Sunday’s episode of Power titled “King’s Gambit was, arguably, the best of the season so far. I’ve been on here the last few weeks bemoaning the ridiculous plot lines and the absurdities within the story. But this one was pretty good. It had its issues. Tommy needed two clips in an automatic assault rifle to kill Proctor, who only had a handgun? Come on now. Saxe and his “off the books” sting operation? A monument to ineptitude. However we had some great moments. Let’s get into it!
Any chess players out there?
The episode opens with Tariq playing chess with Effie and she tells him, “I can see your moves coming.” ‘Riq opened the game with the King’s Gambit, a move in which White sacrifices pawns with the goal of distracting Black so that White can gain dominance of the center of the board and strike while Black is weakened and distracted. Well played by Courtney Kemp and the writer’s room. This is a metaphor for the entire episode. Many of the characters make a sacrifice with the hope of pulling off some greater good or reward in the end. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It all depends on who your literal and/or metaphorical opponent is and what they are willing to do and/or sacrifice.
‘Riq is running his Choate drug network but is out of supply. He also owes Vincent and the Italians “weight”. Unbeknown to ‘Riq, until the moment he’s busted and expelled from school, Effie has been running game on him the whole time. Excellent touch by the creators, to show the chessboard with the white king laid down.‘Riq immediately realizes, it was Effie who ratted him out and played him from the beginning. Checkmate! See that fellas. Never trust…never mind. LOL.
Now we know why Effie was introduced into the storyline. We needed a reason for ‘Riq to get kicked out of school. It had to be something he, and by extension, the audience, never saw coming. Well done. This allows the Vincent plot to continue and, for now, a Ghost and Tommy alliance.