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I'm fine with Zack's reunion with Kelly being cannon, but couldn't the writers come up with a less asinine way to bring that about? Since they are taking liberties with the book's plotting, they surely could have come up with a way that didn't counter what little character development Zack had? After Kelly's kidnap attempts in Red Hook, I thought Zack finally realized that his mom as he knew her was gone. I cannot understand why this show would go through the trouble and expense of introducing characters, plot points and entire story arcs that went nowhere. I feel like this show has been one giant money laundering scheme.

That's a great idea! Since my interest in the show is purely visual (DJ and the pretty mountains), I should watch the whole thing on mute.

Boring and predictable. Trope after trope. If it weren't for Don Johnson and the scenery, I would have changed the channel.

I love your post, Fredward! Can we please get your line "...she is her own kind of darkness" over to Stevie Nicks, because that needs to be the title track of her next album. I give Reeve Carney a pass because my view of Dorian is that of (for lack of a better term that I hope does not offend) an overgrown frat boy. Carney has been giving me immortal 20-year old with no moral compass and all the money in the world realness, and I am here for it. Dorian is just not that deep, and he is going to get bored with Bronlily and her diabolical plans soon enough. Is it crazy that I ship Vanessa/Caliban? I cannot wait for season 3!

I hate the progressively fatal illness as plot line too Attica, especially when the climax is "sorry, misdiagnosis!" I was wrong about Gordon's illness (I thought cancer), but I still think that Donna will get an abortion.Bos is EVERYTHING! I also loved when he told Cameron that, from a business standpoint, taking out her operating system was the right thing to do. However, in that scene with Lev and the gang, given that Bos clocked a guy in Season One for implying that Joe was gay, I would have expected him to be a little more uncomfortable to say the least. I will say that the writers have shown Bos to be a progressive thinker in spite of being part of the "older generation," so I give that a pass- unlike the whole Joe/Cameron/Simon plot in last season's "Giant" episode that, in my opinion, was totally written from a 2014 perspective. Wow, Sarah don't take no mess! I like that and I hope that wasn't the end of her this season. I would like to see more.

Super late to the party, as I just managed to catch this episode this morning. However, what I really like about this show is that even though I've spoiled myself by reading the recap and comments, I still manage to find fresh insight upon viewing. Poor Joe! It looks like he was trying to go through the proper channels, but once he came to the realization that, as Jacob Wheeler's son-in-law, he would never be taken seriously, he fell back into his old "I'll show them," pattern self-sabotage. Since he seems to leave a path of destruction (flood/IBM & fire/Cardiff) upon leaving each company, I wonder what natural element he will use to bring down this one. Maybe lightening? Of course as soon as Cameron opens herself up to the possibility of someone else Joe will reappear, because that is exactly how the universe works. I wonder if she will pass the test. I love that Bos is back on the scene! My disease of the week theory is that Gordon has cancer. I thought that it was sweet how Joe genuinely seemed concerned after he passed out. I think that Donna is going to have an abortion. There have been too many career vs motherhood anvils on this show for me to ignore.

My 2 cents: Dorian made his Faustian deal with Lucifer's brother and will be enslaved by him for eternity (represented by his chained image in the portrait).

I LOVED Night Flight! I wish that some equivalent was still on.

To me, Joe's inaction regarding the Cardiff money is a sort of penance. He knows he's entitled to it and probably knows that he would easily win a court case. However, in my experience, when you feel guilty about something you will allow yourself to be treated the way you think you deserve. I think on some level he really feels bad about Cardiff and not profiting from the sale is his way of making things right, for now...That said, I'm so glad that Scheming Joe is back because Average Joe wasn't doing anything for me. Was I hallucinating, or did the binder he looked at in the computer room say Cardiff Electric? To me, Joe's fashion statement at dinner was supposed to show Gordon and Donna how much he changed. He's no longer the slick suit and Italian shoe wearing puppet master of season 1. I'm not convinced it's love, but Sara does complete the whole "look" quite nicely. I think Donna's opinion of Sara has more to do with an unspoken loyalty to Cameron than genuine dislike. And speaking of which, I am so sick of her "I believe that coders are the future - and this bird you cannot change" routine. I thought her behavior at the end of season 1 was very childish and it's gotten worse in my opinion. I am sorry that Donna is in that mess too, but the Mutiny meltdown might be just the thing to give her a huge dose of reality. I must say that I am really enjoying Halt. I work with legal marijuana businesses and a lot of the innovation and forward-thinking depicted on the show reminds me of what I am seeing in that industry, which is also in its infancy. Edited to add - Toby Huss RULES!!!!!

Room for one more LanceHunter? This comment had me LOLing all over the place because Joe being some kind of Terminator-like alien robot from the future would totally explain the lengths he goes to on his quest for PC domination. Not totally finished with season 1 on Nextflix and I am not sure of it's Joe the character that I like, or his playlist on Spotify that I am obsessed with. Sticking with it and looking forward to the rest of the new season.

I LOVE this theory as well! This show is getting a lot better too since it appears that the cast is committing to the campiness of it all. The casting director also needs a medal for finding an actor who looks so much like Liz Hurley it's frightening.

It is my understanding (I can't believe that I am even attempting to break down this show, but...) that the rest of the ladies really weren't so close to Marci. Marci and Alex were best friends (shady!!!) and Alex introduced Marci to the group when Kelly was looking to buy the gingerbread house for her and Travis. I think that's why the rest of the ladies were all "ride or die" with Alex. The only other person that Marci opened up to was Kelly because they were both being cheated on. Kelly, in turn, felt sorry for Marci and gave her the clues to Peppa's identity.

I'm watching! I stumbled upon this beautiful disaster last summer and now I am back for more. Randall was just too thirsty for words.

My list is a little different. My first wish is for the season 2 to remain at 12 episodes. To me, the limited number made for a more exciting season, with no time for filler and waste. The storytelling was crisp and vibrant, which kept me coming back week after week. My second wish is for no repeated episodes within the season. Too many series have gotten into the habit of airing a few fresh epsidoses at the start of the season, and then a bunch of repeats interspersed with a few new episodes here and there. I knew that I could count on a new Empire each week which inspired loyalty. There is too much competition and if you keep with the repeats it's out of sight , out of mind (I'm looking at you Black-ish).

Thank you Brooklynista! Has it been established that she is even trying to back with Huck in that way? She could just be trying to do the right thing after reading all that disturbing B613 information that he literally left on her doorstep? Honestly, I would be laughing for a smooth 10 minutes if after all of Huck's crazy eyed shenanigans, she tells him that she's not interested in reuniting the family. After all, she now knows what he is capable of.

THIS all day! This show is a victim of poor writing choices. I agree with all the folks who thought that Robert's death should have occurred at the end of the episode or within the season. To me, the villainous uncle's villainy is wasted because, unless he is working with a group of terrorists, he is too far back in the line of succession for all this mustache twirling. The Prince/commoner story needed a new twist, either a woman of color or make her gold digger of the year. With the amount substances coursing through her system, why did the security guy even have to drug Princess Die? Another poor writing choice! What do they mean by Ophelia's (Are they foreshadowing with that name?) mother died because of the King? With all of this "choose love" talk, why do I feel like the King and Ophelia's mom had something going on? I will wait for the arrival of my spirit animal Joan Collins, but this needs a LOT of work!

My take on this is that the writers are trying to show that at the end of the day, Lucious' rejection of Jamal is ironic (I hope that I am using that term correctly) because he is the son that is the most like him and the one who possesses all of the attributes that he is looking for in the future leader of Empire. The only thing holding back him back is lingering stereotypes about homosexuality. That tough behavior IS natural for Jamal and, based on past behavior, it made sense to see him standing down the gunman, not trying to buy his way out (like Hakeem and the watch) or cowering with Rhonda behind a chair. Just like it made sense for Cookie, the toughest member of the family to try to grab the gun.

Not only do I think that Andre is going to be born again, but I can see him becoming the preacher of a mega church and taking down Lucious! LOL! My take on this episode's Maury moment is that we, the audience (via the brief flashback where Olivia and Lucious exchanged "knowing looks") are the only ones who are supposed to know for sure that Lucious is Lola's father. All that Jamal and the rest of the Lyons family seem to know is that Jamal may not be Lola's father. What confused me however, was the reactions of those who witnessed the standoff. For such a usually over the top group, I found everyone, especially Cookie, to be way too calm. After the exchange with Hakeem and Jamal, they all seemed to accept that Lucious said what he said to literally take the bullet for his family. Maybe this will revisted in the finale?

Thank you Eve! Regarding the addicts, it totally felt like the writers originally envisioned them to be addicted to heroin, but then some network executive read the script and said "hey, Breaking Bad is huge, so let's make them meth heads instead." I need to watch this episode again. I was too emotionally spent after Scandal and I didn't give it my full attention. I will say that the last few minutes had me intrigued enough to give the series a chance. This didn't hook me from the jump, but this could be a slow burn.

I must admit that I am also a little concerned about how fast they are burning through the plot, but hopefully Daniels, Strong and company have an overall plan. This reminds me of the only other show that I was this excited about, "The OC." Season 1 was appointment television and then it became clear that characters were being written into corners because story lines were advanced too quickly.

From what I gathered from "game recognizes game" scene during the family dinner/get together earlier in the season, I don't think that Cookie and Anika really hate each other. Cookie talks sideways to everybody, even people that she loves. In regards to Anika, Cookie wanted her man back and Anika was in the way. In turn, Anika saw the undeniable chemistry between Cookie and Lucious and lashed out in fear.

Me too CherryMalotte! I am PBS all day and literally have the mug too. This episode was EVERYTHING! They packed so much Pop/Hip Hop culture in, that I need to watch again because I know I missed a bunch. I picked up references to D'Angelo's "How Does It Feel" video, the Jay Z/Solange elevator fight, prison wine and sipping on lean in the studio. There was also Judd Nelson, whose mere presence screams "New Jack City," and for the NYC folks, Creedmoor, which is a notorious psychiatric hospital. I am going to go fetal when this season ends in 2 weeks??!! Why!!!!!!

Queens does have a nickname. Crazy Ass Queens

I like this Babalu!Djsunyc, I watched way too many soap operas in my day, so I am thinking that mother hid the pregnancy from Sam or that she did not realize that she was pregnant until after the breakup/divorce.

Thanks so much for starting this thread Chrissytd because I was wondering if anyone else saw this. I can't get over how boring the movie was, so much so that after about an hour I stopped paying attention and went on YouTube to watch her old music videos. I forgot how much I liked "At Your Best," "Are You That Somebody," "Try Again" and "More Than A Woman." However, the movie was like a bad high school play.