This week's episode of Power threw us a truly shocking twist. Entitled "Like Father, Like Son," the 7th episode of the final season finds Tariq in the best position he's been in all season-- although it definitely doesn't start that way. The young St. Patrick spends most of the episode being threatened by both his father and Tommy, but by the end of the season, he's seemingly about to be set up for life.
"Like Father, Like Son" begins with Ghost shoving a pistol in his son's face, not the most pleasant way to wake up. During the tense moment, Tariq admits to his father that he assisted Tommy in killing Proctor. Ghost lays down some tough love, even threatening to kill his son, using Kanan's son-- Shawn-- as a prime example of what happens when your disloyal. In a continued effort to scare his son straight, Ghost takes Tariq to see the destroyed penthouse and finds out that his son has been stashing his drug money in Raina's old bedroom. The gall.
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Ghost isn't the only person that is pissed at Tariq. After the young St. Patrick promises his father he won't talk to Tommy, Tariq runs straight to Tommy's house. His uncle isn't home, but Lakiesha is. Tariq lets it slip that he thinks Tommy is in Brooklyn, which helps Lakiesha discern that the kid might be the person responsible for robbing Tommy. Her revelation comes a little late though, since she's already accused 2-Bit and got into a little altercation with him moments earlier. This results in Tommy firing Spanky and 2-Bit and going to interrogate Tariq. Tommy is able to force Tariq to admit it, and then he threatens Riq's life as well. Tariq has now lost the trust of both his father and his uncle. The young St. Patrick has spent most of the season trying to play both men, and he now realizes that he cannot outsmart both Ghost and Tommy. Out of options, Tariq coerces Dre into giving him some weight.
Spanky and 2-Bit are angry with Tommy for firing them, but they form a plan to get back into his good graces. They find Dre, kidnap him, and bring him to Tommy. That repairs their relationship with Tommy very quickly. Next, Spanky hires a hitter to scare Lakiesha, something he believes will force her to leave Tommy. The plan quickly backfires when Lakisha kills the hitter almost immediately, and places the blame on Ghost. The fallout from Spanky and 2-Bit's move is essentially Tariq's fault. If Tariq had never robbed Tommy, Lakiesha would have never suspected 2-Bit and Spanky in the first place-- leading to their dismissal. It's becoming more and more clear that everything Tariq does has wide-reaching consequences. From the deaths of Kanan, Proctor, and his own sister, to the capture of Dre and the false kidnapping by Vincent, Tariq's actions are the catalyst for many of the issues the main cast is facing at the moment. Essentially, every death in this episode can be traced back to Tariq, who makes a mess of both Tommy's business and his father's at the same time.
Prior to being kidnapped by Spanky and 2-Bit, Dre is blackmailed by Saxe yet again. The attorney is aggravated that Dre is able to get his daughter back without snitching, and puts an ankle bracelet on him. Saxe forces him to cooperate or risk being arrested for the murder of Maria Suarez. So, when Dre is kidnapped, he is still wearing the bracelet. This saves his life, since Tommy doesn't want to murder a man in his warehouse that is being tracked by the feds. This gives Dre enough time to kill BG and escape his capture while Tommy, 2-Bit, and Spanky are preoccupied. It's ridiculous how often Dre is able to escape being killed. Meanwhile, Saxe is discovered to have planted an illegal wiretap on Proctor's daughter. Warner and Rodriguez conclude that Saxe was operating behind the scenes to try and place blame on Ghost, and Saxe is pretty much fired by the sounds of it. This is interesting because we know Saxe isn't going to just walk away, at this point. Now, without the support of his office, Saxe will be desperate to find something to earn his job back.
While the streets are at war, Councilman Tate is in bed with the wrong woman. Tate is finally caught having sex with his campaign staffer wife, Cassandra, setting his political run up for disaster. Not to worry though, Ghost strikes a deal to shut up the husband, and Ramona gets Cassandra to do the same with promises of political power. This slight hiccup in Tate's campaign seems pointless at first, but it sets up an interesting scene between the candidate and Romona. Tate offers to marry Romona in order to become a political power couple, but she admits that she has feelings for someone else. Who else could it be, besides Ghost? If Romona were to get involved with Ghost, Mr. St. Patrick would have one of the city's most influential politician's in his pocket.
Back on the streets, Tommy learns that Jason is working with Ghost and crashes their meet. Jason forces the two men to work together and threatens to kill either one if they try to kill each other. This means that Ghost and Tommy are back together again, but this time they plan to kill Jason. Taking out the Serbian will not be an easy task, but Ghost takes it upon himself to pull the trigger. He and Tommy agree to a shaky partnership, although Tommy still believes that Ghost tried to kill Lakiesha. Tommy's loyalty to his lover is concerning. He buys her a nice house in the suburbs (how does a drug dealer like Tommy just buy a house so fast with no questions?) and promises her the world. Every time she freaks out, he buys her something. A purse, jewelry, now a house. It always smooths things out for the moment, but Lakeisha will undoubtedly have another breakdown. Tommy is now being forced to work with Ghost-- whom Lakeisha hates-- and this could easily be the cause of their next argument. When it comes to Tommy, any argument could be your last. Will Lakeisha survive the season?
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"Like Father, Like Son" concludes with a scene that plays directly into the title. Tasha sits her son down and opens up to him. She reveals that she knows Tariq won't listen to anybody and offers to train him. “You never lie to me again, and in exchange, you get an education," she tells Tariq. But she’s not talking about school. “You can be better than Ghost ever was, if you commit to both the legit life and the streets," she continues. "I’m not about to let you get killed, Tariq, because you don’t know how to do it right. You don’t know the streets, but I do." Tariq has lost the support of his father and Tommy, but he's gained the support of Tasha. Will he betray her by the season's end? If we've learned one thing, it's not to trust Tariq. Still, if Tasha is able to train Tariq to be a mini-Ghost, lord have mercy on us all.
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