The following contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, now in theaters.
From the onset, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was mired in tragedy after Chadwick Boseman passed. This left fans wondering how the Marvel Cinematic Universe would incorporate his death into the sequel, and thankfully, Ryan Coogler and co. tastefully do the job with a lot of heart and soul. His King T'Challa, nodding to how Boseman quietly battled his cancer, dies due to a mysterious illness off-screen to open the movie, setting the stage for Princess Shuri and Queen Ramonda to work through their grief.
It doesn't help that Namor and the Talokan army then want the African nation to help attack the surface world, which leads to a bloody war between the two empires when Wakanda understandably refuses the war offer. However, this creates a path to yet another death in Wakanda Forever, but this one will surely leave fans divided given how much the royals have been doused in pain.
Black Panther 2 Kills Queen Ramonda
Midway through Wakanda Forever, Namor ends up raiding Wakanda after Shuri and Riri are rescued from his clutches by Nakia. Knowing the Wakandans spilled blood in his kingdom as part of this rescue mission, Namor returns the favor in full. He floods most of the capital and goes after the palace, where Ramonda drowns after saving Riri's life.
This pushes Shuri further into a place of anger and darkness, which is why when she recreates the heart-shaped herb and takes the purple liquid to become the new Black Panther, she sees Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane. He coaxes her to pursue vengeance rather than be passive, noble and merciful. Sadly, Shuri insults Ramonda's memory, in particular, eventually returning to claim the mantle and seek revenge while lambasting how Ramonda's hopes, dreams and traditions should die with her -- all part of the narrative's intention to damage Shuri permanently.
Black Panther 2 Didn't Need Ramonda's Death
Further anguish isn't needed because Shuri already has walls up due to T'Challa's death. Early on, she even says she'd like to see the wicked world burn for how much it's taken from her, including King T'Chaka due to Baron Zemo. This is why Namor tries to convince her to ally with him, sensing a kindred spirit filled with rage. Thus, with the first half of Wakanda Forever hinging on T'Challa's death and Shuri's inability to save him, she's already become corrupted -- bitter towards the Black Panther mantle, the throne, her culture and the royal legacy.
It's why she axes the heart-shaped herb recreation in the first place, hating how she failed to save T'Challa. As a result, the loss of her brother and Namor's subsequent hostility would've been enough of a tipping point, creating conflict with a living Ramonda who wouldn't want her daughter consumed by anger. But by killing the queen, the grief factor becomes inconsistent and enters a state of flux as Shuri then pivots from T'Challa's passing to her mother, which honestly should break her. The thing is, T'Challa should actually be the focal point of her conversation with her cousin -- not Ramonda's altruism.
Sadly, T'Challa gets a bare mention and comes off as a cliff note when he was the counterpoint to Killmonger, creating an organic opening for the villain to taunt Shuri about his heroics. Sadly, switching the Killmonger debate to Ramonda doesn't fit, which is made even worse when Wakanda Forever flips to Ramonda's memory pushing Shuri not to kill Namor in the end. Her bond with her brother and the montage of his benevolence would've more than sufficed, allowing Angela Bassett, who puts on yet another powerful performance, to realize Shuri's ready to someday be queen, as well as the Black Panther. Instead, the trauma of two funerals feels convoluted when Shuri's doubts and fears are already wrapped up in T'Challa's passing and the lofty task of filling his shoes.
See how Ramonda's death could divide fans in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, now playing in theaters.