Power Book II: Ghost

Love and War Season 2 Episode 10 Editor’s Rating 5 stars *****

Power Book II: Ghost

Love and War Season 2 Episode 10 Editor’s Rating 5 stars *****

WTF! I sure didn’t see that coming! The season finale of Power Book II ends exactly how a season finale should, with shocking moments, plot twists, a poke here and there at your emotions, and a cliffhanger that will leave you wondering over the next few months what each characters feelings and next steps will be. Because so much goes down, we must go in order! Let’s get into it!

The episode opens up with Dante showering Monet with an expensive gift. The two are relaxing on a boat, and it is clear that he is obsessed with his Nae-Nae. As they discuss their plans to kill Lorenzo, Dante presents a suggestion that alters the plans. He determines that it would be best for Cane to kill Lorenzo to prove his loyalty to Dante (remember he stole his product from him). I know what you’re thinking, here goes STARZ recycling the same damn storyline AGAIN! Tariq killed his dad, Tommy killed his dad, Kanan tried to kill his dad — and now Cane is going to kill Lorenzo, and Monet is cool with that??

While Monet pretends to go along with Lorenzo, over at Stansfield, Tariq calls Lauren back to back and she’s not answering. He vents to Effie about it. And though she knows (and is responsible for) what happened to Lauren, she tries to convince Tariq that Lauren just left town. Feeling guilty and not knowing the status of his case yet, he asks Effie for a pretty big favor. With the rules of Yasmine’s impending adoption, Tariq asks Effie to find her if he were ever to get locked up. Not knowing that she broke his trust, he tells her she is the only person he can trust other than his mom. Effie enjoys every bit of Tariq’s emotional vulnerability.

At court, Davis, Saxe, and Tariq find out that Trace will testify against him. Tariq knows that Trace can tie him, Cane, and Ramirez, together. He calls Brayden and gets only his voicemail.

Meanwhile, Zeke meets up with Dante. Dante shows him his collection of fancy cars while Zeke explains to him that he doesn’t trust Monet. He gifts Zeke a two-seater that’s a little too small for his body size, but that’s neither here nor there. Understanding that Zeke is unsure about what the future holds as it relates to a relationship with his parents, Dante gives him an open invitation with specific instructions for Zeke to leave New York with him and Monet. The plan is to meet at the hangar.

Monet meets Cane at the park and explains to him that he has to kill Lorenzo. Cane is not with it and thinks she’s tripping. That’s his father!!! Cane tells her that Dru and Diana will kill him. To get him on board, Monet messes with Cane’s ego. She suggests they need Tariq since he killed his father. Hearing that the person he envies the most was able to kill their father, Cane accepts the job. Little do we know that Monet is playing both Cane and us. She doesn’t really want him to kill Lorenzo, though she can’t tell Cane that yet.

Back at the courthouse, the judge allows Jenny to present an alternate witness for Trace, who can corroborate the same details, and it’s Brayden. Tariq’s defense team is blindsided. Brayden takes the stand and confesses to being the campus drug dealer and president of CourseCorrect, destroying Jenny’s motive for her case. If staying ten toes down was a person, it would be Brayden. He protected both his brother and Tariq, and technically he told the truth on the stand. Saxe and Davis demand that the case be dismissed. The judge agrees and sets Tariq free, leaving Jenny to take another L. Saxe attempts to console his sneaky link, but she’s too pissed and wants nothing to do with him.

Apparently everyone is pissed because Tariq is not feeling Davis. He credits Brayden with getting his charges dropped, not Davis, and asks for a refund. He also calls out Davis for accepting money from the Tejadas on behalf of Cane. Davis sees right through Tariq’s empty threat and explains to him exactly why he’s going to keep all of his money. Tariq’s main focus is getting back to his sister, so he doesn’t put too much energy into Davis. He has determined that he wants out of the game, something we all have heard before from another St. Patrick.

Davis is so dirty that as soon as Tariq leaves his office, he calls Cane to update the case. Cane threatened to kill Davis, so his loyalty will always be with whatever gets him the most money and keeps him alive.

Speaking of alive, the truth about Lauren comes out. Jenny tells Saxe that Lauren died in a car accident while leaving town. The car had no plates and Lauren had a bag full of cash. Jenny suspects Tariq was involved, same with Carrie, but Saxe surprisingly defends Tariq by pointing out that the evidence says otherwise. She warns him of becoming an accomplice and admits that their careers hinder them from having a “real” relationship.

While Saxe picks his jaw up off the bar, Monet tells Tariq the real plan to kill Mecca. Tariq tells her everything he knows about Mecca and his real identity. He tells Monet that Dante Spearman is a Federal informant, a rat, a snitch, all titles that aren’t permitted in street life. Tariq agrees to help Monet kill Mecca but tells her that he needs him alive to get Mecca’s money. He also shares with her that he wants out of the game. Monet agrees to this.

She heads over to the bar to fill in Lorenzo on the plan to kill Mecca. Monet tells her husband about Dante snitching, kidnapping Cane, and instructing Cane to kill him. For Monet’s plan to work, everyone has to play their part. If not, Mecca will kill Cane and probably the entire Tejada family. Lorenzo fills in Dru and Diana on the plan to kill Mecca, but they’re concerned, knowing they need to work with Tariq after having just robbed the rooftop.

Back at Stansfield, Brayden and Tariq have somewhat of a heart-to-heart in their dorm room, only to be interrupted by Cane. Brayden’s behavior is weird, but Tariq is unable to notice it, he barely even peeps the eye motion Brayden makes to Cane on some “don’t say shit about ol’ girl.” As Brayden heads out, Tariq gives Cane a kill your daddy 101 lesson, remember, it is his job to make Cane believe he has to kill his father.

With all the talks of killing this person and that person, it’s no wonder Zeke doesn’t trust his family, especially Monet. He visits detective Whitman and inquires about Carrie’s case. The detective tells him the evidence shows she committed suicide, and no other information has come up yet.

Tariq finally gets some good news. His trust fund attorney Warren was able to stop Yasmine’s adoption and revert custody back to Tariq. The good news lasts for a split second. Saxe joins the two and tells Tariq that Lauren is dead. He realizes that Tariq had no idea and asks Tariq if he believes it was really a car accident. Tariq is heartbroken, confused, and unsure. [*Cue the Lost Boyz’s “Renee”*]

Saxe tells Davis that Lauren is dead, and the blood is on their hands. He knows Tariq heard the wire and questions if Cane did, too, throwing responsibility for Lauren and Carrie on Davis. But Davis isn’t trying to hear Saxe’s morality moan and tosses the sanctimony back at him, letting him know they are one and the same! Davis asks if Saxe got the Theo Rollins case. Saxe tells him, based on the case files, Theo is innocent. Not surprisingly, prosecutors suppressed evidence. Davis fails to mention to Saxe that Rollins is his brother who is dying in prison.

For some reason, Tariq keeps venting to Effie. This time he questions whether or not he’s the right person for her. Everyone around him either ends up dead or sent away. This isn’t the life he wants for his sister. So he puts a plan in motion. With the help of Saxe and Tameka, Yasmine is reunited with their mother and placed in witness protection. Yup, you read that right! Tameika showed up to a cabin in West Virginia to looking for a Vanessa Edwards, formerly known as Tasha. The reunited mother-daughter pair relocates to Indiana. While all of this is happening, Tariq secretly watches Saxe from the back of an SUV. Unable to see her son Tasha (I mean Vanessa), she knows in her heart he is present.

After Zeke visits him, detective Whitman a visit, he looks further into Carrie’s case. Whitman shows Zeke a traffic cam photo of Monet taken near Carrie’s apartment within the coroner’s window of time of death. Though Zeke is well aware of what his family is capable of and his personal suspicions of Monet’s involvement in Carrie’s death, he lies and tells Whitman Monet was picking him up.

Before you know it, it’s game time. Tariq and Cane set their plan in motion. Cane thinks he’s there to kill Lorenzo, but Tariq fills him in. They are really there to take out Mecca’s soldiers. The shootout scene is bananas! Tariq gets a body; Cane gets a body; Lorenzo gets multiple bodies! They kill all of Mecca’s soldiers, including McVey.

When Lorenzo arrives home to check on Diana, she tells him what was in the bag even though Dru told her not to go snooping or open her big mouth! When she informs her papi that she saw bank accounts for the kids and Monet. Lorenzo questions whether Monet ran off with Mecca and leaves.

Tariq arrives in the penthouse lobby, but before he can get upstairs, Monet pulls a gun and shoots Mecca. Realizing a dead Mecca means no money for Tariq, when Monet tells him that he’s free to go, he tells her that he’s still in the game for a little bit longer. Just when things begin to fall into motion, Lorenzo’s jealous ass hides in Mecca’s hangar thinking he’s going to stop him and Monet from getting away. He sees a supercar pull up and head toward the plane — remember Mecca gave Zeke the open invitation to join them and told him where and what time to meet. Thinking the person walking towards the plane is Mecca, Lorenzo follows and kills ZEKE!

When he returns home and the news reports the death of Mecca at the penthouse, Lorenzo questions who he killed. Soon after, Monet gets a call from Whitman, who informs her that Zeke is dead! With Lauren dead, Mecca dead, and Carrie dead, is all fair in love and war??

Power Book II: Ghost  Recap: All’s Fair in Love and War