‘Power’ season 3, episode 5 review: Tommy, Holly, and the pain of it all

Through her time on “Power,” we saw courtesy of Holly a character who was all about survival and doing what needed to be done. Through tonight’s episode, we saw the breaking point of her entire world.

We admit that through the first third of the episode, we saw this story for her and Tommy moving at a glacial pace. She met his mother, there was some tension there, and we came to understand that she had not clued him in yet that she was expecting a child. Everything turned the moment that he heard that she had hired a hitman to take out Ghost and for all. She was willing to make the move that he never was, and his rage and heartache took over his soul. He snapped back to the part of him who refused to let go of James St. Patrick, who would do almost everything that he could in order to protect him, regardless of whatever Ghost had done to his in the past.

The magnetic connection that Tommy fells towards Ghost is still a worthy subject of conversation, largely since it makes you wonder precisely what it would take to make Tommy turn. Tonight, he murdered someone who he cared about deeply, and also a son or daughter he never knew was coming. It was horrific, and you have to wonder if things could have went any differently following Holly handing over that money in return for Ghost’s head.

Through three seasons, Tommy choking Holly to death has to be one of the most gut-punching scenes that “Power” has produced. We imagine it staying with us the remainder of the series, and for Tommy effectively the remainder of his life. It also happens to be the moment that brought him back fully into Ghost’s world, as he reached out for help following what happened.

In her final act, we have to give tremendous praise to Lucy Walters, who really delivered a fantastic, determined performance throughout her time on the show.

Ghost’s arrival tonight coincided with him taking Tariq home, realizing that there were men after his life. Holly’s plan had almost worked, and now he and Tommy realize that they have to find a way to remove Lobos from the equation forever. It doesn’t quite matter to them if he’s behind bars or not.

As for your weekly Ghost / Angela update, he brought to her some proof that he was ready to move on with his personal life, even if he wasn’t quite sure that Tasha would sign the papers. This came after she went the extra mile to prevent Ruiz from naming him, a move that caused her to caution him previously to get an attorney in case things went south. Kanan’s also moving closer, and while this wasn’t the biggest episode for him to date, the scenes early on were certainly creepy as he started to move in on those Jamie cares about.

Overall, we’ll admit that the first half-hour was a tad slower than recent “Power” episodes, but that emotionally jarring and harrowing final half more than makes up for it. It’s a turning point episode that we never saw coming. Grade: A-.

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