Power Book II: Ghost

Drug Related Season 2 Episode 8 Editor’s Rating 5 stars *****

Power Book II: Ghost

Drug Related Season 2 Episode 8 Editor’s Rating 5 stars *****

Am I watching episode eight of Power Book II or a movie?? Episode eight is action-packed, filled with hella drama, tea spilling, lies, secrets, betrayal, and a jaw-dropping ending that I didn’t see coming. And I have two words — Dirty Dianaaaa! Diana has been coming into her own lately, and in this episode she steals the spotlight, even if only for a scene or two.

We start off at Tariq’s trial. Jenny Sullivan attempts to convince jurors that Tariq isn’t a victim of America’s broken justice system but instead a privileged young man with a socioeconomic advantage who decided to kill a cop and his professor. Davis sweeps in and butters up the jury by speaking to Tariq’s outstanding performance at a prestigious university and his willingness to seek custody of his sister. To Davis and Saxe’s surprise, Jenny drops a bomb on the courtroom by mentioning the possession of a recording of Tariq. Davis objects and demands to hear the recording before it is presented in court, and the judge obliges.

While Tariq is fighting for his freedom, Brayden and Effie are out searching for quality product. With no connect, they have no money, and no money means Tariq can’t pay for his expensive-ass lawyer (and no one else gets paid either). They meet up with one of Brayden’s friends in a run-down motel. Effie determines that the product is no good and immediately stops the business transaction.

Back at the courthouse, Tariq’s trust-fund attorney visits him. Warren tells him that Yaz will soon be adopted by “lovely people.” The plot twist is this was a part of James St. Patrick’s will. In the event that immediate family is not available to care for Yaz, not only did he place instructions for her to be adopted, he also added the stipulation that her last name be changed and adoption records sealed (a pretty smart move, if you ask me). As Warren walks away, Davis approaches Tariq and presses him about the prosecution’s alleged taped confession. According to Davis, things are looking bad for Tariq. And the only way to fix it is, you guessed it, for him to get paid. He demands that Tariq have his money as soon as the next day.

Davis is not the only one making demands. Over at the Tejada’s ununiformed house, Monet seeks information about Lorenzo and Dru from Diana. If Diana offers her valuable information in return, she offers to find a way to trust her daughter again. Little does she know Diana doesn’t trust her either, and she’s been paying close attention to Monet’s questionable behavior. After her mother leaves her room to take a phone call from Dante, Diana follows her and overhears her saying Dante’s name. Once the coast is clear, she snoops through her mother’s room and finds Zeke’s baby picture. This sends the young Tejada down a spiraling investigation. She calls the hospital for Zeke’s birth certificate and learns about his birth year. Because she and her mother’s relationship is so fractured, unbeknownst to Diana, Monet searches her room as well. She finds a pack of condoms that lets her know that her daughter is having sex, probably with Tariq.

Tariq seems to always find himself the topic of everyone’s conversation. Jenny and Lauren’s parents attempt to prepare her to testify against Tariq in court. Although she resists, she is presented with no other option.

In the Power universe, options are hard to come by. Tariq and Monet are all each other have. They both need a connect, and they both need money. The two business partners-slash-frenemies set up a meeting with their respective teams and come to an agreement to rob their former connect and frame GTG. Monet has no idea that Cane’s connect is Dante. Attempting to rob a man like him is risky, even for Cane. The plan includes not telling Diana or Lorenzo. They use Tariq to distract the love-stricken Diana. To keep Lorenzo busy, Monet invites him to a day date at Coney Island. They fold Dru into the plans under one condition: he kills Lil Guap.

With the recording looming over Davis and Saxe’s head, crooked Davis gives Tariq semi-legal access to the recording by throwing him the ultimate alley-oop (he leaves his computer in the room with Tariq by himself). After hearing Lauren’s voice, Tariq is upset, but of course he is. His girlfriend ratted him out. Saxe tries to calm him down by offering additional context regarding Lauren, the campus drug raid, and professor Milgram. It upsets Tariq even more to know that his professor was involved, but it gives him a better understanding of Lauren’s position, and he doesn’t direct his anger her way. He saves that for Carrie.

The canonical-studies lecture is quite fitting considering the information Tariq just learned. Lauren doesn’t show up to class. Jenny placed her in protective custody as she prepares to testify. Carrie begins class by asserting that “truth can be a tricky thing when it comes to ethics.” While teaching, she gets a call from Jenny, who lets her know Tariq’s defense team and Tariq are aware of Lauren’s wire recording. She runs out of class abruptly right after telling a lie and heads straight to Lauren’s room. There she finds Tariq. The two debate over Lauren’s safety. Being the manipulator he is, Tariq convinces Carrie to testify to protect Lauren, even if that means lying on the stand.

In court, Carrie takes the stand instead of Lauren. She tells the jurors she also heard Tariq discuss the book before Jabari’s death. During cross-examination, Davis attacks her credibility by revealing to the courts Carrie’s sexual history with Jabari, Whitman, Zeke, and even Davis himself. He places emphasis on the unethical nature of her relationship with Zeke, and Carrie is made to look like a whole fool on the stand.

Things are heating up inside and outside of the courtroom. GTG attacks Mecca’s men and steals his product, while Brayden, Effie, Dru, and Lil’ Guap hit his penthouse. Dru kills Lil’ Guap, though he almost gets got. Lil’ Guap knocks the gun out of Dru’s hand once he realizes what is about to happen. While tussling, Dru wins the fight by ending Guap’s life with his bare hands. The cinematic scene had me at the edge of my seat. Mecca sends Chef back upstairs to the penthouse, which puts Dru in potential danger. He even leaves the hangar to search the building himself. There isn’t much Cane can do since he told everyone to stay put. Luckily Diana calls, and Cane takes that as an opportunity to pretend it is Mecca. He is able to save Dru’s ass in the nick of time, but he isn’t able to save Chef. Mecca kills Chef in front of Cane. The most eerily part is that he labels Chef a mole. The way he slices Chef’s throat while looking directly at Cane feels more like a warning for Cane than revenge against Chef for being a mole. Cane, Tariq, and the crew get away with Mecca’s stash and diamond ring. Tariq gives the diamond to Davis, tells him to take the payment he’s owed out of it.

After all that action — the shooting, watching people get killed, almost getting killed, and even killing someone — the Tejada men make it home in time for dinner, and Diana prepares a meal for the family. In some cultures, it is rude to talk during dinner time. The norm is to eat in silence. Maybe the Tejadas should give that a try, because all hell breaks loose. After being questioned about her whereabouts earlier in the day and knowledge of Tariq’s case, Diana puts everyone on full blast! She starts with Cane, which leads to Lorenzo finding out for the first time that Cane sugared the cook, disrupting their supply in order to be the connect. Tariq already told Monet this, but she acts as if she heard it for the first time. Lorenzo is pissed and accuses Cane of going against the family. To take the heat off himself, Cane reveals that Dru still hasn’t killed Everette. Hearing his family talk about killing his teammate makes Zeke beyond uncomfortable, so he gets up to leave, but Monet tries to stop him. Diana is triggered by her mother’s obsession with Zeke, so she goes in even further and tells Zeke that he is Monet’s plan to not only get out of the drug game, but also away from Lorenzo.

Monet and Diana go AT IT! She calls Diana all the way out! But it only makes shit worse. Diana accuses Monet of cheating in front of the entire family, and even name drops Dante (a.k.a. Mecca, you know, the connect. Good thing he has two names). Once Diana brings Dante into this, Monet tries to take her daughter’s head off. But at this point, Diana is UNSTOPPABLE! Prepared with receipts — I mean Zeke’s birth certificate. She drops the news about Zeke, Dante, and Monet. Zeke quickly realizes that this information means he unintentionally broke NCAA regulations and storms out. After admitting to Lorenzo that Zeke is her son, he tells her to leave. Unable to contact Zeke, she heads straight to Carrie’s house. Later, Zeke shows up at Carrie’s apartment and finds her body hanging from the ceiling. Suicide or homicide? You be the judge.

Power Book II: Ghost Recap: When All the Tea Is Spilled