‘Power Book IV: Force’: Ranking The Power Players In ‘War & Ice Cream’ (Season 2, Episode 3)

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

Tommy Egan escaped death on two occasions during last week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force and he isn’t about to give it a third chance to get him in the show’s second season. So to start episode three of Power Book IV: Force season two, we see Tommy set on making sure that things are made right after his car is shot up. This leads to him making a visit to Jenard’s house where he instructs him to find Lil K, the man who shot at Tommy, and ensure that he is handled before matters are taken into Tommy’s hands. Jenard eventually sets out to do this by paying a visit to Lil K’s mom’s house, but an interaction with his mother stops him from pulling the trigger. Scenes later, after Jenard gets his Lamborghini stolen by the Serbs, Jenard chokes Lil K to death for questioning his moves as group leader.

Back in Tommy and Diamond’s world, the two continue their rise in the Chicago drug game and a new move is helping them sell product faster than ever. Thanks to help from Kendra, Diamond’s love interest and a warden at Southville Prison, Tommy and Diamond are now able to sell product within the jail. This helps them sell their batch faster than ever means that they have to return to Miguel for a re-up quicker than expected. They don’t get a re-up as Miguel is a bit suspicious of their operation In Tommy’s world, he’s getting closer to finding out who killed Liliana and he’s pretty sure it’s Claudia, though he doesn’t have enough evidence yet to be certain. Diamond has a close call with his parole officer and he meets a kid from the neighborhood with a bright future who could use help from Diamond in learning how to better defend himself.

Elsewhere, we see Tommy and JP’s mother take small strides to make amends for the many, many errors she made with her sons. Claudia struggles to pick up the pieces after Dahlia’s leak and her removal from the Flynn family organization and Vic makes progress in his plan to take out his father from inside the family organization.

Before we dive into this week’s Power Players list, let’s make note of who will not be on the list this week. Jenard once again misses the cut simply because he is forced to give up his Lamborghini, forced into killing one of his crew members, and is suddenly getting high off his own supply and buying heroin to use as well. Claudia hasn’t been able to do much without Dahlia as her weapon. The Feds made a case to make the cut, but the creation of their task force is the most they did this week as they had another murder take place in their city. Miguel still hasn’t realized that Tommy and Diamond are tricking him, so another week on the bench it is. Lastly, D-Mac is still under strict orders to stay in the house, so we didn’t get much action from him. However, it appears that could change next week.

If you’ve been a part of the Power Universe since its start, then you know Tommy’s mother is not what one would define as a “great mother.” She struggled with addiction to alcohol and drugs, and it resulted in the neglect of her children. We saw it with Tommy, and we saw that it was even worse with JP. Yet, as the saying goes, “better late than never.” In this episode, we see Tommy’s mom make awkward strides to fix the relationship she has with her sons. Her efforts are extremely minimal compared to the damage caused, but it’s a step in the right direction. Her efforts are most notable during an AA meeting and toward the end of the episode when she surprises Tommy with his favorite childhood ice cream.

This week’s episode is mostly focused on the wins of Tommy and Diamond and the errors by Jenard, so there isn’t too much to pull from. As a result, we got creative and there’s a tie for the fourth spot. That tie is between Kendra, the prison warden who is Diamond’s new love interest, and the presumed mechanic who is fixing Tommy’s beloved car. Though it was proposed as a joke at first, Kendra accepted Diamond’s offer to allow him to move CBI product through her prison in exchange for a big fee. As for this mechanic, Tommy loves his car and will do whatever it takes to make sure it comes back brand new. Case in point, it’s a big payday for both parties.

Vic moves up a spot this week as his plan to take out his father from inside the family crime organization is off to a smooth start. He calls the cops on a courier who was set to move product for a partner that Walter invested in. He then disguises it as a simple run-in with the law, and to take matters further, he kills the partner during a later meeting between the partner, Walter, and Vic himself. Vic disguises it as a necessary move after the courier’s arrest, but Walter is extremely frustrated by the killing and he deems it as the typical reckless move from his son. With Walter not being suspicious about anything yet, things are going according to plan for Victor and the mission continues.

Tommy slips to the second spot this week, not because he messed up in “War & Ice Cream,” but more so because he didn’t do as much as our No. 1 spot. Still, his power and presence are felt throughout the episode. He threatens and forces Jenard into killing one of his members over their decision to take a shot at Tommy despite Jenard’s orders. He’s (correctly) guessed that Claudia was the one who killed Liliana, but he isn’t ready to retaliate until he has undeniable proof. Still, he strikes some fear into Claudia by letting her know that he’s on to her. Tommy also makes some progress with Mireya, makes some amendments with his mother, and avoids getting his hand chopped off by Miguel. It’s a good week all in all for Tommy.

We’re giving Diamond the crown this week as his plan to move product within the Southville Prison where Kendra is a warden and has agreed to work with him. Not only is this agreement in place to oversee the sale of CBI’s product, but she also eliminates competition from a rival gang by forcing their leader into a deal. Outside of the drug world, Diamond also seems to make an impact on a young boy from his local community and it appears that he will take the youngster under his wing and make sure he’s protected. This week proved that Diamond is just as important to his and Tommy’s partnership as Tommy is. Their operation works because both sides have things they can contribute to ensure that they both win, and win they did this week.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.