Empire Review: Toil and Trouble Part 2 (Season 3 Episode 18)

Empire’s season 3 episode 18, “Toil and Trouble Part 2” is not the season finale I was hoping for.

Except, maybe it is.

Let’s get the elephant out of the way. Empire’s finale is, at least partially, about a bomb at a concert venue. I can’t think of a more unfortunate coincidence. I, for one, have trouble enjoying the drama. I can’t help wondering if something should have been done about this episode. I don’t know what – but I certainly feel weird watching.

Because I don’t know how to even deal with that (or what Empire should have done – I get that they obviously can’t do much), I’m going to write the rest of this as I imagine I would have on another week. Because, very unfortunate coincidence aside, maybe I would love this episode.

First of all,  I know I’ve called Empire a soap opera in the past, but I never thought we’d see amnesia.

Is there anything more soap opera than amnesia?

As I assume amnesia always does, it feels forced and a little comical.

But underneath all that, Empire manages to find some substance. Lucious was playing whatever-her-name is this whole time just to get to Vegas. I love this. Lucious loves Cookie.

I love this too.

I wish we could see more of the Lucious-Cookie reunion, but a finale has to move fast.

Even though a two-part season finale should allow a show to use part one to get the smaller stuff out of the way. Instead, Empire’s two-parter is still dealing with side plots in part two.

For example, I really don’t want to have to think about who is performing at whatever the current ‘big’ show is. I mean, does Empire Records have a big show every  day?

Side note: what even is Vegas? All this time I thought they were opening a casino but I was not picturing something this big. Is the show related to the opening? I’m lost on this part.

Baby Bella is located – but the revelation feels anticlimactic. Anika is involved of course. And Hakeem has finally realized he really loves his kid – which is great – but probably should have happened quite some time ago. Angelo’s family has demands, but, again, I’m having trouble engaging.

And I can’t even really remember why Andre is back on the “I-gotta-kill-my-dad” plan. It’s been so long since we’ve really seen anything from him that this feels less like a conclusion to an ongoing problem and more like an excuse for season finale violence.

This feeling is reiterated when he decides to call off the plan.

Of course, it’s too late.

For a real cliffhanger, the season should have ended with the bomb going off. Instead, we flash forward and learn that Lucious is out of a three month coma and, you guessed it, has amnesia.

So, I guess we have to stay tuned to see if he can find his love for Cookie all over again.

It might be a ridiculous plot, but I still need to know.

Current events aside, I appreciate that Empire has brought things back to Cookie and Lucious.

 

What did you think of this episode of Empire? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Empire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Fox.

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