Welcome back Power fans! Sunday night was the premiere episode of the final season for the popular Starz drama series. What a way to begin. The episode titled, “Murderers” hit us square in the mouth. For what it’s worth we predicted the gunshot wound to Angela’s chest might prove fatal in last season’s finale recap. Turns out it was. Once news of Angela’s death makes its way to all parties involved, multiple chain reactions were set off and that building energy will fuel this series to its conclusion. You know this will have an ugly ending right?
The episode begins in the aftermath of Tommy shooting Angela in the stairwell of their old high school. Of course the caveat is, that bullet was meant for Ghost. In the truest act of love and loyalty, Angela shoved Ghost out of the way and took a fatal bullet for him. You know this is going to seriously screw Ghost up mentally and emotionally. The season’s tagline is “The Final Betrayal” and that’s what we got and where we are. There is no going back for these once “blood brothers”.
One of the critiques of the series has always been, major characters avoiding death against seemingly impossible odds. But I would argue, the way it has played out will ultimately prove to be better in the end. Killing Ghost seasons ago would have made this a completely different show. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Yes, this show is about power and its dynamics. Pun intended. But the show’s DNA is a love story. Angela and Ghost’s love story. Now, we could argue it’s a seriously screwed up murderous, dishonest, and unhealthy love. But love nonetheless.
We have to shout out Omari Hardwick’s acting this episode. He’s always good. But the scenes in the hospital pre and post Angela’s death were good stuff. He’s pacing like a lion in a cage, trying to fully process the moment and what’s happened. Courtney Kemp and her team’s use of flashbacks to the first time the audience meets Angela, and all of the moments she and Ghost shared juxtaposed with present day Ghost going through the initial stages of grief was pretty effective.
An enraged Ghost heads to Tommy’s apartment to ambush him, Tommy being well versed in Ghost’s ways expected he’d be waiting for him and the two engage in a fight. While obviously very serious, anyone else find it kind of comical? When you’re trying to beat the crap out of somebody are you really engaging in conversation like that? In any event, the fight is interrupted by the appearance of Tariq. This dude either lives on MetroNorth (he goes to Choate which is in Connecticut), or he uses Uber/Lyft like crazy. He is a drug dealer at a fancy prep school, so he can afford it.
Tariq as usual is talking greasy to Ghost. Many of you clamored for Tariq’s death, simply off the strength of talking back. He clearly has little, if any, respect for Ghost and I see a different conclusion coming for him. Pay attention. You see it too.
The Ghost, Tommy, Tariq triangle is messy at best and at worse could be disastrous. Ghost seems much more focused on Tariq’s obedience than actually parenting and having some semblance of a father son relationship. This goes all the way back to the affair and everything else. His focus was on providing Tariq and his other children (RIP Raina) with things and a “good life”. Assuming that would be enough. For Tariq, the dearly departed Kanan and Tommy now are more father figures to him than Ghost ever could be. The trust between Ghost and Tariq is likely irrevocably broken.
Tariq has hardened, and the softer vulnerable emotions are walled away deep inside. It’ll take many years of therapy to break down those walls. The fact that he and Tommy, while smoking and laying out Kanan’s ashes, casually talk about murdering Ghost and Tariq generally seems unbothered is problematic. When he learns of Angela’s death as his mother is driving him back to Choate, he asks her “aren’t you happy she’s dead?” In his mind, if Ghost never cheated on his mom with Angela, their family never breaks up and none of this ever happens. Kids…
Meanwhile, the “good guys” are reeling after the news of Angela’s death. Saxe blames Donovan, which is unfair. Tameika blames them all, herself included, for letting Angela leave when they first started interrogating. Is anyone buying Saxe’s thirst for justice? It is believable. He did “lose” Greg Knox, Mike Sandoval, and now Angela. So it is more personal to him as Donovan pointed out. But Saxe blurred the lines and did illegal things as well. He was so hell bent on proving Knox was right about Angela being part of Ghost’s crime syndicate, and his petty work issues over her being promoted, etc. Now that he thinks Ghost killed her, he’s on the “right side” of the law? Ehhh…Oh, and how about the gall to show up at the hospital with a dead Angela laying on the table, and telling her grieving sister Paz that if she doesn’t consent to an autopsy, Angela’s death is on her as well. Nah fam, miss me with that one.
Saxe is possessed. He goes at Proctor again, accusing him of leaking information to Ghost which led to Angela’s murder. When he returns to the office, Tameika has just been fired and replaced by Jacob Warner (Evan Handler) who was brought in to “clean things up.” Saxe is about to get fired before he convinces Warner to allow him to set an elaborate trap to catch Ghost in a RICO statute, claiming the murder of Angela was part of the same conspiracy to kill the actual government witness, Maria Suarez. Did you get all that?
Remember, Maria Suarez was the fiancee of Miguel (the guy Ghost shot in the head on the loading dock at Truth in season 1). Maria can corroborate the James St. Patrick and Ghost are in fact the same person. The Eastern District has loads of evidence of a crime figure named Ghost, committing murder, drug trafficking, money laundering and more. Proctor is going to earn his money for sure. He’s got to get Ghost on track and figure out a way to “eliminate” this witness.
Speaking of “eliminated witnesses”, we all know Terry Silver is gone. Now Tasha does too. She shows up at his office and learns that his family has filed a missing persons report with the NYPD. Tasha, as always, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She doesn’t want Ghost killed, he is the father of her children. But, he has routinely picked himself and his interests over her, their marriage and family. She was hoping to start a life with Terry, and now that won’t be happening. She’s smart to go for the divorce play now. With Ghost grieving over Angela, dealing with the Feds, trying to kill Tommy, and worrying about being killed by Jason and the Serbs (more on that later). This might be a prime opportunity for Tasha to get something for herself and start a new life, somewhere…
Like Ghost, Tommy is juggling multiple balls at once. He’s got his issues with Ghost and the conflict he’s dealing with over wanting to kill him and his feelings for Tariq and Tasha. Say what you will about Tommy, but “family” is important to him. He also has to distribute drugs for Jason and get his network running again. Jason, who is of course clairvoyant, doesn’t believe Tommy’s issues with Ghost are resolved. More importantly Ghost is an impediment to Jason’s business and his money if Tommy can’t end things.
The episode ends with Jason pulling a little “slight of hand” lifting Tommy’s car keys and setting a trap of sorts for Ghost. Jason knows that Ghost wants to kill Tommy and sends one of his guys out back to pull Tommy’s car around so the shipment of drugs could follow to Tommy’s distribution network. When Ghost see’s Tommy’s blue and white striped Mustang, he unloads a couple rounds of automatic mags into the car, thinking the deed is done and Tommy’s dead…
Tommy also has a problem with the Jimenez cartel, though Alicia is locked up for the moment. He too is a target of the Feds, and he has Keisha and her son Cash to worry about. Something tells me all of these problems don’t provide the right kind of environment for any relationships to last, be healthy or productive. Call me crazy…LOL.
When Power is at its best, it moves at a frantic breakneck pace. The issues the characters face will move seamlessly from the margins to the centers of their worlds as they become more and less problematic until ultimately it destroys them all. This is television, and as always you must suspend belief of reality for stories to move along. That’s the contract we enter into with a series. But what is fundamental and real about Power beyond the insane and crazy is what motivates us as humans to do the things we do. Love and hate, devotion and betrayal, calmness and trepidation, lust and loathing, power and impotence. Two sides of the same coin. Our gift and curse.
Excellent start to the season, and looking ahead to scenes from the rest of the season, we are heading to a cataclysmic conclusion. Buckle up for this last ride.
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