I have been following all the hype on social media over America’s two most watched television shows: Power, a popular Stars series and Empire, Fox’s new hit series. I started watching Empire first and became hooked within the first 15 minutes of the first episode. Empire is about an ex drug dealer who built a multimillion dollar music recording empire for his family, which, of course, stirs lots of drama during the season over who will inherit the throne of the empire once Lucious Lyon (the Emperor) dies of a seemingly fatal auto immune disease that he has suddenly been diagnosed with. The fight for the throne brings a lot of family issues between his 3 sons and ex-wife ”Cookie Lyon”. This series will keep you on the edge of your seat each episode. Fans, like myself, are anxiously awaiting the second season’s release in September.
After watching Empire, I was soon convinced by my social media friends to watch Power. So, I did just that. Power is already in its second season so I had to go back and watch the first season and get caught up on the second season episodes. Power is a hard core depiction of a drug dealer named “Ghost” who worked hard to build his cartel all while opening a happening night club to disguise the darker side of his life as a king pin. He faces many struggles and lots of disloyalty and distrust. It’s a twisted modern day soap opera that will also leave you begging for more.
I have seen a lot of debate about the two shows; people arguing that one was better than the other. I can see how they are similar, as they both come from hard knocks on the streets and fight to build something bigger than they are. There are two very powerful, yet evil men that will kill anything that gets in the way of their “kingdom”. There is a lot of deception, suspense and trickery in both series. In comparison, I have heard that Power was much better than Empire. However, I beg to differ! In my opinion, Power Season One started off really slow and has a much bigger and complicated story line to follow, consequently I didn’t feel the instant “hook” that I did with Empire. Power is also a lot more explicit. I do not recommend allowing your children or young teens to watch this, as it’s very graphic, lots of killing, profanity and nudity. Empire is more “catchy” to me, mainly because of its female lead character, Cookie Lyon (ex-wife of Lucious Lyon) played by Taraji P. Henson. This role is one of the best of her career. She has had other lead roles before, but none that compare to this. Check out both shows and decided for yourself. Or if you’re a fan of either, leave your opinions in the comments below and let me know what you think of the great Power vs Empire debate. Happy Watching!
Comments