Power Book II: Ghost S3 Finale's Big Betrayal Has Tariq Fans Crying Foul

While at the end of "Power Book II: Ghost" Season 2 protagonist Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.) scores a major win when he beats a murder charge in court, in the final episode of Season 3 he ends up notably worse off than at its start. First, Diana (LaToya Tonodeo) kills her mom Monet (Mary J. Blige), plotting with her brother Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray) to pin the hit on Tariq. Then, it turns out that Cane (Woody McClain) and Effie (Alix Lapri) are working against him as well, with powerful gang boss Noma (Caroline Chikezie).

After the "Power Book II" Season 3 finale's premiere, plenty of fans online shared feelings of shock and disappointment in response to this mass betrayal. Twitter user @olori_sola, for instance, wrote, "Diana, Dru and Effie really tried to set Tariq up for no reason... I hope he gets them real bad next season," and received more than 380 likes. For @yafathashouse, Diane switching sides felt especially egregious, after Tariq had so recently provided her with the help she needed.

In a Tweet liked more than 850 times, @taeskordei argued that the many betrayals of Tariq hit harder taking into account how much he's done to keep each of them out of jail. They're still looking forward, however, to how he might get his revenge in Season 4. Similarly, @iamcarlyx wrote, "I can't believe they all turned on my boy Riq like that. Ion fw none of them no more."

On Reddit, a thread dedicated to the final episode of "Power Book II: Ghost" Season 3 likewise includes a number of posts about Tariq's betrayers. "Them mfs assembled like the avengers against Tariq wtf," wrote user cannavist in its most-upvoted comment.

For user JeffStrongman3, Effie and Diana both turning on Tariq puts a definitive end to conversations about who might make for his ideal romantic partner — though some commenters replied that they think he'll end up with Lauren (Paige Hurd), who's largely uninvolved in the betrayal save for helping free Effie from a criminal charge.

Meanwhile, user dhowell1017 highlighted Dru as the one member of the Tejada family who should take no issue with Tariq. With this in mind, he might end up dead in Season 4, they suggested. User Old-Sea-6600 also thinks severe consequences are justified for Tariq's betrayers. They praised the season overall before writing, "Tariq deserves to give everyone in that drug organization a bullet."

Tariq's story won't continue, of course, until "Power Book II: Ghost" returns for its fourth season, so for the time being fans can only speculate what's next now that he's effectively on his own.