Thumbs/performer Of The Week
Best Of Show Or Worse For Wear? Digest Decides.
thumbs up! EMPIRE End Of An EMPIRE
Despite the fact that the Coronavirus shutdown forced EMPIRE to scrap its final two episodes, the producers did a bang-up job of crafting a satisfying series finale that hit all the right notes. The throughline of the show’s six seasons on the air was the love story of Cookie and Lucious, so the two reuniting was a fitting end to their years-long romantic drama. The rest of the crew also got their happy endings: Andre decided to stay in town to be a better man for his wife and son; Hakeem and Maya discovered they could have a true romance following their drunken Vegas wedding; and Becky mended fences with Porsha by arranging for her BFF to make her rapping debut — and she was a smash! The series closed out with Hakeem’s track of the Lyon family history at the premiere of their autobiographical film, Birth Of An Empire, which was set to flashbacks that illustrated just how far this family had come — and made us realize how much we will miss them.
thumbs down! GENERAL HOSPITAL Fake It Till You Make It
Sasha and Chase pretending to have an affair to push Michael and Willow into a loveless union to improve Mikey’s odds of securing custody of Wiley is a distasteful story turn. The whole idea of a Michael/willow mar
riage of convenience doesn’t pass the logic test; Sasha was disqualified by Diane as a suitable wife for Michael because of her checkered past — but Willow has one, too, including an arrest record, courtesy of her association with Dawn of Day. The plot has no sense of fun or playfulness unlike, say, the partner-swap antics of Jax/alexis/ned/chloe from 1999. Not only is the tale a downer, but it dramatically reduces Chase’s charm (and “Chillow’s” rooting value); while it feels like we’re meant to see his actions as noble and self-sacrificing, that’s awfully hard to do given the agony the ploy caused Willow and the inherent ickiness of him deceiving her. Willow’s whole backstory revolves around her being manipulated and controlled by people who claimed to love her, and now, she is again being robbed of her agency by the people she trusted the most (Chase and Sasha), both of whom come off looking more like jerks than heroes.
thumbs up! YOUNG AND RESTLESS Ego Trick
Since his arrival in Genoa City, Theo’s arrogance and sneakiness has gone pretty much unchecked, which made his recent comeuppance that much more delicious. Kyle and Theo were tasked by Jack to each come up with a pitch for Jabot’s next campaign, and Theo’s zeal to best his cousin got the best of him: Mr. Vanderway blatantly stole Kyle’s concept to present as his own, unwittingly falling into a trap set for him by Kyle. On pitch day, Theo insisted on going first, and with blustery bravado unveiled “his” proposal while Kyle smirked and Jack sat stone-faced. After his grand wrap-up, Jack wiped the smug look off Theo’s face by revealing that the idea he presented as original was actually stolen — from Jack, who’d devised it 15 years ago. Tyler Johnson (Theo) played his alter’s “uh-oh” moment to perfection, but this time, Theo’s fast-talking charm couldn’t save him, and he was fired. With tail firmly tucked between his legs, a deflated Theo slinked away, which was sweet justice for Kyle, and juicy entertainment for us.