Empire - Steal From The Thief - Review: "Powerful return"

After the explosive season 4 finale, Empire is back with the fifth season premiere. The story shifts two years in the future and the episode was full of twists and great musical numbers. A powerful way to make a comeback, let’s summarize what happened.

In the Lyons’ universe everything changes, but still remains the same. This season premiere opens with a lot of changes for the family: the time jump creates a whole new situation for Lucious, Cookie, Hakeem, and Andre. The Lyons’ patriarch and matriarch are still together but they couldn’t recreate a new Empire in this space of time. After the shooting, Hakeem had some problems with one lung and he is struggling to back on track.

Andre is in prison: after the surprising death of Anika, the police discovered evidence of mind alteration caused by drugs. The only option was to accept the plea deal and be sent in prison. Jamal is back: after two years in London he rebuilt his own private and professional life, and he is now reuniting with his troubled family. One of last season’s main villain, Eddie dies in this first episode: after a fight with his partner, he falls against the edge of a table and he is left bleeding to death. I loved the sassy moment when his ashes are thrown out in a sewer.

There is also a worrisome flashforward in which Lucious grieves for someone who has just died and has been put in a coffin. Who will die? This season premiere continues the high note of Empire: the rhythm is still explosive and the twists keep coming. The really positive aspect of this season premiere is that Empire has found a way of reinventing itself: it still delivers large death tolls and many soapy problems for all the family members, but certainly it appears to have found its groove back. I am really curious to see how the writers will handle this new series of narrative developments. I am pretty satisfied with the new direction and I am hopeful for a strong season five. At the start of season 4, I couldn't say the same. And you?

What do you think of “Steal From The Thief”?