'Empire' Season 2 News, Spoilers: Showrunner, Star on Lucious' Mom, Anika's Pregnancy, and More
The latest episode of Fox musical drama "Empire" dropped another major bombshell: Lucious' mother is alive.
In the episode, "Time Shall Unfold," Thirsty (Andre Royo), one of Lucious' goons, visited a special care home, where he asked about Lucious' mother and handed over an envelope of cash.
Leah Walker, Lucious' mom, who was played in flashbacks by actress/singer Kelly Rowland, appeared to have died when she shot herself back when Lucious was a little boy. This is the story the Lyon patriarch has always told and, in the episode, he even took Andre (Trai Byers) to Leah's grave to help him make sense of his mental illness. But, apparently, his mother's death is just another one of Lucious' many lies.
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According to "Empire" showrunner Ilene Chaiken, they have always known that Leah is alive and that, soon, viewers will see the repercussions of her being alive play out.
In an interview with Variety, Chaiken said that "Empire" fans will soon see what Lucious' relationship with his mother has been like and how he has justified placing her in a home and pretending that she is dead.
"Her being alive and the family finding out that she exists is a huge complication for Lucious," the "Empire" boss said. "She knows a great many secrets about Lucious and maybe she pushes his buttons — wait and see."
Meanwhile, "Empire" star Grace Gealey recently spoke to TVLine about Anika Calhoun, the character she plays in the popular series. Anika, Lucious' former lover, was recently revealed to be pregnant and that she was carrying the child of Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), Lucious' youngest son.
Gealey spoke about Anika's confrontation with Lucious, in which she declined his offer of $10 million on the condition that she relinquish custody of her child to Hakeem. "She has something he wants," the actress said. "She is now the lead negotiator."
According to the actress, Anika and Lucious' conversation is about more than just her pregnancy. Deep inside, it is also about Lucious' betrayal and how Anika feels that he is somehow responsible for her current situation. As Gealey told TVLine, Anika "possibly" still has feelings for Lucious.
"I think deep down inside, Anika will always have a soft spot for him," she explained.
"Empire" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
