'Empire' Killed off a Significant Character and Fans Were Left in Tears

Empire finally showed the person lying in the casket, and fans were heartbroken.Spoilers ahead for [...]

By Jose Bastidas

Empire finally showed the person lying in the casket, and fans were heartbroken.

Spoilers ahead for Empire Season 5, Episode 18 ("The Roughest Day").

The Fox drama series finale episode finally answered the season-long question of which member of the Lyon family passed away, revealing Lucious' first-born son Ben Kingsley (A.Z. Kelsey) shot himself in order to donate his heart to his half-brother Andre (Trai Byers).

The twist came after Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) stopped her son from ending his life, and the family going to the hospital to examine his debilitating heart condition. After the doctors determine Andre needs a heart transplant to survive, the family struggles to hold onto hope.

Kingsley visits his mother, Tracy, who lashes out at him for getting close to the Lyons after what Lucious did to her. The traumatic visit to his mother leads the young man to his breaking point, and he shows up to Lucious' apartment with a gun.

After the pair argue, Lucious (Terrence Howard) tells his son that if he is going to kill him he has to shoot him in the head so the doctors can give Andre his heart. The touching moment leads Kingsley to reconsider, and he shoots himself instead.

Fans of the musical drama series were left in shock by the twist, sharing their grief to see the newest member of the Lyon family face such a tragic death.

The episode took an even darker turn when viewers finally caught up to the infamous funeral scene, finally revealing Kingsley lying in the casket.

Lucious honors his son's sacrifice by burying him with the original files of his original music, as an ode to Kingsley listening to his entire repertoire growing up, hoping to find a reference of himself in his father's music.

The season finale ended in a rather upsetting cliffhanger after the FBI threatened Lucious to smear Cookie's name and come after them for their business dealings with Damon Cross. Lucious recklessly takes Cookie to a helicopter pad so they both leave the city until the feds' trail runs cold.

Cookie, however, says she can't go with him so soon after Andre's crisis, along with all the issues she and Lucious have been having in their relationship lately. The episode ends with Cookie admitting to sleeping with Damon Cross in the past, and getting in the car, as a brokenhearted Lucious takes the helicopter away.

Empire will return for Season 6 in fall 2019.

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