After the Show: Catching Up with "Power" Creator Courtney Kemp Agboh

 

You know how much I love "Power"! So you can only imagine how happy I was when the show's creator, head writer, and show runner, Courtney Kemp Agboh, agreed to an interview for ABIB.  I liked her before our chat (in the same way that I like David Simon from The Wire)  because she's created a show that I obsess over. But post-interview? I'm officially in love! In addition to being all things awesome, Agboh is a former magazine girl (just like me) turned Hollywood powerhouse (um, not me... yet).

I caught up with Agboh via phone as she was sitting in the dark in her LA office, finalizing a script for a Season 3 episode of "Power". (Hint: two characters pull guns on each other... again.) For 45 minutes we talked all things "Power", from Black women harping on Tasha's complexion, to Omari free-styling Jamie's primal scream, to Shawn's 17 extra lives— and much more.

Check out Part 1 of my interview with Agboh below!

ABIB: Where did the idea of “Power” come from? I read it was two shows kind of rolled into one?

Agboh: Mark Caton and 50 Cent had an idea for a fast paced music series. I was putting together a show about my dad. He died in 2011 and I was trying to work my way through that loss. My dad was not a drug dealer, but he was a self-made man, who was very invested in looks, and in perception being reality. Many of the building blocks for creating Ghost are based on those traits. Also, my favorite book, or one of them, is The Great Gatsby, so that figures into the show as well.

ABIB:  I can totally see that. The “fake it til you make it” idea?

Agboh: That and the woman who got away that he couldn’t have, and when she comes back, only showing her the one side of him. All those things

ABIB:  How much input does Fiddy have on the show?

Agboh: Lots! We talk about everything. We have long phone conversations. He reads everything, but he doesn’t write, per se. But he is a writer. All rappers are poets. A lot of times we’ll be on the phone and I will literally write down exactly what he says and put it in the show.

ABIB:  I know that you write most of the show, in addition to being the head writer and the creator and the show runner, but some of the reads on the show…. in the finale Tommy says to Ghost, “No matter how much your suits cost or how many clubs you ever own, you just a ghetto ass corner boy from around the way with a drunk for a daddy and no mama. You ain’t changed at all.” I’m like, Oh God. Pause the show. Is that all you or is that the collection of writers? 

Agboh: I’m a very angry person. Just because I didn’t grow up with guns, doesn’t mean I don’t secretly go off in my head occasionally. As a writer, you get to have characters express things that you wouldn’t say out loud, you know? I’m wearing a pencil skirt and a little cardigan while we’re talking, but I just wrote a scene where one character pulls a gun on another. It’s part of the imagination, and that’s how I talk in my head.

ABIB:  I love it! I wonder what you thought about the show’s comparisons to Empire? Fiddy was very vocal about it. Are you flattered to be compared to the other show or is it unfair because they’re comparing two shows just because they’re Black and they’re really not very much alike?

Agboh: It’s tiresome and bordering on racist. Nobody compares “Breaking Bad” and “Nashville”. No one says Dynasty was the same as Hill St. Blues. Those shows are so different. So many people approach me and ask me, ‘what do you think about Empire?’ I told 50 a while ago: "show runners do not make diss records. We don’t beef publicly. It doesn’t work that way." It’s just a show and we’re another show. I have much respect for Ilene Chaiken who is the showrunner over there. No one ever talks about her. I have respect for the actors. I think it’s an obnoxious comparison. I guess people have to make it and have to cover it but our show premiered a season prior [to Empire], so it’s at little like, “huh?”

ABIB:  We hear a lot of talk about he disadvantages of being a Black woman in Hollywood, what are the advantages? 

Agboh: The advantage is that people still think I’m a unicorn. So sometimes I get to have these experiences that other people don’t get to have. I get to mentor young Black women. I get to chose who I hire behind the camera. I get to say unpopular stuff out loud and have a platform. I get to say my truth.

ABIB:  I know you’re very active on Twitter, but I’m not sure how closely you follow the TV recaps and blogs about the show. Has there been anything that audience latches on to and you’re just like “really, people?” 

Agboh: My number one bugaboo is Black women that say Ghost is somehow dissing Black women by being with Angela. I’ve never told anyone else this, I’ll give you an exclusive. We were doing testing for the show, and when you do tests, you also do quadrants of people. There were a number of people who wrote when they first saw the pilot and said Ghost wouldn’t have been with a woman as dark as Tasha.

ABIB:  Wow. 

Agboh: And do you know who those people were?

ABIB:  Black women. 

Agboh: Black women! Why the hell do we hate ourselves so much that we would think that? Its’ so amazing what we do to each other, that we’ve internalized that much hate, and carry it around in ourselves. Ghost isn’t trading up with Angela. That’s his first love. That’s the one thing that I’m like, “Ugghhh! you’re missing something!”

The other thing is when people say Tasha is “ride or die”. If you go back to the first season, Ghost says to Tasha, “I want to be more” and she says, “What more?! We have everything!” He literally says, “Can you get on board? I want to go legit” and she says, “I don’t want to do that. I want you to be what I want you to be.”

ABIB:  Sometimes I feel very sorry for Tasha. She has a man who wants more and she can’t see it. She is very limited in the way she thinks.

Agboh: Tasha is complicated. She once had ambitions of her own. She wanted to be a singer. She has half an accounting degree. But she decided to supplicate her desires and get on board with this man and she made a bad bargain with Ghost.

Tasha is one of my heroes on the show. Tasha is growing. What we see in the first episode, in the pilot, Tasha has the first line of the series. There’s a reason we start with Tasha. She says to Ghost, “Tell me I’m beautiful.” She doesn’t own her own beauty. She needs Ghost to tell her about it.

Over the course of the series what you’ll see is that she begins to figure out for herself her own worth and that her worth is beyond the outside package. At one point we talked about getting rid of the nails and the weave, then Shonda did that sh-- on HTGAWM and we were like nah, we’ll go another way. But we are going to explore the idea of who is Tasha under all that. She’s trying to navigate a situation with not a full set of maturity. One of the things that’s there if you look, those twins are 10 years old in the show; she just turned 30. So how old was she when she had them? She didn’t have a lot of childhood or post adolescence. She kind of hustled into this. We’ll see her grow.

Part 2 of my interview with Courtney Kemp Agboh will post tomorrow. :-)

Power Recap Episode 0207: Lobos is Coming

Note: Apologies in advance for the lateness and the lack of pictures. I’m overseas (again) with really slow w-fi.  

Angie and Jamie are having sex. Again. Meh. Why are they in a relationship again? Like Tasha is convinced that they love each other, but I’m not so sure. They love sex with each other. Look, I’m all for a couple with an active sex life, but this is all their relationship is based on at this point. I mean, all they do is have orgasms, lie by omission to each other, and then when Angie just can’t keep it to herself anymore, she starts ranting about Tommy or Holly or accuses Jamie of being a “MF dope boy.” Jamie keeps repeating, “I’m a good guy”. You know who is also constantly telling people they’re “a good guy”? Stevie J. Do with that what you will.

Tasha and Jamie are at a restaurant talking in public about business that should only be discussed in private because Jamie isn’t allowed in the house. Still. Tasha’s been thinking about Angie being a Fed. She notes that they might have a chance of getting out of this if Jamie can lay pipe right.

Jamie, who looks like a sullen child, says, “Angela isn’t that simple. Great sex isn’t going to keep her from thinking for herself. “ Um, Sir. Might I suggest that you not defend your mistress to your wife. Tasha’s not done: “Then you need to out think her,” Tasha counters. “Just like you did me.’ Ouch.

Tommy has gone nuts, and that’s saying something about a character who on a good day is operating at around “0” on the sanity scale. He’s emotionally torn up about Holly and has physically torn up his own damn house as a result. Oh, and he's not even doing lines of coke; he’s snorting by the pile. Tommy calls Holly in frustration, and though she didn’t answer, I think he might have been planning to run off and go find her. To actually be with her or kill her? That is the question. Whatever he was plotting, he's  packing a getaway way bag when Ghost knocks at his door. They have an awkward conversation with each one trying to fish for what the other knows about Holly being called in by the Feds. Neither reveals anything of note. Sigh.

Angie’s in court trying to get a warrant for Tommy Patrick Egan/ Ghost. The judge is unconvinced that they are the same person. Angie argues that she’s just after an arrest, not a prosecution. “I’m fully aware of the government’s burden here, Ms. Valdez,” says the judge. “The question is are you?” No warrant. Greg tells Angie that he’ll trail Tommy, and he drops the bomb that he knows that Angie is still in contact with Holly. Angie doesn’t ask how he knows, just takes it all in stride and says she’ll find her. She puts a Fed tracker on the hunt.

Dre is working the street outside the Mini Mart when Ghost shows up demanding that he come through with Lobos’s money faster. Dre, always a team player, notes that he’ll be broke but he can get it done. “You’re the boss,” he says to Ghost. “I play by your rules.”

They take a walk. Random: I like Dre’s outfit. The white jacket? The black gloves? Nice combo. Anyway, Ghost tempts Dre with the possibility of following in his footsteps, not being a street dealer. In exchange for teaching Dre how to get out the hood, Ghost wants to know what’s going on with Kanan who he suspects is double crossing him and has been nowhere to be found for two episodes. Dre notes that Sean is the one who gets all the good info from Kanan, not him.

While Dre and Ghost are talking, Tasha calls Sean. He lets it slip that Angie’s been in the car. Tasha is questioning him when Jamie walks up to the car. Sean rushes off  the phone, and of course, Uncle G is suspicious, now more than ever.

While she has the house (and car) searched for bugs, Tasha is attired in all black “like the omen” and wearing enough diamonds to make Elizabeth Taylor envious. When Sean shows up, Tasha  reminds him that ”anything that happens between us you have to keep a secret.” Usually, this would sound like overkill to me, but I don’t think Sean is that bright and probably needs to be reminded like a child. Sean agrees, then adds that he is willing to do whatever it takes to be with Tasha. I’m convinced Tasha has that Badu. He notes that Ghost would kill him if he found out about them. Yes, Sean, Yes, he would. Just so you’re clear.

Tommy is at the laundromat high as hell, and paranoid. He wants all the money that’s been piling up because they can't clean it, moved from the stash spot. He says he can't keep all his eggs in one  basket anymore.

Tommy and the crew pack up bags of what we are to assume is cash and take them for a ride to who only knows where. Greg, who’s been on stakeout outsde the legal business, calls the NYPD to pull the van over. The officer explains that the vehicle was stopped because it was identified as being used in the commission of a crime. Tommy, though crazy, is smarter than we actually realize. The bags in the back are filled with  dirty laundry. “You gonna arrest us for having dirty draws or can we go?” Tommy asks. Across town some Chinese men are taking out the actual cash in similar laundry bags.

Pause: Julio is a shorty.

In sober mind, Cantos is mad he spilled the tea about Stern’s divorce. Jamie is further convinced that something is up. Jamie calls his counterpart at a club in Miami to complain about Stern. The Miami counterpart mentions something about business names Ravena. “I think it’s something they don’t want us to know,” Jamie says. Hmmmm. Later, he sneaks into Cantos’s office and takes pictures of his books, and a curious letter addressed to Ravena Holdings in the Cayman Islands.

Tasha has gone to meet with a divorce lawyer. Apparently, she and Ghost had a pre-nup (from when she was a 20) that says if she instigates a divorce, she leaves with nothing. The lawyer suggests she stay married, live a separate life from her husband and keep the family residence, joint bank account, and status. “If you pursue this divorce you could end up with nothing,” the lawyer says. Tasha knows that even if there was no prenup and she left, she would only get access to the books, right? As her mama once told her, "you have no legal claim on his illegal money".

Back at the FBI ranch, the investigator reports that Holly hasn’t used a credit or ATM card in 3 days. That means she either ditched her bag, is “lotioning up for Buffalo Bill” or is dead. Um. what does “lotioning up for Buffalo Bill” mean? I have never heard this expression.

Angie pops up at Jamie’s hotel room. ranting about Holly being dead, and convinced that Tommy killed her. She tells Jamie that he asked Holly to testify against Tommy for 3 murders, including Rolla. She demands that Jamie tell her what happened to Holly or she walks out of his life forever. Ghost lets her get as far as the elevator before he gives up the new name that Holly is travelling under. Angie goes back to the expert tracker and has him look up Holly under her pseudonym.

At the St. Patricks’s Sean pops up like he’s the man of the house greeting his wife after a long day at work. Sir. Sean tells Tasha that he will take care of her. I laughed out loud. Take care of what and how? You’re going to pay the kids’s tuition bill with your job driving the husband of the woman your humping around? Tasha likes Sean, but she isn’t giving up her lifestyle for him. “I’m going to have to be my own man from now on,” she tells Sean, attempting to dismiss him. Instead, Sean grabs her and tongues her down. They end up humping in the Master bedroom shower… while her mama and kids are upstairs asleep. I keep thinking that one of the kids will catch them.

Ruiz (or Luiz?) and Ghost meet up. He’s still asking to meet Lobos. Ghost says he’ll make it happen. I think he’s about to get set up by Luiz/Ruiz and turn him over to the Feds as being “Ghost”.

Dre drops off the money to Julio and Ghost as planned. Julio informs Jamie that they moved the money from the Laundromat to a warehouse. Jamie flips about the move and later, confronts Tommy, who looks ass-crazy in the streets. Jamie says he has a plan to deal with Angela. “I trust you, “ Tommy says. “I don’t trust her… When are you going to realize that you’re not in control of this situation anymore?” He points out that Ghost kept telling Angela that they could live happily ever after if he left Tasha, and he did, and Angie is still coming for them. Ghost looks like he has been slapped with the truth.

Jamie calls Tasha and says it’s an emergency. The emergency? He thinks Tommy is going to kill Angie, and he needs Tasha to stop him. Tasha laughs. It’s a big ask, he knows. But he’s asking anyway. If something happens to Angie the feds will be crawling all over them and they (and the kids) lose everything. Tasha knows he’s rights and reluctantly agrees.

Angie gets a call form the tracker. Holly has been found. Angie packs a bag and rushes to get to her. As she’s waiting for a cab, Tommy is watching her from across the street. Just like Jamie suspected, he is about to kill Angie. Tasha stops him just in time. Is it wrong that I was mad Tasha got there so soon?

Ghost is at a fancy apartment building waiting on someone. Turns out to be Mrs. Stern. He tells her that he thinks Mr. Stern may be hiding money in the Cayman Islands via a company called Ravena? Mrs. Stern recognizes the name.  It’s the name of the Sterns's  daughter who died when she was 10 days old. Ghost tells her to have her lawyers check out the company.

As Ghost is walking back to the car, he catches Sean getting off the phone again. I assume he was talking to Tasha again? Ghost confronts Sean about always hanging up the phone when he’s around. He thinks Sean is talking to Kanan, and threatens to kick Sean out of the circle of trust if he doesn’t stop that silly ish.

Tommy and Tasha are getting wasted together. He says that he could “see down the road” with Holly. He actually thought about kids with her. Tasha cheers him up by playing wingman with two chicks at the bar. Tommy and the women go back to his house and have a lot of sex and sort cocaine off each other, then Tommy becomes irate and kicks the women out. He tries to make them take the dog he bought for Holly, but then changes his mind. He sits on the bed naked and alone, holding the dog. This is some sad ish. That man really was in love with Holly.

Speaking of Holly, she’s at her motel room when Angie bangs on the door, demanding answers. Holly puts her phone on speaker as she answers Angie’s questions. Holly says she lied about Jamie being Ghost, and that she’s completely done with Tommy, but she is still wearing his ring. She tells Angie that she still won’t tell the Feds anything about Tommy. After Angie leaves, Ghost tells Holly that there will be money at nearby Western Union waiting for her. Back in New York, he appears to be sitting in Angie’s apartment, going through her casework on Tommy.

Sean shows up at Dre’s hang out looking for his father, Kanan. Dre sons the crap out of him and says he doesn’t know where Kanan is. Sean has a message for dad: Lobos is coming… like winter in Game of Thrones. Hopefully, it doesn’t take as long. I love GOT, and it’s been worth the wait for winter. But that is one slow building show. Literally, the introduced the white walkers as the first scene of the very first episode years ago and winter still has no come! I digress. Later, Dre calls Fiddy and tells him to come back to New York because Lobos is coming!

Mrs. Stern pops up to Truth to say that Jamie’s information panned out. She wants to know what he wants in return: Truth, duh.

Lobos is actually coming. He didn’t depart as scheduled last week because he was tipped off by someone on the inside. A Fed? He lands on an NYC rooftop in a fancy helicopter.

Back at Jamie's hotel room, Angie is seducing Jamie, My initial point stands. This is all they do. She’s done accusing him of being a liar and while she will continue to go after Tommy, she tells Jamie that she really wants Lobos. Jamie is shocked she knows the name, but plays it off. They have sex, and then after Ghost is a orgasm coma, Angie steals his phone to have it cloned by her new BFF at the Bureau.

Is cloning phones really that simple? Every chick who snoops on her man is going to try that at home ASAP.

What did you think of this episode of Power?

Power Recap, Episode 6: Run, Holly, Run!

Holly and Angela are having coffee with the intent of Angie trying to find out what proof Holly has that Jamie is “Ghost".  Holly can’t focus. She’s drunk with power, reminding Angie of the time Holly caught her doing Ghost on the wall at Truth.  And perhaps it’s a distraction technique because while Tommy’s told Holly all sorts of things about James that we know to be absolutely true, there is no proof, and Angie (and her lawyer clique) can’t do anything without evidence.  “We’re running out of time,” Angie says.

Holly describes the time she saw Jamie with a gun once, and he gave it to Tommy. Why don’t I remember this? Did that actually happen? Ghost is usually super careful about who sees him doing hoodrat stuff, hence why he’s never been arrested despite 20 years in the game. It’s why his name is Ghost. Angela tells Holly that if she finds the gun, she’ll believe her about Jamie.

Tommy meets up with the Serb to discuss their new distribution deal. They’re multitasking as they’re also torturing an Albanian guy they think is responsible for the hit on their stash houses.

Ghost and Sean arrive at the bar where Tommy and the Serb are, but sensing there may be much going on, he sends Sean away to go find his father. The Serb keeps saying this new distribution arrangement is temporary. The repetition of this belief makes me thinks it’s going to come up again when it’s again most problematic for Jamie and Tommy. Anyway, back to the other important business: payback. The Serbs go all Scarface with the torture, breaking out the chainsaw. Ghost is spooked less by the torture than what he perceives as a “display of power” from the Serbs. He fears that they won’t be easy to control.

In other news: Ghost and Tommy and planning a meeting of the minds with their distributors. Tommy vouches for Dre, but Ghost isn’t convinced he’s ready for the big leagues. Dre and Kanan can’t sit with them.

At work, Greg has some new information about Lobos coming to NYC. Don’t know who is source is, but that’s good intel. After a meeting, he pulls Angie aside to mind-f—k her and see if she’ll confess anything about meeting up with Jamie. Nope. Angie says she went home to bed.

Angie and Ghost meet for lunch. There’s an awkward silence because they both have so much ish they’re hiding from each other. Jamie tells her that Tariq got suspended from school and he worries if it’s because his Dad isn’t there. Jamie says he’ll handle it because he’s made his decision to be with Angie. This? This is what you have to tell Angie, Sir? I mean, it’s important, but “hey, I’m a MF dope boy” is probably higher on the list right now. Angie takes it all in, and texts Holly about whether she’s found the gun.

Holly is searching everywhere in  the apartment and can’t find the gun, just money and drugs. Tommy comes home mid-search, and wants to know where she was the other day, the day she spent with the Feds. “I had some thinking to do about us,” she says. Holly adds that she worries about him when he’s at work, that she’s scared he’ll get shot or arrested. What she really means is, 'I'm afraid the Feds are about to catch you'. This leads to some sex fantasy where she plays a young inmate and he’s a guard. Tommy breaks out a set of handcuffs. Whatever works for consenting adults. Post-sex, while Tommy’s passed out, Holly runs out to search the car. She finds a gun.

If this were The Wire, this meeting of drug dealers would be called the Co-Op. Like Ghost said, Kanan and Dre are absent. “We got to be here while they call in sick?” asks “Marlo” who is not called Marlo in this show. Side note: I love Jamie Hector. Anyway, not-Marlo wants to know how they’re supposed to sell more product given that they’re selling so much already. “We ain’t making rockets. We slanging dope,” Jamie says. “Let's get paid,” he adds.

Greg stops by Angela’s office and they discuss Lobos being “on the move”, before Angie gets a text from Holly and dips with the excuse of taking her dad to a doctor’s appointment. Greg, of course, is suspicious, and follows her. Womp.

The gun Holly found isn’t the one that killed Rolla, aka that guy that looked like Wiz Khalifa. Angie tells her she has to find another way if she wants to keep Tommy free. She has till 10PM to come up with something.

Tasha meets up with Sean in a parking lot. He insists that he’s there for her and the kids. She tells him, “we’re not like any other family. I don’t just have to take care of the kids, I have to protect them too.” She asks Sean to take her “somewhere” because there’s’ something she must do. She means the gun range. Tasha, who has amazing aim, tries to teach Sean, who is terrible at this.

Pause. We are 24 minutes into the show with no Kanan. This is a good episode. I like Fiddy’s character best when he’s an unseen menace who wreaks havoc and pulls strings out of sight.

Ghost takes the kids back to the house, well, two of the kids anyway. Isn’t there a baby somewhere? We’ve heard nada about that kid this season. Ok, spoke to soon. She got a mention. Ghost gives the pat TV speech about separation/divorce about how they’re all one big family and things are gonna be okay. When Tasha comes out, he tries to invite himself to dinner at the house. “I don’t want to confuse the kids,” she says, giving him the ill brush off. He looks hurt. The only time we ever see the real Jamie is when it comes to his children.

Jamie goes into his old bathroom to pick up a few toiletries and we get yet another mirror shot. Fun fact: I watched a behind the scenes with the show’s creator last season (because I’m nerdy, obsessive  and when I like something, I have to know everything about it) and she talked about the use of mirrors on the show, specifically when it came to James. The viewer can’t really figure out who James is (other than being many things all at once) but that’s partly because James can’t either. Looking at his reflection in the mirror is supposed to be his time of personal reflection.

Tommy and Jamie meet up for a business dinner, and in walks Holly, much to Jamie’s surprise. The look Jamie shoots her is deadly. He threatens— again— to kill her if she doesn’t leave town. She says she’ll go, and will swing by the club to pick up the money, train ticket, and new ID that night.

Dre shows up to meet Luiz at the boxing gym, and tells him to speak English. Um. How dare you roll up into someone else’s ish and tell them what language to speak. Luiz claps back, “you should learn el Spanish. You’re going to need it in a few years. This is our country now”. iCackled.

Remember the guy who got shot last week when Tommy’s team stole the Serb’s stash? Luiz brings him out. He got hit in the arm, and he is a cutie.  Anyway, Messy Luiz tells Dre that there was a big meeting that he wasn’t invited to. Because Dre killed the guy who shot the Cutie, Dre can’t be the reason that there was no invite. It has to be Kanan. Luiz’s mama ain’t raise no fool. He tells Dre that the Soledado Nation has his back— “you, not Kanan,” Luiz specifies.

Holly is tearing up the house again when Tommy arrives home. He has a ring.

“Did you steal this from somebody,” Holly asks.

“No, I’m not you,” Tommy says. (Whoever wrote that line needs a raise and extra vacation days.)

It’s Granny’s ring and he’s giving it to Holly. Is that an engagement ring? Uh… no. “I just want you to wear it,” Tommy says. He’s hell bent on everyone knowing Holly is his. Hmmm. Oh, and it’s 9:30 and she’s supposed to meet with Angela at 10. She has nothing... yet.

At the St. Patrick residence, Tasha and Sean are playing family. Tasha’s mama is there. I missed her. She sees right thru Sean and Tasha. “Maybe he can rotate your tires,” Mama says. “But he ain’t gonna help you raise these kids.” Welp. Tasha talks wild to her mama, and gets slapped. “You ain’t strong or smart enough to do this alone,” Mama says. Tasha, who has been kicking folks out the house like Martin, asks her mother if she thinks she’s spending the night in her house after that. Mama, is all, “yes, I do... Good night, Tasha.” LMAO. Oh, and am the only one who didn’t know Reina and Tariq were twins?

It’s 10PM. Angie is eating alone, waiting on Holly, who is a no show. Jamie is at his office, waiting on Holly, who shows up late. She’s out… maybe. I don’t see her getting on the train, especially when she’s looking at the not-engagement ring and switches it to her ring finger. What song is that playing while Holly's at the train station?

Jamie is talking to Cantos, his former #2 who is now his boss. He’s gossipy. He tells Jamie that Stern is getting a divorce— kinda saw that coming— and has been out of the country hiding his assets. I can see Jamie’s wheels turning. He’s distracted when he gets a call from Angie, who is cancelling on him because of work. He wants to know what’s going on. She says she can’t tell him and slips up and says she “did” trust him,  past tense. Then she tries to put Ghost “on break” until the Tommy case blows over. She’s about to cry as she says it, but really, I didn’t think she would have the huevos to get this far with it. I’m proud of Angie. Baby step, but still a step nonetheless. I give credit where it’s due.

Ghost is driving when Tommy hits him to say the Serb is asking a lot of questions and they should watch their backs. Aww sh--. Jamie’s distracted like Mary Jane over on BET and runs into a car.

At work, Angie is blowing up Holly’s phone and getting no answer. And now her boss comes in where she’s meeting with Greg and is pushing for an arrest warrant for Tommy. And because Mike is full of good news, he also announces that Jamie just got arrested for the first time. I’m guessing drunk driving? Greg says he’ll go, but Angela pipes up that she will. The look Greg gives her? Aha- ahaha- ahahahahahaha. 

At the precinct, Jamie is getting an ear full from Tasha for getting arrested.

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

Is Angie about to show up where Tasha is?

Please, writers, please, please, please! Baby, please. *Dwayne Wayne voice*

Wait for it… wait for it…

THANK YOU, WRITERS!!!!!

Tasha spots Angie checking in at the police desk. “You called her?” she asks Jamie incredulously. Nope, he didn’t. Errybody is confused, and he moves to stand with Tasha, his wife.

Good news: the test results are back. Jamie’s under the legal limit, and he’s free to go. He rides off with Tasha. On the ride to… I dunno, his hotel? Tasha pulls the car over. “Why her?” she demands. Jamie explains that he and Angie go way back. "You broke up our entire family over a chick from high school?!" she bellows.

But there’s more. He tells Tasha that he had to stay because Angela is a Fed. "She's f--king close to arresting Tommy," he says. Tasha smacks the sh-- out of him. "This b---h you brought into our lives is a f--king cop?" she asks.

Ghost says he took Angie to Miami to find out what she knows. Um… this isn’t exactly true. But I also don’t know exactly why he did it. He might be picking her brain, but he also really likes her. Ghost says Angie is starting to pull away from him. Tasha is unconvinced, “I saw the way she looked at you tonight," Tasha says. "She loves you. I saw the way you looked at her too. You love her right back.” Well, sh--. I want to go hug Tasha.

Tasha is convinced that Angie is going to go for Tommy, then Ghost, then her. “What’s going to happen to the kids when we go to jail, Ghost? Have you thought about that?” she asks.

“I gotta figure out my next move,” Jamie says.

Tasha has it figured out for him. "Keep f---ing her,” Tasha says. “You keep f---ing that b---h until I tell you to stop.”

I AM ON THE FLOOR!!! THE FLOOR!!!!

Sean meets Tasha when she gets back to her building in the damaged car. I thought she was brushing him off, but then they end up having good sex in the car. Sean looks SO happy. And Tasha’s boobs are awesome.

Back at his hotel room with the gorgeous view, Ghost, who looks exceptionally good in that shirt, gets a knock on the door.It’s Angie. She barges in demanding to know where Holly is. Ha! She left! Angie thinks Tommy killed her. Angie is on her way out when Ghost drops on her that Tommy didn’t do it. He says the couple got in a fight and Ghost sent Holly out of town with some money. Angie still wants to leave— sorta. Ghost grips her up in a from-the-back hug and ear hustles her with his BS. “What if you’re wrong? About everything?” he asks.

“I’m not,” she says, unconvincingly. But she wants to be, especially if it means she can get that D from Ghost without feeling guilty about it.

Ghost wants her to spend the night and begins taking off her clothes. She doesn’t resist. Got ‘em!

Tommy’s kicking back shots at home alone… when suddenly the door opens. It’s Holly! I’m guessing she has a plan. She cuffs Tommy to the bed and starts talking about a “fresh start somewhere else.” Tommy’s spooked. Holly confesses that the feds called her for questioning, but she didn’t flip. She tells him about the deal she made to give up Ghost in order to save herself and Tommy.

Holly ain’t all that good at reading people, despite what Fed Mike concluded last week. Tommy’s reactions say everything about his loyalty— and it ain’t with Holly. See, here’s the thing. Tommy loves her, no doubt. But he also loves being a drug dealer. And if he has to choose, I don’t think it’s gonna be Holly. When Holly asks if Ghost killed somebody named Rolla, my next thought was “oh, it’s been real, Holly. RIP.”

Tommy lunges at her, but can’t reach because he’s cuffed to the bed. Holly may be stupid, but she ain’t that stupid. “Who do you choose, Ghost or me?” she asks Tommy.

Tommy looks at her with an expression that I imagine all mass murderers wear before they start mass murdering. He calls for Holly to unchain him, and when he doesn’t move, he calls her everything but a child of God.

Holly dips. May she leave and stay gone.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Power? 

Power Recap: Finally, The Truth About Holly

Holly’s been pulled in for questioning, and by the way her foot’s tapping on the floor, she’s nervous as hell. I’d bet there’s a part of her that wishes she had taken Ghost’s offer of a train ticket and a bunch of cash and skipped town. Angela wants the first crack at interviewing Holly but her boss reminds her that she’s on probation. If she were a man, she would have just been sonned. Greg reminds her that acting out could cost him and her their jobs.

We confirm that this isn’t Holly’s first time at the rodeo. She’s a horrible criminal in that she’s been caught at least five times doing hoodrat ish with her friends. (Contrast that with Ghost, who is well into his thirties and has never been arrested once.) I’m finally convinced that Holly isn’t a fellow Fed, but I still don’t trust this chick. Maybe she’ll surprise me though.

Ghost is doing what he does best: brood. He’s waiting for the clock to hit 7AM, because I guess that’s decent hours for calling home. His (downtown NYC)  hotel room is small— I was expecting at least a one bedroom suite— but that view is awesome. Is that the Rivington? Anybody?

Sorry, got distracted. Jamie misses being a full-time dad and leaves a fatherly voice mail message for Tariq. He’s interrupted by a knock on the door. It’s the morning paper— which no hotel knocks at 7 AM to deliver— and Page Six credits Stern, Jamie’s Boss Man, with “breathing new life into Truth.” Jamie’s pissed.

Holly’s cracking me up at questioning. The Fed wants to know the nature of her relationship with Tommy. “We’re f---ing. We f---,” she says. LOL. She denies Tommy’s into any illegal business. “Tommy’s a lot of things, but nothing like what you’re asking about,” Holly says. Great cover, Holly! Oh, hold up, I’m not supposed to be routing for the drug dealers, am I? But it’s TV. So yeah, Go Holly!

Angela’s watching Holly’s interrogation and susses out that Holly is more than a “f—“ She wonders if they’ll get anything from Holly. “When you really love a guy, you stand by him no mater what he’s done,” Angela says. Oh, really? If only she knew just how she is going to have to put that to the test before this season is over.

Jamie shows up to see Stern because his ego is bruised about not being mentioned on Page Six. See me? I wouldn’t bother my boss about something like this. The person on top always gets the glory. The person who did all the grunt work, might get a bonus, a gold watch, or a pat on the head, or not. This is how business works. Jamie seems to have forgotten that he is no longer the person on top, out front, or in charge.  Stern appropriately sons him, but invites him to a meeting with some spenders as a pat on the head. I cackled when he asked Jamie if he wanted to take a swing? Stern meant of his golf club Jamie was thinking at Stern’s face. Ha ha!

Pause. I would like to point out that we are 13 minutes into an episode and have not seen Kanan once. This episode is off to a good start.

Tommy stops by Kanan’s prison buddy’s restaurant to ask about Kanan’s whereabouts. Dude is bending over backwards for Tommy. He isn’t trying to end up with his tongue cut out too. Is it me, or dude looks lie Chris Brown? Anyway, they try to give Tommy the package and he’s all “nah, I don’t touch that ish”. Nice detail. Will be harder for the feds to get to him.

Back at Truth, they’ve instituted time cards for the employees. LOL. I once quit a job over that. I emailed my boss, something along the lines of “I’m sorry, but I don’t work at a Ford plant. I’m not punching a time card.” I was already looking before that, but the timecards sealed the deal.

Jamie is going over the books in his office when FBI Greg shows up. He doesn’t miss a beat. Greg’s tougher than I expected. I guess because Jamie “stole” Angela from him, I thought of him as a more beta dude, but he’s got some alpha here. I’m impressed.

Back at Holly’s interrogation, Angela’s chomping at the bit to get at Holly, but Boss Man has her, in her words standing around "like a glorified intern.” She loses it, I guess thinking that’s going to make him cave. Lady, your boss is a class A douche. And he wants to do you. There was a lot not said in that exchange. They got some chem-es-tree! Oh, but he’s married, right? That’s never stopped Angie before.

Because the writers love to torture Jamie, he gets more bad news. His other boss, Jeffe (aka Lobos), is coming in town early and he wants his money earlier too. Jamie is working his jaw hard when he tells him, in his awful Bloombito Spanish, that it’s no problem.  Oh, and is Jeffe high? Dude is a weirdo, but his suit is cut beautifully.

Jamie’s solution? Double up the distribution. Something is way up. It is not blessed.

At the office, Angela is in her feelings after her boss said she acts like a little girl, an insult that she insists you have to be Latin to really understand. Nah. I’m Black. I get it. He verbally cut you to the white meat. But she’s doubling down on her research, and suddenly it dawns on her, but for all the wrong reasons, that Tommy could very well not be Ghost. DING! DING! DING!

Jamie stops by to see Luiz, who is feedings his snakes and we get an important metaphor. It’s not the snakes that Jamie can’t tolerate, it’s the rats. See what the writers did there? But this is a business meeting and today’s business is canceling Christmas on the Serb. Jamie needs the territory. Luiz bristles but agrees if he can get more money. They should have thought this out more, but Jamie gets a text from his son which distracts him and needs to bounce.

Jamie deals with an extraordinary about of BS between Kanan, Tommy, the feds, his affair, his wife, both of his bosses, and all the drug dealers he’s partnered with. He handles most of it with an unreadable expression. Seeing his son sitting in the hotel hallway is the first time we’ve seen him bristle. He’s not sure what Tariq wants, but like us, he’s probably guessing the kid wants an explanation for why Dad isn’t coming home at night. Or maybe, he’s discovered something about his dad’s real job.

Because kids are walking curve balls, we learn that Tariq is there because he has (young) lady trouble. There’s a girl who’s feeling him, but he’s feeling someone else. “Trust me, son, the last thing you want to be is caught between two women,” Jamie advises.   Oh, really, Jamie, who is currently kicked out of the house for being caught between two women. But I guess he would know from trial and error, huh? Jamie’s been getting on my nerves lately, but this father-son moment made me friendly with him again. Oh, and Tariq does have a really cute smile.

The feds are still interviewing Holly. This is the longest interrogation ever. Or am I just not familiar with the length of interrogations? I’ve never been interrogated. Angie’s got a master plan to put Holly in a tight spot to see if she covers for Tommy the night she was shot. Whoever in the writer’s room thought of this deserves a pat on the head. Holly avoids falling in the obvious trap, offering a fake alibi for Tommy on  the night she was shot. But she does admit the relationship is more than a “f—."

Tommy shows up at Luiz’s after Ghost leaves. He contradicts Ghost’s instruction to Luiz. This man must have never watched the Godfather. You don’t speak against the family in public.

Tommy shows up at Ghost’s hotel room to curse him out.. not knowing Tariq is there. He immediately switches up when he sees the kid. I love how even these two sociopathic mofos respect family above all else, at least the kids. They go in the bathroom to talk.

Ok, remember when I said I didn’t understand why Tommy and Ghost were friends? I get it now. Day-to-day, Tommy is a doof and doesn’t have a lot (or any) social grace. But Ghost can also be too hardcore and doesn’t always operate the best under pressure. He wants things done fast when simmering would probably be a better strategy . Tommy insists they don’t kill the Serb, but create a way for the Serb to need them. Ghost is playing checkers. Tommy is playing chess. Well done, Tommy.

Tommy runs Tariq home to find a none-to-happy Tasha waiting for her boy, who didn’t tell her where he was. She ain’t too happy to see Tommy, who didn’t tell her about Angela, either. “I thought you were my brother,” she says. “I never thought you would do me like this.” She quite politely kicks him out. Before he goes, Tommy asks what I actually never wondered, “you wouldn’t blow up our whole thing over this?” he asks her. Tasha tell him to get the f— out in the Black mama voice. Tasha’s pissed, but everything she owns is funded by Ghost’s money and she’s conspired with him over the years to maintain the operation. She ain’t stupid and she ain’t about to be broke.

See, I thought Jamie was going to prepare for a hit on the Serb’s stash houses. But he’s popping up at Angela’s job on some, “you ain’t answer my calls” like that makes everything okay. Sir, if you don’t call before you come... He’s mad he didn’t get a head’s up about the fed/ Angela’s ex popping up at his job. She assures him the focus is on Tommy and he has nothing to worry about. He says she can trust him, as evidenced by him not telling Tommy what he knows about the feds investigating Tommy. Now that I think about it, it is kinda grimy that Ghost hasn’t said anything to Tommy.

Tariq is being grounded for going to see his Dad. Ugh. I feel like this is an unfair punishment. Yes,  the kid should have told you were he was, Mom, but it’s his father. He wasn’t hanging on the block or at some girl’s house. The boy misses his father and went to watch the game with him. Don’t take his iPad and his Play Station, Tasha.

Okay, so Jamie was never going to get his hands dirty with the Serb. He’s attending Stern’s party, which is a less over the top Eyes Wide Shut. LOL! Jamie, who always wears a stoic expression, is looking around like, “what did I just walk into?” He encounters Mrs. Stern who is flipping through a magazine with bored indifference as she points Jamie in he direction of the bathroom where her husband is getting his freak on with a guy.

I hate this Stern storyline. Like there’s more than enough drama outside of this. The short version: Jamie wants his club back. Simon tells him to be easy and offers him some women. Jamie declines, Simon is offended, threatens Jamie’s job. Jamie assures him he’s part of the team, but still doesn’t want any women, and Mrs. Stern observes all of this. I’m sure this will come up again.

Hold up. Who got shot during the Serb hit? My screen is mad dark. Was that someone important? Was that Dre?

When the Serbs get a head’s up that they’ve been hit, they think it’s the Albanians. So the plan worked. And the Serb calls Tommy for some drugs. Bada-Bing!

Tasha pops up at Ghost’s hotel room, wanting to know why Tariq came to see him. Tasha doesn’t know what to do about Tariq. “I can’t teach him about how to be a man. The worst part is you can’t either,” she says. Ouch!!!! Ghost wants to reconcile, but she’s not having it. “The next time you see your son, he is going to ask you some tough questions,” she adds. “You should be prepared to answer them.”

No, really, this is a long interrogation. Holly is stillll there. They’re laying out their entire case against Tommy to Holly, which I’m like, “hold up, what happens if she leaves and tell him everything?” But Holly’s not budging. She’ll take her (non existent) warrant back home and 3 years in jail rather than give up Tommy. Who knew Holly was a rider?

Angela, who is actually everything her boss described, goes into the bathroom to have have woman-to-woman talk with Holly. It’s not worth it, she says. Save yourself, she says. And then she tells Holly who it is The Feds really want: Ghost. Holly pauses her bathroom stall breakdown and comes out with a smile. She recognizes Angela. She saw her humping Ghost in his office once (last season). Holly thinks Angela is trying to pin everything about Jamie on Tommy, but quickly realizes, yes, Angela really is this clueless. “You dumb b—h”, she says as Angie’s face cracks. “You’re the one sleeping with Ghost, not me.”

Holly is so gangster. “I want out of this,” she tells Angela. “And I want Tommy out of this. Or I go in there and tell your partners that you’re fucking the real Ghost.” A-ha. Ahahaha. A-hahahahahaha. I knew it was going to come out at some point. But this is epic. EPIC!!!! Angie’s face tho? LMAO. Angela promises to get rid of Holly’s (non-existent) warrant as a show of good faith. Holly promises her the actual Ghost.

I KNEW IT!!!! I KNEW IT!!!!!! Holly still ain’t sh—, but she does love Tommy. And while Ghost deserves every bit of what’s coming, I’m still mad it’s happening to him. He’s so going to lie his way out of this one, and I have a feeling it’s all going to be pinned on Tommy.

Angie says she wants proof that Jamie is actually Ghost. I wonder what she’s going to do with it. Will she give Ghost up?

After Holly leaves, Angela has her own bathroom breakdown, worse than the one Holly just had. She’s in full on ugly cry thinking of all the time she’s shared with Ghost. Look, Angela’s been a stone cold idiot for dealing with a married man, but she didn’t know the betrayal was this deep. I have to add this because I’m a dating coach by trade: when you deal with people who have no issue lying to and deceiving people that they are supposed to care about, understand that the duplicity doesn’t end there and they are capable of some terrifying ish. Exhibit A: James St. Patrick. I still feel bad for Angie, just cause that’s some horrible news to take in, and that was an authentic ugly cry. Been there, boo. (But he wasn’t married.)

Greg caught Angie coming out that bathroom and noticed something was wrong. Because he’s trying to get back in, he stops by her place with wine to check on her. What is with these Ol Pop Up mofos? Ghost is also there, doing his best “I’m a good guy!” impression— notably a role he has never played on any size screen. Angie and Ghost are chatting in the lobby and Greg spots them through the glass window.

Oh, Angie. I don’t know if you in danger, girl, but you are in big trouble. Big, big trouble. And so is Greg who vouched for your reckless self. Chile, this is a mess, i.e., GREAT TV, and there's not Fiddy for the entire episode? Gold watches for all the writers.

What did you think of this episode of Power?

Recap: Power, Episode 4: The King of Inappropriate

Yeah. So I'm almost two weeks late getting this recap up. Though, is it technically "late" as long as it goes up before the next episode airs? Okay, maybe I'm reaching.

But... part of the reason it's late is because I've been on the road, working, not partying. (Ok, just a little). During one of those parties, I got to hang out with Naturi Naughton aka "Tasha", She says, "hi"

Anyway...

Fiddy, the King of Inappropriate, opens this week’s episode blowing out the back of his ex, his son’s mother. I didn't catch her name, but whatever it is here, she is and always will be "Tasha" to me because of "Why Did I Get Married?" and she just looks like a Tasha. Back to Power: Tasha is a screamer, and son Sean has the misfortune of being downstairs watching the game and overhearing it all. Awkward. More so than two weeks ago when he walked in on his father getting dome? You decide.

Mom is holding on to Fiddy’s secret stash for the 10 year bid. He breaks her off a chunk for “being loyal.” She warns him to be careful with Sean.

Over in a Manhattan penthouse, Ghost, who used to be the star of the show, is sulking in bed. He looks longingly at his luggage from Miami and I wonder if he’s thinking about doing Angie, or Angie being a fed, or the chick that died in front of him. You never know with Ghost. Tasha, a morning person evidently, is super hype as she catches hubs up on the family life he missed. He tells her that he’s suspicious about who killed the Lady Killer. Oh, hold up. Maybe Ghost was thinking about killing Rolla unnecessarily. Or who financed the Hit Lady. He’s got a lot to worry about.

Greg calls Angie to say Q-Dubs is dead. She’s all, “I wanna come to the crime scene!” despite being reassigned from the case. Maybe it’s the way my care is set up, but if I’m not working a case anymore, and not getting paid extra to care, and that case is a liability for my relationship with a man that I love, I wouldn’t care anymore. But that’s me. Angie’s still trying to pin down Tommy and prove that he’s Ghost.

Tasha is going over the latest bank statements when Sean walks in. He’s decided to stop listening to his father’s advice and push up on Tasha one last time, despite recently tongue-ing down her bestie. She brushes him off again. “Ghost and I are good. You and I are what we are, all we’re ever be,” she says.

Ghost shows up at Angie’s with coffee to catch her coming out of her building. I can’t tell if he actually wanted to see her or he doesn’t want her to be suspicious, or if he’s checking to see what she’s up to. She tells Ghost she regrets telling him about Tommy. He tells her Tommy is clean before she takes a work call and rushes off. Sean, of course, watches all this from the car.

Holly is bored as sh— at home, recovering from the shooting. Tommy is rushing out to meet Ghost and she wants to go with. Um… Ma’am? Tommy says as much. It’s like the only time we will ever hear Tommy tell her “no.” He is entirely sprung over her. I get what he sees in her, but I don’t get what she sees in him, especially when he tells her to get some rest, especially her mouth because “you never know when it’s going to be called into action.” Ugh!

Ghost returns to the bar that he used to own to report to his new boss, Cantos, that he did as he was told in Miami. The bosses have a new party in  the works, a Vibe party that is described as “a dud of an event” and has no budget. Ouch! Who over at Vibe gave this show a bad review?

Jamie has no choice but to be up for the task because he no longer wears the crown at his club. He tries to call him favors with A-list athletes, who don’t want to be associated with his club anymore. Womp.

Tommy pops up at the club with Kanan in tow, which surprises Ghost. And because Tommy is messy, he also implies in front of Kanan that Ghost is cheating on Tasha. Hmm. Is Tommy being messy or intentionally shady? I can’t tell. Ghost is obviously awkward and doesn’t want to talk in front of Kanan. He goes from awkward to pissed when he learns that Q-Dubbs is dead by Kanan’s hand. But how convenient that Kanan’s crew can solve Ghost’s “powder problem.”

And because when it rains it pours, Ghost is also running low on legal cash. I mean, they’re making a ton of it, but they can’t clean it anymore because Ghost isn’t overseeing the club and his people aren’t on the bank runs. There are piles of money in a back room at the laundromat. At home, Tasha has noticed the legit money is looking light. Um… could it also be because you’re skimming it from the account because you don’t trust your husband? But Ghost doesn’t know that, of course.

Sean shows up at Lala’s apartment on the rebound talking about, “I made a mistake.” She knows she’s a rebound from Tasha, but she thinks he’s hot and she wants to believe him when he says he’s not there because Tasha rejected him. They do it. This is a gratuitous sex scene. That said, Lala’s boobs look great.

Over at Tommy’s, bored Holly is inviting Julio, Tommy and Ghost’s third wheel, ini for a drink while dressed in her panties. Julio knows he should go, but stays. This isn’t going to end well.

Elsewhere, Tommy is hanging out with his new bestie (and star of the show), Fiddy, and Fiddy’s boys. The new guys aren’t really feeling Tommy’s yo-boy vibe, and Fiddy’s not feeling one of the dudes at the table.

Ghost hashes out a plan to clean the money by giving people money to spend at the club. He walks around town like some sort of Starz version of Clay Davis handing out dollars in exchange for patronage.

Tasha has lunch with Lala and tells her that Sean blew her back out. She adds that she knows he has a thing for Tasha and there is an attraction between them. Um. This friendship is officially weird. “If you’re gonna stick it out with Ghost that’s great,” she says. “But you better make sure you’re choosing the right man.”

Tasha heads home to search through Ghost’s ish. She finds the number to Eden Rock hotel where he stayed in Miami. The attendant asks if she enjoyed her massage. Shit’s about to go down.

Tommy buys Holly a puppy. “haven’t you ever seen a movie,” he quips. “Puppies fix everything. I got a bitch for my bitch.” The dog’s name is Belle. Anyway, Tommy notices the glasses on the counter, Holly lies about anyone being in the house, then admits she let his business partner, Julio, come in. Tommy flips because he’s Tommy.

Kanan and his prison buddy take a ride. They discuss the dude that clowned Tommy. Diddy asks if he’s trustworthy. Dude gives a nonchalant “sure”. Fiddy looks up to something.

Jamie returns home to discover that he can’t get into his apartment. Tasha has changed the code. Of course, this doesn’t go over well. “Let me upstairs to my apartment where I pay rent!” Jamie demands to the desk attendant. The attendant tells him they don’t get involved in domestic matters. Jamie blows up Tasha’s phone, then his son’s phone. Finally she answers and tells him she knows about Angie. Jamie flips on Sean, thinking he told Tasha about the trip. He didn’t.

At work, Greg hands over the video footage from the Q-Dubbs shooting to Angie. Of course, she finds out that Tommy was there.  Greg talks to the new boss about Angie’s find. New boss agrees to hear her out in a presentation.

Angie presents her case against Tommy to the team. “We’ve got a big pile of circumstantial nothing,” her colleague points out. Her new boss is more impressed. Greg has been doing research of his own about Tommy’s friends, including the actual Ghost. “If this guy is clean, he’s one unlucky bastard,” new boss says bout Jamie. Oh, and Angela is back on the task force.

Tommy shows up for a meeting between Ghost and Julio and attacks Julio. Ghost breaks it up and points out to Tommy that he doesn’t trust Holly.  When Tommy calms down— pretty quickly because he’s nuts—  Ghost tells him that Tasha kicked him out. Somehow this leads to a conversation by Tommy about how great Kanan is. I don’t think Ghost really cares that Tommy and Fiddy are new besties. He’s just suspicious— with good reason— of Kanan.

Sean goes by the St. Patricks to get some clothes for Ghost. Tasha  confronts Sean about knowing that her husband was still seeing Angela. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to be the one to break your heart”, he says. Tasha is a walking Mary J. Blige album. Like before she got happy. Sean says Lala/Kisha was a mistake. “But I know that this isn’t.” He tongues down Tasha… in the bedroom she shares (shared?) with her husband. Messy. Messy.

Jamie and Angela are tongue humping in the hotel. She says it’s getting harder to “do this”.  As in doing a married man? Oh, no. She means Tommy. She tells Ghost that she will do all she can to keep Tommy’s drama away from him. Jamie’s face flashes with panic, but then he recovers quickly, because that’s what he does. He dangles a carrot in front of Angela: he and Tasha split up and he tells Angie he loves her.

Angie wants to know “why now?” Finally she’s asking smart questions, even as she does dumb ish. Jamie is actually honest here. He previously told Tasha he was done with Angie and she flipped when she found out he took her to Miami. Angie asks, “I just don’t get it. Why do you need her so badly?” Jamie switches the subject to Tommy before Angie’s  interrupted by the ding of her phone. Her colleague/ex wants her to join him on a stake out of Tommy. Before she leaves, she says to Ghost, “we’re gonna be okay.” I can’t tell if it’s a statement or a question.

When Angie speaks to Greg, he tells her that his ass is on the line if she messes up. She swears she knows what she’s doing. Um.. ma’am, you just got done making out with the  guy that you are trying to capture. You don’t know ‘nan. Then Greg makes his pitch to get Angie back: “Is it at all odd us working together?” Here we go.

Greg sees Holly coming out of Tommy’s building. I totally saw this coming. I’ve been said Holly will be the one to mess up this whole operation.

Kanan and Ghost meet for drinks. Jamie’s finally figured out he’s the enemy. But in a page from the Art of War, he’s keeping his ememies close. I think he’s about to set Fiddy up for the fall with the feds somehow. We’ll see. Jamie offers to buy Fiddy a drink and the waiter asks if Jamie wants to put it on his room. Jamie tells Fiddy that he and Tasha have split. “Shit’ll work it self out, it always does, right?” Diddy says before bouncing.

Jamie shows up to Tariq’s school to confront Tasha, who is dressed in her version of what an Upper West Side mom would dress like, but like, with may more skin. “I think Kanan knows we sent him to jail and he’s coming after us.” Wait, what? They sent Kanan to jail? How?!!! Ghost says he can’t see Kanan’s next move and he’s worried about Tasha and the kids and he should be in the house to protect them. I’m confused. Does he want to stand in the sun and make jam with Angie, or does he want Tasha, or both. What is this man’s end game?

Tasha doesn’t believe his Kanan story and tells Ghost he’s never coming home. He yokes up Tasha like we’ve only seen him do to his enemies before he kills them. Oh, hell no.

Jamie offers to pay Holly to leave the Tommy alone. He gets the same goosebumps about her that every viewer does.  “You’re a liability,” he says to her. “You’ll go one way or the other.” He offers her cash and a train ticket. She declines.

At Truth, the club is popping. They have acrobats and bloggers. Management is impressed.”Leave it to the Black party to put us back in the black,” Jamie says.  He offers to take the profits to the bank. No go. So the coffers are gonna stay light. This should get interesting.

Greg confronts Holly, who surprise, surprise, has found that she has an outstanding warrant in Ohio. He wants to take her in for questioning.

At home, Tasha is crying when the front desk calls to say Kanan is on his way up. He shows up with gifts for the kids and a bottle of wine for her. “I used to think about you sometimes when I was inside,” he tells her. Pause. Fiddy and this shelling coat are killing me. “If you ever need anything, anything you can’t get from Ghost, you can ask me,” he tells Tasha.” Was that a penis offer? I think he offered her penis. Fiddy’s shadiness never fails me. You just gonna try to ruin every aspect of this man’s life, huh?

After Kanan leaves, Tasha takes out her gun. Okay. So she believes Ghost. Does that mean she’ll let him back in the house?

Fiddy and prison homie roll up to an abandoned lot. Fiddy has his messy homeboy in the trunk. He’s cut out his tongue. “the next time I ask if you trust a men ember of your crew, ‘sure’ is not an acceptable answer,” Fiddy says. This man is a sociopath (like Tommy)… and that makes for a never dull episode. Fiddy tells prison homie to kill his friend. Kanan walks off to smoke a cigarette while dude does his bidding. He’s up to something. Always.

What did you think of Episode 4 of Power?

Power Recap: Will the Real 'Ghost' Please Stand Up?

I’m finally on-time with the Power recaps. Go me!

Anyway, Tasha is home holding down the fort while Ghost is in Miami “on business”. Tariq is worried about his dad, and so is Tasha. Simultaneously, Ghost ain’t worried about nothing. After much delay, Jamie and Angela are in Miami, their version of Olivia going to Vermont with Fitz, or standing in the sun with Jake. They’re unbothered, sipping room service mimosas for breakfast. Ghost tells Angie, “you did not have faith in me…” Um… why should she, married man, who hasn’t disclosed his illegal lifestyle. They’re living in a fantasy. Wake up! Someone call Dap Dunlap or Mary J Blige.

Fiddy and Tommy are being Fiddy and Tommy. They are Herc and Carter from The Wire with worse tempers and slightly more competency. They pay a visit to the laundromat where Ghost and Tommy clean their drug money and where Fiddy learns more and more about their operation. Didn’t Ghost tell Tommy to bring Kanan along slowly? Tommy’s big mouth self tells Kanan about Ghost going to kill the hit-chick. He, of course, calls his own connect, as a warning? Or to kill her first?

Ghost is wearing a full suit in the Miami heat. I know he’s hot. It’s never not hot in Miami. Ghost is complaining about Stern and how he has to get his club back. Again, I need a refresher on why this club is so important. It’s just so much headache involved, I’m not seeing the worth. Oh, is Ghost still trying to pretend he’s leaving drug life… while currently doubling his distribution? Or is this about needing to keep the front for Angie. Speaking of Angie, when she’s not stroking Ghost’s ego, she’s avoiding calls from her ex/co-worker who is blowing up her phone.

The real Ghost and Angie are stroll through Little Havana, taking in the sights. Angie begins asking about Tommy who she thinks is “Ghost”. Real Ghost quickly changes the subject, then  sends her off to get food while he takes pictures of the spot where the hitlady works. He’s using his best El Bloombito Spanish to engage some old men playing dominoes in conversation when he spots the hit woman.

In NY, Fiddy takes a ride with his son and warns him against Tasha. “A fine woman who know she fine is trouble,” he says. Sean has been told. Will he listen?

Angie and Ghost are handing out on a cabana by the beach. Her phone is still going off. She and Jamie discuss the future. He can move to Miami when he gets his club back. She’s considering a transfer again. She’s asking about the kids, he tells her he’s already researched a school. What about Tasha? Ghost says she’ll be “a very rich woman” and she’ll be okay. You sure about that, buddy?

Angie says she is ready to give up her whole life for Ghost. But first, she has to (finally) take a call from Greg. He finds out that she hacked his account. She was wrong, yes. But maybe that wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t have  a password that a fifth grader could crack. They hash a plan to confirm that Tommy is Ghost.

That night, Ghost shows up to the club to talk the one into signing his business over to Stern. He gets kicked out. Womp. I don’t know why I was expecting Ghost to go all “I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse…” But he just leaves in frustration. At the hotel, Angie reads over the contract and offers to help Ghost by checking court records for info.

The next morning, Angie swings by the Florida DOJ to get more info on Tommy and to  check on a job transfer. So like, you’re going to arrest your man’s best friend of 20 years and business partner, possibly put the friend and business partner in jail, and then still move to Miami and live happily ever after with said man... and his three kids. Am I understanding this plan correctly?

Sean is at the house hanging out with Tariq, making a diorama. Tasha comes home and flashes some cleavage to entice Sean, who is taking his father’s advice and playing Tasha to the left, which she is none to happy about.  Random, Sean is a shorty. I appreciate him more and more each episode He tells Tasha he sees her "like a big sister… now”. Shade.

Tommy and Fiddy are still co-starring in their own Ebony & Ivory buddy flick. Ghost calls to tell Tommy he’s headed out to find the hit woman and suggests Tommy talk Q Dub into working with him. Tommy decides to take Fiddy with him. I know in advance that this is a bad idea.

Tommy’s playing pool with Q-Dubs trying to convince him to come aboard. He isn’t convinced. Tommy’s willing to figure out a new plan, but because Fiddy has no chill, Dubs and his boy, and a random witness all end up dead. Womp, womp.

When Jamie returns to the hotel late, Angie shares her info on the club owner, and… that she’s in love with Ghost… and that she’s a federal attorney… and that she’s investigating Tommy and is planing to put Tommy in jail. Ghost is pissed. “You, me, us.. it’s all a ruse?” I mean it is, but not for the reason you think. It’s because you’re living a double life, my dude.

Everything goes very soap opera here, replete with piano music. Ghost realizes that Angie wants him to testify against Tommy. “It might be the only way to save your dream, our dream,” she pleads. The Real Ghost looks scared and confused. Than Angela asks “have you ever heard anyone on the street call Tommy by the name Ghost?” There score has drums. Ghost makes a serious face. “No,” he says. And for like the first time, like ever, he’s not lying. “Never,” he adds. The drums get louder.

“Will you help me if I help you,” Angela asks  “Or will you leave me?” After a long pause,  Ghost says, “I can’t leave you.” Because both Omari Hardwick and Jamie St. Patrick and Ghost are all exceptional actors, I can’t tell whether he’s lying or not. He tells Angie he loves her, but the look on his face when she can’t see it makes me think he’s thinking about killing her.

Ghost calls Tommy early the next morning. They discuss Ghost looking for the hit-woman, not Angie’s big confession. When Angie awakes, he tells her he’s been talking to Stern. This man makes lying look as easy as breathing. He tells her he has to stay longer in Miami to work. Angie feels weird about the convo last night. Ghost/Jamie says that she can trust him and nothing will come between them. “We’ll be fine,” he says. “Just like we planned.”  Sure, whatever.

Jamie goes back to the Miami club. Short version: As we’ve just seen with Angela, Jamie could sell water to a well/whale. He convinces the owner to sign. Moving on…

Back at the St. Patricks house in NYC, Tasha is so upset watching Lala and Sean flirt that she knocks a glass over.  Neither of them care. Then she tries to cock-block her single friend, name-dropping another man. Mrs. St. Patrick, if you don’t get control of your married hormones…

Mr. St. Patrick is twirling his mistress around Miami one last time. Angie wants Cuban food… at spot coincidentally across the street where the hit woman works. Said hit woman also conveniently stops in for carryout and she and Ghost spot each other. She runs, Ghost chases. She spots the other guy who is also trying to kill her. He reminds me of Chris Brown and moves like a movie-monster.

The other dude catches up with her first and stabs her up a few times. Ghost finds her before she dies. He asks if Rolla sent her. She calls him a “dumb mother——er” twice. Um… ASK HER WHO DID SEND HER, DUDE!!!! He doesn’t. She dies. Jamie leaves and goes back to dinner with Angela like he didn’t just see a chick die in the street, and he wasn’t trying to murder her. This man has no soul. But they can leave Miami together as planned.

Lala and Sean ki-ki in the car. Lala reveals that she doesn’t have anything nice that wasn’t Tasha’s first, then tongues down Sean. I see this going bad places for Tasha.

Jamie and Angie land back at JFK. The vacation is over. Back to the real world.  They pretend that everything is okay, when it’s really anything but.

What did you think of episode 3?

Recap: Power S2E2: Catching the Un-Holy Ghost

So Ghost, Tommy and Team are moving that dough. But they still need more distributors to make a dent. This sounds like a good problem, but it isn’t. There’s a whole lot of drugs just laying around and not making money. Worse, none of the usual suspects want to get involved.

Tommy is wide open off of Holly, so he has to pick her up from the hospital before he can address this drug situation for which he has all of the good contacts. Holly doesn’t remember what happened the night she was shot and he says it was some fluke with a crazed chick who was mad she wasn’t on the VIP list. Um… that’s the best you could do, dawg?

After he situates Holly, Tommy and Ghost go to see a NJ distributor to see if he will help them get rid of the coke. It’s Marlo from The Wire aka Jamie Hector, one of the best TV drug dealers of all time. Now he’s got a Haitian accent and refuses to do a coke deal because “the ancestors” told him not to. Sir, did you really just turn to religion for consultation on drug matters? The Serbs don’t want to work with Ghost and Tommy either. No one will sell this product.

Ghost’s legit business isn’t going much better. Skeevy Simon is still trying to sell Ghost on coming aboard. I can’t figure out what this guy wants. It’s not the club. Does he want to lay with Jamie in the biblical sense? He just gets off on the power play of sonning a Black dude? I don’t get it. But Jamie finally signs on and Simon says Jamie can have the club back for the right price.

Of course, because Simon is shady, he changes the rules as soon as Jamie is on board. He wants Jamie to be his “errand boy” and run some files to Miami. Also, Ghost won’t be reporting directly to Simon anymore. Ghost’s Number 2 is now his boss (just like Angie). Simon tells New Boss to make sure Ghost never makes the twenty percent profit to buy back the club. I’m unclear why Ghost is putting up with this ish from Simon, at least the parts he knows about. Truth is a headache. Is the club that important? Is there no other way to wash the money? And won’t that part be significantly more difficult now that Ghost has two bosses? I’m with Tasha, just stick to the laundromats or open some more.

The upside to the Miami trip is that Ghost conveniently gets a lead that the hit woman is also in Miami. Two birds, one stone. Maybe three, he and Angie can finally take that trip they talked about.

Speaking of Angie, the bad Latina Mom from OITNB is Angie’s sister. They haven’t spoken in a while because her sister, Poz, doesn’t agree with her relationship with a married man. Angie tells her that she’s frustrated by it, but Jamie is making her dinner that night. Her sister isn’t swayed. “It’s easy to love someone when you only see them an hour a day,” Poz says. Welp!

On the personal front, Ghost is also mess. He’s still trying to figure out if Angie is forreal, forreal after discovering last week that she’s a federal prosecutor. And her switched up behavior isn’t helping matters. Though she’s been reassigned, she’s still pursuing “Ghost” and doesn’t have time for a second romp round with Jamie because she needs to “accidently” bump into her colleague, her ex, to get more details on the case she’s no longer working. Ghost, a married man with three children, tells Angie, “I feel like a booty call.” He keeps trying to pry into what’s going on with Angie’s job and she gives not giving up any details. He’s suspicious, of course, and follows her when she goes for her morning run. He sees that the guy she met up with is FBI. Doh!

But then Angela offers Jamie a key to her apartment, and now he’s more confused if she’s genuine or just really good at playing him. Ghost, who previously promised to make her dinner, takes the opportunity to go to Angie’s place and snoop, which I totally saw coming as soon as she offered the key. He finds her work files and, determines that Angie isn’t after their operation. Sure, ok. Whatever.

At work, Angie meets up with the 14 year old, who provides her with the elusive physical description of the guy she thinks is Ghost. Tommy’s name comes back as a potential suspect, and she hacks into her ex’s files … Pause. How is this possible? My gmail password requires uppercase and lowercase letters, at least one number and maybe a symbol. Access to FBI files are less secure than Gmail? I digress. Angie hacks into an FBI file containing not-actually-Ghost’s voice and realizes that “Oh shit!” Tommy is “Ghost”!” I mean, at least in her head he is. Because Tommy and Ghost are besties, she hesitantly types Jamie’s name into the database. It comes up empty, and later a colleague calls to confirm hat Jamie doesn’t have a record. I assume this lack of information is why Ghost, whose been selling drugs for about twenty years and has no record, is called such.

Angie comes home as Ghost is snooping through her apartment, but he cleans up quickly enough not to get caught. Angie, who never talks about her work, mentions that she’s been reassigned to another case. Ghost offers her a plus-one on his trip to Miami, a new version of the one they were supposed to take before his club got shot up and her snitch got killed. She declines Miami, and to do him that night.

Anyway…

Tasha shows up at Tommy and Holly’s apartment with flowers and food and talking about Holly is family. This is all bullsh--, of course. Despite how much she loves Tommy, she’s never going to think of the chick that stole her earrings from her damn house as family. But Tasha needs to play nice to keep Holly in line. Holly looks skeptical. Tasha tells her that Ghost paid all her medical bills. Holly responds that as an employee of Truth, her medical bills were paid. Really? Bartenders get benefits now? Oh, and Tasha gives her the same spiel about what happened in the club that Tommy gave her, but that doesn’t add up based on Tommy’s voicemails. When Tommy gets home, she barks on him that he has to be honest with her. Um… something is up with this chick. Tommy should run, not walk, to the nearest exist. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Fiddy is finally going to see Ghost and let him know that he just got out of jail, so recent that Ghost is his first stop. Something weird is happening here. Ghost isn’t all that happy to see Kanan. And is it me, or his compliment about Tasha “filling out” makes me think they have some sexual history.

Because Kanan is just 50 by a different name, he’s full of shady one-liners, Looking around Ghost’s house, he points out, “ya’ll did better without me than ya’ll woulda did with me on the street” and hilariously compares the St. Patricks to The Jeffersons. In Ghost’s study, he reminds Ghost of how he ascended to his current position, by taking out the competition. Ghost bristles.

Tommy pops in and is excited to see Kanan, notably in a way that Ghost isn’t. When Tommy begins to discuss business, Ghost silences him. Yep, there’s definitely some tension there on Ghost’s end. As there should be given that Fiddy wants him dead and all, but Ghost doesn’t know that… yet.

Speaking of Sean being awkward. He wants to rekindle whatever it was with Tasha to see if they can take it further. But Tasha is in a good place with her husband now and brushes Sean off as misunderstanding her previous intentions. Um… ma’am? There’s only but so many ways to interpret taking your draws off in the backseat of the car and touching yourself while your driver looks on, but whatever you say…

I guess because Angie’s not doing him, Jamie finally decides to do his wife. Their sex is actually hotter than Angie and Jamie’s used to be. More, please.

Jamie arrives at his private jet to head for his all business, no pleasure trip to Miami —which the characters are really playing up, so I expect next week to be big. Angie shows up unexpectedly, and because Ghost thinks she’s not a threat, he is happy to see her. I’m wondering if she’s here because going to Miami is a sexier version of making jam in Vermont like Liv & Fitz? Or is she going to use Ghost to get close to Tommy. Or both?

I guess we find out next week.

What did you think of Episode 2?

Recap: Finally, The Return of Power (Season 2)

 

So finally Power is back. But something's different.

During Power's 10-month hiatus, Fox's Empire debuted and became an international hit, which means, for better or worse, other shows will naturally adjust their format to duplicate its success.Because the two are often compared, primarily because they are hour-long scripted dramas mostly featuring Black people, I’ll say that I preferred “Power” to “Empire”. It’s a smart drug story, not quite The Wire (the greatest TV show of all time) with its plodding storytelling, but also not trying to be it. Power paced well to me. Slow enough to build conflict to a crescendo unlike Empire, which races through conflicts like its paced to the beat of house music.

Note the past tense I used for “pace”: paced. Power’s changed—in the first two episodes, anyway, . It’s faster, more-in-your-face conflict. It seems like it’s trying to compete with everything-including-the-kitchen-sink over-the-“topness” of Empire, and it didn’t have to. The timing of the shows doesn’t overlap, they’re not on competing networks, and above all, there is room enough for both, despite what a certain Deadline writer might think.

That said…

The premiere of Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off. The hit-woman with the pink shoes flees the club after missing her target, Ghost. She hit crazy white boy Tommy’s lady, Holly, instead. Tommy, last seen on a stakeout at Angela’s apartment, after he learns she’s a Federal prosecutor, goes inside to find that her bags are packed and she’s heading off somewhere. Mistakenly, Tommy believes Ghost, who’s been outsourcing more of the day-to-day drug operations to Tommy, has been setting him up to take a fall with the feds. Tommy gets a text from Ghost asking him to meet up, probably to tell him that Holly's been shot. But Tommy’s paranoid, so not today, Satan. Instead he heads off somewhere to hide and we see him get bashed with a baseball bat and collapse.

Oh, and Angela is trying to cover her ass after her CI, Namar, was murdered (by Tommy). Her job is on the line.

Kanan aka 50 Cent aka the executive producer of Power is out of jail after a 10 year bid. After watching the season premiere and episode 2, I can safely say I liked “Power” better when it was a 50 Cent production instead of co-starring 50 Cent. The other characters keep calling 50 “Kanan” and “Dad”, and I’m just like, “no, that’s Fiddy and his son is named Marquis”. 50’s more or less playing himself in that he’s mischievous, cunning, and likes to stir up drama just for kicks. Just as in life, his smile is his redeeming quality. The man does have pretty teeth.

But I digress. 50 Cent is a free man and doesn’t want to see Ghost. He needs a woman. But like, not to have sex with. He’s looking for the hit-woman he hired to kill Ghost who didn’t do her job. He locates her partner, roughs him up bad, and promises to be back if the guy can’t find her. It’s violence for violence sake and to show the audience that Fiddy is not to be f---ed with. Got it.

Omari Hardwick is in his draws. A moment of silence…

….

….

…

Tasha is worried about her husband. He’s restless as he doesn’t know where Tommy is, and decides to head out to look for him. Ghost needs Tommy to make the connections with other drug dealers so they can move more weight. And he just needs Tommy because for some reason I’m yet to understand, these two are actual besties. Okay, if you say so. Ghost follows the trail of the “Underground Railroad”, ie, places where he and Tommy keep a few thousand in cash and a weapon in case ish hits the fan. The most amusing of these is under a church pew. All the stashes are in place, so Ghost is more confused than ever.

Simon Stern, the skeevy white guy who wanted Ghost to work for him is back. He still wants a partnership, and offers to help Ghost get his club back open and “groom him.” Jamie doesn’t want – or need—his help. Not sure where this storyline is going, but I’m not interested.

With the latest catastrophe at Truth, Jamie has thrown himself back into being a “mother---ing coke boy.” His distributor wants to double the amount of product that’s hitting the streets, and Jamie can’t resist the money, or er, power. Me? I would lay low for a minute if someone was trying to kill me in the street, and got close enough to strike the person standing next to me. But, what do I know? I’m a writer, not a drug dealer.

Ghost goes to see Rolla’s replacement, a kid who looks like an older version of Kenard, the kid from The Wire who shot Oh-mar. He’s suspicious of Ghost because he’s “real habla espanol” with some Latino drug dealers and doesn’t know if he wants to do business. Ghost literally cannot give this dope away.

Angela has a new boss. He’s a hard ass and re-assigns her to another case. Of course, Angie can’t give up the chase of Lobos, and unbeknown to her, also the married man she’s doing. She meets up with Ghost to complain about her job and not being in Miami. "We should be tan”, she says. No, what ya’ll should  be is communicating more and humping less and maybe you would figure out that the man you’re riding is the source you’re looking for at work. Sigh. Oh, and she still thinks “Ghost” is a white guy, i.e., Tommy. Oh, Angie. Of course, Angie can’t give up the case that easily. She attends Namar’s funeral doing her best “Jenny from the Block” impression, looking to see who she can flip for info on “Ghost.” She singles out Namar’s underage boo as an easy target.

In Tommy’s absence, Ghost turns to Tasha, his wife and trap queen, to help him move weight. She’s no newbie here and quickly concocts an elaborate plan to solve Ghost’s work dilemma: kill everyone! “It only starts a war if they know you did it.”, she says. Fresh eyes for the win!!! And Ghost should think twice about cheating on a woman who speaks of murder so casually. But, In return for expressing her loyalty once again, Tasha has one request of her husband: stop seeing his mistress, Angela. It’s a reasonable request. Jamie seems surprised that Tasha knows. He goes all Olivia Pope and says he’ll handle it. but the look on his face says otherwise.

Of course, this is Omari Hardwick, and after Mary Jane, and For Colored Girls, he’s proven that he can’t play a decent husband to save his life. By “handle”, what he meant was slide some peen to Angie, who is riding in him, in literally the next scene. I was once #TeamAngie and I was impressed with their sex scenes, but that was when Angie wasn’t a knowing mistress and I also empathized with Ghost who wanted more from life and seemed weighed down by his small-minded wife.

Now he’s back to being a full-time drug dealer as the club is closed and it’s ambitious Angie who is weighed down by him. It’s painful to watch her mental contortions talking about getting a bigger place where she can play stepmom to his kids and trying to justify sticking with a married man who hits her with classic lies, like, “I’m only there for my kids.” He’s there because he wants to be there. The End. Move on. I cringed when he told Angie in El Bloombito Spanish that Tasha was all about the money. Yeah, she likes it and all, but I believe she would still be “down” if Ghost didn’t have it. Ghost is actually about the money, not Tasha.

Tasha is convinced that Ghost is a changed man, sort of. Lala calls “bullsh—“, and points out that Tasha can’t be all in because she’s saving money on the side. She requests a withdrawl limit of more than $5k. Well, all right then.

Fiddy meets up with some dude he looked out for in prison. They have a new plan now that the hit-lady screwed up leaving Ghost alive: reach the connect via “the inside.” Fiddy says he can count on his son to tell him everything he wants to know about Ghost’s organization. Um… you sure about that Fif? I’m not always sure where Sean's loyalty lies. He's too quiet. You gotta watch those types.

Ghost is still worried about Tommy, and he can’t expand distribution without him. He calls Tommy’s mom, Kate, and meeting her explains a lot about why Tommy is a nut job that he is. Apples don’t far fall from trees. Tommy’s Mom lies to Ghost and swears she hasn’t seen Tommy, her son aka “the ungrateful bastard”. Meanwhile, Tommy’s standing in the kitchen. Mom and son talk about Tommy’s redhead boo that he hasn’t heard from in days now, and bond by doing lines of coke on the kitchen counter. How Hallmark.

Ghost goes before the community board to plea for a second chance to have Truth re-opened. They relent. But this is a TV drama so there’s always a catch. Skeevy Simon bought out Ghost’s landlord, so technically, he owns Truth now. Forgive me, I just don’t get why this dude wants Ghost’s and/or Ghost’s club so bad. But this scene is kind of telling about Ghost, in that he seems to be a modern-day Stringer Bell. As Avon once assessed, “you’re too good for one world, but not good enough for the other.” He can’t run the drug operation without Tommy, and in legit world, he’s easily scooped. He is, however, winning on the home-front. He lies to Tasha and tells her that he’s taken care of the Angela situation.

Ghost’s spidey senses tell him Tommy’s mother was lying and he pops up at the house with what looks like a dime bag to entice her to open the door. He muscles his way in and finds that Tommy’s got a gun. He accuses Ghost of betraying him. This is how Ghost finally learns Angie is a US attorney. Doh!

In the best exchange of the show, Ghost says, “She told me she was a lawyer for the government!”

Tommy: “What kind of lawyers did you think work for the government?”

Tommy: 1. Ghost: 0.

Ghost is devastated and believes Angela is playing him. Tommy wants to kill her. Ghost can’t do it. He’s in… something with her. I won’t call it love. I do think he genuinely cares about Angie. That puppy dog way he looks at her is almost pathetic. I looked at a man that way once. Nothing good comes of that.

Oh, and Ghost finally tells Tommy that Holly got shot. Tommy goes all weird, as expected. Meanwhile, Ghost shows up to Angie’s house unexpectedly and with a gun… She says she loves him. He’s obviously skeptical.

In other news, I wonder how much the show paid to license that Lil Wayne/Drake song for the conclusion? That didn’t come cheap. Rip Rip.

What did you think of the Season 2 premiere of Power? 

"Power" Season Finale Recap: Jamie the Most Delusional D-Boy Ever

 

The season finale of Power aired last night. Overall? Eh... solid. Not astounding, but re-watchable for sure. Episode 7 was the best of the season.

Without further adieu, my running thoughts on last night's "Power" finale (in almost chronological order):

*Ghost is haunted by Rolla's killing. The irony. Get it? Ghost? Haunted?  Oh, nevermind.

*Why the white girl keep her bra on during sexy time but the Black girl and the Latina be nekkid?

*Angie discussing Ghost at her job makes me laugh. If only you knew, boo!!

*Tommy just be telling Ginger-girl all the inside business. Now she knows Ghost and Jamie are one in the same. I swear this chick is a fed. Either that or she's dead by the end of this episode.

*"It's gonna be the club, my kids and you". —Jamie to Angela. Negro, please. Unless he kills Tasha. She ain't giving up the kids.

*So the hitta was just gonna kill him in broad daylight? Damn.

*Reina's voice is heaven. I'm all about this Lil Black Annie. Wonder is writers knew about Quvenzhane in the movie version of "Annie" when they wrote this.

*Ah! The son returns! We haven't seen him in forever.

*I knew the white lady was going to blow up Tasha's spot. Lol. Jamie's mad she paid to get Reina her spot, but like, they got the money. And she is good.

*Cynthia is so going to blatantly try to hump Jamie at some point.

*Ooh! Mama's back!! How she automatically know Jamie was cheating? Mamas be knowing! She hit us with some fast gems: "Lakiesha's as simple as two plus two" and "You ain't got no legal claim on illegal money."

*"You were right. You happy now? I couldn't keep him." - Tasha. Damn, boo. #hugsforTasha

*Jamie is taking his side chick on vacay? Sir.

*Pedi and this young girl look gross in the same scene. The age difference is just... Yuck!!!

*Eh... Did this show just jump the shark? The kidnapping and tying them up? Ehhh... That's a lil extra, no?

*Aww, Lawd. When Ghost and Tommy start arguing in front of Jeffe you know it's bad. Didn't they watch "The Godfather"? You never speak against the family in public.

*I can't wait til Ghost finds out Fiddy is behind this. He's gonna go ape sh--.

*Um. Double the product? This is the beginning of the end. These mofos need to listen to "Fallen" off the American Gangster soundtrack. You gotta know when to get out or coast. I mean Jamie's trying, but not hard enough.

*"My word's not good enough"- Tommy <<< this mofo is so "Sonny". Ol' insecure self.

*Angela is hard-headed. She gonna lie to the man about witness protection? I'mma guess that Angie finds out who Ghost is and drops this case. But Pedi-dude is gonna be dead. I have 30 minutes to prove myself wrong or right.

*Is Ghost gonna kill Tommy? Something is off.

*I love how they refer to each gang by ethnicity. Just so we're clear, black folk ain't the only drug dealers.

*Tommy really fell for that "two men, one voice ish". Really? I'm amazed he made it this far as a drug dealer being this simple.

*50 Cent calling his son for favors. Ol' messy self.

*Tommy's "three of us against the world" speech makes me almost certain he's dead soon.

*Why would Nomar tell Isabel he's leaving?? And really, an adult dick pic to a kid??

*I knew her dad was going to see it!!!! I knew!! Say bye- bye Nomar!!

*There's no way this Miami trip is happening. No way.

*Angela can't be this stupid. They're gonna go live happily ever after in Miami? This is like when Olivia was gonna move to Vermont and make jam.

*You taking the key from your sister to give to your married BF?! Son!! You're leaving your dying Daddy for your married BF?!?! Chick, what are you doing???

*Greg came thru. Nomar's dead-ish. Womp. Totes saw that coming.

*Oh, God. Ugh. I feel bad for Tasha. Damn, bad.  Her man just hit  with "I"m going on a business trip" and "I been trying to tell you, Tasha. You ain't been listening."  And " we need to talk".

*"I'm all yours now." - Jamie << He and Angie deserve each other. Their mutual mass delusion drives me nuts.

*Omari got a tat on his ankle???? Or is that for the role?

*OMG. Tommy knows about Angela!!! TOMMY KNOWS ABOUT ANGELA!!!!!

*Holly is f--ing crazy telling Ghost they're partners now. And so much for the Miami plan. And the current club. And shit, Holly. I called that. Or not. Maybe she'll live. Is it wrong I want her to die?

*Fiddy's out.  Here come more trouble. Damn, damn, damn.

*Poor, poor Tasha.

*So that's a no to Cynthia trying to hump Jamie. Ok. And any of her business.

*Jamie's a stone cold drug dealer again. Damn. Ahh well!!! Maybe he keeps Tasha. Hmmm...

EDIT:  I watched at 5AM after a long night of editing. I missed that Tommy was outside of Angela's apartment. Is he going to kill Angela?! What did you think? 

Power Ep. 7: Jamie & Angela Have the Best Sex on TV

My flight from San Jose landed at 5:15AM yesterday morning. I got home to find out I was locked out. (Long story.) Finally got in at 7AM, laid down to actually sleep (because plane sleep sucks even though I finally bought a plane pillow, which helps immensely). And then when I couldn't sleep though I was bone tired, I watched Saturday night's episode of "Power", then slept til 5PM.  That's how much I like this show... though I realized I hate nearly all of the characters.

These are my thoughts on the most recent episode, in no particular order (and you'll only get it if you saw the episode):

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*  *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* 

I HATE Lala's character (but love Lala). She's like the stereotype of the single friend who hasn't been in a relationship in forever. But she's ride or die for her girl, just like Tasha is ride or die for Ghost, and I respect that.

For some reason, I don't like Angie anymore. Can't put my finger on it. I think I was ok when she didn't know Jamie was married, but now that she knows and keeps the affair up, eh.... It's the "Olivia Pope" problem. At some point she just starts to seem overall stupid for, as MJB called it, "living in a dream." But Jamie be blowing her back out though... Whooo weeee!!!!!

I don't really like Tasha either, but she doesn't deserve to be cheated on even if her husband's outgrown her. And though limited in outlook, she does have  Ghost's best interest at heart. I felt real bad for her when she told her husband, "I won't embarrass you" when they showed up at Stern's house. Oh, and when the white lady asked to touch her hair after dinner, I cringed for her. That was especially weird as Tasha's hair is straight. I thought that only happened with braids and natural hair. Anyway, Tasha's an around-the-way, girl. That scene could have gone a whole lot different. She handled it better than I expected. (I give credit where it's due.) I also felt bad her when she saw Angie. They're worlds apart. She looked defeated in the car, and when she was standing in the mirror evaluating herself like, "why am I not good enough anymore?"

I... feel bad for Ghost. He's torn. Like "Stringer". Too good for one world, not good enough for the other. And struggling and lost. Just can't make a proper decision to save his life and so desperate to be understood and appreciated. If only his mistress could have a "Mary Jane" moment and tell the wife where she needs to step up. Sigh. Tasha would beat the sh-- out of Angie for trying that though. Womp. 

Stern's a muthaf***a. Exhibit A: "how do you get the Blacks and Latinos to show up night after night, and behave?" Ghost was mad that Tasha's stepped in to shut down Stern, and I get why, but she made the right call, even if she was doing it for the wrong reasons. She's obsessed with stunting this man's growth.

Elizabeth Rodriguez, the actress who plays "Poz", Angie's sister, is about to be typecast. She plays the exact same character on Orange is the New Black. Jamie Hector aka "Marlo" is also typecast as a drug dealer. He's so good at it though. Great, great actor.

Rolla's murder wasn't as bad as Wallace or Bodie, but it stung some. I think because the actor reminds me of Wiz Khalifa so much and I like Wiz. That and he makes me laugh, especially when he told ol' girl when she got back with his food, he was "gonna put this long nine on ya". There's some joke I'm missing in that 30 sec later, Ghost says something about 10 inches of snow. Honorable mention to that line about going to Miami to get "a got damn tan" and how he stays calling Tommy "Eminem". Bwahaha. 

I honestly don't care at all about Angela's investigation. I'm only remotely interested because of how this effects Angela and Jamie and what happens when one of them inevitably discovers what the other one really does for work. Somehow I don't see Angie being Tasha's kind of loyal: ride or die. If only this transfer for Detroit would go through. She's trying to keep the case, not knowing she's blocking her blessing. I'm also amazed that the details of what Angie does for a living never came up. I mean, I know she can't discuss the case, but "I'm a federal investigator" never came up?

My thoughts on Tommy haven't changed since the first episode: "Where they get this wild white boy from?" That said, I actually like him. All the man wants to do is his job. He's committed to Ghost and their business, minus the coke habit. He doesn't listen to Biggie: "never get high on your own supply."  I hate his awkward, clepto girlfriend (even before she stole Tasha's earrings).  For some reason, I think she's an undercover agent. Just a feeling.  Sane people run from people like Tommy, unless you grew up with him.

The lady hitta is gorgeous!

Fiddy's ol' devilish, messy self. He's an ass in life and in this role as "Kanan". I can't separate the two. LOL.  I laughed at the big reveal and his smile at the end.

Oh, and the driver? Sean ain't sh***.

I just realized that I strongly dislike or hate all of the characters, but I love this show.

Last thought: the snow throughout the episode was a nice touch. It's either a nod to the characters being in a whirlwind or some sort of "Winter is Coming" nod to GOT aka "the ish is about to hit the fan."

What did you think of Episode 7 of Power??