The Ending Of Power Book II: Ghost Season 2 Explained

"Power," which aired on Starz from 2014 to 2020, fits into a long lineage of TV crime dramas including "Breaking Bad," "Lucifer," and plenty of other noteworthy series. For its six seasons across 63 episodes, "Power" revolves around James "Ghost" St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick from "Army of the Dead" and other works), who attempts to balance his business and family lives with a career as a powerful drug dealer.

After "Power" concluded, Starz greenlit a series of spinoffs (via Deadline), each of which foregrounds a character other than Ghost. "Power Book II: Ghost" takes place in the immediate aftermath of "Power" Season 6, and stars Michael Rainey Jr. as Ghost's son Tariq James St. Patrick in its central role. While Tariq wants to distance himself from his father, he too maintains a career in the criminal underworld while similarly trying to hold onto the trappings of a successful civilian life.

Season 2 of "Power Book II" concluded on February 6, 2022, with an episode titled "Love and War" (via IMDb), at which point the series was already renewed for a third season (via Deadline). With that in mind, here's how the ending of "Power Book II" will impact the show moving forward.

At the start of "Power Book II" Season 2, Episode 10, Tariq is on trial for murder. Fortunately for Tariq, Brayden Weston (Gianni Paolo) takes the stand and claims full responsibility for the Course Correct drug dealing operation they ran together, forcing the judge to dismiss the case and absolve Tariq of any criminal charges.

This is significant because, like his father before him, Tariq claims that he wants to leave the criminal underworld behind, and beating his murder charge theoretically means that he's one step closer toward this stated goal. That said, viewers have good reason to doubt Tariq. Even longtime "Power" showrunner Courtney Kemp told TVLine that "it's the world that he's in and he needs the money and he needs to keep going." So, rather than provide him an out, Tariq's win in court most likely means he'll find a new reason to return to business as usual.

Also complicating Tariq's future is his desire to spend time with his family. In the Season 2 finale, he successfully gains custody of his sister Yasmine (Paris Morgan), who he then reunites with their mother Tasha (Naturi Naughton). Kemp told TVLine, however, that Tariq "has a lot to do between now and then," referring to the prospect of living with his mom and sister full-time. Of course, plenty can and most likely will go wrong in that timeframe, making a family reunion seem more like a pipe dream than a possibility.

Tariq's on-again, off-again partner Effie Morales (Alix Lapri) is one of the principal characters on "Power: Book II," appearing more often than not to complicate Tariq's life. Just prior to the Season 2 finale, Effie arranges the death of Tariq's current partner Lauren Baldwin (Paige Hurd) to look like an accidental car crash. While some users online speculated that Effie was motivated by a desire to keep Tariq away from his principal romantic interest, Lapri herself retweeted a Tweet suggesting that Effie acted solely on information that Lauren was a snitch, and doesn't care about Tariq's affections.

For the time being, Tariq is none the wiser about the truth of his partner's murder. That said, Tariq is typically smart and capable when it comes to such deceptions, and seems likely to uncover the fact that Effie, under orders from Cane Tejada (Woody McClain), was responsible for the hit. Once this comes to light, his relationships with both Effie and Brayden will be changed forever, making the lead-up to this inevitable scene something of a ticking time bomb come Season 3.

Courtney Kemp effectively confirmed that this is the case in an interview with Entertainment Weekly when she promised that "what has happened to Lauren, as you discover going forward, will have a seismic effect on the relationships of our three musketeers," referring to Tariq, Effie, and Brayden.

Arguably the most shocking death in the "Power: Book II" Season 2 finale is that of Zeke Cross (Daniel Bellomy), following the assassination of Dante "Mecca" Spears (Daniel Sunjata in "The Stand"). In short, Monet Tejada (Mary J. Blige) kills Mecca after learning that he was working as an informant. Meanwhile, around that same time, Lorenzo Tejada (Woody McClain) takes aim at someone he believes is Mecca, but turns out to be his biological brother Zeke, who he unknowingly shoots and kills.

In a brief scene near the episode's conclusion, Detective Blanca Rodriguez (Monique Gabriela Curnen) appears to believe that Tariq might have killed Mecca, setting up what will surely become a significant plotline in Season 3.

Perhaps more important, however, is the fact that Monet lost her son Zeke, and doesn't yet know that Lorenzo was responsible. Sunjata told TV Fanatic that he thinks "Monet's going to have a real problem with that one," referring to Zeke's death, and implying that considerable discord is forthcoming for the Tejada family.

Of course, a typical season of "Power" keeps some surprises in store for its viewers, so these major plot points are most likely just a starting point for plenty of unexpected drama to come in the third season of "Power: Book II."