Being part of the Power Universe means one of two things: you either die a painful death or live long enough to snag your own spinoff series. More often than not, there’s no in-between for most Power characters, especially if they turn down a road of betrayal. When it comes to “Power Book II: Ghost” — the sequel to the original crime drama — no one is safe from death, not even its leading star, Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.). And as seen in season three, the Grim Reaper could come knocking at any moment (or simply pull up in a Blue Mustang like the gun-toting Tommy Egan).
Death and destruction are what the Power Universe thrives on, and if you thought the original series — which ran for six seasons from 2014 to 2020 — said goodbye to a lot of key players, then it seems “Power Book II” is trying to put up even bigger numbers. The first two seasons of the spinoff centered around the loss of major characters like Professor Jabari Reynolds, Carrie Milgram, and, of course, Tariq’s father, James St. Patrick/Ghost (Omari Hardwick).
The departure of Hardwick’s Ghost made way for two “Power” spinoffs (“Power Book II” and “Power Book IV: Force”), and the impact of his death can never be overstated, especially for the series’ immediate successor. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2020, creator Courtney Kemp spoke about her Marvel Cinematic Universe–inspired plan to expand “Power,” starting with the continuation of Tariq’s story. “A lot of people [said], ‘Why don’t you just call this ‘Power’ season seven?’ It’s not ‘Power’ [though]; it’s really about Ghost’s absence and about how his shadow looms over everyone — especially his son,” she explained.
So far, three seasons into “Power Book II,” we’ve seen Tariq begrudgingly step into his father’s hard-bottom shoes — after he murdered him in cold blood in “Power”‘s series finale. And he’s been the demise of other “Power Book II” characters, too, whether he pulled the trigger himself or indirectly got someone caught in the crosshairs of his drug enterprise.
That being said, season three, which concluded with an explosive finale on May 26, suffered a lot of losses. Ahead, we round up the biggest character deaths, plus give watchers a theory for someone who could potentially meet their tragic fate in the future.
1. Bash
One of the first major characters killed in season three is Bash, the man who helped Tariq fund his Course Correct drug scheme (which eventually caught the attention of law enforcement). The investor comes after Tariq in the first episode, “Your Perception, Your Reality,” after Brayden confessed to creating the college tutoring cover-up in court. Knowing Tariq was the real mastermind behind the app, and unaware of its true purpose, Bash blackmails Tariq for almost jeopardizing his reputation. Later on, during a meeting in his hotel room, Bash gets mouthy and threatens Tariq again until the latter takes a steak knife and stabs him in the stomach. Bash bleeds out on the floor until Tariq’s partners, Cane and Brayden, show up to help him dump the body.
2. Detective Kevin Whitman
Next to die is Whitman, as his overzealous mission to take down Monet — whom he suspects killed his ex Carrie Milgram, as well as Monet’s ex/child’s father, Mecca — ultimately gets him caught up. In episode four, “The Land of Opportunity,” he tries to trick Monet’s daughter, Diana, into letting him break into their family’s house to get the evidence he needs to arrest Monet. But Diana flips the script on him when, after he breaks in, Monet is waiting for him with a gun in hand. Planning to use self-defense as an alibi, Monet shoots and kills the detective right in her home. The feds suspect foul play from Monet but never find any proof.
3. Lorenzo Tejada
Lorenzo’s death in episode five, “No More Second Chances,” doesn’t come as a surprise; it was his karma for accidentally killing Monet’s son, Zeke. In season two’s finale, Lorenzo mistook Zeke for his father, Mecca, who the former believed was going to steal Monet and his family away from him. He hides his dirty deed from Monet for half of season three before he finally confesses, though she already found out. Despite Lorenzo’s confession, Monet still has him killed — and in the most roundabout way possible to keep her hands clean.
She enlists Gordo, the son of Lorenzo’s brother, Frank, to carry out her hit to allow him to exact revenge on the person he thought killed his father. (Monet actually ordered Cane to kill Frank in season one.) Gordo slits Lorenzo’s throat in the street in front of a mural the latter had made in Zeke’s honor and then texts Monet that the job is done.
4. Kai
Viewers are first introduced to Kai in season three’s premiere episode when he tries to arrange a deal to become Cane and the Tejadas’ new supplier. Though they never come to an agreement, Kai appears a few more times throughout season three, mainly to push up on Monet once the drug lord learns Lorenzo is dead. Monet later uses this to her advantage when she needs someone on whom to pin Lorenzo’s murder.
In episode seven, “Deal or No Deal,” she calls Kai to her club to offer him a fake partnership, claiming Lorenzo pushed her out of the family drug business. But then gunshots ring off, and while he’s distracted, Monet tries to attack Kai. Unable to overpower him, Cane swoops in and shoots Kai dead. When Cane’s not looking, Monet plants a phone on Kai’s body to implicate him in Lorenzo’s death.
5. Gordo
Gordo has a good run while romancing Monet’s son, Dru, but his decision to team up with her to kill Lorenzo eventually comes back to bite. Following news of Kai’s death in episode seven, Dru thinks his father has been avenged, only to find out via a text from Gordo’s phone that he’d been interacting with Kai (Monet) about Lorenzo’s murder. Unable to stomach the betrayal, Dru grabs his gun, walks into Gordo’s bathroom, and shoots him while he’s taking a shower. Later in the season, Dru eventually learns that Monet was the one who enlisted Gordo to kill his dad.
6. Theo Rollins
Theo’s death in episode eight, “Sacrifice,” is probably one of the most shocking and random moments of the season. Since season two, viewers have known Theo to be attorney Davis MacLean’s brother, who went to prison for him by taking the wrap for a crime Davis committed years earlier. He was also sick and dying, so when he finally gets paroled (illegally) in season three, he goes to visit Davis at his office, where he learns that Cooper Saxe — Davis’s law partner — was a snitch working with the feds. In an effort to protect his brother, Theo kidnaps Saxe and forces him to drive to a pier, where he threatens him at gunpoint. Despite pleas from Davis, who shows up to the scene with his client Tariq, Theo shoots Saxe in the back and kills him. Informing his brother that he has nothing else to live for, Theo then turns the gun on himself and pulls the trigger.
7. Cooper Saxe
After six seasons of “Power” and nearly three full seasons of “Power Book II,” Saxe’s long-awaited date with death finally arrives in episode eight. For the duration of his time in the Power Universe, Saxe had been known to be a crooked officer of the law who’d do any and everything to take down Tariq and his family. In season three, after being discovered as the mole snitching on Tariq, the Tejadas, and Davis, the latter’s brother, Theo, decides to kill Saxe for his betrayal. At the end of the episode, Theo lures Saxe down to a pier with a gun pointed at his back and, despite protests from Davis and Tariq, shoots and kills him. Then, in another unexpected turn of events, Theo turns the gun around and shoots himself in the head. Speaking to POPSUGAR, Johnson called his character’s death “gut-wrenching,” though he added, “I know that Cooper Saxe wasn’t going to survive forever.”
8. The Castillos
After the Castillo family, kin to the Tejadas, catch wind of what Dru did to Gordo, Monet calls for an emergency plan to clean house and kill them all to protect herself and her kids from a street war with them. Following their mom’s orders, Dru and Cane trap the Castillos in their own bar, aka home base, and smoke the place out with poisonous gas. They all die almost instantly, but the family’s matriarch, Evelyn, utters her final words to Dru. She informs him that Monet is the one who called for the hit on his father.
9. Lucas
Lucas is the final major death of season three, meeting his tragic end in the penultimate episode, “A Last Gift.” After his nephew Brayden finds out he’s been running a Ponzi scheme through their family’s esteemed investment firm, Lucas disappears before cops can arrest him. He then tries to make a deal with the feds to get immunity, offering up the case they’ve been chasing all season: Tariq, who’s been running a drug ring with Brayden at the firm right under Lucas’s nose. However, before Lucas can give the feds any hard evidence, Brayden pays his uncle a visit to try and beg him to clear their family’s name from the Ponzi scheme. Of course, out of arrogance, he doesn’t, so in a blackout moment, Brayden pushes his uncle off the balcony of his condo, killing him. Lucas’ death is investigated as a suicide, but perhaps it’ll be a loose thread to revisit in season four.
10. Will Tariq Die in “Power Book II: Ghost”?
The question of Tariq’s fate has been a topic of discussion ever since Starz first announced his spinoff series. Many believe he’ll eventually suffer the same end as his father for trying to lead a double life as a legit businessman and drug lord. As he states many times throughout the show, Tariq loathes the idea of turning into his father and has done everything possible not to repeat his same mistakes, only to end up in similar predicaments.
So does that mean he’ll eventually answer for his crimes and misdeeds with his own life, too? Right now, it’s unclear, but we know Tariq lives to see season four, which is already on the way. However, creator Kemp may have dropped a tiny hint about what could eventually happen to Tariq if he continues down the path he’s on. “There were a lot of people that would have preferred that Ghost get a happy ending and rode off triumphant into the sunset,” she told EW, reflecting on Ghost’s death. “I just felt uncomfortable with having had a character do so many horrible things and being so unrepentant and not having him get punished for it.”
For now, we’ll just have to wait to see if Tariq gets the same punishment.
