What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? The collision course of Ghost and Tommy's actions have officially placed them on opposite sides of the fence. There was a moment in Power that occurred earlier in the season that heavily foreshadowed where their friendship was heading. At the time, Kanan was rescuing Jason from the hit Ghost put on him. When Jason asks Kanan to kill off Tommy and Ghost in the midst of a double cross, Kanan blatantly replies that the two friends will tear each other apart on their own. He was right. At the conclusion of this week’s season finale, Ghost and Tommy take the epic leap from deteriorating friendship to enraged enemies.
Aptly titled “When This Is Over,” the season finale of Power is bringing Starz’s hit series to a close. Show creator Courtney Kemp sat down with Deadline to speak about the fallout between Ghost and Tommy, and she also hinted at the show’s overall conclusion. “So, we’re driving toward what the show’s going to feel like toward the end, which is I’m amping up Ghost’s powerlessness,” stated Kemp. “He can’t stop the things he thinks he can stop.” Mr. St. Patrick’s powerlessness is the highlight of “When This Is Over,” because the drug dealer turned club owner essentially set his lover up to die inadvertently. In his quest to control everything, he lost the one thing he loved most. Or did he? “At the end of the season, no, she’s not dead,” reveals Kemp, speaking on what appeared to be Angela’s final moments.
Let’s take a step back and observe the domino effect that led to Angela being shot by Tommy. Earlier in the episode, Tasha and Tommy plan on killing Angela because they believe she and Ghost broke team. Angela’s attempt to wiggle her way out of trouble with Mak, Saxe, and her office forced her to rally the troops. After tipping Tommy, Ghost, and Tasha off to the pending RICO cast, the crew attempts to tie up loose ends that can get them caught. Tommy nearly kills Lakeisha, but his on-again-off-again lover was allowed to keep breathing after she pledged her loyalty to Egan. How unhinged to do you to be to kill a second girlfriend? Maybe it’s because I love Tommy’s character, but sometimes we forget that man is a serial killer.
While Tommy is making sure Lakeisha doesn’t snitch, Tasha tries to convince a recently reappeared Silver to lie for her. Silver, who’s working with the Feds, tips Tasha off to the RICO case. Then, the two have public sex in a garage in Tasha’s latest attempt to manipulate Terry with her goods. Ghost witnesses the whole thing, and appears to kill Silver in a flashback scene viewers only get to see moments before Angela is shot. That takes two potential leaks off the table. The third possible snitch, Councilman Tate, is convinced by Ghost to keep his mouth shut. Viewers are almost lured into a false state of relief that the RICO case is being handled properly. There was one piece of the puzzle that backfired though… Mak.
Angela offered Mak a recommendation for a job in Washington DC mid-season in an attempt to make him an ally. That move ultimately set in motion that events that led to her being shot in the chest. Mak finally gets the DC job in the season finale, leaving his partner Saxe out to dry. Feelings desperate, Saxe tries to get Lakiesha to snitch, which doesn’t work. He then drops by Tommy’s house and leaves him a recording of Teresi implicating Ghost but protecting his son. Distraught, Egan heads over to Vincent’s establishment and learns that Ghost manipulated him into killing his own father, then lied about not knowing Teresi was dead. This prompts Tommy to attempt to kill Ghost, but Angela valiantly saves her lover’s life by taking the shot to the chest instead. Ghost and Tommy lock eyes while Angela bleeds out in the former’s arms. “Think of the dynamic between these two old friends now,” Kemp told Deadline. “You made me kill my dad, you shot the woman I love, in an attempt to kill me. Not a lot of conversation can be had there. The death of this friendship in some ways is going to control at least the beginning of next season.” Notice how she implies that Angela survives the shot.
Proctor also had a small role to play in Angela's current predicament as well. He helped convince Ghost that Angela may not be trustworthy, leading Mr. St. Patrick to question her. It's amazing how Kemp circled back to use Maria, the witness who identified Ghost's voice from a murder two seasons ago. Maria returns to snitch on Ghost, prompting Proctor to believe the unnamed female witness for the RICO case is Anglea. Wrong. Proctor alerts Ghost none the less, who loses trust in Anglea. If he had simply trusted Angela, he would have never asked to meet at their old high school to interrogate her. If that moment never happened, Tommy may have taken his shot at Ghost in another scenario, sans Angela. All these intertwining stories lead back to the original concept of “When This Is Over,” which is the powerlessness of Ghost. Several power moves he made came back to haunt him in that stairwell. His manipulation of the Teresi murder. His interrogation of Angela. His rage for Silver. His trust in Proctor. Even Ghost setting up Andre for Diego’s murder came back to haunt him. Dre nearly escapes being killed by the vengeful Jimenez crew after snitching to save his own skin, and his crew now belongs to Tommy. This can all be traced back to Ghost, who didn’t just kill his old protégé from the jump, and struck a deal with him instead.
There is one thing that I believe will determine the future of Ghost and Tommy’s relationship. The survival of Angela. She saw Tommy shoot her, which means if she survives she can testify against him. If Ghost can somehow save Angela, Tommy’s number one goal will be to murder her for good. Pitting the two former best friends against each other in a race to cover their own tracks is the perfect way to start next chapter. We can’t wait for season 6.