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Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Power Book II: Ghost is back on Starz, and season 3 wastes no time in letting us know there is a new baddie in town looking to make life miserable for the Tejadas and Riq.

Noma Makes Her Presence Felt, and Tariq Feels Bad About Lauren

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

The season 3 premiere wastes no time establishing the perceived significant threat that will have everyone on their Ps and Qs. The episode opens up with MacLean (Clifford “Method Man” Smith) handing off that expensive rock now dead informant Dante planned to give Monet (Mary J. Blige) before he was taken out.

The ring ends up on the auction block, where a wealthy white guy buys it for a large sum of money while a mysterious and very kind on the eyes Black woman watches it being sold. We immediately learn the ring belongs to her when that same woman shows up while the same white man proposes to his girlfriend, telling him to hand over her ring.

We quickly learn that Noma is a woman with very little patience when things don’t go her way, and she cuts off Karen’s hand with a large machete and relieves the severed hand of the ring, and puts it on her finger and walks away while her goons put the couple out of their misery.

Noma means business.

Riq Is Still Finding Life Is Hard When Your Skin Color Is The Wrong Color

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Back at Stansfield, it’s a new semester at the prestigious school, and Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) is currently packing up his things because he can no longer stay in the room. Brayden’s (Gianni Paolo) family wants him out because they feel he is the reason their son is dealing drugs, despite proudly owning up to his illegal ambitions.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Riq still feels responsible for Lauren’s death and stares at a photo of himself and her before his current boo, Effie (Alix Lapri), who is responsible for killing Lauren, tells him what happened to his ex is not his fault. Their tender moment ends with Brayden’s mom telling Riq he needs to get his things and leave the room.

Riq finds it very hard to get a new room, so he decides to speak with Dean Wong, who is in the middle of a conversation with Rashad Tate (Larenz Tate). Dean Wong tells Riq that students on campus feel unsafe with Riq being on campus.

Tate tells Dean Wong to “cut the sh*t” and find Riq housing, or he will tell his supporters how Stansfield treats its Black students. That threat was enough to get Dean Wong working on Riq’s housing. Riq already knows that the gesture was not done out of kindness, and Tate tells Riq that his campaign will eventually need his help.

Monet Is Down In The Dumps

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Monet was season 2’s biggest loser. Both her son Zeke (Daniel Bellomy) and his father, Mecca (Daniel Sunjata), are gone at the same damn time. She is also stuck with the man she desperately wants dead, her current husband, Lorenzo (Berto Colon).

She is currently down in the dumps, but MacLean shows up bearing what he believes to be good news telling her that Dante’s penthouse is now here because Zeke inherited it in the event of Dante’s death. He had no will, so Monet gets it because she is his mother.

Monet asks about the cash, cars, and private jet, but the feds are keeping all of his assets because Dante is a high-level arms and drugs dealer, plus being an informant for the government.

She is not too concerned about all of that and stresses the police should be looking for who shot Zeke and Dante’s hangar. Lorenzo chimes in, and Monet quickly shuts him down in front of the attorney and is not feeling that at all and tells her to chill.

Lorenzo asks her what she intends to do with the penthouse because he refuses to live in it, Monet tells him she will sell it, but until then, she tells Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray) and Caine (Woody McClain) they can live in it until she locks down a buyer.

Diana Is Heading To Stansfield

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Monet is also taking out her frustration on Diana (LaToya Tonodeo). She is still big mad after her daughter read her for filth at the dinner table, revealing that she was Zeke’s momma to the family.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Diana does not like how her mother treats her, but Lorenzo tells her to give Monet some time because she still grieves Zeke’s death. He gives her some good news, telling her that he pulled some strings, got her into Stansfield, and will allow her to stay on campus full-time.

She wastes no time and winds up in Riq and Brayden’s old room as Becca’s roommate. The two hit it off, but Becca oversteps a bit when she reveals she did her research on her roommate. Diana claps back by letting Becca know she knows her information and business.

Diana even has a class with Riq now, much to the surprise of our Young Icon, and Effie is not too happy to see her there either. Moent’s daughter fits right in and catches the eye of their new professor’s teacher’s assistant. We shall see how that plays out.

In her very brief time at the school, Diana manages to put together a massive memorial service for her dead stepbrother on campus, impressing her father in hopes of mending the rift between her and her mother.

Brayden’s White Privilege Pays Off

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

After using his white privilege to take the fall for Riq by lying and saying he was the mastermind behind the drug dealing app CourseCorrect, Brayden got off with a slap on the wrist.

Instead of going to jail, Brayden got the boot from the school administration for his hustling ways allowing Riq to stay on campus. Hence, his daddy gives him a chance to restore his honor and bring dignity back to the family name by working at their company. Brayden’s dudes put him under his Uncle Lucas’ wing, and we see Lucas is a rebel just like his nephew and tells him he thinks CourseCorrect was a genius venture.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Uncle Lucas sees potential in Brayden and wants him to use his “talents” to make money for the company. He eventually hands Brayden off to his KeKe so he can learn the ropes. Brayden immediately likes his attractive Black mentor, and he’s already thinking about swirling.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

We don’t blame him.

Brayden also learns the company is full of booger sugar abusing trust fund babies, far from the original company he kept while staying on Stanfield’s campus.

Riq & Brayden Have A Bash Problem

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Remember Simon Stern’s boo, Bash? Well, he’s back and is looking for some quick cash after Stern ends their marriage or whatever their situation is.

After Brayden takes the fall, the money is no longer coming in, so Bash applies pressure on both Riq and Brayden to get him some cash, or he will run his mouth to the cops.

This leads to both Riq and Brayden taking matters into their own hands. Brayden runs to Cane, hoping he can help with the problem, while Riq decides to talk with him after failing to meet his deadline.

Riq visits Bash at his posh digs to speak with him, and things get out of hand. Riq is indeed his daddy’s son, brutally stabbing Bash and killing him.

Brayden and Cane eventually sneak upstairs, only to discover that Riq is standing over Bash’s corpse. With the problem now solved, the only thing they can do is get rid of the body.

A Dangerous New Opportunity

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

After failing to land a new drug connect, an opportunity lands in the laps of Cain, Riq, Brayden, and Effie. Riq and Brayden visit Cane at the penthouse to discuss business. Things quickly go left when Noma, her right-hand man Obi and the rest of her crew show up.

Noma reveals that the ring she stole was supposed to be her engagement ring from Mecca and that he was working for her. She wants to know who killed her fiancé, putting a bullet in the head of one of Mecca’s soldiers in front of the trio to show them she means business.

Riq, Brayden, and Cane somehow convince her to let them move the weight that Mecca was responsible for, and she agrees, much to the dismay of Obi, now making them the biggest distributors in New York City.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Monet Wants Out of The Game & Lorenzo Won’t Move Mecca’s Weight

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Cane returns home to break the news to his father and mother, and they are both upset. Monet wants out of the game but knows that is impossible with Zeke dead. He was her meal ticket. Lorenzo wants nothing to do with anything involving anything that smells like Mecca.

Dru tells Cane he will talk with Lorenzo but doesn’t know what can be said to Monet to change her mind. Cane also goes behind Tariq’s back and tells Effie about their deal with Noma.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Riq doesn’t want her back in the game, but Effie is her own woman and tells Riq not to worry about her, and he knows he can’t tell her she can’t hustle, besides they need all the help they can get after seeing all of the drugs in the warehouse.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

MacLean & Saxe Are Still Playing Each Other

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Even though they are working together, they are still two people on opposite sides of the same coin. MacLean is dirty and uses Riq and the Tejadas to keep his pockets fat, while Saxe is also messy and willing to bend the rules to get justice.

Saxe spies on MacLean speaking with Riq, who is paying the powerful attorney visit to tell him about Noma, her taking the ring, and that someone is spying on Dante’s penthouse.

MacLean is using Saxe to help him get his brother out of prison, whom we learn is dying and can’t get the experimental treatment he needs as long as he is behind bars.

MacLean instructs Saxe to get his brother out of prison and find out who is surveilling Dante’s penthouse. Saxe tells his “girlfriend,” Jenny Sullivan (Paton Ashbrooke), about Riq paying a visit to the office but doesn’t know the specifics of the conversation. Before Jenny leaves, he asks her if she knows anything about someone watching the penthouse, and she says no.

Jenny gets a visit from Blanca Rodriguez, and she wants to know why Jenny is asking questions about the surveillance of the penthouse.

Blanca reveals that Dante was her CI and that Detective Kevin Whitman is spying on the penthouse  Blanca also tells Jenny that Riq was spotted at the penthouse. Jenny says she has a CI embedded in Riq’s “organization.”

Riq Tries To Change His Perception

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

It’s the day of Zeke’s memorial, and everyone is there. Tate shows up with his new boo Angela Davis but bumps into Professor Haper, the new political science professor. The two exchange pleasantries before Davis’ jealousy ends the conversation, and we will be paying attention to this interesting dynamic.

The ceremony begins with Lil Mo singing, “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday.” During the memorial service, Monet is presented with Zeke’s jersey, and a banner with his name and number is unveiled in the rafters.

That teacher’s assistant uses the moment to get closer to Diana, so keep an eye on that.

Power Book II: Ghost

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Riq gives a great speech about perception and reality, saying he will work to prove he is not the person they think he is, and the emotions overtake Monet, and she leaves to cry in private. Once the event ends, Riq finds Monet in the hallway alone, crying because she blames herself for Zeke’s dead.

Riq asks Monet what he can do for her, and Riq promises to tell Monet if he hears anything about Zeke’s death, he will say to her first.

We See Dead People

We zap to Jenny Sullivan’s office, and she is chewing out Detective Whitman for now, following orders. She thinks Professor Milgram’s death was a suicide, while Whitman believes Monet is responsible. They mention Lauren, and Jenny says she dies in a car accident, but Whitman doesn’t believe that either.

We see Jenny pulling up to a house with groceries, and when she walks inside, we learn that Lauren is still alive.

Surprise, surprise, the season 3 premiere ends with a huge reveal.

Photo: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Recap: A New Threat Arrives, Riq Tries To Change His Perception On Campus  was originally published on cassiuslife.com