'Empire' Season 4 Spoilers: EP Tackles Show's 'Reset' After Season 3 Finale
"Empire" executive producer Ilene Chaiken recently discussed the direction the show will be taking in its next installment after the shocking events in its season 3 finale.
The Season 3 Finale "Reset"
In season 3, Andre (Trai Byers) finally got the thing he most wanted in life — total control of Empire Entertainment. Unfortunately, his father, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) decided to give Andre what he always wanted a little bit too late. The latter had already carried out a plan to kill his father to forcibly get the company.
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When Lucious and Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Andre's mother, decided to give Empire to their son, a bomb had already been set up for the couple. Andre had a last minute change of heart and tried to keep his parents from getting near the ticking bomb but there was not enough time — the explosion hurt Lucious mostly.
After a three-month time jump in the season 3 finale, Lucious woke up with amnesia.
It is Lucious 2.0, not "Empire 2.0"
While the season 3 finale would permit going on an entirely new direction for the show's next installment, in an interview with Deadline, Chaiken does not prefer referring to the show as "Empire 2.0." The EP explained, "But in the [writers'] room we do talk about Lucious 2.0 ... If we are talking about Lucious 2.0, then I think it is fair to say it's now Empire 2.0."
Given that Lucious' state after losing his memory will practically drive the events of season 4, one of the main questions is how long it will take before he recovers and remembers everything? While Chaiken understandably does not want to divulge too much information, she revealed that "Lucious in Season 4 is going to be dealing with the aftermath of this event, the damage to his mind and his body."
She also hinted that one of the things the viewers would need to look forward to is whether the amnesia would become a permanent thing for Lucious or not.
How Will It Affect the Lyons?
It has also been revealed that Lucious' state will open up more stories as to how it will affect each member of his family and Empire. "That is a big part of our story in Season 4 and that is a real reset," Chaiken added.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the EP elaborated, "Everything that's happened to every one of the Lyons has happened in large part because of Lucious or about Lucious. He's the king. With the king incapacitated everybody has to step up in a different way."
Meanwhile, she also said that season 4 will pick up shortly — not more than a year — from the time Lucious woke up with amnesia.
