Empire - Play On & Strange Bedfellows - Double Review

The latest two episodes of Empire follow the same path of the third season: so much potential, but a poor and boring rendition.

In the first episode “Play On”, Lucious has to deal with the unmanageable tension that has been built Cookie, Leah and Anika. Tariq is trying to turn Lucious’ wife into an informant. Andre and Shine discuss the possibility of doing business with Empire. Jamal and D-Major break up because he isn’t comfortable with him being in the closet. 

I didn’t love this episode because I thought it was a bit slow and it didn’t add anything to the development of the storylines. When I watched "Play On", I didn't feel trapped inside a complex world, I just felt bored.

In the second episode "Strange Bedfellows" Hakeem’s 21st birthday is not celebrated and he is pretty annoyed by this situation and how his family is not giving so much attention to the event. D-Major decides to come out in order to get Jamal back, but he finds out that he is sleeping with Philip. Anika comes back home and finds Cookie and Lucious ready to threaten her. This second episode wasn’t Empire at its best as well. I am sure that the writers are trying to give proper space to all these characters and are trying to evolve all the storylines they have opened, but I am still not sold yet. It all seems a bit far-fetched, there is no depth in it.

All in all, I am not enjoying the current state of this season. What I love about Empire is the incredible amount of plot twists, game-changing situations that the show manages to create. These two episodes weren’t coherent with these specific characteristics. I am still rooting for the show and I am hoping that Lee Daniels and his team will be able to surprise us with the second half of the season. At the moment I am a bit skeptical and afraid for Empire’s fate.

What do you think of “Play On” and “Strange Bedfellows”?