‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Recap – ‘Drug Related’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 208 of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve been left in awe of the storytelling surprises that the STARZ series, Power Book II: Ghost, has sent our way. Simply because… never in a million years did we think that Tariq St. Patrick and Monet Tejada would be okay with the horrible hands they’ve been dealt. Because they’ve been played on a consistent basis this year, to the point where Tariq is poised to take the fall for crimes he didn’t commit, and Monet is this side shy of being locked away as a trophy wife. One that is trapped forever within the game. But while it has been amazing to see these dynamic characters just keep taking their lumps and do little about it, deep down we’ve all known that it is only a matter of time before they strike back, and re-take control and it just so happens that last night’s episode… served as the perfect moment to make that happen.
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Because ‘Drug Related’ saw things get worse for this duo. For the money was gone at this point thanks to Mecca feeding all of his product to Lorenzo. Which meant that Monet had no way of re-taking control of her life nor was there any way to build a nest egg up for a future out of the life and Tariq… well he was moments away from losing his council. Because Davis MacLean doesn’t work for free and was ready to walk and well… that motivated Tariq to basically say, ‘enough’, to his current situation and put together one hell of a bold plan to put his life and Monet’s back on track. Which is why he called for a meeting of the minds, one that included Cane and Brayden and Effie so that he could present his daring plan to Monet and believe it or not… she and Cane bought into it real quick.

Largely because, this one was actually foolproof. For Tariq envisioned an incredible heist, one where GTG, at Cane’s direction… would steal Mecca’s latest shipment and while that chaos was unfolding, Dru and Lil’ Guap would break into Mecca’s apartment with Effie and Brayden’s help, to steal a diamond that would help Tariq with his financial troubles. And what made this foolproof, was that GTG and Guap would take the fall for this whole thing and that would keep Mecca off their backs while he focused his attention on retribution and this plan, outright worked. In fact, it even allowed for Dru to engage in a measure of his own revenge, since he killed Guap on the way up to Mecca’s apartment and just like that… product was back in Monet’s hands and Tariq was able to fund his slick defense. But what’s amazing… is that Tariq’s push to fight back and re-take control of his life, didn’t end there.

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Because he came to learn that Lauren recorded all of his conversations, including the one that would more or less incriminate him. But rather than go after Lauren and make her pay for betrayal the old school way, Tariq opted to change things up and exact revenge on someone else. Specifically, Carrie Milgram. Because he knew if she was properly motivated, she would step in and try to play the hero and get caught in the crossfire of this case, and help MacLean inject doubt into the jury and make Jenny look like a fool. All while destroying her life in the process for interfering with Tariq’s business and well, the plan worked. For Carrie stepped up as expected and was eviscerated on the stand and knew her job was gone for publicly admitting she had a relationship with Zeke. And of course, the prosecution’s credibility took one hell of hit. However, no one could have foreseen what came after Carrie’s humiliation. Because at her lowest, a few hard words from Monet, apparently motivated Carrie Milgram to take her own her life.
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Or did she? Because there was mention of the fact that Monet spoke with her before that surprise reveal and why Monet wanted to talk to her is of note. Because despite getting her business back on track, Monet’s feud with Diana finally came back to haunt her. For Diana and her always clever mind finally figured out some hard truths about her family and when backed into a corner further, those truths were revealed. And just like that, Zeke now knows that Monet is actually his mother and that his NBA career might be over before it started since he’s 23 and not 19, and of course… it’s now common knowledge to the family that Monet has lied to everyone and that harsh reality motivated Lorenzo to cast her out and while she was in exile, she visited Carrie to see if Zeke had swung by. And while she was there, she came to realize that Carrie was quite the nuisance, and that Zeke would use Carrie as a reason to steer clear of his family.

Which means, that Carrie either gave into the darkness because of the raw embarrassment and pain she’s endured over the past couple of episodes, or Monet made it look like an accident. But while we wait to learn the truth to that mystery, we can bask in the glory of one wild tale. Because this one didn’t mess around in the slightest and it delivered one powerhouse moment after another and took our breath away at every step. All because Tariq had enough of his current path and took a page out of his father’s playbook and that’s scary for sure. Since his decisions and plans here, continue to inch him closer to becoming his own iteration of Ghost, leaving all of us to wonder if by chance he can be saved or if his destiny is a criminal empire after all and well… the only way to find out is to continue the journey. And we will all undoubtedly be counting down the minutes until next Sunday, to see what becomes of Monet and whether or not Tariq will continue to inch toward the darkness. Until next time.

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