Empire season 5 episode 18 (finale) spoilers: Who is in the coffin?

Next week, Empire season 5 episode 18 is airing on Fox and clearly, this is far from your ordinary episode of the show. It’s the finale! Not only that, but this is an episode that is also going to answer one important question: Who is in the coffin? This has been here for pretty much forever but now, the answers are coming at you like a freight train. Or, at least a freight train that is slowly and surely pushing in your direction. You’ve still got a good seven days to get there.

Obviously, it’s going to be hard for any other story within this episode to come close to the coffin mystery — at the moment, the only safe bet seems to be that it isn’t going to be Jamal, given the news about Jussie Smollett still being contracted for next season (even if there are no immediate plans to bring him back). Unless this is some elaborate smokescreen, why even make the announcement in the first place until after the finale airs?

This finale is one that’s probably going to ask big questions for every single character — take, for example, what’s going to be happening to Andre, if Cookie and Lucious are done (again), and if Empire can actually figure out how to stay afloat.

Below, CarterMatt offers up the official Empire season 5 episode 18 synopsis with more insight as to what’s coming:

As Cookie and Lucious deal with each other’s betrayals, they wonder if this could be the end for their relationship. Meanwhile, Andre’s life hangs in the balance and the future of Empire is in jeopardy as the Feds close in and the mystery of who is in the coffin is finally revealed in the all-new “The Roughest Day” season finale episode of EMPIRE airing Wednesday, May 8 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (EMP-518) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)

While it does feel like the Empire season 5 finale is going to offer up some sort of emotional closure, there is clearly another question here worth asking: Will there still be a cliffhanger? Is there going to be another metaphorical coffin coming or some sort of tease as to what season 6 will look like? We’re not sure that the series will do something too similar to what’s been going on for most of this year, but it may benefit them to roll out a red carpet showing that a character or two may actually end up happy. Maybe offer up a currency of joy as an engine in season 6 rather than one of death and fear.

Also, it may behoove the team to start pushing towards some sort of potential endgame, mostly because it’s hard to really imagine Empire having another five or six years left in the can. This is a show that’s already told so much story and with its ratings on the decline, wouldn’t it be more worth a toast if it ends on a high note? We want Empire to go while it’s at least reasonably close to being at the apex, even if it is already starting somewhat of a slow slide.

For some more news when it comes to Empire…

Be sure to visit the link here! Meanwhile, let us know in the comments what you want to see on Empire moving forward into the finale. (Photo: Fox.)