‘Empire’ Season 5 Episode 2 Spoilers: Death of Major Character Inevitable

“Empire” season 5 kicked off with many of the questions from the fourth’s installment answered. With the storyline presented, viewers will not have to wait further to know who was killed off, and it was both a relief and a sad affair for the viewers because the departed was a major character.

It was revealed that the dead person in the coffin that was previously shown in the teaser of “Empire” season 5 pilot episode, titled “Steals from the Thief,” was Eddie Barker (Forest Whitaker). After being named the head of Empire Entertainment and eventually becoming the new antagonist, Barker unexpectedly died.

Forest Whitaker’s departure was definitely quick and surprising so showrunner Brett Mahoney explained why this happened. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he shared that part of the reason was the actor’s availability to work on the set.

“If Forest Whitaker says he’s going to be available, I definitely would have made it work,” he said. “But when it appeared that he wouldn’t be as free as we would need in terms of being someone who could be our villain for this season and be there for several episodes and when we needed him, this idea of allowing the character to die in the premiere kind of freed me up creatively to think differently about what we could do.”

Meanwhile, “Empire" season 5 episode 2, titled “Pay for Their Presumptions,” will continue at the time following Eddie’s funeral. Cookie and Lucious will strive harder after losing the Empire to Eddie. The upcoming episode will show the viewers whether or not the duo can get back the power they once had in the music industry.

As per CarterMatt, part of the “Empire” season 5 episode 2 synopsis reads: “Cookie and Lucious learn the difficulties of launching an artist without Empire Entertainment’s resources, and their future with new artist Treasure is jeopardized.”

“Empire” season 5 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox