Empire Boss on the Crazy Finale and What's Next for the Lyons
Jamal (Jussie Smollett) is alive, thank goodness, and Anika (Grace Gealey) has low-key admitted to pushing Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) down those steps.
While neither revelation -- particularly Anika's -- comes as a surprise, they were sandwiched between so much other forward-looking drama that their predictability didn't feel grating.
Yes, The Pushing kicked off this half of Season 2 as the central mystery but, over time, Empire managed to course-correct an initially wobbly sophomore season by shrewdly shedding fat (RIP Camilla and Mimi), doubling down on its family story and carefully introducing new plots and characters.
[...] with monsters Lucious' (Terrence Howard) and Anika united in "unholy matrimony" and a litany of new concerns, Empire feels back on strong footing.
[...] Empire is a batsh-t crazy soap, but who cares about plausibility?
Did you all always know that Anika would be the perpetrator, or was it something the team kept up in the air for a while?
What's happening with Jamal and D-Major? A lot of us, including Lucious, are skeptical of D-Major but he was really nurturing with Jamal after the shooting.
D-Major represents a lot of people who struggle not being their authentic self, not feeling comfortable about their sexuality.
Jamal took a bullet for his father because of some revenge gangster hood issues.
Because of elements of that cycle, Jamal is going into an introspective place of 'What is this life worth?' He wants to break the cycle.
How angry is Hakeem that his dad ruined his wedding and married his baby mother?
With him already we know he doesn't have tools to handle things.
There's a deep emotional connection, and you feel it when you see the flashbacks.
What can you tell us about his half-brother FBI agent Tariq, who we know is looking to investigate Empire?
Xzibit's character Shyne shot up a club in Vegas, which sounds a lot like the realShyne (the rapper involved in a nightcl