Anika’s fate in the Empire explained

Spoilers for Empire Season 4 below.

Anika Calhoun (Grace Byers) was an outstanding player in Empire for many years, but all her intrigues and plots eventually turned against her. First appearing in Empire pilot, Anika was a debutante from New Orleans, Louisiana, and was dating Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) at the beginning of the series. However, when she discovered Lucious in bed with his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), her love for Lucious turned into hatred mixed with obsession. Although Lucious eventually proposed to Anika, she got involved with his son Hakeem (Bryshere Gray) instead.

For the rest Empireor at least the rest of the time she spent on the show, Anika planned the fall of Empire Entertainmentfailed, plotted again, and failed again, in a constant cycle that made her more and more unlikeable throughout the series. Anika Grace Byers’ performance is, of course, superb, and despite how miserable the character becomes, it’s hard not to take your eyes off her thanks to Byers’ energetic and dedicated performance. Anika “Boo Boo Kitty” ended up getting what she deserved, but it wasn’t easy to achieve.

Anika dies in the Empire season 4 finale

Andre drugs Anika at an investor event

In the season 4 finale EmpireIn episode 18, “Unmastered Empire”, aired on May 23, 2018, several characters meet their untimely demise, although the fate of one is not revealed until the following season. At the start of season four, Anika finds herself in prison after being framed for the murder of Lucious’s half-brother, Tariq Cousins ​​(Morocco Omari). She is released from prison and is given custody of her and Hakeem’s daughter, Bella, but quickly loses it when Hakeem threatens to expose her misdeeds, specifically that she had a hand in Bella’s kidnapping.

Instead of learning from her experiences and dealing with the suffering she caused, Anika tries to destroy Lyons and Empire Entertainment again. This time she teams up with Eddie Barker (Forest Whitaker). However, in the Season 4 finale, everything falls apart for Anika. She and Eddie nearly gain control of Empire Entertainment, and Anika and Andre (Trai Byers) appear to be calling a truce.

However, this is a deception on Andre’s part, and before Anika is about to speak at an investor meeting, Andre slips powdered pills into her drink. As she speaks, Anika begins to experience a feeling of euphoria, which quickly turns to paranoia when she hallucinates about the deceased Rhonda (Caitlin Doubleday) haunting her. In a drug-induced panic Anika trips on the balcony and falls many floors below.crashing into a glass table in full view of everyone. This is a dramatic end for a dramatic character.

Anika’s death came at the right time for the show.

Anika completed her character arc

After four seasons of revenge, failure and conspiracy, The end of season 4 was the right time for Anika to leave the series. Her closeness to her family meant that she would always have to be around the story as long as she lived, but at the same time, as a villain, she would always have to be against Lyon. While it’s a compelling dynamic over several seasons, it threatens to become implausible if it goes on for too long.

Anika has done some terrible things during this time. Empirebut the murder of Rhonda Lyon (Caitlin Doubleday) and her unborn child to ensure Bella’s status as Lyon’s sole heir is probably the worst. The fact that she wasn’t actually punished for her crime and that Rhonda’s husband, Andre, never got his revenge always meant that Anika’s time on the show was short. Her death at the end of Season 4 also mirrors Rhonda’s, with Anika pushing her off a balcony when she killed her. In a sense, Anika’s death was Andre and Rhonda’s revenge..

The meaning of Anika’s fate in the Empire

Anika’s death meant the end of one of Lyon’s main enemies

Anika’s death is the first death of a main character in Empire since Rhonda, ironic considering Anika’s role in the murder. This is an important moment in the series, which at one point made Anika the main player of the show. However, the writing was on the character’s wall, and her refusal to back down, even after being humiliated and sent to prison, indicated that there was only one way to stop Anika forever.

Notably, Anika’s death occurs during the first meeting after Kelly Patel buys Empire Entertainment. The first thing the shareholders see of the new owners is that she suddenly has a drug-induced panic attack and throws herself off the balcony. Not a good start for new management. Anika’s death also allows the series to reboot, with a fifth season starting two years later. Yes, the Lions have lost control of their company, but at least one of their most personal and formidable enemies is gone and they can start picking up the pieces of their lives.

Cast and crew react to Anika’s death

Showrunner Brett Mahoney knew it was time for the character to go

When it came to Anika’s death, Empire Showrunner Brett Mahoney spoke about this. TVLine his thoughts,

“I feel like Anika’s storyline achieved its goal. [conclusion]. Over the course of the series, she got what she wanted, first by wanting Lucious and then by simply wanting the Empire. She got everything she wanted, but it came at a high price. Karma finally caught up with her. She ascended the throne, but she had to pay for everything she did in the past.”

Anika played a game Empire hard and fast. Sometimes she won and sometimes she lost, but caring only about herself was ultimately her undoing. There were many times she could have stopped, but chose not to and ended up paying for all the trouble she caused over four seasons. Although Andre was ultimately responsible for Anika’s murder, Mahoney made it clear that it was unintentional.

“Obviously the rivalry between Anika and Cookie was [legendary] and we wanted them to have that moment in the restaurant where Anika finally wins her fight with Cookie. But from the point of view of whom did she upset the most? It was Andre. She took his wife. Took my child. And Andre promised Rhonda that he would kill her, and that’s exactly what he did. Now Andre is not intentionally kill her. He just wanted to ruin what happened at that press conference. He wanted to shame her. He couldn’t predict that she would die.”

Although Andre may have drugged Anika, it was because of regrets that she fell from the balcony. Grace Byers seems to agree that Anika’s death was coming, talking about some of the things her character did on the show (via Jemele Hill),

“If Anika does this, there will literally be no turning back for you guys.”

Anika Calhoun got into a big fight Empire and her intense departure from the series in season four was well-deserved and fitting for such an explosive character.