Empire

If Empirestretches audience goodwill a little too far, perhaps it can be forgiven; whatever its flaws, it never fails to entertain.

Given this episode's recycling of season one's plot, it seems as though we’ve maybe seen most of what Empire has to offer.

This week's episode "Sinned Against" was aptly titled, as it seemed a blatant transgression against believability and audience investment in the show.

At only halfway through the show’s second season, there is still a lot of space for Empire's writers to surprise us, but the further the show strays into melodramatic cliche, the less likely it seems they will.

By introducing new plot lines and dramatic twists and turns without ever really capitalizing on the ones already set up, Empire's offering too many loose ends and half-developed characters about whom it's incredibly difficult to care.

This week’s episode was full of the kinds of antics expected in the Empire universe; however, Lee Daniels and company showed with this week’s episode that there are any number of relationship dynamics still left to be explored.

As Lucious' legal troubles are put to bed, things within the family get even more complicated.

Empire, has always been chess match played in a flamboyant, Machiavellian style, but this episode’s moves were so clearly telegraphed that it’s hard to admire them.

The second episode of Empire's second season gives audiences more of what they came for: narrative, character development, and strained relationships.