'Empire' fans hate series finale thanks to the coronavirus
After six seasons, Empire came to an earlier-than-expected end with an episode that wasn't supposed to be its series finale. On Tuesday, Fox aired Empire's last-minute series finale after the season was cut short due to the coronavirus and fans were not loving the thrown-together episode. However, while Empire did the best they could under the circumstances, one huge part of the show was left out of the finale – Jussie Smollett's character Jamal Lyon. Following Smollett's alleged assault in 2019, his indictment for reportedly filing a false police report and, ultimately, the charges being dropped, the actor's character was completely written out of the sixth and final season, when Cookie Lyon told Jamal's friend Becky Williams he "ran off to London." On Tuesday's finale, though, as the youngest Lyon, Hakeem, rapped about his family's story, the show flashed back to moments throughout the six seasons. While Lucious, Cookie, Andre and Hakeem's flashbacks showed the actors who play their respective roles, Jamal's flashbacks only showed a young child portraying the middle son. Fans took to Twitter to express their disapproval over the absence of the real Jamal, whom they believe was a huge part of Empire's success. The show's producers have stated they are "hopeful" that they might eventually be able to make a real series finale once quarantine is over but, just in case that doesn't come to fruition, the greatest character of the entire series, Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson), took to social media to say her final goodbye.
Video Transcript
- You gave me empire. You gave me our boys. You gave me life. Our meeting was the beginning, so I'm thinking of you now as I'm facing the end.
- On Tuesday, Fox aired "Empire's" last-minute series finale after the season was cut short due to the coronavirus. And even though the show's producers have stated they are hopeful that they might eventually be able to make a real series finale, fans were not loving the thrown-together episode.
- Think about your son. Get up! Think about me. Come on.
- [COUGHS]
- Yes. Thank you, thank you. [CRIES] Thank you.
- It's over.
- It's over.
- It's over.
- One person tweeted, "No shade, but they should wait after this coronavirus lockdown to give us a proper two-hour finale, being that we've been shorted two episodes," while another person wrote, "I know they had to combine the last two or three episodes into one, but lawd, this can't be how it all ends. That damn COVID-19, thank you for ruining the proper ending to my favorite show." But while "Empire" did the best they could under the circumstances, one huge part of the show was left out of the finale, Jussie Smollett's character Jamal Lyon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(RAPPING) Well, Jamal, the middle child, for the greatest of vibe, a lifestyle that Lucius didn't hesitate to despise. The tension between the two, recipe for demise because everybody know alliance legacy is his pride.
- And disappointed fans took notice. One person joked, "I guess the last time we saw Jamal, he was a baby," while another person pointed out, "They couldn't show one clip of Jamal? Just terrible. He was a huge part of the show's success."
- We took the oath.
- To the empire!
- To the empire!
- Love, alliance, yeah.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
- To the empire!
