The Empire showrunners promised drama and a swift resolution to the literal cliffhanger that saw both Rhonda (Kaitlyn Doubleday) and Anika (Grace Gealey) fighting dangerously on the edge of a balcony and one falling—and boy, did they deliver.
The opening moments of the season three premiere were some of the most dramatic this show has ever seen, and that's really saying something.
The person who fell off the balcony? Poor, poor Rhonda—who fell to her death as her husband looked on, helpless. Andre immediately turned to take his rage out on Anika, but came to his senses as Anika's water broke. Suddenly, within a span of just a few minutes, Rhonda was dead and Hakeem and Anika were the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl!
"First of all, you want to find out. You want to be here, but then you also want the other person to be here, so it gets really difficult," she told us. Then after some time you're like okay, you know what? Whatever is decided it's fine, I just want to know so I know whether or not I'm moving to a different city."
Yes, it's hard without her friend on set, but at least we finally have some closure to this particular storyline.
As for Rhonda, don't think that she's gone—because we saw her at the very end of the episode as A FREAKING GHOST talking to a mourning Andre about how lost he is without her.
The good news: Jamal was there to check in on his spiraling brother, but something tells us Jamal shouldn't believe Andre when he says "I'm okay."
Watch the videos above for more of Gealey's take on the balcony incident and what else to expect from season three. Empire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.