Empire - The Fool - Review

Empire has finally surprised me. The Fool is a solid and complex episode that I really enjoyed. There is still much potential in these characters and in these stories, but the writers tend to waste it with filler episodes and useless storylines. 

Let’s summarize what happened in this episode. Lucious is still struggling with his memory loss and Claudia is trying to understand how his brain is dealing with memories that are reappearing. Journalists are trying to find out the truth about this situation and Cookie decides to share a day inside Empire with them. Lucious has to pretend to remember everything and he does so convincingly. I really enjoyed how they chose Veronica as the singer that Lucious has to guide: Veronica was also the first character we met during the pilot. It was a nice connection with Empire’s history. Hakeem is still struggling to get Bella’s custody and he almost leaves for Cuba, but Cookie convinces him to stay.

The stronger part of the episode was centered on Lucious synesthesia process. He starts painting and he begins to remember some of the most important past events and mostly he cannot forget about Cookie. She is his muse. 

The last minutes of the episode are focused on this recognition and for Claudia is over. She is fired by the Lyon’s patriarch who is finally fully aware of his past. We didn’t get to see Jamal, but I guess his boyfriend will betray the Dubois for him.

In The Fool didn’t happen much, but overall the episode felt relevant and powerful.  The acting was spot-on and I also enjoyed the cinematography along with the music. It felt visually gripping. Lucious’s storyline wasn’t dragged on so much and they dealt with it properly. Now I don’t want to wait a whole season for Cookie and Lucious’s reunion. I am eager to watch what will happen next. 

And you? What do you think of “The Fool”?