‘Power’ Recap: The One Where Everything Burns

Holy %&*!

**Spoilers ahead. Consider this fair warning**

If you’re anything like me, you screamed at your television when it happened. For its last two seasons, Power will have a clear demarcation: Before the shot and after the shot. The show was going to fundamentally change after this finale because of the stakes. The feds were coming in from all angles, Angela was looking at the end of her career, and damn near every relationship on the show was on the ropes.

One gunshot made it crystal clear what just happened and why it happened.

Ghost and Tommy are done. Their relationship has been in a bad spot for several seasons now but Tommy putting a bullet in Angela is the one thing Ghost will never be able to forgive. How can he? From the beginning of the show, Angie was his window into a better life. He wanted something more for himself and it started with her. As long as she was around, Angie was Ghost’s tether to getting out of the game and trying to be a better man.

If she’s gone — and yes that’s an if — then all of that is done. In a world where he’s made more enemies than friends and effectively lost his brother, Ghost is a man without a country. He’s cornered and there’s a good chance it won’t be pretty for anyone.

Which brings us to Tommy and the why of it all. As said before, this break has been a long time coming but that look on Tommy’s face says it all as to how it came about. Tommy killed Holly and Teresi due to, in his mind, Ghost’s influence. From his perspective, he’s been asked to sacrifice everything while Ghost gets to have it all and has given nothing in return. Killing Ghost would be easy for him; it’s easy to get close to your best friend and take him out if need be. But killing the love of Ghost’s life is, to quote Nas, the shit that makes your soul burn slow.

This world of Power is inhabited with characters who can no longer trust anyone, no one recognizes truth when they see it or hear it anymore.

It didn’t help that Tommy’s easily manipulated by Keshia, coked up, and unstable to begin with. He’s wanted to kill Angela since she broke up their happy home season one and was ready to do it several times this episode alone. Not only does he get to make Ghost suffer, but he gets to fulfill a long-held desire. So for Tommy, that’s a win-win.

What made this episode work and why the ending was such a shocker, is because it was a masterclass in building tension: Angie using her timer, Dre being ran up on in his house, the internal drama with the feds, and the lies on top of lies. All of it served to twist the characters until something had to pop.

In fact, the finale reminded me of Romeo & Juliet in how it used dramatic irony to its advantage. As an audience, we know Angie is telling the truth and she’d never betray Ghost. We know why Ghost didn’t come to Tommy about Teresi. We know Terry is working with the feds to flip Tasha. We know who can be trusted and who can’t.

But because this world of Power is inhabited with characters who can no longer trust anyone, no one recognizes truth when they see it or hear it anymore. That’s why Angela might be dead and why her relationship with Ghost was probably doomed from the beginning.

The most painful part of Romeo & Juliet is knowing the truth while our two main characters don’t. Because of it, they end up dead and forever known as the “star-crossed lovers.” Ghost and Angela have been star-crossed since high school and, like I told John Gotty a week or two ago, they’ll be each others undoing. Hell, they already have been, even if Angela isn’t dead.

I didn’t quite buy Keisha being so willing to be a mob wife. It doesn’t really fit her character and feels like something that happened because the script said it needed to happen rather than it being organic. Also, when the hell did she get a son? Did I miss this? Because it seems like she just got a son out of nowhere, again, because the script said so. But maybe I’m slipping.

However, in the context of this season, it makes complete sense. Tasha has done nothing to maintain or nurture their friendship. Tasha has taken advantage of Keisha, she’s abused her kindness, and manipulated her. Keisha needed something to be a part of and wanted to know someone had her back. Even if said person was seconds away from putting a bullet between her eyes. Hey, nobody’s perfect.

Dre’s ending was unsatisfactory. Mostly because I wanted to see him gone. Turning states evidence is probably the best punishment for him though. Dre is the type of cat who thrives on attention, wealth, power, and everyone knowing his name. Tough to see how he gets any of that being in witness protection. But like a lot of plotlines in the finale, his doesn’t seem finished. Call me foul but I just wanted to see him burn.

Season five feels like a transitional season for the show. A few key pieces were wiped off the board and the status quo has changed completely. Nothing can ever be the same and the show will finally have its characters do different things next year. The finale was a lot of set up and not a lot of finality. But what it set up is potentially interesting.

Ending the season with probably the darkest episode of the series is a ballsy move and I for one can’t wait till next year e’en if this season as a whole came off as uneven. Changes are afoot in the world of Power and it’s too bad we gotta wait a whole year to see them.

Marcus Benjamin is a danger to the public, an alum of American University, St. John’s University, a screenwriter, and has an intense relationship with words. Witness his tomfoolery on Twitter,@AbstractPo3tic.

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