EXCLUSIVE: Power Book IV: Force’s last episode shocked fans with some wild twists and tragic decisions, but director Lisa Demaine revealed one of the most iconic scenes in the entire instalment was done in just “a second and a half”.
Power Book IV: Force threw some major twists at fans this season, but none were quite as dramatic as the shootout at Barrington leading to the demise of the iconic Walter Flynn (played by Tommy Flanagan).
The Flynn family patriarch was ultimately taken out by his own son Vic (Shane Harper) after things went sideways with the Dublin colleagues he and his sister Claudia enlisted to take care of their father.
The dramatic turn of events also sees the death of beloved Paulie Muzaski and an attempt on Claudia’s (Lili Simmons) side to take out her own brother too.
With so much happening during the scene, which takes place outside the Flynn home at night, director Lisa Demaine was running incredibly short on time as the sun started rising in the background of the ambitious setpiece.
Speaking to Daily Express she recalled: “We were really tight for time towards the end and we have that drone shot pulling away from Vic and see the carnage.
“We had like a second and a half to get that!
“Our key grip who is also our drone operator, I explained to him what I wanted and first take he nailed it! That was a one-take drone shoot…which is unheard of.”
The Starz director admitted in television it’s “always a crunch for time”, but this scene seemed particularly tight because although she didn’t have a producer on her shoulder letting her know how much time was left: “I had the sun coming up, I had a big; ‘You’re time is almost up’.
“But I feel like this crew is fantastic, Tommy Flannagan and Shane Harper, who play Vic and Walter, were so ready. I just wanted them to unleash on each other.”
The explosive clash between father and son isn’t the only family turbulence Lisa tackled in the episode, with Jenard Sampson (Kris D. Lofton) and Diamond’s (Isaac Keys) father being introduced for the first, and last, time.
Speaking about working through Big Sid’s (Oberon K.A. Adjepong) death, and the different perspectives offered by the two brothers, Lisa shared: “We really talked about tapping into that longing of wanting a father, that desire and when he sees him he’s the same mean son of a b***h so what comes out instead of that longing is the anger.
“To say [those things] to your dad and how wounding these two angry angry men are in that room, they really went there and I was really happy with it.”
There’s also a unique interaction between lead character Tommy Egan and his nephew, Darnell ‘D-Mac’ McDowell, and a scary few moments where it appears Tommy may have murdered D-Mac for killing a police officer in a previous episode.
She said: “We’ve seen in Power, family is not off limits to what he has to do.
“The relationship with D-Mac and Tommy…Tommy wants a family. It’s such a juxtaposition for him.
“D-Mac could be his nephew, his little brother, his son. He actually almost says on the phone, when D-Mac is dropped off at the youth group, he almost says I love you and then he stops himself because that is just too risky for his own emotional state.
“What a tragedy for Tommy to not be able to really have that.”
