Created by Courtney A. Kemp, Power Book II: Ghost is an American crime drama on Starz. The show was first released on September 6th, 2020, and is currently preparing for the launch of its third season on March 17th, 2023. It is a sequel to the original show, Power.
The show follows the story of a guy named Tariq living his life but suddenly he finds himself torn between choosing to leave behind his father’s legacy or giving in to the pressure of wanting to save his family. He eventually gets involved with a dangerous family, the Tejadas, who bring more trouble into his life as he tries to find a way to manage his family’s drug business along with his education and love life.
The show stars Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St.Patrick, a young guy forced to get on with his father’s drug cartel. Shane Johnson as Cooper Saxe, the attorney, and Gianni Paolo as Braydon Weston, Tariq’s best buddy, and roommate. Lauren Baldwin as Tariq’s ex-love interest, Paige Hurd, and LaToya Tonodeo as his current love interest and member of the Tejada family, Diana Tejada.
Lovell Adams-Grey plays the secretly gay child of Monet, played by Mary J.Blige, and Lorenzo Tejada, played by Berto Colon, Dru Tejada. Actor Woody Mclain is in the show as Cane Tejada, brother of Dru and Diana. The show has an elaborate cast of talented actors for its main and guest roles throughout seasons one and two.
Power Book II: Ghost is available on Prime Videos for streaming purposes.
Power Book II: Ghost Series Storyline
Season two of the series Power Book II: Ghost has Tariq running his father’s drug business but he is not very happy about it. The season forces him to do things like taking the life of his professor, Jabari Reynolds which clearly haunts him throughout the season. He realizes that he is drifting apart and losing the one thing that brought him to this phase of his life, his family.
The season kicks off with the death of Jabari, and Carrie (Melanie Liburd) is stuck in the middle of the investigation as the prime suspect. Tariq and Monet are partners, with Monet clearly being in the dark when it comes to what Tariq has been up to with Cane and Jabari. Monet’s character is deeply explored and we find that she loves her family a lot but also has really high expectations of them.
Diana does not want to be like her mother, Monet, and Dru is also in pain mostly because of her. Clearly, the family is not very well at communication. Cane has been thrown out of his family and is struggling in the outer world, though we know he will come around later.
Tariq is trying his best to remain out of the ongoing investigation of his professor’s death and also get in contact with his mother. The investigation reveals the murderer’s location to be in Stanfield, where Tariq and Monet are. Later, Tariq’s sister, Yasmine gets taken to foster care because of the lack of people to take care of her.
Tariq Finds His Strength
Tariq finally cuts off all ties with his mother Tasha, who has been taken away as a witness. Monet is a controlling woman as she tries to get her family out of the narcotics business by pushing Cane under the bus, forcing him to take care of the family.
Eventually, Cane is also taken in for questioning about Jabari’s death. Braydon, Tariq’s friend, and partner work out a way that is least risky for the two but Tariq wishes to make things look legally right in order to get his sister, Yasmine, back from foster care. Cane and Mecca develop plans to take away Braydon from Tariq’s side and crush the latter.
Zeke is also taken in for questioning but he gets nervous and ends up making the situation worse for himself. With the media right outside the police station, dying to get their hands on any piece of information, Tariq has to intervene to get Zeke out of the police station.
Tariq tried to save Zeke by making it seem like the NYPD were the cause behind the professor’s death but it did not help. Instead, Zeke became the prime suspect in the investigation and Davis, the attorney had requested a large sum of money if he was to defend Zeke. Mecca gets involved, when he offers to pay the attorney on Monet’s behalf and we realize that Zeke was the son of Mecca and Monet.
Zeke found himself getting stuck deeper and deeper in the investigation. Cane and Braydon work together to get the scent off of Zeke but later we find Cane sticking evidence in Braydon and Tariq’s room to get them in trouble. With a new body found, the police realize that there may be a possibility that Zeke is not the murderer.
Just as Zeke was about to turn himself in, the police decided to let him go. Zeke is still upset with her mother and the situation because his chances of him getting selected by a basketball team are now long gone. Tariq found himself juggling between getting Yasmine a place to stay while also fighting for her custody and keeping a track of Cane and his suspicious actions without alerting him.
Things go southward as Tariq gets arrested for Jabari’s murder as police find evidence that was planted by Cane. Lorenzo Tajeda comes back home from jail and arranges a coming home party. Lorenzo had his own plans of giving over his business to his kids. He suggested that Dru should take over and that Cane should introduce his dealer to him.
Getting Out of Jail
Monet confronted Diana about stealing money from her own parents and not telling her about her father coming back home. She eventually gets thrown out of the house. With Lorenzo out of jail, Monet finds herself not in control of her family’s lives and she is devastated. Cane’s dealer is Mecca, the guy who slept with Monet, Lorenzo’s wife. The dynamics are not the best and meeting between Lorenzo and Mecca could be risky, even so, Mecca later agrees to meet Lorenzo.
Tariq manages to get out of jail on bail and tries to find evidence to save himself. Mecca approaches Zeke and tells him he is his real father but when Zeke confirms it with his mother, she lies and tells him that Mecca was a fraud trying to get Zeke’s fortunes. Mecca and Lorenzo strike a deal but this just causes stress for Monet and Cane.
Tariq attends the court hearing with the accusations of the murder of Jabari and a rogue police officer against him. Attorney Davis defends him. Braydon tries his best to keep the game running. With Tariq accused of murder, it was impossible for him to get custody of his sister and it was likely she would get adopted with her name changed.
Tariq struggles to remember anybody who would have wanted to screw him up this badly and he struggles some more trying to get money to pay his expensive lawyer. He decides to join hands with Cane to rob Mecca to get the money to pay his lawyer.
The Tajeda family was split apart piece by piece and while this was happening Tariq seemed to suffer mentally and had nightmares that included all the people he had killed. The season reaches an end with Tariq realizing that he still needs to be strong to get back his family and protect them. He also helps Monet protect his family from coming apart because of Mecca.
Tariq’s trial could possibly be turned into a mistrial and there is still hope for him to be saved. Lorenzo gets back all the drug stash that Tariq had stolen from the Tajeda family in the first place. Monet planned to run away with Cane and Dante but eventually, she realized that Dante was Mecca himself.
The season ends with Mecca and Monet finally coming together and deciding to kill Lorenzo and get him out of the picture. Monet pressurizes Cane to kill his father and he is obviously skeptical, but his mother gives him a last chance to choose between his mother or father.
The show ends with Mecca and Zeke both shot dead by different people and Tariq as the witness. The latter also promises to find back his family and that he will come back with enough money and power to protect them.
Power Book II: Ghost Season 2 Review
The show, Power Book II: Ghost, is a spin-off of the original show Power, which introduced us to our current main lead, Tariq, then a twelve-year-old young boy. Season one of the show focused more on establishing Tariq’s character and his life outside of his family business. By the end of the first season, we know that growing up in a cold brutal family has rubbed off on the young boy and as a grown adult he has become much like his father, calculating and evil.
The moral debate that his character is constantly stuck in, where his father’s will want him to do things opposite to his wishes and how he does not want the family business but still finds himself getting deeply involved in it is interesting to see. The end of season two, where he promises to come back with more money and power seems like an indication that he has completely abandoned his morally uncorrupt self.
The story is of crime, drug cartels, and murders nothing we have not seen before. The story arcs seem dry and the character design feels overdone. The show has a wide cast of actors playing different roles and it is obvious that only a handful of them actually have interesting storylines.
The fans of the show may be used to it but people watching the show for the first time may feel that the plot is fast-paced and the characters very superficial. Power Book II: Ghost is trying to be what its predecessor, Power was. The storyline may not feel fresh and new but the show keeps the viewers intrigued with the sudden deaths of a lot of the main characters. It adds to the mystery of the show.
The main character, Tariq is one of the most complex characters in the show. Fans of the show have seen him turn into a full-blown gruesome murderer from an innocent twelve-year-old kid. Monet’s character is also interesting to observe, how she manages the family business and how she is so controlling and self-centered is also fun to watch.
Though Tariq might be one of the most hated characters of the show and many fans wished for his death, the show has still managed to somehow salvage his character and make a passable story around him. The show seemed to suffer during the first season with its over-the-top mysterious music and shabby storylines and characters that were all over the place, but the second season was much better in all aspects.
The show does not have much to offer when you compare it to actually good crime shows, it seems more of a melodrama than the crime genre. Even with some of its mildly acceptable story arcs and character lines, the show still has some ridiculous plotlines. It feels much like a soap opera or a parody of an actual crime show.
Giving Tariq the responsibility to take over his father’s duties and his father will bind him legally to do illegal things just seems too far-fetched and silly. It also takes away from the seriousness of the show. It continues to introduce new characters to the story and struggles to unpack the plot in a way that is worth the audience’s time.
Our Verdict
It is impossible to keep track of the new roles as it seems that whenever the makers struggle with finding logic in their plot, they introduce a new character who is conveniently related to the situation and becomes responsible for keeping the story going. The show struggles to live upto the reputation of its sister show, Power, though the original one was not far from being a dramatic soap opera than a crime show itself.
The show Power Book II: Ghost revolves around the age-old themes of money, revenge, power, and respect but its struggles to add soul to the story. It lacks severely in its emotional quality and feels much like a story written just for the heck of it rather than one written with rawness and gritty-ness that brings a story alive.
Our Rating: ⭐ (3.2/5).
Also Read: Power Book II: Ghost Season 3: When Will It Come Out?
