Power Recap: Crime and Punishment

We’ve officially reached the point where everyone is stuck.

In “Don’t Go,” almost all the characters have their (figurative) balls caught in a vicelike grip. Ghost and Tommy are basically slaves to Milan, who wants Ghost to sell product in his own clubs. Angela, Knox, Sandoval, and the Lobos task force are heavily questioned by investigators. Dre is still Kanan’s reluctant man on the inside. Even Tasha is reminded of how she’s still a servant to Ghost, when Angela questions her about last week’s hotel trip.

So yeah, Power has hit the stretch where characters must plot their next moves, either carefully or spontaneously. Around this time last season, whole episodes focused on plotting and strategizing like these folks were in a damn war. But this season, I’m not that psyched about it. I’m actually looking forward to seeing these characters face the tragic, long-term punishment that’s coming to them. For a show with a lot of melodrama, I rarely get the sense that very bad things will go down on Power. Sure, Tommy killed Holly a few weeks ago, but Holly wasn’t really an integral member of the show. (Judging by the way fans rejoiced when she was killed off, a lot of you agree with me.) The core of Power is Ghost, Tommy, Angela, and Tasha, and I never get the feeling that they’ll be in peril for long. They’re all way too cunning. Hell, this whole episode is about them using their wits to slip away from impending doom.

At least Tommy is in zero-fucks mode, which is a fascinating development. He’s not even remotely unnerved that he has to work for Milan — or, as he calls him, “Serbian Hannibal Lecter.” (He even asks Milan straight-up if he eats people. Milan doesn’t answer.) Although he’s not completely down the road to ruin — he refuses to kill Jim Norton’s Father Callahan after Milan orders it — he may still mosey down that way, especially since Tasha let the cat out of the bag about Holly’s pregnancy. After drinking himself silly on Holly’s grave, the Serbs pick up him and attempt to beat him to death. But Milan sees the guy is in pain. To quote the Notorious B.I.G.’s first album, he realizes that Tommy is ready to die. And so, he decides to let him live, which definitely seems like a mistake. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tommy pulls out a machine gun and goes on a rampage, killing the Serbians and whoever else gets in his way.

Ghost continues to be the Walter White to Tommy’s Jesse Pinkman, constantly saving his own ass and keeping his empire intact while his loved ones suffer. Milan appears to be a crafty foe for Ghost. When Ghost gets Dre to send an anonymous tip to the police about the whereabouts of Tatiana, who was presumed dead, Milan surprises him by showing up with an alive-and-well Tatiana at Tasha’s home, ready to have dinner with his wife and kids. It’s an unnerving reminder that he knows where his family lives. But Milan creepily putting his hands on the kids’ shoulders? That’s a plain ol’ case of Too Damn Much.

Even though Milan is supposed to be “the most dangerous man” Ghost has ever met, I’m not yet impressed by his villainy. Yeah, he snapped the neck of one of his goons for not obeying his orders, but goons are expendable. Hell, the worst thing that happens in this episode isn’t even Milan’s doing. It’s when Kanan smothers that old lady so he can steal her apartment, which he previously lived in. (Kanan is such a piece of shit. I wasn’t really shocked when that happened, but it was still terrible.) To be honest, it’s hard not to sympathize with Milan a little. I mean, Ghost killed Vladimir and messed with his turf; wouldn’t he want some payback? Since Ghost discovers that Milan smokes, we can assume he’ll find a way to poison him through his cigarettes. (This show has cribbed from the Breaking Bad playbook so much this season, I’m waiting for someone to suggest ricin.)

Elsewhere, investigators are cracking down on the Lobos task force, interviewing all of them in the hopes that someone will give up the goods on the botched Lobos transfer. (And seemingly confirm that Lobos is dead … I hope.) Even though we all know Sandoval was the leak, Angela, Knox, and Saxe are all questioned. And even though that female investigator leans on her heavily — going so far as to passive-aggressively compliment her for being young and having an ass — Angela keeps her cool, adding that she’s keeping tabs on her boyfriend to find out if he knew of Lobos’s whereabouts.

Angela eventually puts two-and-two together, realizing that Jamie killed Lobos and Tasha covered it up. She tries to talk to Tasha in the lobby of her apartment building, but Tasha reluctantly holds steadfast, telling Angela they had a hotel fling. (Both women are barely convinced such a thing could take place.) And when Angela visits Jamie at the end of the episode, he tells her she might take the fall if the investigators discover she told him that Lobos was alive. He still won’t give up the Ghost.

I hate to say it, but I fail to see any major consequences coming. Unless Courtney Kemp has some core-rattling twists in store, I don’t think these characters will be mired in conflict for much longer. Yeah, they’re stuck for the time being, but these Power players will slide themselves out soon.

Stray Thoughts:

• Man, Tariq has turned into a snotty bitch, hasn’t he? Still sore about not going to that basketball game, he’s become a bratty mess and keeps talking back to both his parents. (If only he knew that he almost died the night of that game.) Tasha tries to slap the silly shit out of him, but he stops that hand just in time. Later on, he calls Angela a “side bitch” in front of James and dude seems ready to throw him down a flight of stairs. I can’t help thinking that dumb-ass Tariq will get wrapped up in Ghost and Milan’s fight for supremacy. Bet he’ll be an unwitting pawn (or hostage) in Milan’s plan.
• They should’ve killed off Kanan at the end of last season. Seven episodes in, the dude is more of a nuisance than a threat. However, I’m intrigued by this “history lesson” he’s planning to show Ghost at the old lady’s apartment.
• Although James has to give his buy-in money for Karen to Milan for payment on his product, Milan tells him to hold on to her. Does this mean James might get close to Karen? Will they finally act on the sexual tension that’s been building for most of the season?
• Just to make sure: Since those investigators chuckled over his files, we’re all curious as hell about Saxe’s personal life, right?

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