‘Empire’ Season 3 Spoilers: Showrunner Teases Strained Relationship Between Lucious And Tariq

Lucious Lyon will have a new nemesis in Season 3 of Fox’s “Empire.” Showrunner Ilene Chaiken recently dished on what’s in store for the hip-hop drama, revealing that Lucious’ half-brother has a serious desire for revenge against him.

As fans will recall, Lucious’ (Terrance Howard) mom Leah Walker (Leslie Uggams) dropped a bombshell during the Season 2 finale when she informed Lucious that Tariq (Morocco Omari ) is his half-brother. It was also revealed during the episode that Tariq was the one who shot and killed Lucious’ father and that Lucious had witnessed the entire thing.

According to TVLine, Chaiken revealed that Tariq thinks he’s the good guy and Lucious is the evil one of the two. “But Lucious, of course, doesn’t see it that way at all,” she added.

Chaiken also said that Tariq will be a key player in the upcoming third season. “Tariq is very motivated, and he has a very personal grievance against Lucious,” she told the outlet. “He’s not just a fed who wants to make his [bonus] taking down Lucious Lyon — he’s Lucious’ half-brother. We’ll peel away layers of his story and learn why he’s coming so hard after Lucious. Hopefully, the last scene of the [Season 2] finale gave you a taste of that — that he has a real bone to pick with Lucious.”

As previously reported, Chaiken dished on Season 3 earlier this month telling TVLine that fans can expect “a battle of dark vs. light” when the show returns. It’s believed that a majority of this ominous battle will be between Lucious and Tariq. “Who are the Lyons and how will they continue to define themselves going forward? Can they ever change? Is Lucious the dark lord, pulling them all in the other direction? And really, where does Tariq fit in with all of this? I would venture that if Tariq really is Lucious’ half-brother, there probably isn’t a good one and a bad one,” Chaiken teased.