A new CEO means a new corporate logo.
It's like taking down the statue of a former king or general and replace it with the new one. We've seen these kind of takeovers before but this is one of the more fabulous examples.
It also has a bit of that bling-bling ballsiness that one could associate with black culture, but in the context of the story it is simply spot on.
Lucious is determined to take it all back, like every self-respecting soap patriarch would do, but sometimes I wonder if the theme from the first series - choosing the best successor - is still very much relevant.
It's not exactly the same because Lucious isn't dying anymore so there's still plenty of time to play king, but eventually Empire has to go on without him.
"Learning the business", as JR said to John Ross.
And as it turned out, Hakeem wasn't resourceful or devious enough to overcome the various problems created by Lucious himself.
Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting the situation but every now and then it feels like a story with a double angle.
As a matter of fact, in an outrageously melodramatic scene, Lucious gave Hakeem the opportunity to take out his father if he wanted Empire bad enough.
But that's no real strength, that's just the stupid power of a bullet. And what would stop the other Lyon sons from killing Hakeem? The only thing that would be killed is the story.
There's nothing that
could have happened in that scene and I think that makes it rather pointless and unnecessarily melodramatic.
And then there's the artistic aspect of Empire, that part that makes it less powerful than the real-life importance of land and oil, that brings something unique to the dysfunctional family battle: vanity.
Lucious desperately wants to win the ASA award, not because he needs it but because he wants it, and I find it ironic that his petty "mean girl" tactics to undermine Jamal makes him even more unlikeable than the big stuff he does to control his company and his family.
At some point I thought he was getting dangerously close to becoming
too unlikeable. And maybe that proves that a villainous attitude can be even more effective than villainous actions.
Because actions are necessary to keep the story going, but it's not necessary to be an unpleasant person.
JR, Alexis, Abby and Angela caused a lot of pain and tragedy, but they were very charming villains. Danny Waleska and Fallon Season 1 are great unpleasant antagonists but I'm not sure if it works for Lucious when he goes full-on-Nellie Oleson - as it could undermine the "respect" we're supposed to have for the big anti-hero baddy.
I'm fine with all the songs and performances but I think Jamal should stop singing his soap. It's getting a bit musical-esque.
But I also want to highlight supporting character Laura Calleros, she's really grown on me. It's a lovely scene when Hakeem learns that
her parents want her to be more successful than they are.
And Tiana, the superstar-in-progress, is great too. And Freda Gatz too! And Michael is always great! Oh, and Leah Walker isn't dead at all!