‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Recap –‘Love and War’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two finale of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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At some point or another in our lives, we each learn a valuable and difficult life lesson. In that, walking away is sometimes our only option when it comes to finding true happiness and what makes that so difficult, is the sheer fact that sometimes, walking away seems like an impossibility. Simply because we are comfortable and reticent to change and the thought of leaving behind comfort and routine is terrifying for certain. But the value comes out of the fact, that we realize in that moment, that something is very wrong with the situation that we are in, and if we don’t step away from it… we will suffer and we will be shells of our former selves. So, it is now or never, and once we take the plunge… we are better off for it and can reflect upon the power of this lesson.
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But not everyone that learns it, is able to execute the walking away portion of it. Because sometimes, they are in too deep and stepping away would be costly and painful and dangerous in some instances. Which means they have to forge ahead whether they like it or not and take their lumps and find a way to survive and that is something that Tariq St. Patrick and Monet Tejada both had to learn in the season two finale of Power Book II: Ghost. For when we catch up with them in ‘Love and War’, they are both at a point where they realize that they need to get out of the game, and for a time… it seemed as though they were going to have no problem with walking away from their respective situations.

After all, Brayden stepped up and came through for Tariq in his hour of need. By taking the stand instead of Trace and declaring that he was the kingpin of this operation all along, utterly absolving Tariq of any ties to murder and of course, Brayden will be just fine since his family’s standing in the community will likely get him out of any major charges. But what mattered more in this instance, was that Tariq was a free man, and could in fact… work to get out of the life and get his sister back. As for Monet, well she was so close to freedom she could taste it, since Mecca was making preparations to whisk her and the kids away to parts unknown. But alas, it didn’t take long for Mecca’s machinations and lies to make it clear that getting out of the life for both parties wasn’t going to be easy in the slightest.

Because Monet came to realize that Dante would continue to lie and scheme to keep her in his life and might not deliver on his promises, thanks to being a snitch, and the only way she’d be free of him and his constant scheming, the kind that would undoubtedly come back to haunt her… was to kill him, and of course… she needed help in getting that done. Which is why she pulled Tariq into the fold once again, to execute a plan that would allow for Tariq to get his money and escape the life, and all that was needed… was to make Mecca and his men vulnerable, by way of the go bag that had all the dirt on Mecca and by getting him to believe that he was in no way a target in Monet’s eyes and well… the plan worked. For lieutenants were brought down and so was Mecca, but it was the manner in which he died… that made it tough for Tariq and Monet to escape the game.

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For Mecca died without ever getting Tariq’s trust fund set up. Meaning he was stuck in his partnership with Monet for the time being, since there was no other way to get the money, he needs to accomplish what he wants. Plus, with Mecca now out of the picture, Monet needed to sell unity in the family and make peace with her children. Which meant she had to stick with Lorenzo and the game for the time being, to achieve all of that. Because walking away in this instance, would have caused more harm than good. Since separation in the Tejada household would have bought about chaos and disaster and a normal life for Tariq would interfere with his plans for the future. But while there is peace in the moment for this duo, unfortunately… there is still more trouble on the horizon brewing for them.
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After all, more questions are surrounding Tariq, the kind that Agent Rodriguez will want answered quickly, now that she’s seen him in a picture, that was captured by a camera in the lobby of Mecca’s apartment building. Plus, Cooper Saxe is apparently ready to double cross Tariq and Davis to bring the son of James to justice, especially now that Lauren was found dead in an apparent ‘accident’, and worst of all… a ticking time bomb has been planted in the Tejada household thanks to Lorenzo. For shortly after Diana informed him of what she found in Mecca’s bag, in his jealous fury, he went to the hanger and shot who he thought was Mecca… but it turned out that his victim, was none other than Ezekiel Cross-Tejada. And when Monet finds out about that… woe to Lorenzo.

However, it wasn’t all darkness and gloom and doom in this tale. Because when faced with the reality that his family might never be safe, Tariq decided that perhaps the best place for his baby sister, wasn’t with him. Which motivated him to do Yaz and his mother quite the solid. Since he figured out how to reunite the two of them via Witness Protection and of course, Davis got some good news about the Theo Rollins case, the kind that ironically left all of us quite curious as to what Theo meant, regarding how his release could put Davis in jeopardy…  and well, that’s all there is to say about this epic season finale. Because this one brought the heat from the get-go and never let up in the slightest and it was filled with enough twists and turns and surprises to fill several season finales.

But epic is where this show thrives and the good news is that all we have to do now, is wait patiently to see what comes out of the cliffhangers present here. For season three of Power Book II: Ghost is a go, and it will be fascinating to see where this story is going to take us in year three. In large part because the cliffhangers in this story are top notch and left us on the edge of our seat and have real consequences surrounding them. But of course, it is the central question on all of our minds that remains unresolved that has us ready for more. Specifically, who will Tariq St. Patrick become? Because he is still firmly planted in the grey area of life, and able to take part in wonderful acts and extremely evil ones as well… and it will be equally as incredible to see if he finally decides to move into the light or instead follow in his father’s footsteps and become the new Ghost, when season three gets underway. Until next year.  

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