Last night’s episode, Don’t Worry, Baby might be the best so far this season. Many of the show’s characters are being assured by those around them that everything is okay. However, there is imminent danger lurking around the corner for all.
Ghost and Angela are dealing with the aftermath of the Tariq gun incident. Tasha has banned the kids from staying at Angela’s apartment. In an effort to help, Angela calls in a favor to have Tariq’s record with the NYPD expunged. When Angela tells Tasha about her good deed, the two have an awkward encounter. Ghost finds out about Angela’s visit and it leads to an argument between the two. To make matters worse, Angela’s sister Paz comes over for dinner and it doesn’t go well. Paz is not a fan of Ghost and uses every opportunity to throw shade at their relationship. As mentioned in previous recaps Ghost and Angela got what they wanted, they are together. But the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.” Things are clearly not going well for them right now and they are not being honest with each other. The communication is poor and there are some control issues. Ghost is used to running things his way and Angela is an independent woman, there is bound to be tension. Something tells me they won’t make it through this season together. Angela even questions Ghost towards the end of the episode about their relationship. She is truly contemplating its future and if everything they’ve done was worth it. Down in D.C. Jukebox is working out the details of a jewelry store heist. Watching Anika Noni Rose in this role is a treat. Jukebox is as ruthless and pragmatic as they come. There is no mistaking who is in charge and she is not afraid to let anyone, man or woman, know it. A minor disagreement starts when Kanan enters the room as Jukebox and her team are discussing the details of the heist. Jukebox lets them all know she will decide who does what. As she exits the room she tells Kanan she isn’t sure about his ability to handle a gun given the injuries. She then tells Kanan he probably can’t even jerk off. Kanan and Candy are left in the room to make sure that his hands are working. Candy reports back to Jukebox that both of his hands work just fine. That scene was incredible as it reinforces the power dynamic through a proxy. Jukebox is the boss and Candy is her proxy in this instance. Jukebox uses Candy’s sex to show her power and control, over both Candy and Kanan. The jewelry store heist is a great action scene, the combination of smashing glass, screams and the loud demands of the assailants was well shot and edited. In the aftermath of the heist, Jukebox calmly throws the police off the trail by giving the description of the getaway car with four white males (anybody else catch that?) traveling in the wrong direction. She and Kanan celebrate later at a strip club and they discuss his plans on returning to NYC. He obviously wants to kill Ghost but she gives him more to think about. Ghost took a lot away from Kanan when he set him up, how should he seek revenge? Tommy and Holly were busy this episode. On a visit to Tasha’s apartment, while Tommy is having a talk with Tariq about the afore mentioned gun incident, Tasha and Holly share a moment bonding over motherhood. Tasha gives Holly stern but prudent advice on what she needs to consider. It is in that moment when Holly begins to strongly feel the bonds of family. Holly continues to press Tommy about killing Ghost. The new mother to be loves Tommy and wants to be in this relationship for the long haul. Her motives are clear and she needs Tommy to do the deed. Tommy’s inability to kill his brother causes tension between he and Holly. Tommy, severely stressed over the decision to kill Ghost, “confesses” during a money pickup that he is having difficulty following through on his mission. Anybody else find the priest’s comments about the Ten Commandments funny? “God doesn’t care if you honor your father or mother…” The love and feeling of family is weighing heavily on Tommy and he is unsure what to do. Tommy will have to decide, if he is going to save his old family or his new one. Remember what he tells Tariq during their talk, “families are supposed to stay together, not break up.” Unbeknownst to Tommy, the son of the Korean primera plans on killing him that evening. Did I miss something? How did the Korean know where Tommy was going to be that night? Dre (back on the block, where he isn’t supposed to be) learns of the plan to hit Tommy and tells Ghost. Despite his desire to go fully legitimate, Ghost can’t let his boy get killed, so he springs into action and foils the attempt on Tommy’s life. When Tommy returns home injured but alive after the attempt on his life, Holly goes full alpha female. Assuming that the attempt on Tommy’s life was Lobos, she knows that now is the time to act. Holly needs to make sure Ghost is killed before Lobos kills her, Tommy and their unborn child. The biggest revelation this week is FBI agent Greg Knox, with the help of DEA agent Medina, has located Vibora Ruiz. The former head of the Soldado nation was last seen at the end of season 2 fleeing NYC and going into hiding from Lobos at Ghost’s request. Knox travels to San Diego and finds Ruiz living under the alias Armando Garcia. Knox pushes Ruiz and eventually gets him into custody. Upon his reinstatement to the Lobos task force Knox lets the team know that Ruiz will testify and give up the entire distribution network. This means trouble for Ghost and Angela. Knox is hell bent on burying Angela and revealing the truth about Ghost. He looked very smug on his return to the task force, shooting very cocky smirks in Angela’s direction. Angela knows how to handle herself, it will be interesting to see how she gets herself and Ghost out of this one. The head of the district office, Mike Sandoval, may actually end up inadvertently saving Ghost and Angela. As a mole for Lobos he must protect his boss at all costs. It’s hard to believe but next week puts us at the halfway point for this season. The pressure has been turned up and nobody appears to be on solid footing. A few extra thoughts:
What do you all think? Use the comment section below. Please share with your friends and people you think would enjoy the show. As always thanks for reading and visiting BSO. See you next week!
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I Got This on Lock is the title of this week’s episode. It might as well be the mantra for all the characters in this prestige drama. Or, the mantra they project on the exterior. While everyone is settling into their new roles, it takes some adjustment. Rather than show any weakness or fear, everyone flexes and puts on that steely outward resolve as though nothing could break them.
The episode opens at a random drug store in Washington D.C., where an attempted robbery goes awry. A local cop, officer LaVerne “Jukebox” Ganner, played by the brilliant Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls, The Good Wife, Roots) arrives on the scene and appears to deescalate the situation. The 90 seconds that immediately follow set up this tremendous episode. Ganner instructs one of the men robbing the store to kill the store clerk, revealing herself as a dishonest cop. As she scolds the two men – whom she knows – for failing to plan accordingly, one of them tries to explain his thought process and she shoots and kills him. As the other looks on in horror she loudly affirms, “I got this!” Officer Ganner returns home after the incident where we find her girlfriend and Crispy Kanan! The introduction of Jukebox and the return of Kanan and their backstory (which I hope we get more of) was the most interesting part of this week’s episode. We learn the two are cousins and they both feel a certain indebtedness to the other born out of a shared personal experience. Rose is the perfect actor to play Jukebox, while diminutive in stature she wields a tremendous amount of power. Not only as a crooked cop that is running some sort of con that I imagine is profitable. But also as the head of her household and the one with the upper hand in her relationship with Kanan. Jukebox withholds Kanan’s meds, and uses her girlfriend’s sex as attempts to seek truths from her severely burnt cousin. Kanan tries to show strength and push back on Jukebox but ultimately succumbs to her demands for no more secrets. Jukebox is intimately familiar with Kanan’s relationship with his deceased son, Shawn and Ghost. Jukebox seems to be the ultimate ruthless pragmatist giving us the line: Shawn was a pawn and you sacrifice pawns for the greater good. Back in NYC, suspended FBI agent Greg Knox is still stalking/lurking. Trailing Ghost, he spots him outside of Tommy’s apartment and takes photos of him as visual evidence when he confronts Angela with his truth about Ghost. Knox connects with agent Medina (you remember him from season 1, he was part of the original Lobos task force), to ask for his help on proving that Ghost is the actual distributor. Greg is a man on a mission and clearly will not rest until he proves who Ghost really is. I fear that his vigilante justice crusade does not paint him in a favorable light. He comes off as a desperate, slightly crazy, scorned ex-lover. Even though he is 100% correct with everything relating to Ghost and Angela. The three new best friends Tasha, Tommy and Holly are checking out their legit business and discussing how they will launder the drug money. Last week we wondered how LaKeisha got the money for Weave Got The Funk? Now we know. Tasha staked cash as the initial investor and the salon is the new front. As a part of this new alliance, Tasha and Holly are forced to spend more time together and it appears to be going well. The ladies had their “come to Jesus” moment over the stolen earrings from season one. Holly admitted she took them and Tasha seemed to forgive her. The duo even reverted into a character sketch when pulled over by cops for an illegal lane change. Holly had bundles of cash on her, which if the cops effected a search (though there was no pc) would have caused problems. Holly went straight for the “she’s my nanny” move and the cops let them go. It was a little campy and too easy, but given the dynamics in the car and in the scene, it made sense. On the St. Patrick home front, Tariq is facing expulsion for bringing Angela’s gun to school. Ghost and Tasha meet with the school principal to discuss alternatives. In a “ripped from the headlines” ploy, Tasha rehashes all the incidents at the school in which white children were given lesser punishments despite actualized violence and/or criminal wrongdoing. Nice job by Courtney Kemp and the writers with that. Ghost and Angela discuss the gun situation and it leads to a very tense exchange. Both sides are getting used to the new arrangements and Tariq taking Angela’s gun from her bag and bringing it to school was an unfortunate byproduct. In the scene, Angela confronts Ghost About Tommy as the issue of trust (surprise surprise) comes up again. Ghost tells Angela choosing between her and Tommy was difficult and that he chose her but needed to connect with Tommy. Although he wasn’t 100% honest with her in that moment as to why he needed to see Tommy. Ghost and Tommy do wind up meeting under false pretenses and the two share an awkward moment. Despite Tommy not killing Ghost last week and Ghost being aware, to a certain extent. Serious damage has been inflicted upon that relationship, I’m not sure it heals any time soon. We will see what this means as it relates to Lobos and all the other players that orbit the Ghost and Tommy dynamic. I enjoyed this episode a lot. We began by saying the characters’ outward projection is one of confidence. I enjoy the moments where the characters show their fragility when they are around people they love. Ghost and Angela, Tommy and Holly, and Tasha and LaKeisha. It’s hard to believe but next week puts us one episode away from the halfway mark of the season. Get ready for some drama and WTF moments. A few extra thoughts:
What do you all think? Use the comment section below. Please share with your friends and people you think would enjoy the show. As always thanks for reading and visiting BSO. See you next week! |