Empire Review: Poor Yorick (Season 2 Episode 4)

Yes, I know that the cheese factor is kind of out of control on Empire, “Poor Yorick,. and no, I don’t care. In fact, I love it. Spoilers ahead.

“Poor Yorick” opens with the FBI raiding Empire Records to a Jamal soundtrack. It’s everything you’d expect: slow motion, moody sweeping shots, pillows being cut open. It’s cheesy. But, it’s also kinda perfect. This bravado is exactly what makes the show so great. Roxanne and the FBI think if they put enough pressure on the family, someone will cave. I think we all know she’s got it wrong.

The FBI pressure is in full force and is far reaching. Empire Records is raided, Dynasty Records is raided, and the Lyon home is raided. But it seems like they can’t find anything. In fact, in a major surprise, the pressure gets to Cookie first and she gives the info she has about Lucious and Bunky (which isn’t much) to Roxanne. I’m not sure what Cookie’s plan is here. I find it hard to believe that she would cave. Maybe she really is worried about her sons, or maybe she’s ready to get serious revenge on Lucious. I’m hoping a third option is possible. Maybe she’s got some kind of plan to save the family.

After the raid, Lucious goes into full lion mode and ramps everything up. He wants to exploit the street cred and media attention. As usual, he’s got something vitriolic to say: “This isn’t when we hide, this is when we roar.” God, I love Lucious.

And then something amazing happens. Lucious comments that the way to get the case dismissed is to find Vernon. So, naturally, Andre and Rhonda go to dig him up. Only, they can’t remember which tree they buried him under. Luckily, Lucious put a tracking device on Andre’s car (duh) and comes to the rescue. They find the body and Lucious is so overwhelmed by Andre’s gesture that he apologizes for real and welcomes him back to Empire Records. This is basically the grossest way possible to get a job back, but I’m still happy that poor Andre is getting some fatherly love. Too bad he also is hearing voices. Are we on the verge of another Andre breakdown?

For a minute, Hakeem and Jamal seem like they might be friends again (while filming a pretty dramatic music video together), but Keem loses it and stabs Jamal’s painting. He feels bad about it, though, and Jamal always forgives, so I’m not too worried about this causing a big family divide.

I really appreciate the tiny moments of humor that are showing up sporadically. For example, is a corpse detector a real thing? And Lucious greeting Roxanne in his birthday suit? Priceless.

I also appreciate the quiet undertone that the show is beginning to take on. Although the video the boys shoot is super dramatic, it is also bringing up some real issues. I like that the show is weaving some reality in.

Oh, and how great is it when Roxanne gets in her car? You know that means next week’s drama is going to be even more intense!

Tension might still be high between certain members of the Lyon fam, but at least they are starting to show up all in the same room again. It seems like all my dreams might be coming true. Are we on the road to a united Lyon family once again? I sure hope so.

What do you think of “Poor Yorick?” Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Empire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Fox.

Amanda Coyne

Amanda is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, teacher, and pop culture enthusiast with a love for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project. She is also the proud mother of two orange cats. Follow @amandarcoyne