Power series finale recap: Exactly as We Planned

We finally find out who shot Ghost in the series finale of Power: “Exactly How We Planned It.” Was it Tariq, Tasha, or Saxe? We’ve got the answer. And a recap!

Power comes to an end in “Exactly How We Planned It.” The episode was written by series creator Courtney A. Kemp (Get Christie Love) and executive story editor Gabriela Uribe. It was directed by Anthony Hemingway (Genius: Aretha). Tariq (Michael Rainey, Jr.) has shown up in key moments in each of the four episodes leading up to the finale. He didn’t have the biggest roles or impact at the time. But, his presence allows him to be the thread that ties all of the POVs together in “Exactly How We Planned It.”

We’ve seen Ghost’s (Omari Hardwick) final day through the lens of Dre (Rotimi Akinosho), Paz (Elizabeth Rodriguez), Tommy (Joseph Sikora), and Councilman Tate (Larenz Tate). It was finally time to see things from Tasha (Naturi Naughton) and Tariq’s POV. We get a little bit more of Saxe (Shane Johnson), but he plays more of a role after Ghost’s death. There is a definitive, somber end to the story of Power. But then there’s a final, desperate betrayal that launches the remaining characters into the multiple spinoffs that are set to premiere this summer. Plus, there is one awesome post series scene that takes us way back.

Tasha’s Bad Day

The night before Ghost dies, Tasha visits Quinton (Tyrone Marshall Brown). Q is about to put his daughter down for the night. Once he does, the two knock some serious boots. She’s celebrating the impending arrest of Ghost for Ray Ray’s murder (Marcus Callender). Tariq is at home watching the “Substitute Teacher” sketch from Key & Peele. He’s worried about his mom, so he texts her. When Tasha gets the text, she leaves Q’s. On the way out, she notices that he keeps more than gold labels in his nightstand drawer. Q has a gun. Tasha squints this into her memory bank for later.

Tasha gets woken up early the next morning by Tariq. The news is reporting Ghost’s addition to Lorette Walsh’s (Donna Murphy) ticket. Tariq goes off on his day while Tasha goes to check on the final renovations to their old penthouse. Remember, Tommy shot the place up real good when he went all Terminator in his whacking of Proctor (Jerry Ferrara). This gives Tasha a chance to reminisce key scenes from Power’s history. It’s bittersweet. Then, Ghost shows up. He really should have been there earlier, but he was busy having the meeting we see with Tariq and Dre in “Still DRE.”

Things between Ghost and Tasha have been deteriorating for seasons. But, when Ghost suggests that Tariq should turn himself in for killing Ray Ray, things hit a new low. Ghost explains that he’s already spent time inside for that and he’s not doing it again. Ghost tries to convince Tasha that once he’s in Albany, he’ll be able to keep Tariq out of jail. The verbal fight that proceeds is epic. Tasha tries to end it by asking if Ghost ever loved her. He admits that he did. But he counters Tasha by saying she only ever loved Ghost the drug dealer. He asks her if all she ever wanted to be was a half a chicken head from the block. Yeah. He went there.

It’s after this that Tommy confronts Tasha about Lakeisha’s (Alani “LaLa” Anthony). This version differs slightly from what we saw in “It’s All Your Fault.” Tasha is on her knees facing Tommy when he decides to leave her alive. And it’s after this near-death experience that Tasha has her meeting with Councilman Tate that we saw in “Reversal of Fortune.” After Ghost had explicitly told Tasha that Tariq should grow up and turn himself in for Ray Ray, Tate tells her that Ghost is considering turning Tariq in to save himself. Tasha doesn’t believe Tate, but she isn’t sure. C’mon. You can feel however you feel about Tariq. But that’s Tasha’s baby. She already lost Raina (Donshea Hopkins). She’s not losing Tariq.

Speaking of Raina, Tasha goes to lay flowers on her grave. Ghost is already there. They ask each other why they’re there, and I laughed. That was as funny as Ghost asking Tariq why he wasn’t in school when he interrupted Ghost’s assassination attempt on Tommy in “Murderers.” What isn’t funny is Ghost coldly informing Tasha that he’s going to take their kids with him to Albany. He’ll raise them with Ramona (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). So, Ghost isn’t going to jail, he wants Tariq to cop to a murder, Tasha almost gets killed, she’s threatened with having her kids taken away, and gets called half a chicken head. That’s a bad day.

It’s Tariq’s World

In the “previously on Power” clip before the finale, we are shown the evolution of Tariq. It reminded us that he was just a kid at one point. That was kind of startling to me. Over the past 15-20 episodes, I’ve gotten used to Tariq growing into a role as a major player in the plot and intrigue of the show. Kemp and Uribe stay true to this development. There’s no come-to-Ghost moment in the finale. There’s no redemption for his character because the character doesn’t feel the need to be redeemed. Michael Rainey, Jr. plays this great. I could feel the weight that every new experience was having on him. But I could also feel the cool (not fully cold) and calculated nature he expressed while making every decision and taking every action.

After he scores a gun from Dre in “Still DRE,” Tariq stashes it in a utility box at Truth while Ghost talks to Dre. He does this because he gets a text message from Radnor (Kevin Zegers) alerting him that all of his product was being confiscated from his car. Tariq gets back to school in time to see Radnor taken away by the authorities. It after this that Tariq meets with Elissa Marie (Mattea Conforti) and Tommy, as we saw in “It’s All Your Fault.” It’s the later meeting with Tommy, that occurs during Ghost’s party at truth, that shows us just how cold Tariq is getting.

At the party, Ghost tells Tariq that he should turn himself in for Ray Ray. He’ll try to get him probation. Then, Ghost starts introducing him to dignitaries, including Simon Stern (Victor Garber). He doesn’t get why Tariq isn’t more interested. If it’s one thing we pick up on with Ghost in the finale, it’s that he just doesn’t care, anymore. He’s gonna do him for a while. And that’s dropping hard knowledge bombs and alternating Johnny Walker Blue and Green liberally.

Back to the second Tommy meeting. Tariq, confronted with having to do time, isn’t interested in regaining Tommy’s trust. He just wants Ghost dead. Since Tommy has already softened on Ghost, that’s not going to happen. So, when Tommy peels off, Tariq calls Vincent (Joe Perrino) and tells him where he’s going. That’s how Vincent got the drop on Tommy in “It’s All Your Fault.” Sure. Tommy gets the upper hand and kills all of Vincent’s men, along with Vincent. But that was cold lotion by Tariq.

Who Shoots Ghost

Tariq is now fully in the right mind to kill Ghost. So, he heads back to Truth to do just that. But, Tasha already has a plan. She’s going to have Q drive her to a corner near Truth and have him sit in the car and wait. Then, she will get into Ghost’s Escalade and wait there to kill him with Q’s gun. That’s right. She’s totally going to frame Q for this. But Tariq won’t clear out of Truth. He leaves his mom dangling on those three devastating periods that let you know someone is responding to your text, but not really sure if they should.

Tariq is basically pacing the back halls of Truth. Can he kill his dad? Well, guess who shows up to give him an honest, yet kind of evil AF, pep talk? Kanan (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). Since this is basically being manifested from Tariq’s unconscious, we know what’s going to happen. Kanan credits Tariq for being so sharp and calculated. He also tells him to man up and make a move.

All of a sudden Tasha remembers that Tariq has a gun stashed at Truth. She frantically runs into to stop her son from making an awful decision. But, it’s too late. Tariq has already changed his clothes. He walks up on Ghost and holds him at gunpoint. Ghost tries to talk him out of it, but he finally realizes that his cold attitude has rendered appeals to the heart useless. Tariq pulls the trigger. For a moment, we go into the Matrix as the bullet curves out of the gun towards the left and takes a sharp right turn that you can see ripple through the air. The bullet hits Ghost in the heart, mortally wounding him.

Tasha makes it to the balcony and realizes what’s happened. She’s devastated. Tariq assures her that he will take care of her. He’s too together after shooting his dad. All of that ends when he looks over the balcony. By this point, Tommy is at Ghost’s side. The sight of seeing his dad dying on the floor with Uncle Tommy cuts Tariq to his core. He loses it. Tariq emotionally stumbles while changing his clothes and making his way out of Truth. He gets straight when he sees Saxe on sight picking up a gun and keeping it. He walks out the back of Truth and makes his way to the front, where a police crowd has formed. Tariq puts on a show as if he is just finding out his dad is dead. It’s part acting, but mostly a chilling, calculated move.

So Close

While being interrogated, both Tasha and Tariq finger Dre for Ghost’s murder. Tariq has leverage against Saxe. If Saxe refuses to believe him about Dre, Tariq will say the only other person he saw near Truth was Saxe with a gun. Saxe understands, accepts the Dre story, and tells Detective Rodriguez (Monique Gabriela Curnen) that her career is over because her team lost Dre in “Still DRE.”

The next morning, at the reading of Ghost’s Will, Daniel Warren (Geoffrey Owens) informs Tasha that Ghost’s estate is left to the kids. Tasha gets nothing. Plus, Tariq can’t inherit until he has a degree from a four-year university with a minimum 3.5-grade point average. Tasha is heated but works out a plan with Simon. He can have Truth if he gets Tariq into his alma mater, Stansfield, immediately. Tariq will have to get a GED at some point, but Simon quickly agrees and offers Tasha an executive job with his firm.

Things are basically wrapped up here, but Tasha goes for overkill. She makes sure that Q will be implicated in Ghost’s murder. I guess as a consolation prize, she is at his house rocking his world when the police come for him. That’s a dirty deed done dirt cheap. But, the next morning, Blanca comes for Tasha. See, Q digs T, but he also knows who she is.

So, while he was waiting for Tasha a block away from Truth, he purposely went to a bodega and bought a Red Bull. He’s on camera at the time of the murder. Tariq wants to confess, but Tasha tells him to live his life. The final montage is Tasha being processed into the system, while Tariq runs to his dorm room at Stansfield. Tariq pulls a Godfather and closes the door on us to end the series.

But wait! There is a post series scene. After the credits end, we flashback to 1996. “Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G. is playing. And we see young Jamie (Chris Sumpter) walking down the stairs of school with a young Tommy (Ethan Cutkosky). They’re talking about moving weight for Kanan. Jamie looks fresh and innocent. Tommy was one of those white boys who had french braids in the mid-1990s.

Jaime’s face lights up when Young Angela (Camila Perez) walks into the scene. He goes to talk with her. He’s a little crestfallen when she shows him a brochure for this school called Choate. She says she always wanted to get out of Queens. And her smile was all the convincing Jamie needed. Tommy runs directly between them, yelling the NSFW version of “Forget This!” From such innocent beginnings to where we ended in the finale.

Never fear. Tariq and Tasha’s story will continue in one of the spinoffs, along with Saxe who got his old job back. Hopefully, we will also see more of Tameika (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), who showed up briefly in the finale as Saxe’s lawyer dressed in a pink version of an Olivia Pope pantsuit. Hello, Tameika! She exuded all kinds of power. It looks like the other two spinoffs with revolve around Tommy and Councilman Tate.

What did you think of Power’s series finale? Did it do too much to set up the spinoffs instead of completing the original story? Let’s discuss in the comments!