Episode 3 of Power's sixth season is entitled "Forgot About Dre," which is fitting since it was directed by one of Dr. Dre's mentees. 50 Cent took directorial credit for this bloody episode that raised the stakes for everyone and murdered two characters. The first death comes within minutes of the opener. Dre, who has been missing in action since the season premiere, is getting ready to testify against Alicia Jiminez. While preparing at a "safe" location, Dre is met by Special Agent Jerry Donovan. Donovan and his men are about to escort Dre to the courthouse, but they are ambushed. Here is where we get to see who Dre really is (as if we didn't already know, though). After Donovan saves Dre's life, the young Power player turns around and murders the Special Agent-- all the while holding his young daughter in his arms. Dre tries to skip town, but Saxe's team catch him and his daughter and swiftly place him back in line to testify. For all his cold-hearted moves, Dre ends up right where he started.
The fact that this episode is named after Dre is odd since everything that happened to him was out of his power. First, he is ambushed. Then, he's rearrested. Later, when Dre appears in court to testify, all hell breaks loose. Both Ghost and Tommy were demanded, on strategically-separate occasions, by Jason to bring him Alicia Jiminez alive. Both men make a plan to snag her, but Tommy is the one who manages to pull it off. This is possibly the first time I can recall Tommy cleanly outsmarting and outmaneuvering Ghost-- even Jason is pleasantly surprised. Lakeisha plays a solid yet mundane role in the kidnapping, which adds a layer of trust to her and Tommy's relationship (more on that later). When the kidnapped Alicia refuses to give Jason any information, he kills her promptly, thus ending a storyline. Since Tommy beat Ghost to snagging Alicia, the latter must pay up money owed to Jason. This puts Ghost in a tight spot for cash, much like his son, Tariq.
Tariq finally realizes he's going to need a connect if he wants to be a legitimate drug dealer. The young St. Patrick has been distributing the same old stash he got from Kanan at his boarding school, and now, it's run out. Tariq reveals this sad truth to Effie, a fellow student that looks to be a future romantic fling. There's definitely chemistry between the two. Both son and father are hurting for cash, but Ghost figures out his situation a little quicker. Mr. St Patrick puts on his best beggar's face and runs to his former associate Simon. Simon is more than happy to loan Ghost money, as long as his ROI is plentiful. Tariq, on the other hand, may have to resort to a more risky plan to make ends meet. His future is already looking very shaky.
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While Tariq's love life is heating up, so is Tommy and Ghost's. Lakeisha got her first taste of real crime and now she is dedicated to washing Tommy's dirty money at her shop. The deeper Lakieha gets, the more nervous we become as viewers. She freaked out when she thought Tasha was the cops last episode, and she had two moments of "WTF am I doing here" in this episode. First, she tells Tommy bluntly she doesn't know if she should be this deep when he brings her to his drug-dealing lair. Then, before entering the courthouse, she hesitates for a moment. The show isn't highlighting all these instances of hesitation for no reason. We have too many signs hinting that Tommy and Lakiesha's end will be bitter. Meanwhile, Ghost is stirring up a new love.
Ambitious politician Rashad Tate asks for assistance from the DNC for his election bid, and he got it. The DNC sends Ramona Garrity, a politician that was recently caught in a nasty divorce sex scandal, and she immediately takes a liking to Ghost. Rashad wants to keep them apart, but Ramona seeks out Ghost at his club, looking oddly satisfied when she learns later that Tasha and Ghost are broken up. Ghost loves to use his charm to manipulate women, and Ramona looks like another victim to his charisma. Not to mention Rashad is having sex with this aide's fiancee, further muddying this campaign in potential scandal. Rashad and Ramona do coax Tasha into keeping up the appearance that she and Ghost are still together. We'll have to see how this plays out, but either way, it does give Tasha leverage. After both Tariq and Ghost offhandedly insult her new apartment in its small, unfurnished state, Tasha has the idea to start a legitimate business with her mother to make more cash. In need of permits and inspections for this business, Tasha tells Rashad and Ramona that she'll play nice with Ghost if they get her what she needs. The entire political game between Ghost, Tasha, and Rashad is bound to end in murder. I don't believe Rashad will make it out alive if he continues to twist both Ghost and Tasha, an unwise move for anyone on this show.
The episode ends with Ghost offering Tommy an olive branch so that they can kill Jason together-- he is clearly a stitch in both of their sides. However it's an offer Tommy declines. "The only reason you calling me now is because you ain’t got nobody," spits Tommy at Ghost over the phone. Still, Tommy is well aware that Jason is playing with fire and this cause to take down a common enemy may be the only way to reunite the former friends.
Ghost, lest we forget, learned earlier in the episode that Tariq knew of Tommy's feigned death, thus realizing that Tommy has both his wife and his son on his side. We should be expecting this knowledge to motivate Ghost's next move-- but will he be able to force his family back into his corner? Meanwhile, expect Lakiesha to be an important piece in the fall of Tommy.
What did you think of 50 Cent's Power directorial debut?
