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?