'Empire' finale: Showrunner reveals original ending for series, promises fans will get to see it

The CW's "Empire" series came to a close this Tuesday with an untimely finale. The show aired a premature finale with episode 18 titled "Home is on the Way." Nevertheless, the showrunner Brett Mahoney dropped some hints about what was and what could be the original ending for the series.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the cast and crew were forced to suspend the production for the final few episodes of the last season of the series. Therefore, the show that was originally planned to end with twenty episodes, concluded with the finale on Tuesday. The episode got mixed reactions from the fans and failed to answer several burning questions. The finale seemed more like a patchwork without any clear resolution for the season's biggest mystery, who killed the series' stars Cookie and Lucious.

Meanwhile, speaking with TV Line, Mahoney revealed that the final two episodes of the series that never made it to television were meant to answer all the questions and tie loose ends. He is hoping that the intended finale will see the light of the day when the pandemic is over, and normalcy is restored in the world. He promises fans will get to know the real ending one way or the other.

"That's what breaks my heart. In the [original] series finale all of that plays out. [We find out] who shot Lucious and who blew up Cookie's car, and [if either one of them survived]. That [storyline's conclusion] was a victim of COVID-19. I promise you that if we don't get to film that episode, we'll get the [resolution] out there one way or another," Mahoney said.

Meanwhile, the original finale was believed to be including a twist and it was not how it showed it ended for Cookie and Lucious. The showrunner confirmed the theory and revealed how he planned it to be.

"Yes. Whenever we get to shoot 20, it will start with [the Episode 19 cliffhanger]. The [original] idea for 19 had us coming to this place where everything was good, and then [suddenly] that all gets turned upside down and they go on a journey [in 20, before ultimately] coming back to [that happy place]. But since we had shot this scene at the movie premiere, which [resembled the] spirit of the original finale, I [realized] I could build something [for the makeshift finale] with that [footage] and at least end it in the same spirit that we intended, in terms of Cookie and Lucious recognizing their love for one another, and the family coming together and realizing that the Lyons were more important than Empire," Mahoney explained.

He goes on to reveal Jamal and Kai adopted a boy and were happily living in London. As for Andre and Teri, their relationship was long over. However, Andre improves his condition and "prove worthy to be a father to his son."