‘Empire’: Rhonda Lyon Makes Surprise Return in Season Finale

The battle for the Empire was on in the season 4 finale, bringing back a ghost from the Lyons’ past.

With Lucious (Terrence Howard) refusing to give up the company in exchange for his family’s company, he decides he will to turn himself into the authorities for killing Shine (Xzibit), so Eddie (Forest Whitaker) can’t blackmail him anymore.

In an emotional conversation Lucious tells Andre (Trai Byers) to protect the family while he’s gone, which leaves the eldest Lyon son emotional. During family dinner, Lucious announces his plans to turn himself in, which leaves the Lyon children wondering if the should give up the company altogether.

At the Empire board meeting, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) gives up the company to save Lucious from going to prison, getting her hands on the evidence Eddie kept to prove Lucious’ crime.

Refusing to feel defeated, Cookie swears to Lucious they will take back the company from her for good. Andre later confronts Anika and tells her he refuses to blame her anymore for what has happened to his family.

In the episode’s final minutes, Anika faces a press conference as the new CEO o the company and she finds herself overwhelmed by her guilt, and sees the ghost of Rhonda (Kaitlyn Doubleday). Andre later reveals he spiked Annika’s drink with a drug and Annika collapses and falls, leaving her fate to be revealed when the series returns in the fall.

Rhonda was Andre’s wife for the first two seasons. Her ride-or-die attitude kept her by her husband’s side in the beginning of the series, as the couple conspired to get control of the company.

In the first season finale, Rhonda finds out she is pregnant and the news brings joy to the family. Tragedy struck, however, in the season two fall finale after Anika pushed Rhonda down a flight of stairs and she lost the baby in the spring premiere.

After she recovers, she starts working on Empire’s fashion label, formerly led by Camilla Marks-Whiteman (Naomi Campbell). Following Camilla’s suicide, se is named Creative Director of the fashion brand “Anthony and Cleopatra.”

Her arc ends in tragedy when in the season two finale, she attacks Anika after finding out she was the one responsible for her baby’s death. The attack ends with Rhonda falling off a building to her death. She made numerous appearances during the third season as visions of Andre’s mental health before she left the series until her appearance this season.

Since leaving Empire, Doubleday joined the cast of Nashville as a series regular in the role of Jessie Cane.

Empire will return for a fifth season in fall 2018 on Fox.