You’ve probably already seen Empire‘s Season 3 shocking premiere, in which the Lyon family must say goodbye to one of their own: Andre’s wife and college sweetheart, Rhonda. She perished in the rooftop struggle between herself and Anika “Boo Boo Kitty.” Rhonda is survived by Andre and the rest of the Lyon family, but Andre is already having visions of Rhonda. Perhaps she’ll live on after death in Andre’s mind.
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| Rhonda Empire Fall |
Another Lyon is currently recovering as well: Jamal. After he was shot last season when Freda took aim at Lucious, he had trouble performing on stage, receiving flashbacks of the traumatic event and performing is physically difficult for him.
But there is also new life in the family, as Anika gave birth to her and Hakeem’s baby daughter Bella, who Lucious is claiming as his own and even put his name on the birth certificate. Lucious seems like he’s hell bent on keeping Hakeem out of the baby girl’s life and basically creating his own really messed up new family.
Hakeem acts out due to this and Laura leaving him at the altar. He smokes, drinks, and takes out his anger on his music. Cookie hates Lucious’ arrangement with Anika and tells him that she is D-O-N-E with him and Empire.
And the whole family has a tense dinner with Lucious’ half brother Tariq, who is not buying the lies that the Lyons are selling him. Because Tariq hid a hidden camera in Bella’s nursery and he’s about to get all the dirty deeds on tape — or will he?