"Empire" season 3 premiere aired last Wednesday and the series dropped a few bombs. The cliff hanger incident between Rhonda and Anika on the balcony was concluded on the very first episode of the third season. Fans were shocked to see Rhonda fall off the building. Is this one way of pulling up the ratings for the show?
'Empire' Season 3: No More Rhonda
"Empire" season 3 premiere wasted no time in answering some of the bugging questions left by season 2. Topping the list is the conclusion to the season 2 finale scene: Who fell off the building? To recall, the "Empire" season 2 finale ended with two women fighting on a balcony of a high-rise building. Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) and Anika (Grace Byers) were seen fighting on the edge of the balcony and the pilot episode of "Empire" season 3 immediately concluded the scene. Now fans must get used to not seeing Rhonda in "Empire" season 3.
To explain the hard decision to kill off Rhonda, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with showrunner Ilene Chaiken. While all of the viewers saw Rhonda falling off the building, Chaiken said that Rhonda is still part of "empire" season 3. She further explained that Rhonda is vital to Andre's character development; how he thinks and how his story unfolds. So fans won't see the last of Rhonda, it seems.
What Will Happen In The Next Episode?
"Empire" season 3 fans will see the family reeling over Rhonda's sudden death, making them think about their past mistakes. "Empire" season 3 episode 2 synopsis from TV Guide revealed that Jamal (Jussie Smollett) will try to see the positive light in being shot, fighting off his post-traumatic stress disorder. In fact, fans will see him hosting a summit for gun violence to raise awareness. However, this won't be an easy road as he gets a panic attack in the most unlikely time.
As fans expected, Lucious (Terrence Howard) will try to win Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) after the latter steps out from prison. However, this will be quite a challenge since Cookie will be fighting him off to get the Empire too. "Empire" season 3 airs every Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox. Check out the tribute video made for Rhonda Lyons.