The end of an era: ET exclusively debuts a sneak peek from the series' swan song.
The Lyons have one last hit record on their hands.
As the clock ticks down to the Empire series finale, Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) have some unfinished business left to take care of. With Andre (Trai Byers) declaring he's going to South America on a church mission trip with no intention of coming home, Hakeem (Bryshere Gray) in a marriage of convenience and Lucious and Cookie in a fight to regain control of Empire, the Lyons couldn't have planned for things to have shaken out this way.
But in Tuesday's swan song, appropriately titled "Home Is on the Way," it's time to take one last look at the past and all that the Lyons have persevered through over Empire's six-season run.
In ET's exclusive sneak peek of the series' final episode, which will be without Jussie Smollett's Jamal, Hakeem performs a rap, "The Oath," dedicated to the Lyon legacy at the premiere party of the Empire movie, with the lyrics detailing Lucious, Cookie and the family's roller-coaster beginnings to the success stories they are now. A montage of key moments featuring the Lyons from past episodes are interwoven throughout the dynamic performance.
Watch ET's exclusive series finale clip below.
Empire showrunner Brett Mahoney explained to ET why "The Oath" closes out the series.
"It was supposed to lead into the movie premiere, but as we were moving into the final episodes there were certain themes that we were hitting hard. So we did know that would be a powerful moment," Mahoney tells ET of the song's placement. "And when I realized I had to cobble together the season finale out of the materials that we had, I knew that that would be a powerful way to [end] as we were bringing it to a close."
But will the Lyons have a happy ending or will they be faced with yet another tragedy? As Lucious battles his feelings for Cookie, while continuing to support Yana (guest star Kiandra Richardson), the Lyon family find themselves doubling down on their biggest threat. While Lucious prepares for the battle of his life, will he do everything it takes to keep his family safe -- including sacrificing his own life?
Last week, Empire creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong expressed their gratitude to the cast and the crew for their dedication over the last six years. While the Lyon story was unexpectedly cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak, they remained optimistic that one day a "proper" ending will be filmed.
"I think there’s more to do with these characters, and I’m heartbroken we aren’t getting to shoot the finale we wanted -- at least not yet. But you know what they say in television? Stay tuned! To the Empire!” Daniels said.
"The episode airing on April 21 was never meant to be the series finale, but due to current events it will likely be the last one our fans will see for a while," Strong shared. "We had an ending for the series planned that we all loved, and hopefully someday we’ll be able to film it and give the series its proper conclusion."
The Empire series finale airs Tuesday, April 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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