11/4/2019 #PowerTV Mid-season Finale Recap: Thoughts On Who Shot Ghost And If He’s Not Dead Why He’ll Still End Up Being Lt. GovernorRead Now
So, we won’t be catching any new episodes of Power until sometime in 2020. But Sunday night’s, “No One Can Stop Me” left us with so many questions, a classic cliffhanger, and quite possibly the answer as to how Ghost got here. Let’s get into it!
Ghost is officially on the Gubernatorial ticket for the state of New York. Put aside the plausibility and the fact that he passed a background check for a moment. When Ramona calls Ghost to tell him the news she said two things that stood out to me and anyone who has been watching Power from the jump. She says, “your whole life is about to change” and “I believe in you James.” Does that sound like anyone we might know? Of course Ramona is the physical embodiment of all the things Angie couldn’t be. The show tells us as much later in the episode when Ghost has that conversation with Angie in his mind. Go all the way back to season one. This is what Ghost has always wanted. Power (pun intended) through legitimate means. Despite having to commit crimes to become legit. The opening of Truth was about cleaning money, sure, but the way he approached handling the business suggested he wanted something more. Despite having done and continuing to do A LOT of dirt. A life of crime is not what he wanted long-term. During one of our early season recaps I likened Ghost to Michael Corleone trying to go legit in the Godfather trilogy. Twitter user and recap fan @haiku7pc said the same last week. When he’s having breakfast with Ramona and Lorette (more on the location in extra thoughts) they talk about “oppo-research.” The only thing they need to worry about is Ghost selling drugs in his youth? LOL. The man owns a club where a girl overdosed on drugs and an employee was shot. He was with a federal prosecutor when she was shot and killed. His daughter was killed by a crooked cop who his son was involved in illegal activities with. His penthouse was lit up with a machine gun, the list goes on and on. All their “oppo-research” showed was he sold some gelcaps and dimebags as a corner boy? Fire that firm immediately. Ghost being placed on the ticket also brings the Queens Child Project back to the forefront. Councilman Tate had the permits revoked in his back and forth with Ghost and if he doesn’t get a new site, Lorette will drop him from the ticket. With no place to turn, this shoehorns an element of Ghost’s past into the storyline. To this point we haven’t gotten a lot about Ghost’s past beyond corner boy who became a drug kingpin and rich local entrepreneur. His relationship with his dad and the club his dad owned was referenced a few times but nothing very deep until Sunday’s episode. Ghost heads back to Queens and happens upon a bar/jazz club? Midnight Blues. Apparently, once a place of, at least, neighborhood prominence. Singer/songwriter Phyllis Hyman performed there. After a reunion of sorts with his “Uncle Gabe” we learn that Ghost’s dad wouldn’t be shaken down by the local dealers to keep his club safe. Apparently he went to the cops and that didn’t end well as he was killed, presumably by those local dealers. Perhaps this is why Ghost got in the game? To meet those dealers and avenge his father? Maybe “Breeze” was the one who killed his dad? Maybe…Or maybe something went down and Ghost needed more time to make it right and when he didn’t deliver, his dad was the price? Maybe… Meanwhile, the “good guys” are all messed up. Saxe shows up at his old boss, Jacob Warner’s office ranting about his latest theory on Ghost as a homicidal drug kingpin. Of course the funny thing is, Saxe is right. Ghost is guilty of all of those things. Too bad it seems like nobody within law enforcement actually cares. Sounds a lot like a certain…nevermind. The problem Saxe and Blanca Rodriguez face is akin to “double jeopardy.” This situation is like its bastard cousin. Having already tried, and failed, to convict Ghost for the murder of FBI Agent Greg Knox (a crime he didn’t actually commit but greatly benefited from), the Eastern District is reluctant to try to prove he committed any other murders for fear that they look stupid in public twice. You see what happens when you botch high-profile cases? Everyone has their own motives for doing what they do. But don’t be mistaken, there is no true altruism anywhere. Even on the side of law enforcement. Saxe and Rodriguez are a new buddy cop team, only without the laughs. They coerce Tate into saying Ghost told him he was upset about Tasha and Terry Silver. That combined with Tasha saying she thinks Ghost killed Terry is, while not quite a smoking gun, enough to move forward. Hearsay can be used as probable cause to obtain a sneak and peek warrant. However Silver’s cell, which Dre planted with the help of Saxe, was too good a piece of evidence for Rodriguez and ultimately Warner to pass up. Saxe, with the help of his lawyer Tameka, has managed to get the entire Eastern District plus Rodriguez committing crimes all in the name of proving that James and Ghost are in fact one in the same. But it’s all come to a head for all parties involved. Judge Tapper shut down the case unless the task force can get a witness to testify that Ghost killed Silver. So Blanca gets Dre, who was arrested and set up by Ghost to take the fall for the Jason Micic murder, to lie and say he saw it. She has her warrant. Tate, after being summarily dressed down and dismissed by Ghost after he was added to Lorette’s ticket is on his way to shoot Ghost. A dejected Saxe, whose career is over and is facing prison figures, he might as well kill Ghost since he’s going to jail anyway. Tasha, who is reeling after years of lies and betrayal from Ghost and facing the possibility that Tariq is going to prison, is on her way to also, presumably shoot Ghost. Tommy, Ghost’s “brother”and former partner, who along with Tasha has the most reasons to want to kill Ghost is on his way to off Ghost as well. What about Paz? Angie’s sister. She never liked Ghost and you saw the look on her face when Blanca told her the case was being shut down. Dre, just released after his “eyewitness account,” looks to be on the hunt as well. Where is ‘Riq headed? Is he really turning himself in? This was the moment so many of you were waiting for, right? Finally, someone shot Ghost. All of his transgressions have finally caught up to him. He is a murderous, lying, drug dealer. He should pay for his crimes, right? Of course it’s unlikely he’s actually dead. But the way the final scene was shot, we were supposed to think one of the aforementioned people did it. That would make the most sense from a motive perspective. But what would that do from a storytelling perspective? Not much. Right before that final scene, Ghost calls 2Bit (who is in jail with Spanky). 2Bit and Spanky believe Tommy set them up to take the fall at the warehouse. What if Ghost called Spanky and set up an elaborate assassination attempt on himself through one of Spanky’s associates on the outside? He survives it and spins the story as people not wanting to see a man overcome his past and make something of himself. Something media outlets would devour, from a story perspective. What did Ghost repeat over and over to everyone this episode? “No One Can Stop Me.” Meanwhile, all the aforementioned are now suspects. They all had motive to kill Ghost and instead he plays them. Don’t act like that’s farfetched. This is well within the realm of Power. Whoever shot Ghost, I know we’re all looking forward to seeing how this saga ends. For better and for worse. Just a few extra thoughts:
What do ya’ll think? Get at me on twitter and Instagram @jshector Please share with your friends and people you think would enjoy the show. As always thanks for reading and visiting BSO. See you in 2020 for the series’ final episodes!
1 Comment
7/6/2023 07:31:16 am
I wanted to express my gratitude for your insightful and engaging article. Your writing is clear and easy to follow, and I appreciated the way you presented your ideas in a thoughtful and organized manner. Your analysis was both thought-provoking and well-researched, and I enjoyed the real-life examples you used to illustrate your points. Your article has provided me with a fresh perspective on the subject matter and has inspired me to think more deeply about this topic.
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