Entertainment News - TV

THIS ISSUE: Survivor, Empire, The Americans, Modern Family, Nashville TOP MOMENT OF THE NIGHT Survivor Crowns Its Queen CBS BECAUSE: After a season full of surprises, Survivor's 32nd finale still had one left in store for us -- following a pretty salty final Tribal Council with the jurors, it was neither "woman behind the curtain" Aubry nor fan-favorite Tai who was selected as the $1 million winner, but under(dog)-the-radar Michele. Oh, and one more surprise: Sia -- SIA?! -- shocked even consummate host Jeff Probst by flying out of the audience during the live reveal, wig and all, to say that she'd like to give Tai $50,000 for his support of animal rights, plus $50,000 more for the animal charity of his choice. Score one more for season 38's real winner, Mark the Chicken. Empire Fox WHAT HAPPENED: If Jamal really wants to put his career on hold until his family puts an end to their cycle of "death and incarceration," it looks like his vocal rest might be... indefinite. The season 2 finale mostly centers aroundHakeem's attempted wedding to Laura that never happens because a cater waiter sneak-subpoenas Anika with a summons to testify against Lucious. So there's only one solution that any functional family could come to -- Lucious and Anika hijack Hakeem's wedding and get married, only for Lucious to reveal as they're walking down the aisle that he knows Anika pushed Rhonda down the stairs. But there's about to be a whole lot more to know about that story: Rhonda and Anika end up on a balcony together, but this time it's Rhonda who gets in the final sucker punch, sending Anika -- or was it both of them? -- over the balcony railing. Cut to black. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Pack in the reveal that Tariq is Lucious's half-brother (Leah, always there with a world-warping fact), and this was quite the finale. Empire executive producer Ilene Chaiken could neither confirm nor deny to EW who went over the railing, but she could tell us this: "Based on the scream that you hear and the look on Andre's face, I'd say someone went over." And as for what might have happened to that person (or people), "If someone went over that balcony, I don't think there was any chance of survival. You saw how high up we were." We did see it; and we also couldn't help but notice that Wednesday's episode made two Empire finales that have now ended in cat fights. Chaiken swore to EW that's a coincidence, not likely to repeat itself in season 3, but on Empire, never say never: "What I will tell you is that [show creator] Lee Daniels loves a good catfight more than life itself!" The Americans FX WHAT HAPPENED: Season 4 of The Americans sure is a deadly one. In a shocking post-retirement twist, Agent Gaad was accosted by a few KGB agents on his Thailand vacation, fell through a glass door, and bled to death (no, no -- Stan won't like that at all). And things aren't going much better for the Americans -- Pastor Tim disappeared on a mission trip to Ethiopia, and Alice thinks it's Phillip and Elizabeth's doing. Their daughter Paige can't be so sure of her parents' involvement herself. After all, her mother is currently duping an honest couple for access to potential bioweapons and her father recently helped break an innocent woman's heart and ship her off to Russia. But Pastor Tim turns back up. And Alice's threat is enough to send the whole family (sans Henry, duh) into panic mode, bringing up discussions of returning to Russia... though that's not really Paige's favorite idea. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Everything turns out fine for the Jennings after that moment of panic, but with all the emotional turmoil, something about Elizabeth seems to be changing. In the episode's final moments, she's having doubts about what they have planned for Young-Hee and Dom, and when Gabriel asks if she wants him to look for another way in, she says yes. "It wasa single word, spoken calmly, but it had the force of an emotional breakdown. For the first time in nearly four seasons of The Americans , Elizabeth Jennings -- killer, mother, patriot, spy -- asked for a break." Says The New York Times. "There are a lot of things that set The Americans apart from other prime-time dramas, but I'd argue that its greatest strength has been its refusal to compromise with Elizabeth -- to push her toward sentimentality or zealotry, either of which would be easier to write and, for some, to understand." So... where is Elizabeth headed next? Modern Family ABC WHAT HAPPENED: The lesson of Modern Family's season 7 finale? "The best thing to do every now and then is to take a deep breath, take a step back,and take it all in," according to EW recapper Shirley Li. In appropriate finale style, each family had an epiphany or two coming their way: Phil struggles to confront or even get mad at Luke about fooling around with girls in his bedroom ("in the bed that I paid for?!") because he doesn't want to accept that his youngest is growing up. Luckily, that's what family camp is for, and Phil's struggles ultimately help Haley tell Andy that it's okay to put his career first, as well. Speaking of, Cam and Mitch try to figure out how to separate and still raise Lily while Cam goes to be an assistant defensive coordinator in Missouri, which includes an ill-fated perm and the realization that all three of them should just go... WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: On top of that, Jay is feeling incompetent at the office, Claire has to fire someone, Manny said the F-word... you get the drift. It was a lot! Next season the show could narrow its focus with a deep dive into Joe's extensive Casablanca knowledge, or maybe bring everyone to Missouri -- just think of the head scarves! One More Thing... Nashville Gets a Visit From the Rocket Man ABC SILVER LININGS: Nashville may not be getting a fifth season, but they'll always have Elton John...