8/7/2017 Power Episode Recap: Was Tasha’s Cheating Justified & Will Someone Please Shoot TariqRead NowDid the pacing in last night’s episode seem really fast, or was it just me? Many of you thought that about last week’s episode as well. Last week we learned that creator and showrunner Courtney Kemp asked Starz for a twelve-episode season, they refused. It seems that the material they have for this season would’ve been best served with an additional two episodes. Despite the frenetic pacing, which will continue through the finale, last night’s episode You Lied To My Face brought many characters up to date with what we’ve known for a long time.
Glad to see a lengthy dialogue scene between Ghost and Tasha. Omari Hardwick and Naturi Naughton really capture the emotions of a diminished relationship that still needs to exist on some level due to extenuating circumstances. You see it as they hurl insults at each other, show vulnerability, and make momentary peace for the sake of their kids. Good stuff by the actors, with some great lines. More on that in this week’s extra thoughts. Mirrors are a consistent presence on this show, the creative team uses them to illustrate and illuminate who these characters really are. There is no hiding in front of the mirror. When Ghost and Tasha are arguing in the bedroom after he brings Tariq home, they are in their huge walk-in closet in front of the three mirrors. They both are exposed in that scene for who they are, liars and criminals. Tasha is trying to explain why she didn’t tell Ghost Tariq had been kidnapped before. Ghost is placing the blame on her, and she reminds him they wouldn’t be in this mess if he didn’t stray, among other things. We also learn that Tasha told Ghost to kill Kanan, and he didn’t. How ruthless is Tasha? She’s stone cold. Many truths throughout the show’s run have been exposed in front of those specific mirrors. Up until now they’ve been experienced by a singular character, either Ghost or Tasha. Having them both in front of the mirrors was really clever. The mirrors are about exposing parts of one’s self that are hidden. Tasha sums it up perfectly when she says, “You left me because our life together was real. And with Angela, you could pretend to be something you never were.” Meanwhile, we told you this Dre coup might have a hiccup. When Dre and Tommy meet outside the warehouse before they discover Julio’s dead body. Tommy confronts Dre about Kanan. Dre dodges the bullet, for now. But something tells me he won’t able to keep the lie going. Inside the warehouse Tommy finds Julio’s body with the Toros Locos tattoo cutoff and tells Dre to set up a meeting. During the exchange we see Dre’s ambitions and just how cold he is. Julio’s body isn’t even cold and he’s asking for a promotion, which he ultimately gets. Tommy’s no fool and doesn’t buy that the dude the Toros Locos offered up, actually did the deed and killed Julio. Even though he does kill him. Shooting that man in the head and pointing the gun at Uriel was a show of strength. We finally meet the leaders of the Jimenez Cartel, Diego and Alicia Jimenez. A brother and sister act no doubt introduced to be a part of the upcoming drug war. You remember the Jimenez Cartel, they were going after Felipe Lobos and had him stabbed him while he was in prison. Diego and Alicia forced one of their employees to overdose on coke and shot his woman in front of their kid. No joke. Tommy shows his development as a character in his scene with Diego and Alicia. He shows his hand and is not afraid to let them know that he was the one that killed Lobos and that Ghost had a deal with the locos that is still being honored. There is no way season one Tommy could handle this kind of meeting without saying the wrong thing or upsetting the applecart. He makes his demands and Diego and Alicia have to think, but he warns them not to take too long in deliberation. This is high stakes drug warfare now. Julio and Dre were playing at one level, but this is something else all together. Can we talk about the suspended prosecution team running around the streets like a rogue 80s rock band? Saxe literally will believe any theory from anyone. First Sandoval convinces him that Donovan might be the mole. When Mak approaches Saxe about his contact with missing (we know he’s deceased) Homeland Security Agent Bailey Markham he rushes to tell Angela, whom he hates, that they need to push on the Donovan theory. At this point Angela and Donovan have already realized that Sandoval was in the office at Truth before the gun was discovered. Speaking of Sandoval, we have been saying all season it’s only a matter of time before he runs out of options. He already killed Greg and was ready to cancel Christmas on Donovan. How does that storyline resolve itself? He is either found out or arrested, or he kills himself, right? He can’t continue on a killing spree. I suppose he can try and frame someone else. But they are closing in on him and it will look really suspicious when he points the finger at someone else. On a side note, the Feds need to step up the security of their computer systems. All series long, characters can download files and video footage and pass it along to anyone inside and outside the office. Don’t the systems log this stuff? Donovan is currently on desk assignment. Angela, Sandoval and Saxe are all suspended and locked out of the office. Donovan just copied the files on a flash drive and walked out? So, are we supposed to be on board with Traiq being hard now? Dude is hooked on Lean, plays violent video games all day, talks real greasy to his folks, and has no respect for authority. Not to mention he got physical with his sister in this week’s episode. Kanan twisted this kid’s head up and who knows what he’ll do next. In many ways he’s really just a typical teenager. Going through physical and emotional changes but he still lives in a world of black and white. He’s not equipped to handle the truths he seeks. He is experiencing what we all have, which is that realization that our parents are not these God like beings that are all powerful and do no wrong. They are human, imperfect, and fallible. The problem for Traiq of course is that his parents also happen to be murdering, drug dealing, criminal conspirators. Dude will be lying down on some therapists couch in 20 years talking about his feelings. Terry is mad corny. How you going to say BeBe and CeCe Winans after Tasha says, “we could’ve been something.” Everyone see what’s happening here right? Yes, we predicted Tasha and Terry would smash. That was obvious. But Tasha is essentially playing Ghost from the first season. Remember when Ghost and Angela reconnected it was all about what his life would be like if he was with Angela instead, if he was legit from jump. Tasha echoes that sentiment when she says to Terry, “I just keep thinking, what if I had never met James. What if I had met you first?” Just like Ghost during the first season, Tasha withholds who she really is from Terry. But I’m skeptical of Terry. I think he knows more than he’s letting on. Not saying he doesn’t have any feelings for Tasha but something’s going on behind the scenes with him. The episode ends with the reveal many people were waiting for. Tommy finally calls Tony Teresi who reveals, as we suspected, that he is in fact Tommy’s dad. Tony met Tommy’s mom Kate while she was a dancer at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. Apparently lusting after redheads is hereditary. I’ve written it many times before but it bears repeating. Tommy is an emotional character; the news that Teresi is his dad will definitely rock his world. The impact could be devastating and it’s coming at a time when he needs to be focused on other things. Aside from the pacing this was an important episode to get certain matters cleared up, positions established and set the pieces in motion for the penultimate and the finally. Last night was episode seven, only three more remaining in this season. I see a war coming, and Ghost’s legal situation is not over yet. A few extra thoughts:
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