‘Empire’ Season 3 Spoilers: Will Andre Commit Suicide After Rhonda’s Death?

Empire returned to Fox with a bang last month, and new speculation is suggesting that Season 3 of the popular drama is only going to get more dramatic, potentially bringing even more deaths.

As fans saw in the Season 3 premiere episode “Light in Darkness,” the mystery that’s been plaguing Empire fans ever since the Season 2 finale was finally solved, revealing that it was Andre’s (Trai Byers) wife Rhonda (Kaitlyn Doubleday) fell to her death after a rooftop brawl with Anika (Grace Byers). But could Andre be next?

As Andre continued to deal with his wife’s sudden and brutal death in Season 3’s second episode, “Sin That Amends,” fans are beginning to speculate that the character, who’s battling bipolar disorder, could potentially have such a hard time dealing with his wife’s sudden death that he could turn to suicide in the coming Empire episodes.

Fans of the Fox drama speculated that Empire could potentially shock fans with another main character death this season, suggesting that Andre could be the next Lyon to lose his life to grief.

“Andre gon commit suicide before the season over #Empire” Empire fan @FreakyStylezzzz speculated of a potential death for the eldest Lyon brother, while Twitter user @OnikaCums wrote on the social media site following the airing of Episode 2, “I have a feeling Andre going to commit suicide after the death of his wife #Empire.”

“[I] have a bad feeling Andre gone commit suicide #Empire” @DiaryOfGia added, while Empire fan @alexiscotton23 speculated, “Andre might seriously commit murder or suicide I’m worried for him #Empire #EmpireSeason3.”

While rumors of Andre’s death on Empire is pure speculation right now, as viewers will remember, Andre did almost commit suicide back in Season 1 in the episode “Unto The Breach,” almost ending it all with a dangerous game of Russian Roulette.

Those behind the scenes of Empire have been dropping hints about the character’s deteriorating mental health amid the suicide speculation after the character was arrested in the second episode of Season 3 as part of a poignant #BlackLivesMatter storyline.

When asked how the Empire character will cope with Rhonda’s death as the season progresses, Empire co-producer Carlito Rodriguez admitted that Andre is still struggling with his wife’s death.

“Andre [still] needs to work to make that peace. Andre and Rhonda’s relationship was very much a partnership. It wasn’t like one was leading the other,” Rodriguez said of the character and how he’s coping with the shocking death in an interview with TV Line. “To have a partner taken from you … is horrible.”

Speaking to Variety before it was revealed that Rhonda fell the 30-story drop, executive producer Sanaa Hamri also confirmed that Rhonda’s death will certainly leave its mark on her husband as Season 3 progresses.

“We ended on Andre witnessing a death so that’s going to deeply affecting him,” Hamri revealed when asked what’s ahead for Andre following Empire‘s Season 2 finale earlier this year. “There’s so much and it’s going to be an exciting season.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ET6yyIpxc

The Empire executive producer then coyly added, “Anything is possible in the world of Empire. It’s going to quite sensational when we get back,” suggesting that another death may not be completely out of the question.

But while Empire fans will have to wait and see if Andre can fight off his demons following Rhonda’s death, the show is making it clear that Rhonda isn’t quite gone yet.

As fans saw, Rhonda reappeared in Andre’s mind during as a hallucination following her death in Empire‘s season premiere, and, as showrunner Ilene Chaiken told the Hollywood Reporter, that could continue for the immediate future.

“Rhonda dies but she’s not out of the show,” Chaiken said, suggesting that Rhonda’s existence in Andre’s mind is tied to his deteriorating mental health continuing through the season. “It’s an important part of Andre’s story and his psyche,” she continued, “and it really tells the story of his state of mind.”

Do you think Andre could be killed off in a suicide storyline in Season 3 of Empire?

[Featured Image by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]