S02.E01: The Devils Are Here

[photo fox]

Three months after the shocking arrest and incarceration of Empire Entertainment head Lucious Lyon. Still in federal lockup, Lucious is trying to run Empire from inside, while a headline-grabbing state prosecutor hangs her political ambitions on bringing him down - no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Cookie stages a star-studded #FreeLucious concert in his support, while scheming with Andre, Hakeem, Anika and the business savvy Mimi Whiteman to finalize the hostile takeover of Empire.

[politichick]

I am so excited for this show to start up again and while it may seem rather blasphemous with Pope Francis in town, and all, I am PRAYING that season 2 is as good as the first was. I met and interviewed the actor who plays Jamal this past spring and he was really smart and thoughtful. And because it cannot be said enough, Cookie is everything!

[SimoneS]

I am excited as well. I will ask the  mod if we can have live thread.

[Mozelle]

Oooooh. I can't wait! 

 

We're celebrating a friend's birthday tonight with some dancing, and I've already decided that I'm just gonna have to leave my house at 10 because I'm not missing this premiere.

[kristabell]

I am so excited! I don't remember being this psyched for a TV show in a long time.

[Chicago Redshirt]

"Whiteman"? Really?

[CherryMalotte]

I agree wholeheartedly kristabell - I haven't been this excited over the start of a show since the last GoT season.  

[photo fox]

I am excited as well. I will ask the  mod if we can have live thread.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, SimoneS!  I've started a live chat topic that will be open from the start of the show on the East Coast until the close of the show on the West coast.  I'm going to lock this topic for now, and reopen it when the show concludes on the East and Central time zones.

[Primetimer]

Cannibalism? Check. A caged Cookie in a gorilla suit? Check. Double-crosses? Double check.

Read the story

[mtlchick]

THAT was a lot to absorb.  But hey, Chris Rock was coming off as a full bad ass...until he died.

 

Any people will do ANYTHING for 250M.  "She can't even dyke right"? WOW. 

[Chaos Theory]

I. missed this crazy ass show.

Hi Chris Roxk...Bye Chris Rock!

Best line of the night: (might be paraphrasing a bit). You wanted to rule the streets. I want to rule the world.

I love the relationship between Luciiys and Cookie it is twisted and yet when it comes down to it they love each other.

I still don't know any of the kids names though. Maybe I should learn them.....

Edited September 24, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[SimoneS]

The premiere was craaazy. Cookie, Luscious, and Jamal are competing for the biggest badass title. 

Michael and Jamal have major chemistry, but he needs to run, run far away from Jamal who is going over to the dark side with his power hungry sociopathic father. The way Luscious told those guys to kill him, make it long and loud, then to say that he is going to sign his daughter and have sex with her... oy!

 

Cookie tried and came close, but Luscious still has the power to hold on. She had some classic lines though; "your father is a tampon," "you don't even dyke right." And that dress... 

 

Hakeem telling Jamal that he was going to tell mom was hilarious. He is still a little boy.

 

Oh, Andre, you are never getting your hands on that company. He needs to focus on his wife and baby.

 

Marisa Tomei was nearly unrecognizable. The pressure that Hollywood puts on women to stay looking young. Eck!

Edited September 24, 2015 by SimoneS

[HunterHunted]

Of course Hakeem would be on a hoverboard.

[peridot]

It was an interesting premiere.  It had the crazy moments I loved - "Anita" shaking her ass her money, actually following through with the deed, and the insults between Lucious and the prosecutor.

 

I loved that Cookie called Lucious a tampon, but wtf was up with the gorilla suit.  Hated that she tried to spin the takeover as for her sons' benefit.

I was unpleasantly surprised by the introduction of Miss Lawrence.  I didn't want to see reality TV stars on the show.

 

I was surprised that the drug dealer was taken care of so easily.

[ParadoxLost]

So two things that I didn't follow

1) Why did Jamal kick everyone out for betraying his father?  I didn't hear that wrong, did I?

2) What did Cookie do with the head in the box?  She wouldn't have been free to run around if she'd called the authorities.

[CofCinci]

Hashtag cannibal.

[Actionmage]

Still recovering from that jump back into the Lyon's crazytimes!

 

Carol was able to move and reasonably speak; she's a bit stronger than I think I would be in that sitch.

 

Still loving Becky and Porsha, though Jamal needs to quit channeling his inner whatever.  Lucious was respectful to Becky.

[LaChavalina]

2) What did Cookie do with the head in the box?  She wouldn't have been free to run around if she'd called the authorities.

Ha ha. As I was watching I sat here thinking to my self, "what would you do if someone mailed you a head? You can't just put that in a dumpster..."

 

So, do they not know that Vernon is dead yet? No one's seen or heard from him in three months and they think he's doing what, exactly? SMH

[CherryMalotte]

And this is why I love this show - it's got everything I could ever possibly want in an hour - family love, strife, settling scores, backstabbing, and heads in boxes.  And the music is good too - I mean, what more could you want?

 

I had to point out to my husband that it was Marisa Tomei - he didn't recognize her. 

[Neurochick]

I was surprised that Chris Rock didn't last, but it's all good, Empire is all about the Lyons.

So many DUN DUN DUN!!! moments, I loved it.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Neurochick

[tennisgurl]

My favorite imagine was Cookie and Bobo and Andre power walking into the boardroom...while Hakeem buzzes over in his hoverboard while texting. I missed you Hakeen.

 

I missed this whole crazy show. 

 

Heh Heh. Whiteman. 

 

Is it weird I still kind of like Cookie and Lucious? I mean, not as a real couple or anything, but I love their scenes together. They can just never be done with each other. 

[photo fox]

My favorite imagine was Cookie and Bobo and Andre power walking into the boardroom...while Hakeem buzzes over in his hoverboard while texting. I missed you Hakeen.. 

 

I know!  Hakeem was such an annoying dick in the first few episodes, but he's really endeared himself to me.

 

Andre's still my #1, though.

[Zazoo]

I thought it was clear that Jamal and Michael are back together. Was I reading that wrong? I liked the other guy better (don't remember his name), but he probably wouldn't be as forgiving of Jamal's new attitude.

[wanderingstar]

I'm digging Jamal's trip to the dark side. But, SimoneS is right - Michael should steer clear of the Lyon scion.

 

I enjoyed Boo Boo Kitty tonight - especially the booty shake.

 

Hakeem stays being immature I see.

[Vixenstud]

Very good eppy tonight!

 

The Concert – Why was Becky looking like Carmen Miranda’s SSBBW sister?!  Loved Cookie cutting off Al Sharpton mid-sentence.  Don Lemon got caught by the fat man, my sister had to tell me it was him. 

 

I want a ‘Free Lucious’ t-shirt.

 

Episode – Chris Rock was scary as hell, good performance.  Before he got killed, Lucious said something about signing his daughter at Empire but what did he say after?  I heard ‘bone’ somebody, anybody remember?

 

Marisa Tomei was great too and chile I…fell…out at BBK’s twerk dance; shit, my ass is thrice as big as hers yet I can’t twerk to save my life.

 

Really, Hakeem?  Hoverboarding into the office for a takeover?  Then threatening to ‘Tell Mama’ to Jamal?  Little bitch, but I missed him.

 

I knew when I saw that box that there would be a head in it.

 

Finally, TYRA MUHFUCKIN’ FERRELL!!  It has been years since she’s been on the screen, I screamed when she appeared and she was looking fierce!

 

Lines of the night….

 

Cookie to BBK ‘You cain’t even dyke right!’
Lucious to Cookie ‘Why you lookin’ like Mr. T.?’

 

Looking forward to the rest of the season

[tennisgurl]

I knew it was Empire time again...Drip Drop JUST got out of my head yesterday. That just could not stand. 

[yourstruly]

Loved it. So glad it's back! I actually put this on my calendar and cleared my schedule so that I would be home to watch it as it aired.

 

Love Jamal and Michael back together...because they are both so damn pretty. I don't see it ending well though. And I think gangster jr. is not in Jussie Smollett's wheelhouse-it wasn't that convincing to me.

 

Chris Rock was...surprising. It was more convincing that I would have expected. It was like an inverted Pookie.

 

And God help me, I know that he is a truly horrible person in real life, but I think Terrence Howard is such a good actor. His line deliveries, his choices...he's just deliciously entertaining to watch.

 

I think a good season premiere should get you excited to watch for the rest of the season and this nailed it. I am in.

[Straycat80]

Great first episode! I love the scenes of Cookie and Lucious together, they have such chemistry. Looking forward to the rest of this season.

[mtlchick]

 

My favorite imagine was Cookie and Bobo and Andre power walking into the boardroom...while Hakeem buzzes over in his hoverboard while texting.

 

My next door neighbour has one so my sister and I started to laugh when Hakeem rides out in one. 

 

Whatever I think of Terrance Howard overall (and that's before the domestic violence stuff) he is so good on this.  Him and Taraji egg each other on in art and in life (if you saw their Lip Sync Battle.)  It's weird to "ship" a couple that love/hate each other that much but it just works so well. 

Edited September 24, 2015 by mtlchick

[HunterHunted]

I love this show for having Don Lemon cameo and then clowning him.

[photo fox]

And God help me, I know that he is a truly horrible person in real life, but I think Terrence Howard is such a good actor. His line deliveries, his choices...he's just deliciously entertaining to watch.

 

This, so much this.  He's (Lucious) a horrible person on the show, too, and yet I weirdly root for him to win. Even while I root for him to lose.

 

Jamal needs to be slapped a hundred more times.  "Give someone power and you know who he really is..."

[phoenics]

I LOVED when Lucious went all Lion protecting his pride when Cookie was threatened. The way his face just went dead serious when she said there was a problem - and he admitted that he loves Cookie to Frank.

And Frank was eating Jermel? Really? *vomits*

The last 15 minutes were really, really good. Cookie slapping Jamal 2x and then Jamal closing the door on her... ugh my heart.

Boo Boo Kitty! "You can't even dyke right!"... wow... BBK might as well stop dressing like a bougie princess and get a little more edge. For all of her "This isn't me!!!" protests to Lucious last season when she was betraying him to Beretti, she's certainly proved that it most certainly IS her. She's treacherous.

But her twerking was awesome - especially for how subtle and PERFECT it was - bout time someone showed this girls today who just heard about it from Miley Cyrus (when we've been doing it 20 years) and think they know what it is.

The last 15 minutes, my jaw was just hanging open.

Also - kudos to the writers for actually having something from Cookie's past come back to haunt her that was in the first season (and that I thought they'd dropped). Although it was over way too fast.

[mtlchick]

I love this show for having Don Lemon cameo and then clowning him.

There must have been a memo as they clowned him on black-ish tonight too. 

[phoenics]

Great first episode! I love the scenes of Cookie and Lucious together, they have such chemistry. Looking forward to the rest of this season.

They need to have as many scenes together as possible. They are just amazing together.

And I think gangster jr. is not in Jussie Smollett's wheelhouse-it wasn't that convincing to me.

His most convincing moment for me was when he broke down on the other side of the door after his exchange with his mother. I couldn't believe he called her "lady". That broke my heart honestly. And I think it's way out of character.

[SimoneS]

Is it weird I still kind of like Cookie and Lucious? I mean, not as a real couple or anything, but I love their scenes together. They can just never be done with each other. 

 

That prison scene was fabulous. Two talented actors playing off either other with great dialogue. They went from insults to reluctant hard truths, Cookie admits that their sons are a mess since Luscious has been locked up and he admits that he loves her despite everything. Next they hit the serious note when she says, "they messing with us" and he squares those shoulders and replies, "who is messing with you?"  Great stuff. We don't get a lot of it on tv.

[phoenics]

Ya'll - tonight's 30 second commercial spots were $750k a pop. Fox is making all kinds of bank from Empire.

I wonder what the premiere numbers will be.

[sjohnson]

It just seems irrelevant to comment on Empire's good points. 

 

Looking forward to next week, when Jamal and Anika elope; Portia kills Carol; Becky is revealed to be Lucious' illegitimate daughter; there's a hostile takeover of the hostile takeover by Chinese Premier Xi Jinping; Lucious organizes a flash mob to infiltrate and conquer Liechtenstein as a cunning ploy to control his own overseas banking Empire, and, last but not least, Andre, his pastor and Rhonda have a threeway.

 

Just kidding, folks; I haven't got the imagination to guess where this show is going.

 

Go-Go Gorilla dancing in a cage! 

[EyesGlazed]

Welcome back, Empire, I missed you terribly!  And you especially, Cookie.  Regarding the crazy concert/protest:  so many reactions!  My suspicion is that Lee Daniels put Cookie in the ape suit not just to mock racism, but as a little joke about the status of Taraji and her character:  she is the big gorilla of TV now!  She's a cultural sensation.  The show has loads of acting and musical talent, but it's only honest to say that Cookie makes the whole thing work and the audience loves her best.

 

Regarding Andre Leon Talley:  Do not insult my girl Cookie about her last year's Gucci!  She's had more important things to think about than keeping up with Fashion Week.  Also: Porsha referred to Anna Wintour but called her something else, was it Anna Winner?  It was something funny.  Porsha is still a gas.  She's also dumber than a box of hammers and has no managerial or social skills, so it's kind of hard to see why she's still employed by Cookie.

 

I like seeing Jamal going over to the dark side, because he's acting it well and because I think eventually he's going to realize that he's happier being an artist than a CEO.  Andre's the one who would groove on being the CEO, not just for the power but because he likes the management stuff.

 

Chris Rock as a gangster . . .  hhhmm, no, did not work for me.  I'm a big fan of his, but he projects too much intellectual intelligence and too little menace for this role.  But in any case I guess he's gone now?  Unless we see him in flashbacks?  Which presumably we will have to because Lee Daniels has said he wants to tell more of the story of how the characters got to where they are today.

 

Still hoping Empire will slow down a bit.  That plot line of Frank finding out about Cookie and menacing the family and then being taken out by Lucious could have lasted three episodes or even more, and in my view it should have.  Wrapping all that up in under an hour was another instance of Empire not letting interesting situations play out.

[sluggish neko]

They sure tie up storylines fast on this show! I'm convinced that Lucious is some kind of unbeatable mastermind. He's in jail and still, he stopped the hostile takeover AND took care of Frank. At this rate, they should just assume that Lucious has already bought all their allies to turn against them so that he can mwa ha ha at them... from jail. Cookie's got her work cut out for her if she plans on taking him down. Then again, she obviously still cares for him too-- just like he has the same love-hate thing going on with her. In the end, all this fighting over Empire will probably end up being some kind of elaborate foreplay.

 

I love that Andre had to hold back Cookie to stop her from attacking Anika at the party. Her hostility toward Anika is never not funny.

[Syndicate]

It's still moving way too fast and not allowing things to develop. Also, still too many guests thrown in. I don't like it. It reeks of laziness. Just bombard every episode with guests so they don't have to do the real work of telling stories for the core characters.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Syndicate

[luckyroll3]

Yes "Anita" girl with the fast wine!  That's how the island gals do it!

 

Marisa Tomei was killing it, especially when she told that one chick she was trying too hard. 

 

Why does it seem that Michael is only interested in the money??  It would be nice to hear why Ryan is "a ho" and where he disappeared to. 

[Artsda]

That was a great episode, loved Lucious doing so much from jail.

 

I was totally team Jamal, the rest especially Cookie were acting like spoiled brats. Loved Jamal kicking her out, Hakeen and Andre didn't get the head spot but they are still there and part of the company them wanting to take it over just makes them look like idiots. Even without Lucious, there's still 2 of them and only 1 can run the company. They all rather lose money and tear it down because daddy didn't pick them?

[Dee]

Jamal is being just as big an ass as his brothers.

 

The company is large enough for all of the brothers to share but he's made it clear that he's the only one who feels entitled to reap the spoils.

[chabelisaywow]

 

Chris Rock as a gangster . . .  hhhmm, no, did not work for me.

Pookie yes uh drug king, no.

Looked like he was wearing padding.

Sorry - I love Chris too, but it was not believable.

[beetlesoda]

Hakeem on the hover board had me dying, what a great scene.

 

Welcome back show I didn't realize how much I missed you!

[MizStaken]

I think Jamal is trying way too hard to prove to his dad that he's a player. He's putting on a good show but I don't think he can keep it going at the expense of the rest of his family.

Was pleasantly surprised to see Michael again. That seemed to come out of left field. And I was wondering what it is that Michael is doing now for a job. Wasn't he going to chef school or something ?

Finding it hard to believe that no one can get anything past Lucious. It just deems totally ridiculous that he can be so many moves ahead of everyone else.

Wasn't impressed with the music this episode. But overall, so happy this show is back!

[Artsda]

Jamal is being just as big an ass as his brothers.

 

The company is large enough for all of the brothers to share but he's made it clear that he's the only one who feels entitled to reap the spoils.

Because the others are being  jerks trying to do a corporate takeover instead of being team players and actually like helping. Hakeems reaction to the cover art which was coming straight from Luscious didn't show Jamal being entitled but showed Hakeem won't listen to anything Jamal says because he wants to pout and sulk over not being in charge and Jamal is. The trying to do a corporate takeover an walking into the meeting like an ass saying he's in charge now just shows how much of an ass Hakeem is. The 2 who didn't get what they wanted and their first reaction was to do a corporate take over to sulk, punish their dad and take what they want makes them more entitled asses. 

[spinxella]

 

Boo Boo Kitty Booty Shake

 

 

Hakeem Hoverboarding to a Meeting.

 

Had me HOWLING.

 

Loved it!! Loved everything!

 

Ahh, I've missed this show so much. Welcome back, Empire ♥

[caracas1914]

OK, so already the battle for Jamal's soul.

I like it!!

[Syndicate]

I already have it in my mind that Michael is back to steal Jamal's money and run off with his new lover whom the audience hasn't met yet.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Syndicate