Source: Courtesy / Starz
After the shocking reveal that Lauren (Paige Hurd) is still alive, the third season’s second episode of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ kicked off by showing us how in the form of a flashback. We’re taken back to when Lauren was in the hospital. Jenny (Paton Ashbrook) is sitting beside her bed when Lauren wakes up. Jenny informs her about the incident. Jenny explains that she was knocked unconscious, placed in a vehicle that was driven out far from the city then pushed into the reservoir. Apparently a man walking his dog saw her going into the water and called 911, who were able to come save her or else she would’ve died. When Jenny arrives to where Lauren is staying, Lauren tells her that she wants to go home to see her parents. Jenny reminds her that no one knows she’s alive and it has to stay that way until she builds her case. Although Lauren knows Effie did it, Sullivan explains that she needs hard evidence against her. She also shares that she thinks Effie is part of a larger criminal organization with Tariq as the head. Jenny tells Lauren that her continuing to pretend that she is dead will keep her and her family safe. For the rest of this season, it’s without saying that Tariq, Brayden, Effie, The Tejadas and Davis MacLean should all be watching their backs.
TARIQ, BRAYDEN & EFFIE
After promising Noma that they would take over for Mecca as distributors, the gang had to show that they weren’t all talk. Obi (Kyle Vincent Terry) brought Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.), Brayden (Gianni Paolo), Effie (Alix Lapri) and Cane (Woody McClain) to the warehouse where all the drugs were stashed. Once they got the work, Tariq delegated tasks for each person. Cane and the Tejada family were going to flood the streets, Brayden would hit the country and alumni clubs and Tariq and Effie would hit the Ivy League schools since Stansfield was still too hot. Brayden thought they were missing out on a huge market by not moving product at Weston Holdings. His idea was quickly shut down by both Tariq and Effie. Tariq was excited because he was supposed to start his new internship with councilman Tate (Larenz Tate). When he got there, he was surprised to see that BruShaundria (LightSkinKeisha) was given his spot. Tate, who’s under pressure to get his poll numbers up, informs Tariq that he is too hot and the publicity he would bring to his campaign is not what he needs. Meanwhile at his workplace, Brayden got in good with Kiki Travis (Moriah Brown). After witnessing another employee disrespect her, Brayden planted a tiki torch and some incendiary content on his computer causing him to get fired. Kiki appreciated the gesture and showed him just how much by taking him to a secret floor in the building. The two have sex for the first time and now it seems like this new relationship will be turning up throughout the season.
Tariq was now without an internship and there was all of a sudden an opening for one at Weston Holdings. Yep, you guessed it. Brayden suggests that Tariq come work there so he can get the credits he needs. Tariq was hesitant at first, but after Effie and Brayden did a little convincing, he got on board and agreed. Tariq’s main concern was that Brayden’s dad wouldn’t be okay with it but Brayden reassured his right hand that he’d handle it. The three agreed that they wouldn’t sell drugs there. Tariq lets them know that he trusts them and they’re his family before he leaves the room to handle something. As soon as he leaves the room, Brayden tells Effie that they need to tell Tariq about Lauren. She quickly disagrees, stating that there are only two people in the world who know what happened that night and they’re taking it to their grave. At work the next day, Robert Weston (Jeff Auer) and Trace (Cory Jeacoma) chew Brayden out for bringing Tariq. Little did they know, Uncle Lucas (David Walton) was the one who made it happen. He emphasized the importance of inclusivity and diversity. Brayden is still stuck on the idea of moving weight at work but needs to get Tariq to see what they’re missing by not doing it. He has Kiki tell Tariq to set up the conference room. It just so happens that some of their co-workers (the same ones from the first episode) are in there doing coke in the open. Tariq peeps and seems to realize that Brayden was right. While they were working, Effie was too. She was cooking up and packaging the drugs. She labeled each brick with the school name that it was going to. Ironically enough, she marked one ‘Stansfield’ meaning she has plans to sell there regardless of what Tariq said.
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After the work day ends, the traders at Weston Holdings decided to hit up a strip club for a wild and extravagant night. While scoping out the scene, Brayden hips Tariq that the office supplier is personal trainer Nick (who Brayden introduced him to earlier in the episode). After adding up how many people work on their floor and in their building altogether, Tariq realizes how lucrative it can be to move weight on Wall St. The only thing standing in their way was Nick. Brayden said he had a plan to get him out the way but they needed Cane’s help. Unfortunately for them, Cane was a bit preoccupied (we’ll get to that soon). Instead, they hit up Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray) who was already filled with anger (we’ll also get to that soon). After Tariq finishes his workout with Nick, Dru follows Nick down the street. He waits until a truck is passing and then pushes Nick on the ground, where he gets trampled by the truck. While the boys were plotting a murder, Effie was busy cooking up something else. She created an app called ‘CoursePerfect’ that she was a few seconds away from publishing. She reluctantly chooses not to at the moment but this surely will be brought back up. The next day we see Brayden meeting with councilman Tate. It is revealed that Brayden paid Tate to give BruShaundria Tariq’s internship. This is just another secret to add to the list that’s piling for Brayden and Effie. How will Tariq respond when he founds out what his girl and best friend have done behind his back? Will Effie go through with the app? Will moving weight on Wall St turn out to be as good for business as the boys think?
DAVIS MACLEAN & COOPER SAXE
There are two things Davis MacLean (Clifford ‘Method Man’ Smith) and Cooper Saxe (Shane Johnson) are heavily focus on these days. The first, is getting Davis’ brother Theo Rollins out of prison so that his hepatitis can be treated. The second is helping Monet find Zeke’s killer. MacLean brought her a NYPD file on the case. The only thing they really got from it was that the police believed the same person who killed Zeke might’ve also killed Mecca. That wasn’t enough for Monet, as she urged MacLean to do more. Through a conversation he had with Jenny Sullivan, we find out that Saxe is actually her CI. The same way Monet is pressuring MacLean for answers, Jenny is doing the same thing with Saxe (MacLean too when it comes to the Rollins case). By the end of the episode, Saxe might’ve gotten her a step closer to where she wants to be in hopes of taking down the crime organization she so desperately wants. While creeping through MacLean’s office, Saxe found a burner phone. He went back to the most recent number called, took a picture of it from his phone and then went so far as to call. It just so happens that Monet was the person who answered the phone. She picked up and the first thing she said was that she had everything she needed when it came to Zeke. What will Saxe do with the phone number? When will Davis find out that Saxe is going behind his and everyone they work for backs? When will Saxe realize Jenny is playing him and his freedom might also be in jeopardy? What will he be willing to do when he finds out?
THE TASK FORCE (JENNY SULLIVAN, BLANCA RODRIGUEZ & KEVIN WHITMAN)
As smart as Saxe can be, his love for Jenny is blinding him right now and she knows it. She does a great job of only telling him what she wants him to know even when he requests more information. For example, she tells him that she’s looking into starting a task force to take down Tariq. Saxe lets her know that he doesn’t think building a R.I.C.O. case against a 19 year-old would work out. After word gets back to Jenny (via MacLean then Saxe) that Kevin Whitman pulled over and harassed Monet about the death of Caridad Milgram and Zeke, Jenny didn’t come out and tell Saxe that she was indeed working with Whitman. Technically, she wasn’t at the time though. When Whitman arrives to meet her, Jenny begins to scold him about not following her orders and threatens to go this supervisor about his behavior. Blanca Rodriguez (Monique Gabriela Curnen) has front row seats for the whole conversation. Before Whitman came, she was just breaking the news to Jenny that her boss doesn’t think they have enough for a R.I.C.O. She said they needed to make the dots connect between all the potentially involved players. Luckily for Jenny and Blanca, Whitman does his job well and he was able to. He brought up Detective Ramirez, his relationship with Monet and Monet and Tariq’s relationship with the deceased Dante Spears. The three of them realize that Tariq is a major part of the organization but not alone. They come to the conclusion that Monet alongside Tariq are the kingpins. Is this information going to be enough to get their task force green lit? How much longer will Jenny continue to give Saxe the runaround on the Theo Rollins case? Will she admit that she’s working with Whitman and Blanca Rodriguez or will she continue to keep these things secret?
THE TEJADAS
Is there any secret bigger than the one that Lorenzo (Berto Colon) is keeping from the rest of his family? Probably not. With this being the case, Lorenzo has been walking on eggshells and trying to tread lightly when it comes to Monet. The one person he hasn’t felt the need to play nice with is his oldest son Cane. Cane wants his father to help him move Noma’s weight but Lorenzo isn’t with it. He mentions how he already said no and that Dru listens to him so he never brought it back up to him after he originally said no. Cane alerts Lorenzo that Dru is still messing with Everett (Bradley Gibson). After Lorenzo tries to call Dru and gets no answer, he angrily tells Cane that if he finds Zeke’s killer then maybe they can talk. Speaking of Dru and Everett, Dru is about to move to OKC. He has a signing party that he wants Dru to attend although he doesn’t want everyone to know Dru’s role in his life at the moment. Even though it’s not ideal, Dru reluctantly agrees. Also on Stansfield’s campus, we see things heat up between Diana (LaToya Tonodeo) and her teacher assistant Salim (Petey McGee). Effie tells her that she heard that teacher assistants usually have books that they let students borrow if they need them. Diana takes heed and visits Salim’s office and borrows a couple of books. He offers her a job on campus that she gladly accepts. While Salim’s filling out her paperwork to start, she peeps Tariq and Effie visiting and feels a type of way. This will be something to keep an eye out on. Thankfully for Monet, she has people that keep an eye out for her. Evelyn (Luna Lauren Velez) visits the Tejada household to bring the family food, repay her some funds and tip her that Kevin Whitman has been snooping around asking questions about Frank.
Whitman ended up pulling Monet over and did the exact same thing to her that he did to Evelyn. He questioned her about Carrie, Zeke and Ramirez and her involvement in all of their murders. Of course she denied, but Whitman didn’t believe her for one second. He vowed to continue to come after her and her family until he got the answers that he wanted. Another member of the Tejada family had somebody come after them. While Dru was on his way to Everett’s party, he’s ambushed by a GTG member. He beats Dru up and tells him it’s for him killing Lil Guap. Dru goes back home where the family in incensed. Lorenzo again orders Cane to find Zeke’s killer to make things right. Cane goes on the offensive and finds some answers. He first finds Mecca’s pilots and one of his other workers. He gets them to talk but torch them with fire. After being tortured, they disclose that the shooter was bald-headed, wearing a black jacket with big zippers and had a broken taillight on the car he was driving. Afterwards, Cane gets the drop on GTG. He shoots and kills two of them before taking the one that beat Dru up to his parents. The man tries to explain himself by saying that he was hired to attack Dru. Before he could finish, Cane shows Monet Dru’s chain that was taken off of his body. The chain had Zeke’s championship ring on it. This was enough for Monet. She shot and kill the man. As Cane and Lorenzo got rid of the body, we witness one of the best scenes of the entire series. Here it is:
How long will Cane hold this newfound secret over his father’s head? Will he tell his siblings…or even his mother at some point? Is Cane now the shot caller of the family? Will Monet end up killing her husband? Are Dru and Everett actually done? Does Diana still have feelings for Tariq or is she on to Salim? Drop your thoughts about season three’s second episode in the comments and let us know what you think will happen on next week’s episode!
