‘Empire’ episode 9 review: What did Lucious do to Andre?
Tonight on “Empire,” Cookie meant business! Then again, when has she not meant business? Her attempt to keep a major client on board with Empire tonight was impressive … and this was not the only story involving keeping an artist with the label.
One of the business-related subjects that we found interesting in this episode is the current discussion about monetizing streaming content for artists. This is where having the legal power of a major label comes into play. While many artists now may be going more for that indie route, it does leave them at a disadvantage when it comes to having revenue left on the table.
Now, let’s talk Lucious and his big move: Sending Andre off to the institution with a 48-hour hold. Technically, he wouldn’t sign the papers, but it did happen. His struggles are becoming more and more of an obvious issue that needs to be addressed, and it is in a way one of Lucious’ biggest failures in not understanding when his own child needs help before it starts to get to an almost-violent point.
The future of Empire Entertainment is what is still at stake here, and after this episode, we still have almost no clue what’s going to happen. Jamal is a good candidate to rise up further, but his own father still judges him based on his sexuality. Meanwhile, Lucious is so distracted by his personal life with Anika, Cookie, and more that the man is not thinking clearly so much himself.
We do now have to comment on what is the weakest part of the show right now: The music. While well-produced, the show has to be careful that it doesn’t pigeonhole it into every single episode. We don’t want to see it get anywhere near “Glee” territory just yet.
Admittedly, we’re still so shocked by that ending that it is hard to think about the entire episode as a whole. It was a very good one, and we can say that much with some confidence. Grade: B.
What did you think about tonight’s new episode? Share with a comment.
RealDealDiva
March 5, 2015 @ 6:47 am
Let me begin by stating I love Empire! The show is edgy, creative and intense. It’s those qualities that make the perfect formula for a new show that keeps increasing its ratings. Like clockwork after every episode I jump on the Internet to read articles and viewers’ comments. I love reading other peoples’ views on shows I like. However, this episode touched more
heavily on Andre’s bipolar disorder. Since Empire’s debut back in January, as
Andre’s health condition was revealed, I read many articles and hundreds of
comments from people stating they hoped Andre would seek help for his bi-polar
disorder and how important it was that he stay on his meds. But at the same time I was baffled that no articles or comments were made about Jamal’s illness. Yes, Jamal has an illness. Just like bi-polar disorder, gay/homosexuality behavior is a mental disease. I noticed that no articles or blogs were ever written about the endearing hope that Jamal would seek help for his condition. I write this because I fear that as Empire increases in popularity, the effect the show has on young African Americans by glorifying Jamal’s immoral sexuality as something to be admired and accepted as “normal” behavior is wrong. We now live in a society in which the media, TV, film and music industries are pushing for everyone to become super-liberal. Don’t get me wrong – I’m liberal in some aspects, but
I’m also conservative in other aspects. The subject of gays and homosexuality
is where I’m extremely conservative. By the way, I’m a 40 year old African
American woman. When President Obama ran for his 1st & 2nd elections I didn’t vote for him, but I also didn’t vote against him. I decided not to vote at all, because I wasn’t sure where I stood with his views, but I wasn’t comfortable voting for his opponents because none of them were good choices. Also, I knew Obama would win both elections (call it a gut feeling) so I was fine with him being the obvious winner…until. When President Obama changed his stance on marriage being 1 man/1 woman to supporting gay marriage just before he was up for re-election, I was officially done him. President Obama let the liberal media bully him into being scared thinking he would lose the Presidency if he didn’t win the support of gay voters. Here’s my point, white America knows that the
largest group of people who have been stand-offish and reject homosexuality is
the African American community. What better way to appeal to black American’s to make us more accepting and open to it than by creating a hip raunchy show about a rich, dysfunctional black family running a music empire and using urban music? I hope that everyone who watches Empire sees it as just an entertainment show and talks to their kids about Jamal’s illness. If black parents are watching Empire with their teenage kids, don’t just turn the station or turn off the TV when the show goes off. Although I wouldn’t recommend a parent letting their teenager watch it, I hope parents are having real in-depth conversations with their kids about what they’re watching. TV has come a long way. 10-15 years ago, there’s NO WAY you would have seen 2 men kissing and ripping each other’s clothes off. Shows like Empire and How To Get Away With Murder are pushing the envelope to the extreme with showing over-the-top gay sex scenes.
The thing is, as much as I enjoy watching Empire and HTGAWM (minus the unnecessary gay scenes) I don’t let those shows influence what I’ve continued to stand for or against. I think for myself. In fact watching those shows have confirmed what I’ve felt all along about gay/homosexuality: it is a mental illness. And I hope both Andre and Jamal get the therapy they so desperately need.
liberalpeople
March 5, 2015 @ 4:25 am
I give it a solid A as the bipolar issue is very personal to me and I thought Andres potrrayal and the way the other actors dealt with it is so on point. I think it’s a issue that should be hilighted in the black community to break down the stigma and quell the ignorance.