When Does ‘Empire’ Season 6 Return From Its Midseason Break?
Outside of all the controversy Fox’s Empire has endured in just one year, it’s easy to forget it’s still not over. Its final season is still playing out at the time of this writing. Season Six went into midseason break, however, and loyal fans are still waiting to see how they wrap up everything.
With Jussie Smollett out of the show now (unless there’s a final cameo), things aren’t quite the same. Not that the storylines aren’t still compelling, including the usual drama afflicting the Lyon family viewers have come to expect.
Some might accuse the show of perhaps using too many soap opera tropes considering there’s a flash-forward gunman involved (who shoots Lucious), not including impending divorce between Lucious and Cookie.
After the midseason break starting with the December 17 episode, how will the series tie up the outcomes of this Hip-Hop mogul family?
Expect to see the love of this family tested
One thing mentioned recently from showrunner Brett Mahoney is there’s going to be major struggles for the Lyon family to test their love for one another. As with some families, they may love one another deep down, yet personal drama can end up ripping sibling relationships apart. A good example already is the plotline of Cookie wanting to divorce Lucious–with latter dramatically refusing.
Mahoney says Cookie and Lucious can’t seem to quit one another, creating even more complications in the family dynamics. Making things further dramatic is the intervening of Tracy Kingsley, aka “White Tracy.” She’s the mother of Andre Lyon’s half-brother, Jeff Kingsley, and declared herself half-owner of Empire Records at the beginning of this final season.
In the last moments of the midseason cliffhanger, Tracy is seen aiming a gun at Lucious and Cookie after their divorce argument. With a flash-forward of Lucious being shot, one’s to assume Tracy is the one who pulls the trigger.
Let’s not think the reveal will be all that obvious. Considering this cliffhanger is a lot like the “Who Shot J.R.?” concept from the classic series Dallas, the suspect in the shooting will probably be a surprise.
Will Lucious and Cookie mend their relationship when the show resumes?
Based on official word, it’ll be at some point in spring when the final episodes of Season Six resume. Mahoney is promising everyone will learn who it is who shot Lucious and how it factors into the finale.
It’s already been confirmed Tracy’s threat against Lucious and Cookie will have major ramifications in how things end. The easy guess is Lucious will be shot and be near death, leading Cookie to rush by his side.
Since tragedy almost always shakes up families to set aside personal grievances, perhaps it seems a little too predictable this is how Lucious and Cookie manage to repair their relationship for the good of the family and their empire.
Only ten episodes are left once the series resumes, though Mahoney admits he still isn’t sure how the finale is going to play out.
Perhaps tragedy is the only way to end this show
Having a major tragedy unfold has already been a threat through the entire run of Empire. While the tension on the show has been continual and intense, deaths within the inner circle have happened at the end of each season, e.g. Rhonda and Anika.
Having Lucious being shot will change a lot of things about how the family reacts to one another when the entire empire is at stake. Of course, it could also create some further in-fighting within the family on who might take over the company if Lucious dies.
All speculation is up in the air since Mahoney is still working with the show’s co-creators to workshop finale ideas. Maybe some will find it a little puzzling they have no idea how to end it yet, assuming there’s some kind of hope the show will resume.
After a successful run, perhaps the ending will choose to leave things up in the air in the chance the show reboots down the line.
