Empire Season 5 Episode 9 Review: Had It From My Father
Paul Dailly
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Well, that was a little tamer than I expected.
Empire has been known to treat its midseason finales like season finales, but there was something about Empire Season 5 Episode 9 that felt like one of those episodes you would get as filler before the season starts to wind down.
Kingsley's identity has been revealed, and I wish I could say I cared about it. He was a formidable foe, to begin with, but his terrible decisions should have landed him the pink slip by the board of Empire long ago.
It was about time they added some context to fill us in on the specifics of why Kingsley was so against his father. I don't know what to take from Tracy showing up on the Lyon doorstep pre-Empire to allow Kingsley to meet his father.
There was a time and a place, and ambushing Lucious while his other kids and lover were around was not the way to do it. She should have bided her time and met up with Lucious when things were not so freaking hectic.
Lucious is also at fault here. He should not have been having unprotected sex and expecting women not to show up with his children down the line.
There was no chemistry whatsoever between Lucious and Tracy, but it's clear Tracy always held a torch for Lucious based on the way she reacted when she woke up from her coma.
The way she acted was rather bizarre when you consider the fact that the last time she saw Lucious, he was yelling at her to take her son and get the eff away from him, or else.
Lucious, he's your son!
Giselle
It remains to be seen whether there's more about this story we don't know, but anything is possible with Lucious. He's the master of terrible actions, so I'm not ruling out him being more involved with Tracy than the flashbacks are leading us to believe.
Lucious attacking Kingsley was expected. The man punches first and thinks about it later. In a sense, it's almost like the show is foreshadowing Kingsley being his father's undoing.
Lucious has made strides on Empire Season 5 to become a better person, but he can hold a grudge until the end of eternity. Hell, he's a pointed a gun at his children before.
Related: Empire Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Master of What is Mine Own
Attacking Kingsley was just par for the course with Lucious. Of course, Lucious wanted to believe he was not the father, but I'm struggling to work out what Giselle's motives were when she unveiled the bombshell.
Surely Kelly would have made her the sole CEO of Empire in the event Lucious killed Kingsley. In that scenario Giselle would get rid of both Lucious and Kingsley, making it a clear path for her to get to the top.
Lucious, do you want to tell them or should I?
Kingsley
This could suggest that Giselle is not as wicked as she's been leading us to believe. Yes, she allowed Eddie to die to allow her to garner some semblance of control, so that's why I wasn't ruling out her allowing Kingsley to die.
Nicole Ari Parker brings a lot to the table as Giselle, so I hope she survives until Empire Season 6.
Cookie irked me to no end on "Had It From My Father." I get that she was stressed because of the show, but she should have known her husband would not be saying he needs to talk to her if it was not something important.
The duo could have come up with a plan on the spot if Cookie knew the truth. Instead, she was blindsided like the audience, investors and her sons.
Cookie: I need you to focus on this showcase. If we don't ...
Lucious: We lose everything.
This is going to change the relationship between Cookie and Lucious forever, but they will find a way to fix things before it's too late. They always do.
The biggest surprise of the night came in the form of Kingsley showing up just as investors were starting to take an interest in Lyon Family Management. Maybe this is nasty, but I'm glad Kingsley showed up.
Having the family without a dime has made for fresh and exciting storylines that have highlighted just how difficult it is when you get everything taken from you.
Related: Gotham Gets Final Season Premiere Date
It's doubtful that Kingsley is done taking, and his threat to Andre looks like it could come to fruition by the conclusion of Empire Season 5.
Andre: I'm going to end you.
Kingsley: Unless I end you first, baby bro.
If any leading character has to die, let it be Andre. Ever since Rhonda was killed off, the character has gone around in circles to the point it's difficult to care about him.
He's just there. That's not to say I don't like him. It's just there are some characters who can be reinvented and some who are too one-note to care about.
I can't believe I've gotten this without addressing Bella aiming the gun at everyone at the close of Empire Season 5 Episode 8.
The only positive from it was that it gave Hakeem the nudge in the right direction to realize that he's been too unpredictable and his actions are putting lives on the line.
It's time for him and Tiana to draw a line under their relationship. They can't be together for more than a few episodes without a falling out, and it's becoming tiring.
The best case scenario is for them to part ways and co-parent the children.
As for the relationship breakdown of Kai and Jamal, that was ridiculous. We've spent much of Empire Season 5 witnessing them coming together and getting engaged.
For them to part ways in such a manner rubbed me the wrong way. Kai running back to London with a new job on the coattails of his exposé on Empire confirmed he was opportunistic.
He knew what he was getting himself into when he got close to Jamal, so his claims that he's worried about the family he's getting involved with fell on deaf ears with me.
Alas, we have several months to debate what's going to go down because Empire will likely return in March.
What are your thoughts on the episode?
Did it all feel hastily thrown together for your liking?
Hit the comments below.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
