'Empire' Season 2: Showrunner Teases Serious 'Repercussions' For Vernon's Murder [VIDEO]
Spoilers for season 2 of Fox's hit series Empire are already starting to roll in!
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The series' debut season definitely ended with a cliffhanger as Andre Lyon and his wife Rhonda killed off Lucious' close associate Vernon. Showrunner Ilene Chaiken said that while it wasn't planned for Vernon to die so suddenly (or maybe even at all), they ran with it when the opportunity presented itself. She added that someone will have to pay for what was done.
"Whatever happens, whether Rhonda and Andre get discovered or not, there are going to be some thematic repercussions of that action," Chaiken told TV Line recently.
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As crazy and tragic as killing Vernon was, Chaiken said that it brought Andre and Rhonda closer. They had drifted apart after he was admitted to rehab following outbursts that stemmed from his bipolar disorder. But when he was released and Rhonda saw him and Vernon tussling in their home, Rhonda grabbed the nearest object and hit him over the head with it, killing him. Interestingly enough, Andre had just found God and was very serious about living morally earlier in the episode. Chaiken said this could come into play with the whole ordeal as well.
"We love that Andre-Rhonda dynamic, and whether they're coming back, or whether they renegotiate their relationship, is really interesting to us. We also have to look at whether or not Andre's [religious] conversion, if that's indeed what it is, plays into it. But we definitely love both of them, and we love them together," she added.