Power season 4 episode 9 review: Sins of the sibling
In the closing minutes of this new episode, what we witnessed can be summed up like this: Ray Ray, (desperately continuing his hunt for Tariq in the aftermath of the incident last week) tried to confront him outside of a school dance. His sister Raina followed him, looking to protect him and knowing that he was caught in a bad spot trying to escape. After Tariq fled the scene Raina confronted Ray Ray, and then he had to watch his own sister get shot right in front of his eyes.
The sins of the brother were laid upon the sister in this case — his actions led to this consequence, and while he didn’t find himself personally arrested or in grave danger, he lost one of the few people who cared for him unconditionally. She was shot at such close range that it’s hard to imagine her surviving, and now Tariq must live with this. He reached the point of no return weeks ago, but this throws him even further down the hole. Jamie and Tasha have seemingly lost a child, and their lives are also forever changed.
The moment that we saw Raina approach Ray Ray telling him to leave her brother alone, we knew what was going to happen and were helpless to stop it. That is in part what made this moment so powerful, but also so devastating at the same time.
Ghost’s other problems
Trust us: There were plenty of them. He’s likely aware at this point that Tasha doesn’t want to have anything to do with him, just as he’s also dealing with problems both from Councilman Tate and also Simon Stern on their new project. Tate did him a favor in working to ensure he received additional compensation for the project, pointing out the pay disparity in front of the council between Jamie and Stern’s people. Yet, he does want something in return, proving further that Tate isn’t necessarily this above-board man of the people that he presented.
Unfortunately for Ghost, he also needs to better understand that he should watch his words when he gives television interviews like the one he did alongside Tate; after all, his words just so happened to send some triggers out into the universe about a certain alter ego and some of his past dangerous actions.
Beyond all of this, Ghost also does have to deal with a Tommy, who is continuing to go off the rails as he’s brewing up a war against the Jimenez. Dre miscalculated slightly the blow-back of Julio’s death, but there is still some time to backtrack and to shake things up a little bit. We’ll just have to see what ends up working or sticking with Tommy, who’s taken off from his mother after learning the truth about why he never met his father: He wanted to take him away and she wouldn’t allow it. He went and saw Teresi in the closing minutes of the episode, and was interested in meeting the rest of his family.
Oh, and it seems pretty sure that Tommy and LaKeisha are now done. Tasha wants to do things a little more on the up-and-up at the salon from now on, and he couldn’t manipulate his recent love interest to do more of what he wants.
The reality of the situation
After seeing what happened in the closing seconds of the episode tonight with Raina, how do you focus on anything else? How can you? That was series showrunner Courtney Kemp showing us once more that nobody is safe in this world. Raina wasn’t even on our radar in terms of people who could die, and yet here we are. What a powerful, haunting end to what was a really strong episode where disaster is around every turn for the finale. The only thing that seems good for Ghost is that Angela is now head of Criminal after an entertaining back and forth with both John Mok and Joe Proctor; these two had a nice moment at the criminal justice gala after she blindsided Mok with the promotion. Maybe that’s a sign of something more to come. Grade: A-.
Want to preview the Power season 4 finale?
You can read more about that, and see some of our other coverage of the show, just by heading over to the link here right now. Rest assured that there is quite a bit of craziness still coming up. (Photo: Starz.)