'Empire' Season 2 News, Spoilers: Showrunner Says Camilla Is Really Dead, 'Not a Lesbian Character'
Fox's popular musical drama "Empire" dropped two shocking deaths on the laps of viewers on Wednesday, killing off a fan favorite character just a couple of episodes after her triumphant return to the series.
In Wednesday's episode, titled "A Rose by Any Other Name," Camilla (Naomi Campbell) poisoned and killed her wife, Mimi (Marisa Tomei), after the latter got upset over photos of Camilla and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Grey). Then, in a surprising twist, Lucious (Terrence Howard), who had filmed Camilla's evil act, pointed a gun at the murderess and made her choose between going to prison for Mimi's death and ingesting the poison she had given Mimi.
The scene cut to black just as Camilla took a swig of the poison.
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Because viewers didn't actually see the character take her last breath, there has been much speculation that Camilla could still be alive and kicking. "Empire" showrunner Ilene Chaiken has put a damper on such fan theories, however, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "We can assume she's dead. She drank the poison."
But, according to the "Empire" boss, just because Camilla and Mimi are now dead doesn't mean that Lucious will get Empire back, especially as Hakeem is still the CEO.
"He certainly intends to remain CEO," Chaiken said about the youngest Lyon son. "In his view, Luscious was voted out, and Luscious doesn't deserve it. He's going to fight for it."
The "Empire" showrunner also responded to comments about how the latest "Empire" deaths play into the "Bury Your Gays" trope that seems to have plagued many popular television series in recent weeks.
The CW's "The 100" and AMC's "The Walking Dead" received much criticism after lesbian characters were killed off in both shows. Nevertheless, Chaiken doesn't think that "Empire" is part of that controversy.
"I would say that Camilla is not a lesbian character," she told Variety. "Camilla was, if anything, an opportunist, which is quite different from being a lesbian. If anything, the lesbians should wish for a character like Camilla to be killed off since she just preyed on a powerful lesbian in order to fulfill her heterosexual ambitions."
"Empire" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
