Empire - The Outspoken King - Advance Preview

Given my total lack of interest in hip-hop, I find it hugely impressive that Empire has managed to draw me in in the way that it has. Great acting, intriguing storylines and some well-written characters made the pilot one of the better of the fall season, and the second episode keeps the momentum going.

Actually, despite one short scene that I abhorred, I felt that overall, episode 2 was a slight improvement over the pilot. The various plotlines develop nicely, with a lot of great moments that really set things up moving forward.

The majority of the episode focuses around the ongoing rivalry between Cookie and Lucious and the conflict between Hakeem, Jamal and Andre. Strangely, the episode doesn’t actually make the power struggle between the brothers (particularly Hakeem and Jamal) seem antagonistic. There are two really nice scenes between the two, and as the episode went on, I had actually forgotten that they were competing.

Lucious is planning to stage a huge performance for Hakeem at his new club Leviticus, and have one of Empire’s other artists, Kidd Fo-Fo, sing with him. Unfortunately for Lucious, Fo-Fo gets some bad publicity when the gunman behind a public shooting claims to have been inspired by his music. This leads to Cookie attempting to get Jamal to sabotage the whole performance, and she has a very interesting way to do it.

I thought Taraji P Henson was great on Person of Interest, but she takes her performance to a whole new level in this show. Henson shines especially in her verbally aggressive scenes, but her emotional moments are just as strong. She is on par with her magnificent performance from the pilot, and long may it continue.

However, Terrence Howard outshines Henson by a long way. He portrays a wide range of emotions in multiple scenes that are a joy to watch. I was especially fond of his emotional moments, of which he has two stand-outs. He makes Lucious’ development in this episode feel so real, and given the brilliant development he gets, the episode is far more enjoyable with Howard’s fantastic performance.

My only minor criticism of the episode was a scene about halfway through involving Hakeem. I won’t say the content, but it occurs about halfway through and just made me shake my head in disgust. Fortunately, the fallout from what happens in that scene ripples throughout the remainder of the episode, which makes up for it.

‘The Outspoken King’ is a strong episode, and it airs on FOX, Wednesday 14th January at 9pm.

About the Author - Bradley Adams

16 year old based in England, currently Senior Staff at SpoilerTV. Most of his posts are news/spoiler based, though he is currently the reviewer of Person of Interest, as well as being in charge of the yearly 'Favourite Episode Competition'. A big TV fan, his range of shows are almost exclusively dramas, with some of his all-time favourite shows including 24, LOST, Breaking Bad and Friends. Some of his current favourites include Person of Interest, Arrow and The Walking Dead. He also runs an Arrow blog, ArrowFansUK, and aside from TV, is a keen cricketer. Get in touch with him via the links below or via email bradley@spoilertv.com

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