‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Recap – ‘The Greater Good’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 203 of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’.
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One thing that each and every one of us love to experience in this life, it’s feeing in control of our lives. Because being in that position, just puts us on cloud nine and has us feeling as though we’ve accomplished something wonderful and well… we most certainly have. Since we're the boss and we have managed to obtain something that so many others desire. But what’s fascinating about this feeling, is that sometimes… it is nothing more than an outright lie. For when our slice of control revolves around something that unsavory folks around us desire as well, they are content to let us believe we are in charge, so they can quietly surprise us and sneak in and take what we thought we had firm grip upon.

If anything, that strange and concerning aspect of life is top of mind today, simply because it served as one of the focal themes of this week’s episode of Power Book II: Ghost. Because Tariq felt as though he was finally in complete and utter control of his life in ‘The Greater Good’. After all, product was back in his hands, there was peace between him and Cane, Course Correct was back up and running and after showing Lauren what he was constantly pushing her aside for (mostly), he was finally able to get the girl. Plus, it seemed as though he was on the path to getting Yas back home since he had legit paychecks rolling in and was making plans to get an apartment so that she would have somewhere to stay. But alas… the sense of control he was currently experiencing, was something of an illusion. 

For while Tariq planned for a better tomorrow, Cane planned to obtain the upper hand over Mister St. Patrick. For he struggled with not being in command of Tariq’s money-making operation and that’s why he worked with Mecca to figure out how to best gain full control over Tariq and it turns out… that his way in, is through Brayden. For Mister Weston was desperately looking for a way to take this operation to bold new heights and well, Cane was happy to show him the way and how the streets can make them infinite money, and this was simply a fascinating segment to watch. Because it served as a fine reminder that when drugs and money are involved, there’s always someone else wanting to take control of as much of it as possible and it was also fascinating, because we’ve never seen Tariq in such a compromising position. For up until now, he’s been the de facto boss and it was quite wild to see him get played for a change. 

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However, while that storyline both engaged and frustrated the audience, since we all wanted to see Tariq figure out the problem in front of him and take charge, there were other aspects of control that this episode wished to explore. Such as how sometimes, we can outright lose control when something we desperately want is right in front of us and that was handled by way of Monet in this tale. For Mecca reached out and asked her to spend the day with him and to ensure he could make that happen... Mecca turned on the charm. And being romanced outside of a prison setting and being treated like a queen, helped Monet to utterly lose control and get lost in the moment and in Monet’s case, that’s a bad thing.
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Because while Mecca fed her fine food in a restaurant rented out for the two of them, before flying her around Manhattan in his own private helicopter, trouble was brewing for the business, and it wasn’t just Cane’s machinations. For if you recall, Zeke was pulled downtown by Detective Whitman last week, and the good gumshoe… really stuck it to Zeke. Because he was relentless in his interrogation and did everything and anything to get Zeke to implicate Carrie. And while Zeke stayed loyal and did his best to keep his nose out of this business, he was forced to push back in a manner that raised all kinds of hell. Since he dropped Ramirez’s name and card during the interrogation to get out of trouble. Which of course brought about all kinds of questions, ones that the Whitman will have to wait to have answered. Because once Tariq found out about Zeke, he sent Davis down there… and once Monet found out about this, she went down there too, saving the day and keeping this mess at bay. 

But it will only be a matter of time before Whitman comes calling again and his push for knowledge and everything else that happened here, felt like a grand setup. The kind that will eventually put Tariq and Monet in tough spots when they are forced to deal with the twists that came into play in this tale. But while we wait for that, we can offer up a round of applause for another great episode. One that was once again packed to the brim with juicy storylines and quality performances and a wonderful upside-down world. One where Tariq and Monet weren’t in control in the slightest for a change and it really will be quite interesting to see how they handle what is going on behind the scenes, when one considers that they have both expressed a desire to leave the life behind. Until next time.  

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