‘Power Book II: Ghost’: Power Means Hard Work And Sacrifice In Season 3, Episode 8

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s Power Book II: Ghost episode will be found below.)

The secrets are out and the cats are out of the bag in season three of Power Book II: Ghost. Deceit is the name of the game in this series, but as we all know, it only lasts for so long before things blow up in someone’s face. In this case, Tariq now knows that not only is he under investigation for RICO, but that Cooper Saxe is helping the feds build that case. He learns this toward the end of episode seven when he’s able to talk to Lauren, who is very much alive this season, to figure out what the police have on him. That’s not all for the new discoveries at this point in season three of Power Book II: Ghost. Kiki also reveals to Brayden that she knows everything about him and Tariq’s CrashCoin operation which also means she knows about their drug dealing operation at Weston Holdings. She isn’t out of the clear though, as it turns out that she is helping Brayden’s uncle Lucas run a Ponzi scheme at the family company. As I said, the secrets are out and now it’s time for people to take action by bracing themselves for what’s next.

In episode eight of Power Book II: Ghost, titled “Sacrifice,” things begin with Tariq letting Davis MacLean know that Cooper Saxe is working with the feds to build a case against Tariq and the Tejadas, and maybe even Davis himself. Davis heads to the police station to meet with Diana, who is under arrest, and he sees first-hand how Saxe and Jenny Sullivan are working together. He takes no direct action, but he does set up a play from Tariq that allows him to lure Saxe and the cops to Effie under the assumption that they’re arresting her in the middle of handling a drug shipment. What both the cops and Effie don’t know is that everything was swapped out and cleaned out which now makes Saxe an unreliable source. Unfortunately for Saxe, news of him essentially being a snitch also reached Davis’ newly released brother Theo who took matters into his own hand and killed Saxe and himself at the end of the episode.

Elsewhere, Tariq gets help from RSJ and Brayden to get his and Monet’s money out of Weston Holdings and away from the Ponzi scheme that Lucas and Kiki are leading. Gordo’s family continues to suspect the Tejadas’ involvement in Gordo’s disappearance, Cane and Effie are lovebirds all of sudden (random, but I guess), but it’s a short-lived as Effie is arrested for attempted murder in relation to Lauren. Power Book II: Ghost is wrapping up its third season so you know the drama only going to increase.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season three’s eighth episode, “Sacrifice”:

As of today, Cooper Saxe is no longer a member of the Power Universe. At the end of episode 8, he gets shot and killed by Davis’ brother Theo who killed himself a short time after. Truthfully, Saxe was due for some type of unfortunate end, but I thought it was going to be something less gruesome like maybe losing his job or being the victim of severe beating of some sort from the people he is trying to jail. Since the original Power series, Saxe has made it his life’s calling to take down the St. Patrick family. He failed with James St. Patrick and it was the same with Tariq. Through it all, he threw out all his morals, both personal and those attached to his career, in hopes that it would eventually bring him to take down the St. Patrick regime. Saxe was a speeding car heading towards a brick wall that he was too blind to see. There we plenty of exits he could’ve taken along the way to save himself, but here we are. Many have tried and many have failed. Truthfully, I’m not surprised that Saxe’s time came to an end, but I am surprised it ended this way.

In this week’s episode, as well as last week’s, Tariq is crowned the man with the plan. Last week, it occurred when Monet needed a way to stop the Russians and this week it was when Brayden needed an idea to get Tariq and Monet’s money out of the Weston Holdings Ponzi scheme. As we know with the former, Tariq sent a tip to Rashad Tate to have the feds show up just in time to catch the Russians red-handed as they accepted a new delivery of cocaine. This week, Tariq teams up with RSJ to force their hand and return not only his money but Tariq and Monet’s in exchange for his silence on the Ponzi scheme. It’s not the first time that Tariq has saved the Tejadas, and Monet is for sure grateful for Tariq’s presence, but that’s not the case for Cane. His disdain for Tariq has been clear as day since the beginning, and it hasn’t gotten better especially now that their whole family is under investigation for RICO. Once again, Tariq saves the day by leading the feds into a trap that disrupts and sets back their progress. Cane can hate Tariq all he wants, but things would be a lot different if Tariq wasn’t the man with a plan.

Throughout season 3, we’ve watched Brayden attempt to live an odd sort of double life in the drug game. He’s the one that needs to be in it the least, but his desire to be there is probably just as high if not more than anyone else’s. Granted, he just enjoys the money that comes with the game, and because of that, he views the drug game as a business and nothing more. However, it becomes clear that he’s due for a reality check when he flips out at Kiki for running the Ponzi scheme with Lucas. Brayden criticizes her for joining an operation that takes people’s retirement savings, pensions, and more, and she points out that he is also causing damage to people by selling poison to them. Her point is that they are both doing the same thing in different ways, and she’s right. For as much as Brayden wants to be in the game, he’s also done his best to avoid all the gruesome yet important aspects of the operation he wilfully involved himself in with Tariq and the Tejadas. There is dirty work to be done in the field that Brayden works in, and as everyone has gotten their hands dirty for the sake of the operation, Brayden needs to do the same and accept that this is the reality he’s chosen

This week’s episode closes with the death of Saxe, but that comes after another major event in this episode. A short time before, the feds arrive at Effie’s dorm to arrest her. She believes that it’s for drug dealing, but it’s actually for attempted murder in relation to Lauren. Clearly, this is a move by Jenny, Blanca, and her team to secure some type of win after getting tricked at the CrashCoin facility, but it’s not a shocking outcome as Effie was always going sink first as she was the most disposable in the operation. This is essentially an undisputed fact as she was the pawn used to draw the feds into the trap set up for them. Tariq and every member of the Tejada family is in the middle of the operation while Davis MacLean protects them from the law and any potential trouble from the police while also warning them to stay low when the heat turns up against them. Effie was no more than an employee for them, something that became truer when Tariq, the only person who would’ve saved her, learned that she tried to kill Lauren. Keep in mind, with Tariq, Brayden, Cane, and Dru still responsible to move all of Noma’s product, getting Effie out of is probably very beneficial to them in regards to that. My money was on the season concluding with Tariq in jail, and not Effie, but just a couple of episodes left, we’ll see if this is a bet I lose.

New episodes of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.