[Warning: This submit accommodates spoilers from Empire‘s collection finale. Learn at your individual danger.]
With Jussie Smollett written out of Season 6 amid the actor’s legal woes, questions remained about whether or not or not he would return as Jamal for Empire‘s collection finale. Forward of the ultimate season, Fox leisure chief Michael Thorn confirmed that Smollett wouldn’t come again for the finale, noting that the episode would doubtless point out him in some type. Forging forward with out the actor who’d been an integral a part of the present for the earlier 5 seasons, producers had been left with an enormous conundrum: how do they pay tribute to this central character with out utilizing Smollett’s picture?
Smollett didn’t bodily seem in Tuesday’s finale, titled “House is on the Manner,” however the collection nonetheless discovered a technique to acknowledge Jamal Lyon through the nostalgic hour. Smollett’s character was first referenced late into the episode throughout a dialog between the household concerning the precautions they’d take with Damon Cross (Wood Harris) nonetheless alive and threatening their security. Lucious (Terrence Howard) spoke on the significance of household, and the digital camera shortly panned to a photograph of the Lyons, Smollett included, standing collectively.
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On the finish of the episode, as Hakeem carried out a track that touched on his household’s legacy, a supercut of their journey throughout six seasons flashed throughout the scene. From Lucious’ luxuriously permed hair in Season 1 to Cookie’s (Taraji P. Henson) shoe-throwing antics to Hakeem’s (Bryshere Gray) child mama drama and Andre’s (Trai Byers) psychological breakdowns, the montage provided up a two-minute retrospective of the household’s tumultuous journey to date. However when it got here to Jamal, the collection caught to archival footage of the character throughout his youthful years in lieu of Smollett’s grownup model.
“The character was an enormous a part of this present and to the extent that we may, we needed to honor that,” showrunner Brett Mahoney instructed TV Information.
Cookie and Lucious’ second son, although not current on this final season, was a central determine in among the present’s most groundbreaking storylines. The present’s depiction of Jamal in a traditional and loving relationship with Kai, who’s HIV constructive, educated viewers on the realities of dwelling with the illness whereas additionally chipping away at a few of that stigma. Plus, their marriage on the finish of Season 5 broke floor as primetime’s first gay black wedding. Jamal’s legacy inside the present is tough to disregard and owing to that, the present did proper by the character in these last moments, even when they could not embody Smollett.
Taraji P. Henson and Jussie Smollett, Empire