One Lyon family member is not making it out of the Empire season 5 finale alive. The show has been teasing a major character’s death all season, and now we’re finally going to find out which character has sadly passed away. While we know Lucious and Cookie are safe, other Lyon family members are in jeopardy. When it comes to Empire, anything can happen. The show is not afraid to kill off a major character as we’ve seen with Rhonda, Anika, and more.
The finale promo teases that one Lyon will “take his last breath.” The Lyon family member in the most jeopardy is definitely Andre. The penultimate episode followed Andre on what was supposed to be his last day before he took his own life. He found out he had stage 4 cancer earlier in the season and the chemo caused heart failure. Andre didn’t think he would be alive long enough to get a new heart. Before he could take the pills that would have killed him, Cookie rushed in and stopped him. She started screaming at Lucious for allowing Andre to do this and Andre collapsed on the floor. Andre is rushed to the hospital and it doesn’t look good for him. Andre could very well take his last breaths in the finale.
Kingsley is another Lyon who could possibly die in the finale. The promo features Kingsley pointing a gun at Lucious. Kingsley is extremely distraught. “Look at me!” Kingsley screams at his father. “Am I acting like a Lyon now?” Lucious yells “no” in the final moments of the promo. Lucious has been trying to get to know his long lost son over the past couple of episodes, but something has definitely shifted between the father and son that has pushed Kingsley off the deep end.
Jamal is a possibility but it’s not likely. Jamal was recently written off the last 2 episodes after he got married to Kai. One of the biggest indicators that Jamal survives the season is a recent statement about Jussie Smollett in the wake of the actor alleging he was the victim of a hate crime and the police later accusing him of staging the attack. When the show was renewed for season 6, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV released the following statement: “By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire.” While Jamal could die in a tragic accident while away with Kai, he’s most likely safe given this statement.
It's all led to this…
Don't miss the @EmpireFOX SEASON FINALE tomorrow at 8/7c. ⚰️ #Empire https://t.co/itqWfdLGHU
— FOX (@FOXTV) May 7, 2019
Hakeem is the Lyon family member least likely to die in the finale. At the end of season 4, Hakeem was shot and nearly lost his life. The beginning of season 5 showed Hakeem trying to get back on his feet 2 years after the shooting. Hakeem has gotten his life together and matured so much over the course of season 5. He could get caught in the crosshairs of something really dangerous in the finale, but the youngest Lyon son is almost definitely going to make it to season 6. The Empire season 5 finale will air May 8 at 8 p.m. on FOX.