When the original Power series ended with the death of James St. Patrick, fans were left with a massive void. How could the franchise continue without its protagonist? Power Book II: Ghost answered that question immediately by shifting the spotlight to the most complex character left standing: Tariq St. Patrick.
Creator Courtney A. Kemp doesn’t soft-pedal the aftermath of the mothership show’s finale. Tariq is free from the murder charge for killing Detective James “Ghost” St. Patrick, but he is not free. He is a prisoner of legacy. His mother, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), is awaiting trial for a murder she didn’t commit. The St. Patrick money is frozen. And the streets have a long memory for the son of a kingpin. power book ii: ghost s01 aiff
The finale, “The Ghost of Christmas Past,” is a masterpiece of tragic irony. Tariq survives. He outmaneuvers the Tejadas. He secures his mother’s freedom. He even gets the girl. And yet, the final shot is of his face in a dark window—alone, unmoved, utterly empty. He has won the game. And he has become his father. When the original Power series ended with the
While the original Power was about building an empire, Season 1 of Ghost is about survival. The pacing is relentless. Every decision Tariq makes pulls him deeper into a hole. The writers cleverly use the academic setting—grades, scholarships, and professors—to create "street" problems. If Tariq loses his scholarship, he can’t pay the lawyer. If he can’t pay the lawyer, his mother dies. It’s a domino effect that keeps the viewer hooked. Power Book II: Ghost answered that question immediately
Season 1 suffers from one Power franchise staple: an overstuffed chessboard. A subplot involving a corrupt district attorney (Daniel Sunjata) and a federal whistleblower feels like it belongs in a different, less interesting show. The academic scenes at Stansfield are sometimes too on-the-nose (Tariq literally writes a paper on “justifiable homicide”). And the death of a major character in Episode 5, while shocking, comes a beat too early to fully land.