Who will control the narrative?
Elizabeth Wagmeister speaks to ‘Empire’ showrunner, Ilene Chaiken, on the shocking season finale and what to expect in the fourth season of the Fox drama
Following the first part of Empire’s Season 3 finale last week, which killed off Tariq (Morocco Omari) at the hands of Lucious’s mother (Leslie Uggams), the grand finale nearly saw the death of another main character – none other than Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard).
Through the entire season, Andre (Trai Byers) has been plotting to kill his father. Well, Thursday’s season finale saw that plan come to fruition, but Andre had a last-minute change of heart and ended up saving Lucious’s life at the last minute.
Andre and Shyne’s (Xzibit) plan was to blow up the car that Lucious would be getting into, and though Andre urged him to stop the explosion, Shyne wanted to go through with the plan. Just as Lucious and Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) were walking toward the car, Andre yelled at them to run away, but the bomb still went off. Cookie escaped, but Lucious was in the fire – and there appeared to be a leg blown off in the explosion, but time will tell who that limb actually belongs to.
Lucious suffered a coma and was surrounded by his family in the hospital, along with his handsy private nurse, played by Demi Moore, who will appear next season in a major role. After some time, Lucious finally wakes up, but he does not remember his family – not even Cookie. For starters, was that Lucious’s leg after the car explosion?
Oh wow. That’s a good question. All I can say is Lucious was severely damaged in that explosion. If Lucious regains his memory, will he and Cookie live happily ever after?
We got to that perfect moment between Lucious and Cookie where they were finally both in the same place. We know that they love each other and have for a long time, despite all the complications. They had happiness within their grasp, but then kaboom.
The question is, will Lucious remember? If Lucious’s memory is completely restored, there are still some questions: Will he find out that Andre was behind the bombing? What will the family find out about Bella and about Hakeem’s nefarious deal with the Dubois family? Even if Lucious’s memory were to be completely restored, there are still issues that could complicate their lives.
But the biggest issue is whether Lucious will be able to remember that he loves Cookie and whether they will be able to have that happiness that they had within their grasp for a fleeting moment? Speaking of Hakeem’s deal with the Dubois family, how deep will he get?
They are blackmailing him, but it seems he’ll do anything to be with his daughter. It can be very dangerous and it will certainly play out in Season 4. The first question is what is Diana Dubois (Phylicia Rashad) asking of Hakeem? What is her plan? She’s obviously planning some kind of an assault on the Lyon family. Will Andre still be head of Empire when the show returns, even though he’s responsible for blowing up the car?
The question is will anybody find out Andre was behind it? Will he be able to cover it up? Given that Andre did try to call it off at the last minute, how will the relationship play out between Andre and Shyne? Will Andre ultimately get what he’s already wanted, which he had for a moment when his parents gave him the company? Or will life become more complicated when people start to investigate what happened to Lucious? Demi Moore finally made her debut – and she seems to be getting too close for comfort with Lucious. What can you tease about her relationship with Lucious going forward?
She is Lucious’s private nurse. She is a specialist in dealing with traumatic brain injury and rehabilitating patients. She will be very important to Lucious going into Season 4. Now that he’s out of his coma, his rehabilitation is entrusted to her, which gives her a lot of power and a role in the family and the show that’s unfamiliar. She’s a major character in our fourth season. What is the theme for Season 4?
I think our theme is history is re-written by the victors. Who controls the narrative of the Lyon family? What is going to be known? We’re living in a world right now that is an ephemeral thing. Who gets to define the truth? That is largely our theme for Season 4 so, in a sense, it’s a very Trumpian theme (laughing). You’ve got to get the truth out, but who gets to say what the truth is. - Variety