The uneven Season 2 of “Empire” wisely drew upon some of the elements that made Season 1 so exciting and delivered a cliffhanger worth coming back for — if you can wait until March.
That’s right: March. Three and a half months from now. Will you still be around?
The producers brought back Camilla Marks (Naomi Campbell), the devious cougar who seduced Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Y. Gray) but was eventually kicked out of the Lyon mansion by patriarch Lucious (Terrence Howard). Camilla’s return involved a lot of off-stage back story, but with the show stuck in the doldrums most of the season, you can understand why the producers signed off on it. Way off screen, Camilla, it would seem, weaned herself off jailbait and learned to love the ladies. She married dealmaker Mimi Whitman (Marisa Tomei) and together, they organized a takeover of the Lyon empire. Campbell is an actress who leaks insidious intent, so while it’s fun to have her back, it must be noted that the takeover plot on this show is a theme that’s becoming shopworn 10 episodes into Season 2.
The scene that really had fans tweeting was the last one, in which pregnant Rhonda Lyon (Kaitlyn Doubleday) is pushed down a curving flight of stairs by a mystery person. In a scene leading up to that bloody climax, Rhonda is seen having a conversation with Lucious’ ex-fiance, Anika (Grace Gealey), who is currently carrying Hakeem’s child and feeling particularly unwanted. During their talk, Rhonda brags that the pregnancy is making Lucious fairly moist at the thought of having an heir — the fact that her husband Andre (Trai Byers) is the father of the baby makes Rhonda feel very secure about her future. Then the phone rings. She leaves the room to take the call on her iPhone — minutes before she tumbles to what looks like her death, judging by the pool of blood on the floor.
Rhonda’s probable murder nicely echoes back to the exciting finale of Season 1, when she killed Vernon Turner (Malik Yoba) with a blunt instrument in her own living room. Payback, as they say, is a bitch. Moments like this — pure soap, pure melodrama — give the show the kind of excitement it’s been lacking, even if making Anika a well-dressed nut seems very “Fatal Attraction.” Are the writers running out story for Anika? Call Shonda Rhimes. She’ll think of something.
“Empire” has eight more episodes, which fans can see in the spring. But the winter is full of series premieres such as “Shades of Blue” with Jennifer Lopez, as well as Emmy-winning fare such as “American Crime” and the hotly anticipated event of the new, six-episode “X-Files.” Once “Empire” was the hottest show on TV, with an amazing 16 million viewers tuning in for the Season 1 finale. Ratings have steadily been going down (though the demographic numbers remain very strong), indicating that the urge to watch the show when first broadcast has waned. Will absence make the heart grow fonder or make it wander?
That’s the question “Empire” must answer March 30, when the show resumes.