Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of good moments on Empire Season 3 Episode 5, but for the most part, this was a lackluster installment. Lucious continues to be a thorn in everyone's side, and the bickering between the brothers is getting old.
Without getting into everything else that happened during the World Series-induced hiatus (though some characters tonight made some pretty apt allusions), it's good to be back with the most predictably unpredictable pack in the fictional-music business.
The councilman's attempt to make virtue out of vice serves as a neat little mission statement for this week's episode. As the still-young third season of "Empire" has made abundantly clear, the Lyons are locked in an endless cycle of conflict.
In Empire's "One Before Another" -- which peaked with an ugly and captivating family showdown -- we got glimpses of father and son that brought previously obscured parts of them into sharp view. That reveal was most surprising for Lucious.
