‘Power Book II: Ghost’: Deal Or No Deal In Season 3, Episode 7

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

We have finally reached the point in season three of Power Book II: Ghost where we can say that everything that was done in the dark, has indeed come to light. There’s plenty of backstabbing and deception that goes on in a season of Power Book II: Ghost, but it seems to occur more frequently and with more audacity this season up until episode six so far. Just think about it: Jenny Sullivan tricked people about Lauren’s death to build a case around Tariq for allegedly having her murdered, Saxe is working with Sullivan to take down Tariq and the Tejadas, Monet secretly had Lorenzo killed by Gordo who is Dru’s lover this season, and Tariq and Brayden are running a whole drug operation in Weston Holdings. So yeah, there’s a whole lotta trickery going on this season, but it’s all a part of the drama that makes Power Book II: Ghost such a necessary watch. Speaking of that drama…

In episode seven of Power Book II: Ghost, titled “Deal Or No Deal,” the true nature of everything that’s going on in the Power Book II: Ghost world gets revealed. Brayden finds out that Kiki knows that he and Tariq are selling drugs out of the Weston Holdings building. Brayden also learns that the operation run by his uncle at Weston Holdings is a Ponzi scheme that Kiki is involved with. That means that the trust fund money Tariq put into it, as well as the Tejada money, are in big jeopardy. On the Tejadas’ side of things, Dru finds out that Gordo was the one who killed his father, and despite their growing love, he makes the emotionally tough decision to kill him. Of course, Monet comforts him as if she wasn’t the one that enlisted Gordo to kill Lorenzo. Unfortunately, karma came back for her as Diana was arrested to close the episode. Oh, and Tariq Yeah, he not only knows that a RICO case is being built around him, but he also knows that Saxe is helping put it together. Plenty of drama this week! Let’s get into it.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season three’s seventh episode, “Deal Or No Deal”:

Tariq has impressed us since the original Power series with his ability to wiggle out of any situation no matter how unlikely it seems that he can break free. He’s beat murder accusations and charges and he’s walked away from prison on technicalities that seem a bit too dramatic for one of TV’s most dramatic crime shows right now. However, with the feds closer to him than ever with a RICO case, it seems damn near impossible that Tariq can break free from this one. Diana was caught and arrested for moving drugs on Stansfield’s campus, and those drugs were connected to others that were found at multiple locations which all connect back to Tariq. There are the murders of Jabari Reynolds, Carrie Milgram, Lorenzo, Zeke, and Mecca which make the whole situation worse. The feds have it all mapped out with Lauren and Saxe as the confidential informants. Lauren broke that confidentiality to tell Tariq what was going on, and though he wants to put forth a plan to get out of this jam, it’s just too little too late. Just like after the drugs that were found in his dorm in season two, Tariq will just have to brace himself for this fall because there’s no way out of what’s next. In fact, he may not even be able to beat the case as he did last season.

I can’t ever decide if Monet is blinded by her perceived invincibility and status or if everything she does is part of a yet-to-be-revealed plan. For now, I’m going to say that she underestimated everyone’s intelligence, specifically Cane and Dru’s. It just doesn’t make sense that Monet would go to Gordo’s family to indirectly suggest that Lorenzo should be killed for killing Gordo’s father Frank, just to enlist Gordo to do it himself, all to have the evidence lead Dru to discover that Gordo did it, which leads to Dru killing Gordo. It’s just a messy situation altogether. Dru will be vocal about killing Gordo to avenge his father’s death, but things will take a turn for the worse when Frank’s wife realizes that the Tejadas are once again responsible for a death in the family. Monet originally approached Frank’s wife with the info that Lorenzo killed Frank with the hope that the family would kill Lorenzo in retaliation. Now, Gordo’s death after killing Lorenzo will look like a setup to take them down and we can only imagine what that lead to. Monet underestimated Dru’s ability to figure out Lorenzo’s real killer, and then there’s Cane who seemingly knew something was up the whole time. Monet is the queen, but her team isn’t filled with peasants and it’s only a matter of time until this blows back on her.

Man, bless Lauren! It was looking like she had her mind set on tearing down Tariq due to her belief that he was a part of Effie’s plan to murder her. Luckily, thanks to a few meetups and phone calls that gave Tariq the chance to share his side of the story, the truth, Lauren was convinced that it was a plan that Effie enacted all on her own. Still, it’s a bit too late for Lauren to talk Sullivan out of pushing the RICO charge on Tariq and company, but with the little bit of time that they have left, she gives Tariq two pieces of information that will prove to be beneficial to him moving forward. 1) She confirms that Saxe is working with Sullivan and Sergent Rodriguez to put the RICO case together, and 2) She promises to buy a little more time for Tariq to piece together a plan in preparation for this RICO. For someone that many believed would be unable to hold it down when times got rough, Lauren is doing her part to cushion the blow that’s approaching Tariq. She can save the day, or a day, for Tariq, but nothing more than that. Nonetheless, the effort is appreciated.

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice, and I’ll say it a million more times: Saxe playing both sides is dumb. Since the original Power series, we’ve known Saxe to be incredibly selfish, but this time around, his moves with the opposition (his former team) are so illogical because there isn’t a good enough win for him to be selfish about obtaining. Tariq and Davis MacLean both know that Saxe is working with the feds, so his connection and future work with MacLean are as good as dead. Saxe’s work with Sullivan and Rodriguez is also a huge ethical violation in the law world that will make it impossible for him to work anywhere else simply because he’ll be beyond untrustworthy. All this to put a St. Patrick in jail, something he hasn’t been able to do in years, and this is under the assumption that he’s successfully able to put Tariq, the Tejadas, and maybe even MacLean in jail and keep them there. Saxe is so desperate for this win that he can’t see the consequences that come after it, and man, it’s not going to be pretty. But hey, this is the bed he made so he’s gotta lay in it.

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.