Why did they kill Ronnie on ‘The Chi’? Showrunner Justin Hillian and actor Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine explained the character’s shocking destiny.
Spoiler alert! On the night time of Sunday, Aug. 16, it's essential to almost listen fanatics screaming at their television sets: “Why did they kill Ronnie on The Chi?”
Ronnie, played through Treme alum Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, spent the better a part of the Showtime drama’s closing three seasons seeking to catch up on murdering Coogie (Jahking Guillory) in the sequence premiere and seeking to avenge the loss of life of his ex Tracy’s (Tai Davis) son, Jason (Lucien Cambric).
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Ronnie discovered a shot at redemption this season by way of saving Keisha (Burgundi Baker) from sexual slavery. But in the penultimate Season 3 episode, just after Tracy introduces Ronnie to his granddaughter, one among Coogie’s pals fatally shoots Ronnie.
Why did they kill Ronnie off on ‘The Chi’?
In a post-episode debrief with TV Guide, The Chi showrunner Justin Hillian published the writers’ motivations for killing Ronnie off. “We did need to honor karma,” he said. “So we checked out it more or less like this moment when he’s strolling with Tracy, the lady that he did all of this for. He shot Coogie as a result of he was once looking to avenge Jason’s loss of life for Tracy.”
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Hillian persisted: “So it used to be like, now not going to recover than this on this second. That’s why we didn’t want him to see it coming. But additionally for the person who shot him to be a chum of Coogie who simply couldn’t stand seeing this man who killed his good friend be worshipped as a hero. All of that simply felt in reality poetic, and the finish of an arc and the end of a story.”
The showrunner printed that viewers will see a right kind send-off for Ronnie. “It was once in point of fact vital for the personality, and the actor — Ronnie has supposed such a lot to this show,” Hillian said. “We sought after Ronnie, even if he’s not there to see it, to have the group in fact be there and, you know, give him his plant life. We additionally favored the symmetry of opening with the funeral and closing a funeral.”
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Mwine, meanwhile, is philosophical about his persona’s destiny. “Since the first episode of The Chi, when Ronnie shot Coogie, I was expecting him to head,” he informed the website online. “I used to be amazed at the journey the writers took him on. The writers in point of fact brought it complete circle — dealing with the trauma that he’s handled and then coming to phrases with it and somehow enticing with the people who have been affected by the trauma.”
He went on: “They actually advised a complete tale, which we don’t steadily get to do. You don’t get to fully read about such things as this the manner the writers did. [As far as the taking pictures], so the method they staged it, I didn’t even see anything coming. There was once no dramatic buildup of like gazing the man. He simply shot me down. It used to be simply bliss. And I believe that used to be truly interesting. Ronnie had already transcended, and he used to be taken away.”
The Chi’s Season 3 finale airs on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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