S04.E01: Noble Memory

[Princess Sparkle]

On the brink of Empire Entertainment’s 20th anniversary, Lucious is making his first public appearance after the explosion in Las Vegas, while all members of the Lyon family, as well as Lucious’ nurse, Claudia, have their own interests in Lucious regaining his physical and mental faculties.

Crossover episode with Star Season 2, Episode 1.

[mtlchick]

I was thinking that Lucious was pulling the long con about his lack of memory about the events...until I saw he only has 1 leg.  Even when his memory  fully comes back, he's never going to be the same. 

 

Still on the fence about Claudia, but Phylicia Rashad's speech about picking the meat off the Lyon's bones is one of the things I still love about this wacky show.  Now I need my showdown between her and Leslie Uggams!

 

Oh show.  You never fail to make it interesting.

[SimoneS]

Great season premiere. This season promises to be very good. I am shocked that Lucious lost a lower leg although the brain damage was expected. The show isn't playing. No wonder Andre is desperate to hide the fact that he was behind the plot. Lucious is going to crush him when he gets his memory back and figures out that it is Andre who did that to him.

I hate that Cookie has fallen for Lucious again. He will be back to being his evil self soon enough. I hated her dress at the Empire celebration.

Where is Lucious' mother? She needs to kill off Claudia. I can't believe she is letting that woman rule her son and her home. Claudia has no idea what she is in for with Lucious and that family.

Phyllis Rashard is coming hard at Cookie. I hope we see more of Taye Diggs. I still think that she made a mistake dumping him for Lucious.

Why are there never any men dancing with Jamal or why does he never flirt with guys on the stage?

Gabourey is looking good.

Edited September 28, 2017 by SimoneS

[MyAimIsTrue]

Terrence Howard acted the hell out of this episode.  His scenes at the outdoor table and the dock were some of the best I've seen on the show.

[Syndicate]

Diana DuBois is going to be quite messy this season. I still think Warren genuinely falls for Jamal, however, I can't tell if he's gay or just pretending to be, which if he isn't, would open up a HUGE can of worms.

[Dee]

WELCOME BACK SHOW! YOU HAVE BEEN MISSED!

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

I was thinking that Lucious was pulling the long con about his lack of memory about the events...until I saw he only has 1 leg.

I think he's pulling a long con despite the leg amputation. The way he "acted" at the anniversary party was just too smooth. If he'd really sustained permanent cognitive damage, I don't think he'd have been able to pull that off.

My theory is that he suspects everyone - including Cookie - in the hit, and he's going to "play dumb" until he figures out with 100% certainty who was behind it. It won't take long if Shyne keeps shooting people in his car - how stupid/sloppy is that guy?

Who's paying Demi Moore to travel with Lucious across the country and be with him 24/7? She's acting more like a professional escort than a healthcare professional.

Why can't poor Jamal ever have a love interest who doesn't have ulterior motives?

I loved Jamal performing the song that Cookie had written in prison.

[Dee]

13 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Why can't poor Jamal ever have a love interest who doesn't have ulterior motives?

He had a potential relationship with gorgeous Phillip which was inadvertently ruined by Mal's own messiness.

[Margohill]

Great season premiere and I was quite taken aback by how changed Lucious Lyon is now.

1 hour ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Terrence Howard acted the hell out of this episode.  His scenes at the outdoor table and the dock were some of the best I've seen on the show.

Totally agree with this. TH's acting was very convincing and phenomenal. At the beginning, I was convinced Lucious was faking his memory loss but by the end of the episode, I wasn't so sure about that.

First off, I can't help but feel really sorry for Cookie. This woman has been through so much sacrificing a lot to create an Empire and through it all, she is yet to enjoy the benefits and to get the happiness she so craves with being with Lucious. She has taken on so much and is still standing strong. Hail to the Queen!!

Lucious Lyon of the past is no more, at least for now. I was shocked he lost a leg and his memory loss is wrecking havoc with his family. The good part of it all is that we are seeing some of the best acting by TH and the family coming together to support him. Lucious being so kind, loving and sympathetic is a STRANGE thing to a lot of us but I am liking this side of Lucious. Some of the scenes brought tears to my eyes.

Andre will be destroyed by guilt if Shine doesn't get to him first. Shine is evil and I'm afraid he will destroy Andre. Terrible how the tables have turned for Andre. I can't wait to see how this story arc plays out especially when Lucious and Cookie find out that he was behind the bombing. I am surprised how no one has questioned why Andre screamed at his parents in Vegas to get away from the car just before it exploded. How did he know something was wrong? Someone should be thinking about this

Hakeem and the terrible Mrs. Dubois OMG! I just don't know what to make of this. Mrs. Dubois is one smooth operator. She thinks she can play dirty but has no idea she is knee deep in crocodiles. The Lyons will eat the Dubois alive. I love her character though and she brings a lot to the show.

The nurse Ms. Claudia is really getting on my last nerve. She is up to no good but what makes the writing so good is that we don't know if she is really working to help Lucious regain his memory or has ulterior motives but her presence is a nightmare for Cookie. Poor Cookie has to keep fighting all these women in Lucious's life back to back. So unfair.

Jamal and his weakness for relationships. His song at the Empire 20th anniversary was great though but he really needs to lay off relationships for now. This is getting ridiculous.

Becky is looking great and Tiana was fabulous.

Overall great premiere and it looks very promising. So much to look forward to. 

 

.

[wanderingstar]

I enjoyed that, though soft and cuddly Lucious weirds me out.

Loved seeing Cookie in charge of Empire.

Andre still cannot be trusted.

Hakeem still has some growing up to do.

And poor Jamal. He can't seem to find a man who isn't shady. Who else thinks Warren will end up falling for him?

Xzibit continues to entertain me.

Missed Anika and Grandma Leah.

The only disappointment: the so-called cross-over with Star. After Carlotta's scene with Lucious and Cookie, my sister and I both said, " That's it?"

This season looks delish.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Gillian Rosh
Typos

[Margohill]

22 minutes ago, Dee said:

He had a potential relationship with gorgeous Phillip which was inadvertently ruined by Mal's own messiness.

His relationship with Michael (was that his name?) in S1 was the best and always will be. They had chemistry and everyone loved the two of them together. They were together before Jamal became a huge star so their love was real. All these other relationships Jamal is having now are just fake ones because they are all after Jamal for reasons other than love. JMHO

[Dee]

Jamal & Michael were trash. 

Jamal quickly outgrew Michael who never understood Jamal. As Cookie told Jamal back then, Jamal needs a partner on his level, not some random cooking school student.

Jamal & Ryan had potential but the show decided to ruin him to briefly. and unnecessarily, revisit Jamal and boring ass Michael's toxic relationship.

Jamal & Derek had serious chemistry and made some great music together but he enabled Jamal's worst impulses.

Phillip (who was gorgeous) and Jamal also had serious chemistry & tons of potential but Jamal's inability to establish & maintain boundaries quickly ruined that.

7 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

The only disappointment: the so-called cross-ovet with Star. After Carlotta's scene with Lucious and Cookie, my sister and I both said, " That's it?"

The crossover continued with Jamal & Carol over on Star.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Dee

[Syndicate]

I think ALL of Jamal's men have been flawed, Michael included. I have not forgotten how Michael was practically caught giving head to some skeevy dude almost directly in front of Jamal. Michael always came across as insecure because Jamal was so heavily focused on his career. Michael eventually left him as a result, but later came back to more of the same. Phillip actually liked Jamal but Jamal kept jumping between him and D Major which caused Phillip to bail. Speaking of D, I did believe that he too loved Jamal, especially in the end. He just started off as the typical closeted gay black man who feared his masculinity would be undermined if everyone knew. By the time D came to his senses though, it was too late. Jamal was done with him. And now we have gorgeous Warren. I'm sensing that he too is probably a good guy somewhere deep inside, but his loyalty to his treacherous family is overshadowing that at the moment. I don't think that will last though. I'm counting on him being the "Romeo" to Jamal's "Juliet."

Edited September 29, 2017 by Syndicate

[Joimiaroxeu]

The Lyons are great and all but comparing themselves to the stars of the Motown 25th special? Um, no.

What did Taraji do to her face? She was already gorgeous. So unnecessary, IMO. Not sure about this Mary J. Blige look she's working with the blonde hair either. Meanwhile, apparently Demi Moore got her previous bad surgery fixed and now she looks fine.

Ditto comnents upthread, is Lucious faking the amnesia or not? Seems to me like he's using his fragility to get the family to unite around him while he buys more time to figure out who tried to kill him.

Really looking forward to Diana DuBois vs. the Lyons. It should be a battle royale. They both have plenty of money but she's got the social and political connections while they've got the street smarts and the ability to harness the support of their fans and the criminal element. Wonder who on Team Lyon will end up dead by the end of this season?

[SimoneS]

I loved Jamal with D Major. He was my favorite Jamal love interest. I still think that they could make it if Jamal would give him another chance, but I cannot blame Jamal for running the hell away from him.

Jamal's performance of Cookie's song was really good. I don't always enjoy him, especially when he does that falsetto, but he was good tonight.

I think that Lucious has lost his memory, but I bet it won't last long. He will get it back, but not let anyone know until he figures out who was behind the bombing, then he will go on a revenge kick. However, if he is faking, I wouldn't surprised, not even for a second.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Edited September 28, 2017 by SimoneS

[Angeleyes]

8 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

 

The only disappointment: the so-called cross-over with Star. After Carlotta's scene with Lucious and Cookie, my sister and I both said, " That's it?"

 

I saw an interview with Queen Latifah and she said her character is going to have a crossover story arc with Empire this season. She hinted that it will get juicy. 

[mtlchick]

Quote

I saw an interview with Queen Latifah and she said her character is going to have a crossover story arc with Empire this season. She hinted that it will get juicy. 

I love my Queen (Girls Trip is a hilarious movie if you haven't seen it) but if this means I will have to start watching Star to get the gist of it, I'm going to pass.  I have enough problems keeping track on the DCTV shenanigans.

[CaughtOnTape]

I also think Lucious is just playing the memory loss thing until he figures out who tried to kill him.  I think that will create some issues down the road with Cookie though because to keep up that facade he's gonna get freaky with Claudia.

Hakeem is annoying.  Sit down, child.

[Margohill]

10 hours ago, Syndicate said:

Phillip actually liked Jamal but Jamal kept jumping between him and D Major. Speaking of D, I did believe that he too loved Jamal, especially in the end. He just started off as the typical closeted gay black man who feared his masculinity would be undermined if everyone knew. By the time D came to his senses though, it was too late. Jamal was done with him.

Wasn't D major the one enabling Jamal's drug habit by giving him drugs? I will never condone any relationship where one person enables the drug habit of the other. I think just for that fact alone, D Major was a bad person to have entered Jamal's life when he was that vulnerable. 

11 hours ago, Dee said:

Jamal & Michael were trash. 

Jamal quickly outgrew Michael who never understood Jamal. As Cookie told Jamal back then, Jamal needs a partner on his level, not some random cooking school student.

Michael seemed to be trash to some ONLY AFTER Jamal's career started soaring with Cookie's help. Let's not forget that while Cookie was still in jail and Lucious never wanted anything to do with Jamal, Michael was there for him at his lowest point. Just like any relationship, things become strained when one person's life starts to take a different trajectory and the other can't keep up. In every sense, I still believe Michael was a good partner for Jamal and provided a stable relationship. It's unfortunate Michael couldn't handle the stress and buckled under the pressure and resorted to cheating. Yet again, Jamal seems to be falling for the wrong type. When will he ever learn??

It will be interesting to see how Hakeem handles Mrs. Dubois's blackmail. The set up is very interesting and Anika going to jail will be a sight to be seen. I wonder how Booboo kitty will fare in jail. She's certainly not as tough as Cookie. 

I am enjoying the good Lucious for now and his acting is very touching. I just hope that when he gets his memory back, he will not torture Cookie and the kids again but I can't vouch for Andre. He is some real deep mess. Now Shyne has gone on a killing spree trying to silence snitches. How many more will he have to kill? Will Andre be able to deal with all the blood spilled because of his plan to kill Lucious? Boy! this is getting stressful.

Great writing.

[Dee]

Terrence & Taraji's chemistry is truly magnetic. That kitchen scene was amazing. When Lucious asked Cookie not to cry it was breathtaking.

I LOVED that the Lyon Brothers rallied so desperately around their Dad. They're all broken, in various ways, but they truly love Lucious evil ass.

I also love this new aggressive Tiana. She dresses like Tina Turner in Mad Max and sings like Fefe Dobson.

Xzibit continues to  be a very solid addition to the cast. Poor Andre, for once he may have bitten off way more than he can chew.

Demi Moore remains a pro. She very subtly established Claudia as a formidable threat while keeping the character fairly grounded.

Phylicia Rashad looks like she's having the time of her life and it's kind of great. The DuBois are the Colbys to the Lyons Carringtons.

Gabby Sidibe and Ta'Rhonda Jones looked amazing. They, along with Thirsty, who is always delightful, are gonna have more to do this season which will be fun.

I ADORED the Lyon Family Group Hug on the dock. They may fight and bicker but ultimately they cling together fiercely because they're all they got. 

 

On 9/28/2017 at 9:49 AM, Margohill said:

Let's not forget that while Cookie was still in jail and Lucious never wanted anything to do with Jamal, Michael was there for him at his lowest point. 

When the show began, Michael and Jamal had been together for awhile, but Michael was not Jamal's only significant other. There were others before him and have been others after him.

The fact that he refused to support, or even try to understand Jamal's ambitions, was more than enough proof the relationship needed to end.

And then to throw Lola in Jamal's face, right before he abandoned him, as if Jamal planned her existence was REALLY low.

Which is all before the show revisited their toxic relationship where Michael, still acting petulant and childish, saw fit to cheat on Jamal (who had done nothing but lavish his boring ass with time & attention).

Edited September 28, 2017 by Dee

[Palomar]

11 hours ago, Margohill said:

The nurse Ms. Claudia is really getting on my last nerve. She is up to no good but what makes the writing so good is that we don't know if she is really working to help Lucious regain his memory or has ulterior motives but her presence is a nightmare for Cookie. Poor Cookie has to keep fighting all these women in Lucious's life back to back. So unfair.

.

If I were Cookie I would fire her immediately and set up a replacement at the same time.  Yeah, Lucious would not be happy but no way should Cookie accept someone in her household with that much power and it is only growing. Cookie should go with the scenario that he does not need Claudia anymore since he is doing so well. I am assuming something was set up for Cookie to make medical decisions and that she hired Claudia in the first place.

[SimoneS]

23 minutes ago, Palomar said:

If I were Cookie I would fire her immediately and set up a replacement at the same time.  Yeah, Lucious would not be happy but no way should Cookie accept someone in her household with that much power and it is only growing. Cookie should go with the scenario that he does not need Claudia anymore since he is doing so well. I am assuming something was set up for Cookie to make medical decisions and that she hired Claudia in the first place.

 I am sure that Cookie would love to fire Claudia, but can't without it getting ugly because Lucious controls his finances and wants her around. Cookie would have to go to court file for guardianship and prove him incompetent to get the power of attorney in order to fire Claudia. Since Cookie is his ex-wife and business partner, I am not even sure that she has standing to take this step, their sons would more likely have to take legal action. This would be an nasty court fight that would alienate Lucious and sink Empire when it got out in public. Lucious could even marry Claudia making it even more difficult. Better for Cookie to work with Claudia for the time being. The easiest and quickest solution would be for his mama to kill Claudia.

Edited September 28, 2017 by SimoneS

[Artsda]

Lucious losing his leg I was not expecting at all.

[Margohill]

6 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

I am sure that Cookie would love to fire Claudia, but can't without it getting ugly because Lucious controls his finances and wants her around. Cookie would have to go to court file for guardianship and prove him incompetent to get the power of attorney in order to fire Claudia. Since Cookie is his ex-wife and business partner, I am not even sure that she has standing to take this step, their sons would more likely have to take legal action. This would be an nasty court fight that would alienate Lucious and sink Empire when it got out in public. Lucious could even marry Claudia making it even more difficult. Better for Cookie to work with Claudia for the time being. The easiest and quickest solution would be for his mama to kill Claudia.

Excellent point Simone, you hit the nail on the head. I guess that's the dilemma Cookie has to deal with right now. Her hands are tied as far as Claudia is concerned but I get the feeling that Cookie will find a way. This is so irritating to watch Claudia take over Lucious like this. Mama Lyon should put some glass in her sandwich. That would really be nice.

Things will heat up that's for sure with Hakeem vs. Mrs. Dubois, Andre vs. Shine, Cookie vs. Claudia, Jamal and the snake Dubois lawyer, Anika going to jail, my oh! my, things are very well poised to heat up. I hope the writers tackle this well. 

[Angeleyes]

2 hours ago, mtlchick said:

I love my Queen (Girls Trip is a hilarious movie if you haven't seen it) but if this means I will have to start watching Star to get the gist of it, I'm going to pass.  I have enough problems keeping track on the DCTV shenanigans.

I'm also hoping that won't be the case. I think it would end up being confusing to the audience. I just couldn't get into Star and I'm not thrilled they keep trying to make it happen through Empire. If a show is good it should be able to stand on its own. 

[Margohill]

1 minute ago, Angeleyes said:

I just couldn't get into Star and I'm not thrilled they keep trying to make it happen through Empire. If a show is good it should be able to stand on its own. 

Thank you Angeleyes. I feel the same way. Just couldn't get into star at all.

[Syndicate]

Count me in as another who can't get into Star. I've loved Queen Latifah ever since her days as a rapper, but this show just doesn't interest me for some reason.

[Dee]

15 minutes ago, Margohill said:

Excellent point Simone, you hit the nail on the head. I guess that's the dilemma Cookie has to deal with right now. Her hands are tied as far as Claudia is concerned but I get the feeling that Cookie will find a way. This is so irritating to watch Claudia take over Lucious like this. Mama Lyon should put some glass in her sandwich. That would really be nice.

The trade-off is that Claudia is good at her job. If Cookie were to replace her now, it could seriously impede Lucious, who now seems very stranger averse, progress.

[Biggie B]

I seriously hope Lucious regains his memory sooner rather than later. I like the ruthless, horrible Lucious a lot more than the uber-sensitive version. Besides, with Mother DuBois coming after Cookie with a vengeance, Cookie's going to need all the help she can get.

Becky indeed looked great. I love how she rebuffed Shine's offer to grab a drink together. 

I can't stand Claudia. The sooner she's gone, the better. And I think Demi Moore doesn't look so great. I know the frumpy hair and glasses are intentional but still - she looks old, thin, and a bit haggard.

What about what Rumer Willis said to Tiana? That she had a dream that she was sucking Tiana's toes...that was hilarious!

I'm a little tired of Jamal's misadventures in love. Enough already - we get the drift - he's a sensitive, vulnerable guy who's a horrible judge of character and ends up getting hurt every time. I get it...this is a soap opera and no one wants to watch happy characters...but it's a bit tiresome to see the same thing over and over. I suspect this latest guy, the DuBois son, will end up actually falling for Jamal and then be caught between a rock and a hard place: the wrath of his mother vs. the pure, unadulterated love of Jamal. Good luck with that.

Hakeem - how much longer until he cracks and lets it slip to someone that he's being extorted by Mrs. DuBois? It's only a matter of time before the whole things comes to light, and it's going to be awful! 

[Vixenstud]

My musings….

Agree that TH was knocking it out the park with the acting.  Lucious, I mean DWIGHT is capable of so much wrongdoing that I’m jaded enough to believe he’s faking….we’ll see if it is true or not.

Why is Hakeem letting Clair DuBois rule over him?  Now, I agree that Cookie/family would be pissed and hurt once they find out he has been seeing her/knowing she has Bella but they’d eventually get over it.  That said, why doesn’t he just tell the family what’s going on?

I would love to see a Clair/Cookie or Clair/Mama Lyon catfight, but Phylicia’s too siddity to go that route.

Trai Byers has the tightest body in the business, up there with Shemar Moore!  I’m too busy admiring his body to give a bluedilly fuck about Andre’s storyline and if that makes me wrong then I don’t want to be right.

Gabby is looking great, loved her comment to Shine about him watching her as she walked away.

Shine scared me to death by killing that snitch in his car, didn’t see that coming at all.

Why is Tiana on again?  IMO she serves no purpose and unless Seriyah has donkey pics of Lee Daniels should have been gone long ago.  Rumer’s character isn’t needed either.

Loved Cookie’s “I’m Cookie Lyon, baby; I’m unforgettable!” along with her strut as she left the building….Taraji, you’d better not think of going nowhere!

Finally,

Dear Lee Daniels:  I’m not nor have I ever been interested in Star so for the love of U.N.I.T.Y., stop trying to ram it down my damned throat!!

[Chairperson Meow]

I think that Luscious has some, if not all of his memories.  I think he literally trusts no one, so he's playing the long con.  I thought this before, but the kitchen scene and dinner scene convinced me.  The way he walked in an nonchalantly grabbed a knife and spoke to Cookie, asking her if he did something or if something was done to him was very subtly excellent.   He's played the long con with everyone before, hell he played Cookie last season.  During the dinner scene, he mentions his sons having some one special.   He even specifically asks Jamal and Andre.  He also calls Tiana the mother of Bella.   There's no way someone wouldn't have told him who Anika was and were she was.  He literally does have reasons to think anyone could have done this.  I think Claudia is going to make this big play, only to get rebuffed and ridiculed by Luscious.   

[worleybird]

I wish they had given Diana's masseur a line or two so that he'd be listed in the credits. Boy was fine!!

[TwistedandBored]

I enjoyed the season premiere. I did not see the Lucious losing his leg thing. Wow! The show really went there. DuBois vs Lyons should be awesome though. 

21 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Phyllis Rashard is coming hard at Cookie. I hope we see more of Taye Diggs. I still think that she made a mistake dumping him for Lucious.

I used to think Cookie is making a mistake by not completly choosing but nah. The guy is such a mommies boy. 

[LaChavalina]

9 hours ago, SimoneS said:

 I am sure that Cookie would love to fire Claudia, but can't without it getting ugly because Lucious controls his finances and wants her around. Cookie would have to go to court file for guardianship and prove him incompetent to get the power of attorney in order to fire Claudia. 

But if Lucious is mentally incompetent right now, someone is in charge of making his medical decisions. That's what bugs me about this story. I know he's not married to Cookie, but Andre or one of the other sons should have the authority to send her packing.

8 hours ago, Dee said:

The trade-off is that Claudia is good at her job.

She's not, though, and she's clearly in violation of the codes of conduct of whatever group she works for (unless making out with your patient has become a standard practice)... Also, I presume she's his nurse and not his doctor, so why is she the one making decisions about his overall treatment plan? Too many plot holes and one of the weakest episodes in the series, IMO.

[Dee]

Claudia was able to calm Lucious and get him to focus, when no one else really could. She also has him eating healthier and is trying to curb the family's worst impulses to maintain Lucious tenuous progress. 

[Neurochick]

I don't think Claudia is really who and what she says she is.  I would not be surprised if Lucious really didn't lose his memory.  Even Claudia basically said his memories are suppressed or something; no neurological damage.  

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, it certainly wouldn't be Empire if a Lyons dinner scenes didn't end with some shouting and stuff breaking!  Really surprised that no one actually ended up getting tossed in the pool.  I guess they'll save that for sweeps or maybe if/when Anika gets out of prison!

Interesting (and crazy) return.  Lucious actually lost a leg in that explosion and has new fancy robotic one, and unless this is some big-ass con, he really seems to have lost his memories and isn't the same person.  If anything, he's nicer on a lot of levels, but is still clearly damaged.  Agree that Terrence Howard is doing a great job so far.

I definitely think something is up with Claudia/Demi Moore, and she clearly has alternative and likely shady motives.  That said, of course Cookie is likely going at this the worst way possible by confronting her head on all the time, and will likely cause Lucious to rely more and more on Claudia.  I love you, Cookie, but sometimes less is more.

Oh, Andre.  You really are in over your head.  I felt awful for laughing as hard as I did when Shine randomly shot the guy at the end.  I just love how unpredictable he is.

Poor Jamal is being played by Warren still.  He really does not fare well with his relationships.  But I do think this will end with Warren actually falling for him.

Still loving Diana as the antagonist.  Phylicia Rashad is perfection in the role.

Glad Tiana got a decent moment at the concert.  But in the hell was going on with that scene between her and Tory/Rumer Willis?

A few casting changes with Rumer, Terrell Carter (Warren), and Andre Royo being regulars.  Glad for the last one especially, since I'm all for more Thirsty!

[Angeleyes]

It would be totally in line with this show if it turns out Claudia is secretly working for the DuBois family. 

[Syndicate]

Terrell Carter has indeed been upgraded to a regular/main character for this season. I like it. I guess he's sticking around for whatever hijinks are about to ensue. There's a video of a live preshow on the FOX website featuring Terrell Carter (dressed nicely in white), and two other people (one man, one woman) along with the host. The guy insinuates something that goes down with Warren in episode 4, but of course Terrell doesn't say what it is.  I wonder what's going to happen? Terrell seems to say that shockers and twists are ahead for this season. The "Romeo and Juliet" aspect was even inquired about by one of the guests (I think they definitely read message boards). This season is going to be lit, I think.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Syndicate

[tennisgurl]

Oh how I missed this show! It looks like its going to be a very interesting season, and I cant wait to watch!

Damn, Terrence Howard really is doing an amazing job in this story line so far. He really comes off as a different guy, with bits and pieces of real Lucious coming out every once in awhile. Going in, I was 100% sure he was faking this and playing the long con, but now? I`m really not sure. If he IS faking, Lucious needs to expand his career into acting, because he is a damn talented, and he is seriously committed to staying in character. Even his expressions are different now, he doesn't have that calculating look in his eyes that Lucious always has. 

The Lyons are a mess, but they really do love each other (give or take the occasional assassination attempt) and do tend to stick together when the going gets tough. On the one hand, its actually pretty sweet seeing how much they all love their dad/ex husband, but on the other hand, theres a very good reason why my phone auto corrects Lucuous to Lucifer every time I type it. I`m sure his memories will come back, and he will be his usual toxic self, and the whole family will get sucked back into his bullshit. Lucious is a really interesting and complex character, but he is AWFUL. No way will this kinder and gentler version stick around, even if he isn't faking. Although, he lost half his leg, so this will always have changed him, no matter what happens with his brain. 

Demi Moore is doing solid work, and I think she will fit in pretty well as a possible villain. She aint no Mrs. DuBois (who is an awesome classic soap opera villain who is both classy and diabolical), but I think she`ll be fun. 

The song with Hakeem/Jamal/Tiana was awesome. 

[Margohill]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 5:39 PM, TwistedandBored said:

I used to think Cookie is making a mistake by not completly choosing but nah. The guy is such a mommies boy. 

Not just only that but there is no chance in hell Cookie would have got any respect from Mrs. Dubois if she had married her son. Mrs. Dubois looks at the Lyons as beneath her and Cookie would have been terribly miserable in that marriage considering the fact that she still treats Angelo as a little boy. Angelo can't stand up to his mother and she basically controls him in every way. I'm sure she must have given him permission to date Cookie (for her own selfish reasons) before he had the guts to date Cookie. Thank God Cookie saw through that and gave it a pass. 

 

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 2:01 PM, worleybird said:

I wish they had given Diana's masseur a line or two so that he'd be listed in the credits. Boy was fine!!

I have to pay more attention when I re-watch that episode this weekend. I totally missed seeing that masseur because of all the other drama that was going on...LOL!!!

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 10:51 PM, Syndicate said:

Terrell seems to say that shockers and twists are ahead for this season. The "Romeo and Juliet" aspect was even inquired about by one of the guests (I think they definitely read message boards). This season is going to be lit, I think.

So the "Romeo and Juliet" couple I take it would be Jamal and this Dubois lawyer? GTHOTH....LOL!!!! Well, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out because for some reason I think something will intervene before things get too far. It's all about the drama, I guess.

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 1:11 PM, Chairperson Meow said:

I think that Luscious has some, if not all of his memories.  I think he literally trusts no one, so he's playing the long con.  I thought this before, but the kitchen scene and dinner scene convinced me.  The way he walked in an nonchalantly grabbed a knife and spoke to Cookie, asking her if he did something or if something was done to him was very subtly excellent.

I was thinking the same myself especially when he automatically knew Jamal had a "boyfriend". Maybe he was tipped off or noticed something about Jamal to have guessed that but when I really got confused and believed that maybe, just maybe he had really lost his memory was when he broke down on stage at the Empire 20th anniversary. TH gave a knock-out performance, I didn't think he would show up on stage. He seemed genuinely riled up by all the crowd, the screaming, the camera lights etc. It was a perfectly acted scene. Kudos to Terrence for that.

At this point, I'm on the fence about whether or not he is faking his memory loss. Lucious is so good a con-man that I just don't know for sure, but it is a storyline a lot are waiting to see how it unfolds.

I can't wait to see Anika in jail. 

[TwistedandBored]

16 hours ago, Margohill said:

Not just only that but there is no chance in hell Cookie would have got any respect from Mrs. Dubois if she had married her son. Mrs. Dubois looks at the Lyons as beneath her and Cookie would have been terribly miserable in that marriage considering the fact that she still treats Angelo as a little boy. Angelo can't stand up to his mother and she basically controls him in every way. I'm sure she must have given him permission to date Cookie (for her own selfish reasons) before he had the guts to date Cookie. Thank God Cookie saw through that and gave it a pass. 

This so much.

[darkestboy]

I really liked this episode. 

Not sure if Lucious is faking it or not with his memories but I sure as hell didn't see him losing a leg coming though. That genuinely surprised me.

I did love Lucious's scenes with Cookie in the episode. The crossover bit with Carlotta was a little clumsily done but not too distracting though.

We've got two interesting antagonists with both Diana and Claudia so can we please lose Shyne already? Just have Andre use him as a scapegoat and get rid of the character already.

Hakeem could just tell his family what Diana is doing and it's dumb that he won't.

There could be potential with Jamal and Warren but it's probably doomed though, right? 7/10

[jhlipton]

9 hours ago, darkestboy said:

We've got two interesting antagonists with both Diana and Claudia so can we please lose Shyne already? Just have Andre use him as a scapegoat and get rid of the character already.

I like shyne -- I'd rather have Diane (gotta keep her!) and Shyne and get rid of Claudia.

[jhlipton]

On 10/3/2017 at 2:02 PM, jhlipton said:

I like shyne -- I'd rather have Diane (gotta keep her!) and Shyne and get rid of Claudia.

Spoiler

Looks like I got my wish!