Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

It may be time to have a hard conversation about this final season of Power Book II: Ghost.

We now only have four new hours of this series to digest and process, and at the rate they’re going, I can’t confidently say I’m not loving the direction.

Something feels off right now, but this isn’t an instance where I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong. I know exactly what the issue is.

Noma, Cane, Tariq, and Brayden in Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.Noma, Cane, Tariq, and Brayden in Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz)

Shows need to keep themselves fresh, and they do so by adding recurring characters and different things to prevent their characters and storylines from becoming stale.

You bring in a new villain to challenge the good guys and change the stakes so your audience sees something new while still connecting to the characters they’re connected to.

It’s not always easy, and at times, shows make the critical error of focusing too much on temporary characters to expand a story, which turns audiences off because they don’t have any investment in the new people.

I fear this is happening on Power Book II: Ghost.

Outing Carter as a dirty cop during Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 Episode 5 set us up for him to be the big antagonist for the rest of the season, and that’s fine.

Sure, we already had Noma as a threat to Tariq, and the Tejadas could always be stepped up to battle Tariq if necessary.

Cane and Davis in Power Book II: Ghost - Season 4 2024.Cane and Davis in Power Book II: Ghost - Season 4 2024.
(Courtesy of STARZ)

Carter being a bad guy should mean everyone coming together to eliminate a common threat, and maybe we’ll get there, but this hour spent far too much time on Carter and his team, meaning that one of the final episodes of this series was spent on scenes following people whose names we didn’t even know until this week.

I hate to be harsh because to know me is to know how much I adore everything about the Power universe. But the OG series also did this, introducing Ghost’s political angle during the final season and spending far too much time on that and characters we simply didn’t care about.

Brayden was barely in this hour. And don’t even get me started on Davis, whom they have forgotten was, at a certain point, a pivotal piece on the overall board, that is, Power Ghost.

Now, he just shows up when Tariq needs him? What is going on here?

Carter’s presence and dirtiness are the literal theme of the hour. Dru and Monet are determined to get up from under him, but they do a terrible job of tailing and ignoring him enough that he gets impatient.

Carter has his hand in many different pots, which we find out over time, but it’s evident that he sees the Tejadas as a vital piece now. They have information, and they’re major players in the drug dealing game, so it’s beneficial for him to keep them under his thumb, maybe more so than he does with others.

Detective Carter checks in on Monet during Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.Detective Carter checks in on Monet during Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz)

And on top of that, he takes from them without offering much up in return, aside from the whole not going to jail thing.

When Carter and his team show up at the Tejadas, it plays a little ridiculously because these cops are doing the most. Shouldn’t dirty cops, a whole team at that, work to be a bit more discreet?

If the whole goal is for Carter to basically save innocent lives being lost to street violence and eradicate drugs (kind of?), then it would be a damn big get for him to find out whose drugs Monet and Dru were after.

But giving up Noma puts Cane in danger, and aside from that, just giving that information to Carter without getting anything in return does nothing for Monet in the long run.

Dru getting caught up and sent to prison to kill that man whose name I did not know was just another moment during the hour when I had to scour my brain to figure out who they were talking about and why it was so dire.

And poor Dru, because they are putting him through it this season, and all for what?

Monet has to make moves with her family in trouble during Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.Monet has to make moves with her family in trouble during Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz)

There is no point in trying to play a game of ‘who has it the worst?’ when it comes to Power players because everyone’s lives suck in some way. Nary has a Power character been introduced that had an absolutely perfect life with zero complications.

If such a person exists, they most certainly aren’t engaging with any of the people on these shows.

But back to Dru. I’m not even sure what he wants at this point, outside of being out from underneath someone. Things with him and Monet are rocky at best, and the situation with Carter is messy, once again putting him on the defense.

Even though Dru never wanted to be a part of the life, he has shown signs of being highly capable. His little plan to get himself injured and set to the infirmary to he could kill Zay (I know damn well you didn’t remember his name!) worked out a little too well but showed what Dru is capable of.

And then taking insider information and using it to his benefit with Carter’s team? Cane Tejada mastermind who?

Of course, his plan may not work out quite how he wants it to now that things have gone to hell on the outside.

Tariq and Brayden meet up with Noma and Cane on Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.Tariq and Brayden meet up with Noma and Cane on Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz)

Look, Noma was a solid villain last season because she had a built-in connection to Mecca, who was a villain who had a connection to one of the main characters.

But now, Noma is kind of on an island, with Cane there, yes, but no one cares about this business deal she’s trying to score with the politician. Unfortunately, the most exciting part of this storyline was when the politician died.

I believe Zion was just trying to intimidate Noma, but killing a politician in such a high-profile way was a recipe for disaster. And finding out Carter also has him by the neck? Well, that was a fun little twist, if only because it threads everyone together.

If we’re going to have to deal with Carter and his crew, then there must be a web weaved between everyone so that the story doesn’t feel isolated.

Zion, one of his minions, provides that connection, as does Diana’s choice to go to Tariq when she’s put in an impossible situation by aggressive Felicia.

I think we all know by now that there won’t be many, if any, truly happy endings to close out Power Ghost. That is just not the way anything is trending right now. But in another life, Tariq and Diana could have been something.

Diana Looks Out - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: GhostDiana Looks Out - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: Ghost
(STARZ)

Of all his past relationships, those two probably had the most in common, coming from families that were wildly dangerous and unstable. If Tariq decided to do things a little differently in this other life, I could see them being happy together if I squint.

Alright, maybe it needs to be in another world on top of another life, but maybe, y’all!

Anyway, they are tied together in this life due to the baby, but that does not mean Diana owes him anything right now. He had a gun pointed at her head not that long ago, and there is a LONG history of betrayals between them.

But with her back against the wall, Tariq was an option she took, and Tariq accepted, I’m sure because he knew what it could do for him in his war against Noma and because he wanted to protect Diana and his child.

He can act however he wants, but family means something deep down.

I’m getting worried about Brayden! He’s not doing well, and getting deeper and deeper into drugs isn’t helping anyone whatsoever.

Davis has things to think about during Power Book II: Ghost Season S04E06.Davis has things to think about during Power Book II: Ghost Season S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz )

Tariq snatched him off that stage like he was snatching up his kid who went to a house party when he should have been at home watching his little sister and her friends at a sleepover.

Tariq’s number one thing right now is becoming what he deems the apex predator, and there’s no way he can do that if his righthand man doesn’t have his head in the game.

Brayden barely asked any questions when Tariq told him Zion had to die, and the whole sequence with them trying to kill that man was too comical for its own good. Zion had them dead to rights multiple times, and they only survived because there were two of them.

Zion, using his dying breath to compare Tariq to Ghost, would have had the old Tariq itchy, but the new and improved Tariq has buried that trigger and seemingly understands that he does have pieces of Ghost in him and will need them if he wants to get to where he’s trying to go.

Zion also revealed Carter to Tariq and Brayden, which gives them even more leverage to use down the line. And if all of this doesn’t end with everyone putting aside their differences to defeat the common enemy before hashing out their individual vendettas once and for all, then WHAT WAS THE POINT?

Speaking of Carter, if you didn’t know before he was off his rocker, you knew when he tried to recruit Kamaal to the dark side and promptly killed him when he figured out his sinister pitch was not working.

Kamaal spends time outside as he continues to investigate on Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.Kamaal spends time outside as he continues to investigate on Power Book II: Ghost S04E06.
(Courtesy of Starz)

Kamaal was one of the few morally good people on this show, but he was lucky to survive as long as he did.

Losing Kamaal isn’t some big, jaw-dropping twist in this final season, but it does open the door for a pissed-off, grieving Councilman Tate, which would only be a good thing.

I can already hear him laying into Tariq and making him do something ridiculous right now.

After the midseason finale ended without a cliffhanger, they brought it back here to give us Felicia (what IS her problem?) beating up Diana because of the whole Zion situation and repeatedly kicking her in the stomach so she could get her point across.

It was poor Dru before, but now it’s poor Diana because she has tried to mind her business in several ways but cannot catch a break.

Here’s hoping she and the baby end up being okay, but either way, Carter and the other no-names have started an absolute war with a faction of enemies who will not care about coming after the police once things get personal.

Monet Talks - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: GhostMonet Talks - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: Ghost
(STARZ)

If you’re going to make me spend these final hours dealing with these characters I don’t know, then the people I DO know better be plotting their demise.

Everything Else You Need To Know

  • Effie and Diana have more in common than they think, but Tariq has made it so they can never be more than frenemies at best.
  • Almost dying during that raid had Effie upset, and I get it. She needs to bounce from New York if she wants any future. And drop Cane.
  • Cane and Monet are trying to protect each other but not explicitly saying that to one another because they’re them, which was peak Tejada energy.
Brayden Faces Off - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: GhostBrayden Faces Off - PG S04E05 - Ego Death - Power Book II: Ghost
(STARZ)
  • If Tariq’s fate is to not make it out of this series alive or to lose everything, then I firmly believe Anya will end up being a part of that, and I don’t know how to feel about that.

Can you believe this is it? We will only hear ‘They say this is a big rich town…’ four more times before the start of a brand-new episode. I’m SICK.

But let’s not dwell on the impending sadness; instead, let’s break down the start to the final run of hours!

Drop into the comments and let me know what you thought about this one and what you hope to see moving forward! I can’t wait to hear all your thoughts.

The final season of Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 airs on Friday at 8/7c on Starz.



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