Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
Now, this is what I have to say.
This is the Book of Power II: Ghosts that we’ve all come to love and respect over the years.
As a universe, Thrones is always at its best when its various plot points (as complex as they can be) come together and bring all of its characters together, whether they’re pitted against each other or something larger than themselves thing.
With three hours left before the end of the game, we finally arrived at our destination.
While I may have lamented the emphasis placed on Carter and his crew in Book of Thrones II: Ghosts Season 4 Episode 6, it all paid off when their characters were greatly diminished, and Carter made the most of it by “owning” “Criminals across the city are slowly starting to crumble with their grand plan to eradicate violent crime.
As a bad guy, Carter is okay. Michael Ealy always brings a lot to the table, but it would have been better if Carter had been introduced earlier in the series, since it would have made things better knowing it all had a definite end date It felt more rushed than they needed to be.
We only know Carter’s motivations because of his monologue, rather than having enough time to see things unfold on screen.
Now, we’re past the story’s climax, as Carter’s world is imploding on him, and everything feels like it’s happening in the blink of an eye.
The bottom line is that Carter can never catch every criminal without making a mistake, crossing all his “t’s” and dotting his “i’s”.
He may want to believe that he has all these people on a leash because he can put them in jail or send them to death, but that will never last forever because eventually, he will meet someone who will fight back, or Worse still, one who resists.
Killing Kamal was a spur-of-the-moment decision that Carter had to quickly cover up. Tate quickly breathed into his neck, and it was easiest for him to blame it on the Russians.
But he probably wasn’t expecting to commit a serious crime – whenever the crew had a pang of conscience over the murder of a good cop. He also didn’t foresee that Tejadas would become increasingly rebellious, although he might have if he hadn’t been involved in so many mountain pools.
Carter is a troubled man who lost his way a long time ago, but to get him out of it, he must be very smart. It’s not shown now because too many threads are beyond his control.
The moment Tariq and Diana discover they’ve lost their child, Felicia becomes a dead woman. There is nothing better than revenge in this world, and Tarik and Diana will stop at nothing to get it.
Well, Tarik was like that at first, until he visited someone who knew all too well what revenge can do to a person.
I sometimes forget that Tasha is still a part of the show and the universe, but keeping her mostly hidden and only bringing her out when the story really calls for it is oddly perfect.
With only a few episodes left, it’s a great reminder that everything Tarik is doing is to get back to his mother and sister so he can be there for them and protect them. This was the final outcome and he never wavered from it.
Tariq wants to count Carter’s entire crew in his death toll, but Tasha reminds him to consider whether his actions will bring him closer to his target.
This is true. Living your life impulsively like this is a sure way to go astray. There are other ways to support Princess Diana besides killing police officers.
It’s nice to hear someone understands Diana as well as Tasha does because she doesn’t know Diana personally. But she did know what it felt like to be like Diana.
Being surrounded by domineering men and people who claim to protect you feels more like a form of control. On top of that, they don’t even do it correctly.
Diana wakes up in the hospital, shocked, with only Tariq by her side, a man who once again made her promises they couldn’t keep.
I don’t blame her for wanting to take matters into her own hands, even if going after Felicia alone is a terrible idea.
How many times have we seen these people make terrible decisions time and time again? Just acting out of pure emotion and wrong intentions.
Diana does this when she chases Felicia with Monet’s gun. She was so high with pain and adrenaline that all she could think about was hurting those who hurt her.
We’ve seen Diana get her hands dirty before. That’s not to say she’s immune to it, although one sometimes wants to treat her like a damsel in distress because she chooses not to fit in like the others.
Diana breaks into Felicia’s home with zero plan, which is evident early on when the two fight. It didn’t look good for her, but once she got the upper hand, at some point, she could have walked away or called Tariq or Monet or something, but that was her revenge.
We’ve seen some nasty kills on Power before, and the cast iron skillet kill to the head was one of the kills that made me cringe the most!
She killed, killed that woman!
Diana has always had potential as a character, and they found her sweet spot when they cast her as a chaotic Tejada unwilling to continue letting Monet dictate her life.
She regresses a bit in the role, but she’s still an effective character when she’s given the chance to shine. Given more time, the killing of a mature cop feels like the beginning of her villainous origin story.
If Tarik makes it out of the series alive, he’ll need to move on to a new woman later on, but there’s something about Tarik and Diana that really works, and when he shows up to help Diana, it’s obvious without any doubt.
Tariq’s attempt to connect with Diana after she murdered someone, with the smell of blood in the air, was both anachronistic and hilarious given his history. I almost forgot he was Raina’s killer and thought he was going to confess to her about killing Ghost!
His intentions were pure, even if the timing was completely wrong, and don’t think we all couldn’t see what they were doing, let the two of them dote on that little boy the night before the worst day of his life, in his life The night before the worst day, the night before the worst day of his life, their worst day.
Everything about that scene and how it played out was a powerful moment and a reminder of how compelling this show is. I know it’s violent and borderline ridiculous if you take things too seriously, but damn if it doesn’t make for good TV!
How does Monet know where Felicia lives? I missed a few things, but Tariq needed Davis to do some investigative journalism in order to provide Tariq with some home addresses, and Monet just knew where to go!
Monáe takes the family reunion thing more seriously than I thought she would, though I respect that she doesn’t check her attitude a little.
She was fully prepared to deal with Felicia, and honestly, it was polite to lend a helping hand to Carter.
Everyone puts themselves in a situation where they’re trying to protect someone, and the Tejadas, even though they’re toxic and they’re the worst, they all try to protect each other in their own way.
I like it more than I thought I would.
Monet refuses to drive Norma away or allow Kane to help Diana, only to protect Kane from Norma. When Kane married Norma…well, hell, I’m not 100% sure why he did it, but it wasn’t love, I know it was because he suspected Monet of being Carter’s snitch (even though she didn’t snitch) in on them).
And then you have Drew.
Dru won this season’s MVP in a very high profile. This was never the life he imagined, but he’s slowly getting used to it. That’s the potential his dad saw in him.
Honestly, he and Kane both find their footing in interesting ways where they can actually outsmart someone and get away with it!
Drew’s decision to confess to Carter and basically side with him was to protect Monet and Diana, and of course, it pissed off Monet because she wanted to protect, but Drew definitely had a bigger plan. Correct?
It will be interesting to see how the final three hours play out.
The rest of the hour was about Norma, which was still a nap. Is anyone particularly interested in her finding new political figures to help her criminal enterprise?
It could very well be Tate since they brought him back, but even he can’t save this sinking storyline. Tate can save almost anything.
There’s also the subplot of Kane and Effie, two people who have the guts to ask Brayden for help. But there won’t be much interaction between Kane and Brayden in the future, so we should enjoy every one of them.
I keep harping on this, but it’s really crazy that we’re so close to the end and there’s still so much meat on the bones.
This isn’t a series that’s stagnant and running out of steam. There are still plenty of worthwhile characters and journeys to expand on, and you’ll be reminded of that in these moments, which harken back to the best this universe has to offer.
At least they’re trying to make this series stand out now.
Tariq glanced back at Carter before closing the door, which had his dad’s name written all over it. They had just awakened the beast, and once it was released, there was no way to put it back where it came from.
Everything else you need to know
- I know Tarik hates his dad, but his reckless talk about ghosts is so annoying sometimes! You get the ghost at the end, but he circles around you while he’s alive.
- Effie as a character has faded away, but I hope she leaves New York and away from Kane. If Kane could do one thing right, it would be to help Effie leave for good and drive her to the airport.
- Dru became so cold-blooded. His character journey from the beginning, all the Emmett stuff, and then Gordo, to now, has been really interesting. I can’t say I ever saw it coming.
- Tate seemed wary of Carter, but maybe that was my eyes playing tricks on me.
- Tasha’s little comment about Moné not knowing she was trying to shoot her will come back.
- Brayden’s condition was deteriorating, and it was clear that being ostracized by his family had taken its toll. But even in his early crises, he stood up for Kane and Effie, even getting Stansfield back for him and Tarik. He was smart enough to see that Tarik needed someone to talk to and give him something real. He is indeed a good friend.
- I need Monet to save Carter, but his assistant Nico is skeptical. He has to leave too, but he can help everyone take down Carter before he leaves.
We’re slowly approaching the finale, and all roads seem to lead to action: Carter must go! But what happens before then? So what are the consequences? Who could one day appear in another spin-off series?
Let me know all your thoughts below so we can discuss it!
