“Empire” And “Star” Back For More Drama!

HOLLYWOOD—Two hit series on FOX which have been on hiatus, returned this week to the small screen for viewers. “Empire” the musical drama starring Oscar nominees Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard has been up and down in recent years, and with the scandal involving Jussie Smollett, there is no telling how that will impact viewership for the rest of the season.

Also returning this week was the drama “Star” which has actually been a ton of fun this season, with so much drama that it has become a guilty pleasure for me. I mean with most TV shows they get worse the longer they are on the air, but with “Star” it seems the show just gets better and better in my opinion.

The latest episode of “Empire,” ‘My Fault is Past’ saw Lucious and Cookie dealing with revelation that he has a son he had no idea about. Jeff Kingsley is a vicious opponent; not only is he blood, but he has a level of hatred for his father that is unrelenting. Hakeem attracted to Cookie’s new protégé. Kai, Lucious and Andre resorted to threats to get the leverage needed to neutralize Kingsley.

Cookie found a way to rekindle her relationship with Candace, who realized Cookie was blindsided by Lucious being Jeff’s father. Lucious dealt a blow to Jeff that he least expected. He might be your father, but if you screw him, he’ll make you pay in ways that you never imagined, just ask Jamal, Hakeem and Andre. Too bad the brothers weren’t getting along. Lucious got the opportunity to return to his throne, with Cookie by his side. The family is back where they should be: Empire Records.

Jamal was not happy to learn that Kai was heading back to London because of the extreme lengths the Lyons family will go to get their way. Jeff is a clever villain, as he created a device that would erase songs off the “Empire” database. It was a long-awaited father-son moment where sins from the past came to roost. It was a sweet moment, but not as compelling as I expected it to be. Lucious tried to save face, but I don’t Jeff was buying what his dear ole dad was selling.

The final moments were thrilling to say the least as Andre suffered a medical emergency that did not look good to say the least. Moving onto “Star” things ended with an epic twist, with Cassie’s boy toy Xander, who decided to kidnap Cotton’s son Jaden after she stole evidence of his. Cassie wanted blood, just as Starr was still reeling over the news that Noah was the father of her son. Noah lost control of his car and was in dire straits, but thankfully Maurice came to his aide in a nick of time.

Guns drawn, Cassie, Cotton and Xander bartered a deal to get Jaden back. Cassie is not one to be messed with people. The girl is ruthless, and takes no prisoners to get what she wants. This makes me suspect this rivalry between Xander and Cassie will only intensify for the rest of the season. Carlotta dropped the bomb on her mother that her father sexually assaulted her as a kid. It led to Carlotta and Cassie as a united front, against their parents. Take 3 learned their buzz could be killed by the release of Gigi’s new album, which meant competing for a spot to perform in front of a power player in the music industry.

We now know the fury of a mother because Star went AWOL on the woman who posed a threat to her son all in her quest for vengeance. One thing for sure, Davis has a mother who will do all in her power to protect him. Star’s latest stunt caused major blowback, with her being locked away; Davis was placed into child protective custody. Noah was worried sick about his son, but thankfully his test came back clean and he was reunited with his child.

Cassie out for blood for Carlotta threatened her father with a gun about his past transgressions, and it was tense to watch. Noah was unraveling realizing the demands to be a father as larger than he ever expected, just as Alex got an opportunity she never expected, which may cause more friction for Take 3. Cassie was left speechless after learning that Carlotta got pregnant as a teenager by her father. It looks like things for Star are only getting worse because she was unable to post pail, but she still might have Jackson in her corner. If she could just control her temper, things will brighten for her. “Empire” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and “Star” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX.