The walls are closing in. Episode two of season four, aptly titled “Things Are Going to Get Worse,” finds Ghost nursing the wounds from the recent guard attack, and coming to grips with the reality that turning state’s evidence might be his only way out.
Proctor lays out how badly the case looks. Fingerprints outside the window. DNA found under the victim’s fingernails. The murder weapon showing up at Club Truth (conveniently planted by the corrupt Mike Sandoval) And most alarmingly, the desire for the feds to prosecute under the kingpin/R.I.C.O. statute to take down Tommy as well. After Ghost’s slips up in his wording about whether he’s previously killed anyone, he and Proctor both decide it’s wise that he doesn’t take the witness stand.
By the time Ghost finally sees his family, he words ring hollow. He’s a broken man whose failures are manifest in the despondent eyes on his wife and children. The recklessness of his affair with Angela has led to an estranged marriage, a depleted savings fund and no legal money that can be used for his defense.
The final bombshell comes with the news that John Mak’s prosecution team will be seeking the death penalty.
But there may be one lifeline remaining. The mysterious mob-connected inmate we met last week, Tony Teresi, has been keeping an eye on Ghost. After seeing our beleaguered protagonist handle himself well against another confrontational inmate, Teresi begins doing some digging. He appears to know recognize Tommy’s last name of Egan, but to what extent we don’t know (yet). And while Power is known for some plot twists that stretch reality, I’m already hoping this does not turn out to be something outlandish like Teresi possibly being Tommy’s father.
TOMMY’S HAVING THE BEST EPISODE EVER!
Let’s applaud this man. First off, he gets to blow off some steam (and fluids) with LaKeisha. It makes sense that she’d be partial to him since he protected her from Milan. However, it doesn’t make the move any less idiotic for the both of them. For one, Tommy is compromising the trust of Tasha, who he’s supposed to be in business with. Second, LaKeisha is back to her jealousy/frenemy mode with Tasha; she vocalizes her resentment to Tommy that Tasha “steals” everything that belongs to her (namely Shawn). Even worse, she betrays Tasha’s confidence by revealing the brief emotional affair she carried with Shawn, which we know Tommy will throw back in Ghost or Tasha’s face at some point.
A bad situation just got messier, but I can’t be too mad at Tommy. There’s not a man alive that’s turning down LaKeisha in that scenario.
Tommy’s other standout moment was delivering some street retaliation to Domingo, a goon for the wayward Cristobal (who was seeking a side distribution deal with the Toros Locos camp). Domingo made the mistake of putting his hands on a soldier in Tommy’s camp. Tommy took it upon himself to make Domingo run at gunpoint and then ran over the man with his own car. It was one of those care-free, psychopathic moments that is simultaneously filled with dark humor and necessary considering the season’s depressing start.
Finally, Tommy dodged a huge bullet by loaning his car to his mother. The car had just been compromised by a police tracker. Assuming Mom doesn’t spend all her free time in drug houses, the feds will have a hard time tying Tommy to an R.I.C.O. indictment.
CAN’T WAIT FOR TARIQ TO GET THAT WAKE-UP CALL
I’m trying really hard not to hate this kid. I mean, what kind of teenager do we expect after being raised by a mother enraptured by the drug-dealing lifestyle and an emotionally absent, kingpin, and cold-blooded killer of a father? And yet, the disdain I’m getting for Tariq is rivaling what I had for Namond years ago on The Wire.
Tasha and Ghost have passed along zero street smarts nor awareness. At Kanan’s behest, Tariq’s mirroring the reckless behavior of his father and appears an episode or two away from committing his first crime. I’m not even sure finding out Kanan’s real identity will be enough to snap him out of this father-figure delusion he has for 50’s character.
What I can foresee happening is Tariq catching his first body to protect Tasha or Raina. Symbolically, it would make more sense for said body to be Kanan, as killing him would represent Tariq’s complete loss of innocence and the failure of Ghost to not have his son repeat his path.
DRE HAS TO PICK A SIDE
Kanan put it best to Dre when he had him yoked up — “You done told so many lies you ain’t got no friends.” Ghost nor Tommy will be in the forgiving mood once they find out he’s been lying bout Kanan being alive and seeing Tariq. And Kanan is only keeping him alive to extort $50k a week from the club.
For now, his usefulness to both camps is keeping him alive. Club Truth needs to run smoothly, and Dre is the only one with a clean enough name to do it. But the time is coming where he’ll have define his loyalties, even under the threat of death.
With the murder weapon being planted at the club, we can only hope that Dre was smart enough not to turn off all the security cameras.
ANGELA AND TASHA FACE OFF ABOUT GHOST
As scorned as Angela feels, even she has begun having second thoughts about this case. She knows the savagery her ex is capable of, and the murder weapon being at Truth just feels wrong. Tasha instinctively knows it too. Even now through all the hurt, these two women have more common ground than they realize. I’m expecting that common ground to result in an uneasy working alliance as Angela continues to dig deeper into the case.
Speaking of Angela, she continues to be ostracized at work. Her previous affairs make her a liability, and the others openly discussed making her a sacrificial lamb. No matter the outcome, you can expect Angela’s career as an FBI agent to be over. There is just too much dirt that will be revealed in the course of the trial. Unfortunately for the Bureau, the more they isolate Angela from the one sanctuary she has left (her work), the more they unwittingly push her back to Ghost’s side.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- I dunno guys, from that confrontation I’m getting the feeling Angela could wash Tasha in a fight.
- We need at least 2-3 more Keisha sex scenes this season. Don’t disappoint me, Power writers.
- Proctor getting drugs from Tommy continues to develop his subplot. And makes him a potential character to die this season.
- How is Ghost’s beard looking shaky in jail but the line-up is still perfect?
- Now that Kanan has taught Tariq how to pick locks, I hope the next lesson revolves around getting him a personality.
What are your predictions for episode three? Sound off in the comments.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 