Empire: "Be True"

By now, it should be clear that Empire doesn't have a slower pace than the sprint we've seen them operating at since the first episode. But hours like "Be True" suggest that the show doesn't need to slow down so much as make sure that the storylines they're running through are consistently interesting. And perhaps when they aren't as interesting the fast pace works in the show's favor because they don't last too long. Either way, "Be True" is the best episode of Empire's sophomore season to date and it doesn't even have a standout line like the first episode's "You can't even dyke right!" I think some part of this is due to the importance of each character's storyline.

Jamal's in the studio with guest star Ne-Yo recording more great music and talking about touring together. Ne-Yo's another big get in the long line of big name guest stars the show's been able to pull in, but more than that he's a breath of fresh air for the show. He disagrees with almost everything Lucious says and isn't shy about standing up to him and speaking his mind, and more importantly he talks to Jamal like he's a person and a real artist, not like he's just some gay rich kid riding his dad's coattails. My friends and I have spent a lot of time lately talking about Nashville and their continued failings with the Will Lexington storyline. I've brought up the similarities between these storylines before, but it seems just as important now since Will just recently came out of the closet on that show. It's taken them three whole seasons to do what Jamal did in one, but more importantly since Will came out he's been dropped from his label, fallen into a bit of a depression, and hounded by members of the gay community for not doing enough to use his star status to push forward issues of visibility and equality. In short, he's been punished for being gay and the show doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with that.

Conversely, Jamal works in Hip-Hop and R&B, an industry that's every bit as homophobic as the Country music industry. Yet in the wake of him coming out, he's been named the CEO of his father's company, had a hit album, is creating what should be another hit album, and has real life people from the industry telling him at every turn that his sexual orientation doesn't matter. There are scenes here where Ne-Yo talks to Jamal about the choice to bring Michael on the road with him like they're discussing something as simple as the weather. He compares Jamal's decision to his own experience of bringing girls on the road with him. Never once does he stop to sure up his position as a straight man or point out that there's any difference between him and Jamal. I know it's scripted, and who knows maybe in real life Ne-Yo feels differently on the subject (though I strongly doubt it), but that doesn't change the fact that it's important. At multiple times throughout the show's run, Empire has made it clear that it does not agree with Lucious' position on the subject of Jamal's sexuality. The more Nashville allows people to be horrible to Will without facing any kind of retribution for their actions or without bringing in powerful people to offer their unwavering support of him, the more I think that the show and it's writers are the ones that are homophobic. But that's a rather long tangent to go on for me to basically say that I really enjoyed Ne-Yo and his role in this episode and would greatly like it for him to come back at some point.

While Jamal battles with whether or not to take Michael on the road with him, Michael seems to be battling with his jealousy or whatever the fuck has been his problem towards Jamal. They spend more time with Adam Busch's character this episode and listen to him make common complaints about monogamy and same-sex marriage. They're arguments that shouldn't be new to anyone who's had an honest conversation with a gay person lately, but it's still interesting to hear them laid out on a popular primetime show. It culminates in him trying to blow Jamal in a hallway at Leviticus, being turned down, and then successfully blowing Michael out on Jamal's balcony. I've made no secret of the fact that I've hated Michael since his return this season, and in truth if this how we can finally be rid of him, I'm all for it. The problem with this storyline is I don't know that Michael's motivations for anything he does have been explained or sussed out well enough for him to be compelling or anything other than the full out villain in this situation. I'm guessing we'll finally get to hear his side of things later, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he's just unceremoniously gone from the show like he was last season.

While Jamal's stories in "Be True" are my favorite, it's Andre's decision to get baptized that hold the hour together. It leads to a nice scene between him and Rhonda where we're strongly led to believe that she isn't pregnant at all, something I've suspected since she first said she was. There's also a solid scene where he tells Lucious about his botched suicide attempt, but that doesn't really go as far as it should. And there's the best scene between the three brothers that we've seen since the elevator scene last year. Andre tells them that he set up Jamal's robbery, not Hakeem, and they both forgive him. It's a scene of strong performances all around, and I really really liked Hakeem's indignation over the fact that Jamal could have been hurt in all that instead of being mad that he'd been lied about. The Jamal--Hakeem relationship is still one of my favorite aspects of the show, and when they do little things like this to sure that up, it makes me hopeful about the show's future.

For his part, Andre seems genuine about wanting to do all he can to be a good big brother and to heal this family. Outside of the horrible influences of Cookie and Lucious, it's impossible not to root for him. The three of them together have a strong chemistry, and there seems to be a lot more unconditional love between them than there is between the kids and either of the parents. It all brings me back around to my main point that Empire the company would be much better served with the Lyons boys having equal control over it. If that's not the direction the series is heading in, it's all going to seem like a significant waste.

In 1100 words I still haven't mentioned Cookie's new promoter/bodyguard/love interest, the new threat to Lyon Dynasty, or Hakeem's continued struggle to set up his girl group and his obvious new love interest. And that's not because those stories are uninteresting, but simply because there's so much here. Empire at its worst crams a lot in to an episode and feels like it goes nowhere. But at it's best, it seems to crack through storylines at a breakneck speed without losing momentum or feeling like a waste. I don't think this kind of thing is at all possible to sustain for long periods of time, but Empire doesn't seem interested in marathons so much as wind sprints. It's an odd choice for a TV show (the ultimate in long form storytelling), but it's a choice that seems to be working more than not working for Empire, so I guess we should wish them well and just get out of their way.

Random Thoughts:

--Porsha's back! And thank God, because I love her. And the way she walks back in with a "I know you're busy, but can I have my job back?" kind of attitude is so indicative of who she is as character.

--There's another flashback to Lucious' time with his mom in this episode. This time to explain his seeming PTSD about Andre's being baptized. These scenes continue to be interesting to watch and continue giving us more about Lucious' past, so I don't want to come down too hard on them, but I do think they're starting to feel a bit one note. It all boils down to one thing: everything Lucious hates in the world is because his mom was bipolar. They're going to need to do more with these scenes or else find a new angle.

--Speaking of who Lucious is, it turns out he's an Atheist. This is actually something that I think the show could stand to explore more of. I'm interested in how a black Atheist would come to success in the black community. And I'm also interested in seeing more of the basis for his extreme homophobia. There's usually a correlation between high levels of religious fervor within a community and high levels of homophobia, but if Lucious lacks one, then why hold on to the other?

--I'm going to break character a bit and actually go to bat for Michael on one point. I refuse to believe that Michael, the active member of the gay community that he is, and constantly trying to get Jamal to get behind this or that great gay cause, doesn't know what the term "heteronormativity" means.

--Lucious: "This family is my business." In the ongoing conversation about what "family" might mean to this show, I guess we have to add Family as a business transaction to the list.

--The episode ends with Hakeem being kidnapped in broad daylight. This might be a little silly, but it's also a great way to go into a brief hiatus. The show will be back after the World Series is over, and when it is, we'll get what looks to be a tense and highly rewarding episode. I honestly can't wait!

TV Review: Empire Episode 2: The Outspoken King

There's a moment in this week's episode of Empire that I think might just be a glimmer of the show's overall transcendence. It's during Lucious' interview after Cookie's reaction to the Kid Fofo shooting has been shown. Lucious seems to drop some of the performance for the cameras aspect of his statement and just gets real with the audience. He talks about the way his lyrics reflected where he came from. He talks about the importance of hope to young black artist trying to lose themselves in their lyrics so they won't have to lose their lives in the streets. He talks about the way this art form is about a kind of struggle and suffering that very few other art forms can capture and how important that message still is in a world where Trayvon Martin can still be gunned down in the street for no real reason at all and with no real justice being dealt out for his murder. This moment, underscored as it is by yet another heartfelt performance from Jamal, is a bit on the nose, but that doesn't make it any less important and impactful. Because here's the thing: Empire could be just another primetime soap with little to say about anything of import. It could be little more than a campy exploration of the music industry with no real voice of its own (a la Nashville but we'll talk more about that comparison in a minute), but it doesn't seem at all interested in allowing that to be the case. Instead, Empire seems to be saying that it's got something to say, it's got points to make, and nothing and no one will stop it from making them. When they're made, they'll be made with glaring neon signs and dialogue that leaves no stone unturned and no doubt as to what the show's real message and intentions are. Subtlety will never be this show's middle name, but I don't think anyone will ever find a need to complain about that fact either. In the end, it's this need to say something that will allow this show to transcend genre and become the kind of show we're still talking about many years down the line.

The Outspoken King suffers a bit from the typical second episode malaise a lot of shows seem to find, but it's no less enjoyable for it. All of the characters are reintroduced, the major plot points from the first episode are retouched in a lot of ways, and the groundwork for the show going forward is strengthened; there are also a couple of new plots and new characters introduced.

The episode starts with Cookie showing up at Lucious' house. This mostly serves to introduce the plot point of Lucious' new club, Leviticus (yes he did actually name his club Leviticus), opening and as an excuse to get Cookie and Lucious sniping at each other again. This time, Lucious' new wife, Anika (Grace Gealey)is thrown in the mix for good measure as well. The animosity between these two women is something that I don't think will ever stop paying dividends. But it's the club opening that takes center stage in the ongoing war between the two main characters. Lucious has booked Hakeem to perform at the venue in order to help launch his career, but of course Cookie wants Jamal to play there too. I don't know if the irony of her gay son performing at the opening night of a club named Leviticus ever really dawns on Cookie, but I doubt it's going to be missed by the audience. Again I say that subtlety will not be this show's bread and butter.

Meanwhile, we find out that the other Lyons' son, Andre, is in fact bipolar and his wife Rhonda might not just be the scheming manipulative harpy the first episode made her out to be. At the very least she wears a bib before going down on her husband, so there's that. In truth, the development of Rhonda is one of the better things this episode pulls off. She wants her husband to succeed and she isn't squeamish about doing some underhanded things to ensure that he does, but she's also the only person in his life willing to give him shit and make sure he's working to keep his bipolar disorder under control. We've seen many different iterations of bipolar on TV before, and while I don't think that Empire will handled the mental disorder with the kind of care and finesse that it deserves, I do think it's important for a show to stand up and point out that this is something that can effect people of color too. For now I'll continue to be hopeful that Andre doesn't devolve into a bucket of cliches and stereotypes, but is allowed to be a more fully realized character who just so happens to struggle with this disorder.

After Lucious of course tells her that Jamal will not be on his stage at all, Cookie starts scheming about ways to steal the spotlight from Hakeem and place it firmly on her favored son. With the help of her new personal assistant, Porsha, she decides that the best way to do that is to get Jamal to come out and then give his own performance on the steps of the same building at the same time that Hakeem is performing inside. It's exploitative, sure, but it's also a bit brilliant in a lot of ways. She brings up that the best way for Jamal to kick off his career in the music industry isn't to hide his sexuality but to embrace it and carve out a niche for himself that simply isn't being filled elsewhere. I mentioned the show's comparison to Nashville earlier, and I've mentioned it before and will again, but this is the storyline where I feel the compare and contrast has the most power. I've complained multiple times about Nashville's handling of Will's storyline. The show feels like its taking place in the 90s instead of the present. It knows it wants Will to remain in the closet, but it doesn't really know why. I'm not going to deny that country music is still pretty homophobic in a lot of ways, but in a time when multiple male country music stars are coming out left and right, the show's insistence that Will needs to be closeted to be successful feels disingenuous. Conversely, Hip Hop and R&B are not making the strides towards queer equality that country music seems to be making, and more importantly Empire has Lucious; a father who we've already seen literally throw his son in the trash and threaten to cut him off entirely if he comes out. This isn't to take anything away from Frank Ocean or Angel Haze who happens to be a personal favorite of mine, but the truth is that Ocean is the only queer male individual in the industry now, and he honestly isn't that popular. So there's still a solid difference beteen country music where multiple male stars are coming out simultaneously, and Hip Hop / R&B where you can hardly even name one. There are real steaks and real consequences for Jamal whereas there's only perceived steaks and consequences for Will. Jamal still wants his father's approval (though I doubt that that will last long), and he still needs his financial support. For Jamal, coming out is an honestly scary proposition because he knows in no uncertain terms just what he stands to lose by doing so. But the other difference between the two shows handling of their queer storylines is that Empire at least has characters who are willing to admit that Jamal's coming out could be good for his career. No one's crossed that bridge with Will yet after multiple seasons. Empire at least is willing to engage with both sides of the conversation whereas Nashville simply seems to think that there's no good that can come from admitting that you're gay. This show is just far more progressive than its country music counterpart.

But that isn't to say that the characters all have to be turned into PFLAG joining, rainbow flag waving supporters. At multiple points throughout these first two episodes Cookie has used homophobic language when talking to and about her gay son. She calls him "A gay" at one point this week and I've never laughed harder in my life. This is one of the many ways Empire is allowing its characters to be complex people. Cookie loves her son, and honestly doesn't care that he's gay; she goes to bat for him and truly believes that his sexuality wouldn't be a hindrance at all to him running the company, but she also can't, or at least hasn't yet, transcended the limitations of her own upbringing and life in the streets.

If there's one thing that tends to pull me out of Empire on a week to week basis, I think it's the show's basic cable trappings. While I don't think that the series needs an increase in sex that premium cable would inevitably give it, I do think that some of it's toned down language hurts the general atmosphere the show is trying to build. In truth, this world would feature a lot more N Words and F bombs than Fox will ever let them get away with. I don't think that the way the story is being told detracts from the overall enjoyment of the series, but I for one do find it noticeable. To the show's credit, it isn't forcing the issue and just bleeping the bad language, nor is it trying force in substitute words in places where we know those words should go. It's simply not addressing the issue, which I think is the better way to go. It makes it feel like the show takes place in a world with its own set of rules which make sense. But when the episode then makes references to Obama and Trayvon Martin, I'm forced to remember that the show does actually take place in our world, just a watered down version of our world. And that's perfectly OK.

Random Thoughts:

--From the Hot Mess Pile: I think the storyline with Tianna almost worked this week. I enjoyed her introduction, and even though I find the storyline of the woman who challenges the man by not giving it up as easily as other girls do to be a bit tired at this point, I could have accepted it here. But in order for it to really work, I think she needed to hold out on falling for Hakeem for a bit longer. It should have been something that they strung out over the course of multiple episodes instead of just having it seemingly resolved by the end of this episode.

--Hakeem's little barroom rant about Obama was interesting. It worked well with the themes about what it might mean to be black in a white run world (as seen in Lucious' pivotal interview scene and some of what Cookie was telling him throughout the hour about how he's lost something). It's also a conversation that I know has taken place in black households across the nation since Obama started his first campaign.

--With all of that being said, I don't really think that the show earned the personal phone call between Lucious and Obama scene. Especially with Lucious being on a first name basis with the leader of the free world. I had to roll my eyes at that one.

--Eventually complimenting the acting on this show might get old, but Taraji P. Henson seriously sold the emotion when she got the call about Bunkie's death. She's getting her Emmy reel in order quick.

--The great music of the series continues with the unveiling of the "No Apologies" song which was the cornerstone of most of the show's early promos, another great (but ultimately on the nose) song from Jamal, and that cute and fun pop-y number from Tianna. The music will be the aspect of the series that keeps the show on the air (assuming ratings ever start to slow down), but the stories will be what allows it to be great.

Is TV Ready for a Polyamorous Relationship?

I was binge watching Nashville at the recommendation of a friend recently when I came across this scene. I was impressed with the song, but more fascinated by the serious amount of eye fucking going on between Avery (Jonathan Jackson) and Gunnar (Sam Palladio). Not to be left out, Zoey (Chaley Rose), also isn't shy about casting her gaze in the direction of her two sexy guys. If you watch the show, then you know the relationship dynamics of these three characters, but when I watched this scene, I couldn't help but to wonder if we wouldn't be in the market for a Polyamorous triad to take shape. This kind of chemistry and these kinds of wordless reaction shots are the basis of fandom shipping. You can't throw a rock without finding a ship that exists just because two characters shared a room that one time, or sometimes based on even less than that. Wattpad has a nice list of ships that seem to exist for no reason at all. But the thing about this particular scene of lustful eyes is that it seems to be another in a line of moments from shows lately that suggest we might be in the early moments of seeing a real polyamorous relationship take shape on the small screen. And I for one think that that would be a great thing for a number of reasons, so I say bring it on.

Disclaimers: I am not in, nor have I ever been in a Poly or even an open relationship. When I do find myself in relationships, they tend to be monogamous in nature. But I don't devalue Poly relationships at all. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would work for me, but I fully support it if it works for someone else. So this isn't me pushing forward any kind of an agenda, I wouldn't benefit one way or another from a healthy Poly relationship being explored on screen. My primary interest in seeing this kind of relationship explored is really just about the storytelling implications. Also, I did watch the first few episodes of Showtime's Polyamory: Married & Dating, and while I will say that that's an easy look at real life Poly relationships, I always got the impression that that show was more about having an excuse to shoot hot threesomes than it was about exploring these actual dynamics. I also find the relationships explored in this show to be heteronormative in their dynamics. By which I mean that even the group that features two men is a group in which both men are solely focused on the women instead of on each other. Which is fine for real life, I don't think being in a Poly relationship automatically means someone has to be Bisexual in some fashion. But for the sake of storytelling purposes and exploring deeper character dynamics, I think it would be more interesting to see how a character changes as they inexplicably find themselves falling in love with a person who happens to be a different gender than they're typically attracted to. So, I'm not talking about shows with love triangles, which are a dime a dozen, but shows in which characters honestly find themselves in dynamics in which all three characters can be shipped equally with one another.

So what's the possible appeal of these OT3s being explored in the canon? First among them has to be the inherent drama that such a thing would create. Sticking with Nashville for an example, you'd be talking about a threeway relationship that would take place between the two ex boyfriends, and one best friend of one of the other characters on the show, Scarlett O'Connor (Clare Bowen). The show already touches on Scarlett's discomfort and uncertainty when she sees these three people who are important to her in different ways performing together and growing closer as friends and performers while she's left out in the cold. Now imagine what that would look like if all three of them were also sleeping together and falling in love. Another character potentially affected by this development would be Chris Carmack's Will Lexington. Will has been struggling with his own homosexuality over the course of the show, and he even made an ill-advised pass at Gunnar early in his time on the series. How might this triad developing effect him?

Speaking of this show's only gay character, imagine what this story could have to say about human sexuality. If Avery and Gunnar (two heterosexual men) slowly find themselves falling in love or being attracted to one another, the sexual confusion would be through the roof. We tend to enjoy watching stories about characters struggling to come to terms with their homosexuality and going through the process of coming out. But those stories are still interested in making sexuality black and white and making the coming out process a bit more linear (Will's story has been an example of this thus far). A TV triad could get us to a point where we're questioning these assumed elements of human sexuality. Can Gunnar, Avery, and Zoey all be equally in love with one another, and equally sexual with one another, and all still claim to be straight? I think the answer is yes, but it would be a lot of fun to see that question explored on screen.

In the case of Teen Wolf's best OT3 (Scott/Allison/Isaac), the reason behind why the show should have gone there is simply that they teased it enough that they needed to get it over with. Teen Wolf is a show that isn't shy about baiting its fans into specific ships, or learning about ships and working to exploit them. Arguably, the show's most popular ship is between Tyler Hoechlin's Derek Hale and Dylan O'Brien's adorable, and probably bisexual, Stiles Stilinski. And since it became clear that fans wanted that pairing, the two's scenes together have gotten more and more shipper-bait in nature. In the case of the threesome issue, the show had been teasing the desire for a televised threeway since that sexy dance way back in the second season. Granted, in context, that dance is a lot less about those three characters being attracted to each other and more about misdirection, but I've always been interested in the closeness and the lustful looks being exchanged between Isaac (Daniel Sharman) and Jackson (Colton Haynes).

But that dance scene is really just a teaser for the ultimate OT3 to come. When Scott (Tyler Posey) and Allison (Crystal Reed) break up, it opens the door for Isaac to move in, but Allison's door isn't the only one that seems to be opened to the curly haired cutie. Disillusioned with the way that Derek runs his pack, Isaac easily and often runs to the comforting arms of Scott. Their friendship is sweet and adorable and you often get the impression that Isaac loves Scott because he's the first person to be nice and caring to him without wanting anything in return. Isaac's birth father is an abusive piece of shit, and Derek turns him and adds him to his pack more for his own selfish reasons than because of any kind of care or concern for the boy. But Scott, being the kind and loving and protecting hero that he is, looks out for Isaac because he honestly cares about Issac's well being. What fallows as a result are a number of scenes like this one in which Scott expresses a kind of interest and Isaac, caught off guard, is left making moon eyes at him. Add to that the way that Isaac and Allison are slow to get their relationship off the ground, both of whom constantly citing Scott as the reason they're hesitant, or even the fact that Isaac's first choice for a new place to live when he's in need is Scott's place and Scott let's him move in without a second though, and you get the fans feeling like "Alright already! Get them all together and let them have sexy fun times!"

Another example of the ship being so great it can't help but to write itself can be found in Dr. Who's Doctor/Rose/Jack ship. One of the things I like so much about this OT3 is that it has the effect of making them all better. It's clear that The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston for the sake of this article) is a better person when he's with a companion. And the best companions are equally made better during their time with the Doctor (Rose and Donna are the best examples of this to me). When you add Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) to the mix, you get someone who is a far better and more honest person when he's with the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper), and who has the ability to ensure there's a healthy level of fun being had in the Tardis. The Doctor/Rose/Jack is the triad that comes the closest to being canon. They share the kisses shown above, and Jack is an admitted omnisexual being who flirts and loves everyone he shares more than two words with. Rose is clearly and admittedly in love with the Doctor, though admittedly that's more Ten (David Tennant) than Nine, and the Doctor (again talking about Ten this time) does come as close as possible to admitting his own feelings for her. But the point still remains that the presence and popularity of this triad shows just how ready we are for this kind of story to play out in full on screen.

The last reason that I think a Polyamorous relationship should develop on the small screen is visibility. Monogamy is seen as the norm in this world. As such, most relationships we see are monogamous in nature. Any break from monogamy is demonized, and the solution to just about every love triangle that comes up (and there are way too many to count in TV shows) is that the main character has to choose one or the other, or neither. It makes the storytelling feel hackneyed in a lot of ways. We've seen just about every option played out somewhere or other already. So why get invested in these torn-between-two-lovers stories? But more over, where does a person who doesn't believe they'd be happy in a monogamous situation turn to see their story mirrored back to them? How do we normalize different kinds of relationships if we continually refuse to showcase them as being normal? I think shows like Teen Wolf or even The Vampire Diaries are perfect matches to do this given their distribution to a younger audience. Teen Wolf could have just given audiences what they wanted anyway and started changing hearts and minds that way. Or The Vampire Diaries could have given fans something they may not have known they wanted but might have enjoyed anyway in a Klaus/Caroline/Tyler coupling. With Klaus and Caroline being basically in love since day one, and Tyler and Caroline dating, but Tyler at least being sired enslaved to Klaus, it would have at least made sense even if there were some issues of consent behind it.

I think TV is uniquely poised among mediums to really change, or maybe just spark, the conversation about Polyamory. In much the same way that tuning in to shows featuring LGBT characters on a regular basis has helped to shift public perception in positive ways, I think watching fictional Poly relationships would help to normalize a non-mainstream way of life. And beyond that, I think it would just serve to give us more interesting and unique stories to tell. We've looked at the different ways relationships between only two people can be dramatic; I think we've seen just about every combination and possibility available to such a pairing. Long gone are the days when simply making the pair two people of the same gender is enough to add new dynamics, so why not do something new? I think TV shows have been brushing up against doing this for awhile now. So the only real question left is which show will have the balls to actually just go there already? It doesn't necessarily have to be an established show, either. Maybe there's a new series out there somewhere with three characters who are ready-made to find themselves navigating these uncharted narrative waters. If so, the reveal of this show can't come soon enough for me.

Addendum: I realized something that has come to cause me a great amount of shame lately: all of these OT3 pairings are male-male-female. While I will admit that given the taboos within our society about male sexuality, this dynamic is the one I personally find most interesting, I don't mean to make it seem like that's the only place TV will be able to find drama and compelling stories. To those ends, I would like to point out what MTV's Faking It is doing with Amy, Karma, and Liam. It's hard to include this three-way in this article because I don't think it's the best way for the show to go. This story feels like it works out best as being the story of Amy figuring out her sexual orientation. But the show isn't shy about there being bumps along the way to Amy's eventual probable destination to Lesbos island. Both of the girls have already slept with Liam, and Amy and Karma are clearly better together. So while I don't really think the Amy, Karma, Liam triad works best in the long term, I certainly think it could make for an interesting dynamic for a season or so. I can't think of any fully same sex poly groups, but if you have any, I'd love to hear them.