she knew it was right. 

The thing that worked the most about this storyline was that Cookie didn't want to steal Yana from Lucious. Cookie understood that Lucious helped hone her singing ability and that they worked well together. 

Yana Sings - Empire Season 6 Episode 12

Yana is a class act, and I like that she's not being portrayed as power-hungry. She was never really sure of her singing ability, and she's going to be propelled to stardom overnight if Lucious and Cookie get their way. 

I do wonder if Yana would have landed at Bossy Media if Damon hadn't forced Giselle to get her signed. Bossy Media is playing a dangerous game, and something tells me the laundering will be blamed on Cookie. 

Record Label Owner: Murders, money laundering. I've watched you run through this music industry like chaos.
Lucious: There's a method to this madness, I assure you.

If the feds close in before the end of the series, the investigator will probably be someone who tried to take down these two Lyons when they were at Empire. 

Cookie and Lucious taking the fall for something they had no part of is poetic justice when you consider the way they've swindled people over the years. 

Kingsley taking over Andre's body is tired already. It was obvious from the jump that it wasn't the Andre we've followed since Empire Season 1 Episode 1

Lucious Smiles - Empire Season 6 Episode 12

He seemed well put together, confident, and not battling any demons throughout most of "Talk Less." It's a shame that all he gets are terrible storylines that lack the spark the other characters get to work with. 

Killing off Kingsley was a terrible move because he would be a great player in the world of the living now that Jamal and Hakeem are not part of the narrative. 

Teri was always going to snap. She's put up with a lot from the Lyons, and she just wanted to have a nice meal in her new abode. 

It's too bad that nobody could play nice with her, but she's going to be livid when she learns that Andre wasn't even lucid when they had their tryst in the bathroom. 

Teri is growing close to a part of Andre that should cease to exist before long, and she might realize that she doesn't love him. 

Becky's Worrying Call - Empire Season 6 Episode 12

Showing up at the office with sexy lingerie threw Andre for a loop, but it also confused Teri. She figured they were in a good place, but instead, she realized they couldn't be further apart. 

Quincy trying to manipulate the children of the ASA voters may have seemed like a stroke of genius to some, but bringing drugs into the mix creates unimaginable consequences. 

After realizing Andre didn't know about the drugs, Quincy is going to try to prove to his mother that there's something amiss. 

Whether that will be enough to push Teri to turn her back on Andre, I don't know, but it's sure going to be fun to watch. 

"Talk Less" was a marked improvement over Empire Season 6 Episode 11, but the series is still running on fumes.

Kingsley's Rampage - Empire Season 6 Episode 11

Not a single storyline feels like it's wrapping up. Instead, yarns of story are still getting spun as though the show doesn't have an end in sight. 

What do you think of Cookie's PTSD storyline? Do you think Teri will ditch Andre? Will Damon turn on Lucious again?

Hit the comments below. 

Empire airs Tuesdays at 9 pm on FOX. 

Talk Less Review

Editor Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.9 / 5.0 (36 Votes)

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

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Empire Season 6 Episode 12 Quotes

Candace: Why don't we have a toast to Cookie divorcing Lucious?
Carol: Oh, yes.

  • Permalink: Oh, yes.
  • Added:

Record Label Owner: Murders, money laundering. I've watched you run through this music industry like chaos.
Lucious: There's a method to this madness, I assure you.