Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
3.5
Although we’ve come to the end of the road, I just can’t let go.
Sorry, don’t mind me. I’m just singing very loudly in my Wanya Morris voice because I can’t believe this day has come. We’ve come to the end of another Power chapter.
Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 Episode 10 has come and gone, and that’s it. The FIRST Power spinoff is officially done.
Not to make this about me, but whenever a show ends that you’ve covered from start to finish, you get in your feelings a little bit.
From exclusive interviews to reviews, I’ve been with this show through it all, and for it to suddenly just be over? Well, it’s an odd feeling that’s for sure.
I was more excited than sad when Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 began. When you know that a series is ending, you get time to sit with that, accept it, and then view the series through a different lens.
When a series is canceled unexpectedly, it’s jarring. And while your viewing experience wasn’t necessarily impacted at the time, you’ll typically look back in more anger than fondness as you wonder what could have been.
I’m still wondering what could have been after this season, especially because the series finale bucked many expectations by keeping this part of the Power universe a fully functioning entity.
They didn’t blow it all up. One could say they did the opposite of that.
In many ways, we went back in time to the series’ early days, with the only difference being that some of the og characters were no longer involved.
But before we get too deep into that ending, let’s dive into what led to it.
All season long, I was waiting for an Avengers-type team-up between all the usual players as they banded forces to go against Noma and Carter, and we got that here.
The Tejada siblings were solely focused on avenging Monet’s murder, and only a Tejada would mourn for all of a few hours before morphing immediately into revenge mode.
And I couldn’t even blame them this time.
As I have repeatedly stated on the show and in my own writing, Monet wasn’t a good mother. But in the final episodes, she at least tried to do things differently.
She was trying to break certain patterns and create a dynamic with her children where she protected them and allowed them to make their own choices.
She was never going to be the mother of the year, but in her death, her children all felt close to her and could see the loss they were enduring above all the disappointments they’d experienced because of her throughout their lifetimes.
More than Dru and Diana, Cane naturally took Monet’s death the hardest. Not only had they always been closer, but she went out by Noma’s hand, someone Monet had warned Cane about on a loop before she died.
Cane has always thought he knew best, but he didn’t know everything. In the end, Noma got the best of him, and Monet died trying to protect him.
The Tejada’s first talk back at the house was all finger-pointing, but it was short-lived when they all had a common goal.
I wish we’d seen more of the three of them actually getting along throughout the series, outside of the fleeting moments we got.
As someone who has a lot of siblings, I can understand that you fight one minute and you’re laughing with each other the next, but I, uh, never tried to kill and decimate any of my siblings the way they did.
Dru and Cane were blaming each other for their mother’s deaths and then laughing later as they prepared to kill Monet like it was nothing.
Television!
Once the siblings got the drop on Noma, I realized it was probably too early to kill Noma unless the series had something up their sleeves.
But they didn’t, and Noma conveniently leaving the safehouse so they could snatch up Anya was just an excuse to bring Tariq, Brayden, and Effie in to get our Avengers landing in Wakanda scene.
Do you know why Noma will never be considered among some of the best Power villains? She was too predictable overall.
Don’t get me wrong; she had her moments of subterfuge, but by and large, Cane could read her like a book in the end. That’s precisely why he took Anya; he knew that was the one way to get to her in the end.
Look, there’s much to be said about all the children of the game on this show and how they lost all autonomy the minute they were born. That’s basically the basis of the whole show, from Tariq to the Tejadas and now to Anya.
They were all born into a world they didn’t ask to be a part of, and even if their parents actively tried to push them away from it to keep them safe, they were never going to be safe.
Ghost and Tasha found that out when Raina died. And Noma found that out when Diana killed Anya right in front of her.
Anya was not a fleshed-out character, and now I realize that she solely existed for this final episode, where the Tejadas could use her to get information, she could talk to Tariq about not feeling the need to follow in his dad’s footsteps, and dying dramatically.
And that’s not a knock-on Anya! She had a purpose, and she fulfilled it.
Noma and Anya’s relationship reached a point where Noma could no longer pack her away at school and keep her entirely in the dark. She’s lucky it lasted that long.
While I believed Noma when she said that she didn’t care about anything else but her daughter, I believed it the same way I believed Ghost.
They loved their children, but their choices made their lives unsafe, and you can’t pretend like that love made them good parents when their own narcissism and greed harmed their children.
Noma loved Anya. Noma also led a life that put Anya in a position to be hurt.
Having said all that, who saw Diana shooting her coming? It was so random, all things considered, because it did seem like the plan was to take out just Noma.
But Diana has gotten darker and darker as the series has gone on, and killing Anya and showing no remorse pretty much set up that final shot of her standing at the head of the table.
Of the three siblings, Diana was always the one with one foot out the door, but losing her child in the manner she did has changed her. And not even just in her quest to get revenge.
She’s suddenly a family first, ready to bring back prestige and honor to the Tejada name! She was like a mini-Monet all hour in her callousness. It’s such a 180 from the Diana we’ve known throughout much of the show.
She was even rude to Dru when he told her he was done. Old Diana would have been happy for Dru and discussed planning her visit to Paris. But this Diana was borderline disgusted with Dru for turning his back on the family.
My how the times have changed.
While we’ve seen Dru and Diana change in different ways, Cane is one character who has stayed consistent. He has been unapologetically himself from the jump and was the same way here.
He wanted Noma’s head on a platter, and he was willing to get it even if he meant he had to die trying.
Noma’s death was a long time coming and not at all a shock, but how it happened was. Cane did not care about getting arrested or dying as long as his siblings were safe, and he was the one to take Noma out.
I thought Cane was a goner during that shootout, but wouldn’t you know it? He survived because that was also the theme of the hour.
Survival.
Cane survived his little bullet wounds, but shooting at police officers will make you public enemy number one.
Was the real love story of Power Ghost Cane and Effie all along?
I know what they were trying to do here. They introduced Effie’s mom to show us what a horrible person she was and how the environment she grew up in turned her into the “ice queen” others like to label her.
She protected herself and her feelings because she had her own back in a way no one else ever had. So, she gave Cane the money she worked hard for to show she cared, but are you silly?
Why in the hell would you throw away the future you were building toward for a man who was about to marry another woman? I don’t care if it was going to be a sham! That man could NOT be trusted, and he put himself in that position to get caught up by the police.
Sorry, but that annoyed the crap out of me because Cane would have found a way. Cane’s resilient as hell, and with all the money or no money, I would bet anything he’d find a way to stay undercover until the time was right and rebuild himself.
Now Effie’s broke again, and back to slinging drugs around the Ivy Leagues, and back under Tariq’s thumb like she never left.
What a shame.
Speaking of Tariq, he was all over the place, per usual, as he tried to figure out how to get leverage on Carter and get rid of that Zion video.
I don’t even want to spend too much time on Carter’s demise because it was so anti-climatic.
You mean to tell me that man terrorized that city, killed a cop, taunted every single person he ever met, hid behind his religion and grief, and STILL walked away from that?
Yes, he’s in prison, but my goodness. Ghost and Tommy would have NEVER let him live. Yeah, I said it.
But anyway, Tariq was doing the best he could, as he ultimately did outsmart the most crook cop of all, with help, of course, and ultimately got himself to a place where he was pretty much free of all his enemies.
And really think about that. From Monet to that annoying teacher back in the day, Junior, Noma, and now Carter. All his enemies have now officially been dealt with, meaning that the world was literally his oyster.
I loved the decision to end the series in a way that gave Tariq a genuine choice about his future. But having him revert to his old ways, this time refusing to have a partner, felt like a waste of time.
Sorry if that’s too harsh, but it was just, once again, a rather boring conclusion on top of a boring season.
And I get it! Just like I got what they were doing with everyone else, but that didn’t mean I had to enjoy it.
Tariq became Ghost on a show called Power Book II: Ghost. He became the man he swore he was nothing like and the man his father never wanted him to be.
But in finally getting out from under his enemies, he was able to call his own shots, and in a way, he was almost more powerful than Ghost in the way he had Nico (how did he not die?) and Davis on his side.
He built a robust network and could finally reap the rewards without having to directly get his hands dirty.
Congratulations?
In exchange for this power, Tariq had nothing to show for it besides money. He pushed Brayden aside as if the man hadn’t done everything outside of dying for Tariq to prove his loyalty, and Effie was back because she had given all her money away to her situationship.
He got Tasha and Yasmine out of witness protection but didn’t go with them to “keep them safe.” Because of the danger, he’s forgoing any and all personal relationships while he’s in the game.
He doesn’t want to bury a wife or a child, and that’s commendable, but you also don’t need to be in the life.
I’ve always supported Tariq in making his own decisions, and it wasn’t surprising that he chose this. It’s what he always wanted. But maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have to see anymore because Tariq’s life sounds like it’s about to be pretty damn sad.
He’s set himself up to be a ghost in more than just name; I hope it was worth it.
Everything Else You Need To Know
- I love it when Tariq gets into his acting bag! His running to “rescue” Anya was honestly the only funny part of the hour.
- I can’t stress enough how much I hated how they ended things for Tariq and Brayden. They’ve both made mistakes, but they were supposed to be brothers!
- Cane is going to Chicago, right? RIGHT?
- Nico becoming the new Carter? Keep it.
- Not bringing Rashad back to taunt Carter in jail was a missed opportunity.
- Noma’s brother did not care about her. He was looking out for himself and his business above all else.
- Jenny and Blanca made a little cameo appearance to once again have to dead their vendetta against Tariq and hand Davis his job back. I giggled at that.
They speedrun through this final season, and you could tell. But even so, this series will be remembered for doing the unthinkable: making Tariq St. Patrick a compelling, sympathetic character in a world that had despised him for years.
I will miss this show terribly, and I’ll miss all of you! But I’ll still be here for whatever comes next (including new seasons of Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power IV: Force!)
Until then, go listen to Big Rich Town one last time, and hit the comments with all your thoughts!
Watch Power Book II: Ghost Online
