Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
Now, this is what I’m talking about.
This is the Power Book II: Ghost we’ve all come to love and revere over the years.
As a universe, Power has always been at its best when its varied plot points, as convoluted as they may be, coalesce and have all the characters together, whether they’re working against one another or something bigger than them.
We’ve finally reached that point with three hours to go.
While I may have lamented the emphasis on Carter and his crew during Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 Episode 6, it all paid off here when they were in a much-diminished role, and Carter’s grandiose plan to eradicate violent crime by “owning” criminals all over the city slowly started to crumble.
As a bad guy, Carter has been okay. Michael Ealy always brings a lot to the table, but it almost would have been better if Carter had been introduced earlier in the series because already knowing there’s a firm end date to all this makes things feel more rushed than they need to be.
We only know Carter’s motives because of a monologue he gave instead of having ample time to see things play out on-screen.
Now, we’ve already passed the climax of this story because Carter’s world is imploding on him, and all feels like it happened within the blink of an eye.
The bottom line is that Carter was never going to be able to catch every criminal under his thumb, cross all his t’s, and dot his i’s without something going wrong.
He may want to believe he has all these people on a leash because he can dangle prison or death on them, but that was never going to last forever because eventually, he’d meet someone who would fight back or, even worse, someone who had nothing to lose.
Killing Kamaal was a decision made in the heat of the moment that Carter had to cover up quickly. Tate quickly breathed down his neck, and pining it on the Russians was easiest for him.
But he probably didn’t count on his down-to-commit-crimes-whenever crew having a conscience about a good cop being killed. Nor did he see the Tejadas going rogue coming, though he should have if he didn’t have his hand in so many pots.
Carter’s a troubled man who lost his way a long time ago, but for him to get away with what he’s gotten away with, he must be pretty damn smart. It’s not showing now because too many threads are out of his control.
Felicia was a dead woman walking the minute Tariq and Diana found out they lost the baby. There is nothing quite like revenge in this world, and Tariq and Diana were hellbent on getting it no matter the cost.
Well, Tariq was at first, until he visited the one person who had a good idea about what revenge can do to a person.
I sometimes forget that Tasha is still part of the show and universe at large, but it’s oddly perfect to keep her hidden mostly, only bringing her out when the story really calls for it.
With only a handful of episodes left, it’s a nice reminder that everything Tariq’s working for is to get back to his mother and sister so he can be there for them and protect them. That’s the ultimate endgame, and he’s never wavered on that.
Tariq wanted to add Carter’s whole crew to his body count, but Tasha reminded him to consider whether his actions would bring him closer to his goal.
And it’s the truth. Living his life impulsively like that would be a surefire way to get sidetracked. There are other ways to support Diana outside of killing cops.
It was lowkey nice to hear someone understand Diana the way Tasha seemed to, considering she doesn’t know Diana personally like that. But she does know what it’s like to feel like Diana.
To be surrounded by domineering men and people who say they want to protect you, but it feels much more like a form of control. And on top of that, they don’t even do it correctly.
Diana woke up in the hospital devastated, and all she had was Tariq there, someone who once again made her a promise that they couldn’t keep.
I don’t blame her for wanting to take matters into her own hands, even if going after Felicia alone was a horrible idea.
How many times have we seen these men make TERRIBLE decisions time and time again? Just acting purely out of pure emotion with misguided intentions.
Diana did that when she went after Felicia with Monet’s gun. She was hopped up on pain and adrenaline, and all she could think about was hurting the person who hurt her.
We’ve seen Diana get her hands dirty before. It’s not like she’s immune to it, though people want to treat her like a damsel in distress at times because she’s chosen not to be as integrated into the life as the rest of them.
Diana broke into Felicia’s with zero plan, and that was clear pretty early when the two came to blows. It wasn’t looking good for her, but once she got the upper hand, there was a point where she could have walked away or called in Tariq or Monet or something, but that was her revenge.
We’ve seen some nasty kills on Power before, and a cast iron skillet to the head ranks up there with one of the ones that made me flinch the most!
She killed, killed that lady!
Diana has always had potential as a character, and they found the sweet spot with her when they made her the messy Tejada who was unwilling to continue allowing Monet to dictate her whole life.
She’s backslid on that persona quite a bit, but she’s still an effective character when given her chance to shine. This kill of a full-blown cop felt like it could be the start of her villain origin story if only there were more time.
If Tariq makes it out of this series alive, he needs to move on to a new woman later, but there’s something about Tariq and Diana that does work, and that was clear when he showed up to help Diana, no questions asked.
Tariq trying to relate to Diana fresh after her murdering someone and the smell of blood in the air was poor timing and comical considering Tariq’s history. I damn near forgot he killed Raina’s killer and thought he was about to confess to her about killing Ghost!
His intentions were pure, even if the timing was all wrong, and don’t think we couldn’t all see what they were doing having the two of them coddle that little boy on the night before the worst day of his life, on the worst day of theirs.
Everything about that scene and how it played out was such a Power moment and a reminder of how riveting the show can be. I know it’s violent and borderline nonsensical if you think about things too deeply, but dammit if it doesn’t make for good television!
How did Monet know where Felicia lived? I missed something there, but Tariq needed Davis to do some investigative journalism to get Tariq some home addresses, and Monet just knew right where to go!
Monet has been taking this family reunion thing more seriously than I thought, though she has not checked her attitude even slightly, and I respect it.
She was fully prepared to deal with Felicia herself, and honestly, reaching out to Carter was a courtesy.
Everyone has put themselves in this position where they’re trying to protect somebody, and the Tejadas, for as toxic as they are, and they are the WORST, they’re all trying to protect each other in their own ways.
And I love that more than I thought I would.
Monet’s refusal to out Noma and not letting Cane help Diana was solely about protecting Cane from Noma. While Cane is marrying Noma…well, hell, I’m not 100% sure why he’s doing that, but it isn’t love, and I know it’s because he’s sussed out that Monet is Carter’s snitch (even if she isn’t snitching on them).
Then you have Dru.
Dru has highkey been the MVP this season. This was never the life he envisioned, but he’s slowly become good at it. This is the potential his Papi saw in him.
Honestly, both he and Cane have found their footing in an interesting way, and they could actually outsmart someone and get away with it!
Dru’s decision to come clean to Carter and essentially side with him was done to protect Monet and Diana, and of course, it’ll piss Monet off because she wants to do the protecting, but surely Dru has a bigger plan in mind. Right?
Seeing how this plays out over the final three hours will be interesting.
Elsewhere during this hour, there was the Noma stuff, which continued to be a snooze. Is anyone particularly interested in her finding a new political figurehead to help her criminal enterprise?
It will likely be Tate since they brought him back, but even he can’t save this sinking storyline. And Tate can save just about anything.
There was also the Cane and Effie subplot, and those two had a lot of nerve asking Brayden for a favor. But there aren’t many Cane and Brayden interactions left in the future, so we should enjoy every single one we get.
I keep harping on it, but it’s genuinely wild that we’re so close to the end when there’s still so much meat on the bone.
This isn’t a series that has stalled and run out of steam. There are still a lot of worthwhile characters and journeys that could be expanded upon, and you’re reminded of that during these kinds of hours, which harken back to the best this universe has to offer.
At least they’re shaping things right now to have this series go out on top.
Tariq’s look back at Carter before he shut that door had his daddy written all over it. They just awoke the beast, and once it’s loose, there’s no putting it back where it came from.
Everything Else You Need To Know
- I know Tariq hates his daddy, but sometimes his reckless talk about Ghost is so annoying! You got Ghost in the end, but he ran circles around you when he was alive.
- Effie has petered out as a character, but I hope she gets the hell out of New York and away from Cane. If Cane can do one thing right, it’s help Effie get out for good and drive her to the airport.
- Dru has turned so cold-blooded. His character journey from the beginning, with all the Emmett stuff and then Gordo, to now, has been so damn intriguing. I can’t say I ever saw it coming.
- Tate seemed wary of Carter, but maybe that was my eyes playing tricks on me.
- That little Tasha comment about Monet not knowing she tried to shoot her will come back around.
- Brayden is spiraling, and it’s clear that being ostracized from his family has taken a toll. But even amidst his early-life crisis, he came through for Cane and Effie, even getting Stansfield back for him and Tariq. He was smart enough to see that Tariq needed someone to talk to and give him the real. He’s genuinely a good friend.
- I need Monet to get Carter, but his sidekick Nico is suspicious. He’s got to go, too, but he can help everyone bring Carter down before he does.
We are creeping closer to the end, and all roads seem to be leading toward Operation: Carter Gotta Go! But what will happen in the leadup to that? And what about the fallout? Who will make it out to show up on another spinoff one day?
Let me know all your thoughts below so we can discuss them!
