‘Power Ghost’ Season 3 Episode 1 Summary: Perceiving the truth

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week Power Book II: Spirit Follow below.)

With the completion of BMF Season Two, comes the beginning of another season in the cinematic universe of 50 Cent: Season Three of Power Book II: Spirit. The show stars Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick and Gianni Paolo as Brayden Weston. A little over a year has passed since the season two finale, which brought to an end a series of shocking events in the final two episodes of the season. Mecca, Zeke and Lauren were all killed in that finale and Monet was revealed at the family dinner table for sleeping with Mecca and lying for years that Zeke was her nephew when he was actually her son – one she shared with Mecca. It was the dramatic end to the second season of Power Book II: Spirit and now it’s time to pick up where we left off.

Premiered in the third season of Power Book II: Spirit, we return to see Monet still deeply mourning the loss of Zeke while actively demanding that her family do whatever they can to find his killer. Much of her anger is directed at Diana, but that’s not too much of a surprise since she was the one who revealed her true life to the Tejada family at the dinner table last season. As for Tariq, he’s enjoying a peaceful new life away from drugs with his new girlfriend, Effie. But as always, Tariq’s past catches up with him, leaving him to deal with an annoying business partner and the demands of Mecca’s boss, who arrives to wreak havoc on his life more than anyone else has. Elsewhere, Brayden begins working with the Weston family and continues to work with Tariq, Cooper Saxe continues to be the troublesome act we know him as as she works with the enemy a little more than expected, and the truth about Lauren’s disappearance a bit comes to light.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways we have after the first episode of Season 3, Your Perception, Your Reality:

Tariq’s reality is that he is forever tied to his past

The way we perceive the world can also be defined as our reality, and Tariq’s reality is that he will never have a fresh start. Sure, the Elder St. Patrick is an effective and successful drug dealer considering he doesn’t own a car (I really hope that gets resolved in season three), but he doesn’t want to do that forever. Tariq’s sideline as a drug dealer began to get money to pay his attorney Davis McClean for his mother’s release from prison in season one. This created a relationship with Monet that he maintains today. Now that his mother has been released from prison, Tariq doesn’t need to rush, but he’s too deep into Monet to get out until she’s ready. Fast forward to now and in the first episode of season 3, Tariq admits that he’s enjoying the break from the hustle and bustle after Mecca’s death in the season 2 finale. Unfortunately for him, that hiatus is now over as Noma is a new and more menacing drug connection than Monet ever was Power Book II: Spirit, has arrived and forcibly used Tariq, Cane, and Brayden to sell the leftover product Mecca had in its possession before he died. For Tariq, he can do his best to run from a past that looks like his father’s, no matter how much he loathes the idea (just don’t tell him that before you end up like Bash, RIP for him). At the moment there is no fresh start for Tariq St. Patrick, just a replay of the past with different details.

Noma is here to fill in Monet’s shoes and then some

season three of Power Book II: Spirit begins with Monet still deeply mourning the loss of her son, Ezekiel “Zeke” Cross. As is sometimes the case with people grieving a great loss, Monet is quite snappy and short-tempered towards her family—especially Diana and Lorenzo. The only person Monet has been nice to so far this season is Tariq because he was the only person who was with her at the time of Zeke’s death, so she knows Tariq wasn’t responsible. There’s a bit of love between the two in their lonely chat in the third season opener, which is a huge contrast to the purely business relationship we’ve seen in previous seasons. If you thought that meant Tariq was getting a break, it’s time you met Noma. She was Mecca’s boss and fiancee, and on her quest to find out what happened to Mecca, she stumbles upon Tariq, Cane, and Brayden. Within minutes, the trio watch as Noma shoots and kills a young pistol-whip lady, threatening to kill them all if they don’t tell her how Mecca was killed. In the end, Tariq, Cane, and Brayden (and later Effie) are tasked with transporting the remains of Mecca’s drug stash. If Tariq thought Monet was a lot to deal with, it only gets worse with Noma. The stakes are higher and the risk higher, but it remains to be seen if the reward will be higher as well.

Cooper Saxe is still a nuisance

If there’s a character I don’t miss Power Book II: Spirit It’s Cooper Saxe. The prosecutor who worked tirelessly to put James St. Patrick behind bars in the original Performance Serie is now a defense attorney working at Davis McClean’s. Still, he struggles to stay on the same team as the show’s main characters. Between overhearing Tariq and Davis talking in his office and working with DA Jenny Sullivan — despite being a defense attorney — to help her prove Davis is working for Tariq and the Tejada family, Cooper Saxe is everywhere. With his motive revealed for season three, it’s clear that Cooper Saxe will continue to be a nuisance to Tariq and his circle of friends and associates — rather than a “talented cop” in the manner of Sergeant Blanca Rodriguez. It will be a trademark of Cooper Saxe that on his way to hopefully solving an investigation, he makes a series of mistakes that are eventually ruined due to his own mistakes. Hooray!

Nobody is ready for the truth

This week’s episode title couldn’t be more apt for the events leading up to and taking place in the Season 3 premiere of Power Book II: Spirit. “Your perception, your reality” is the title of the first episode. Throughout this episode, we see examples of the characters’ perception of their world becoming their new reality. Tariq was led to believe that Lauren is dead, but we now know that is not the case. Monet believes Zeke’s killer is still at large, although she doesn’t know they live in her home – that’s her husband Lorenzo. Davis believes Saxe is on his side if he really helps Jenny get proof that Davis is working for Tariq and the Tejada family. As the saying goes, “When perception changes, truth changes,” but this adage could also work if flipped. The truth always comes out, and among all of the above situations, one of them will actually come out and rock someone’s world and their perception of it. The truth we now know is that nobody is ready to hear it. Whether it’s Lauren’s return, the discovery that Cooper is working for the Other Side, or the truth about Zeke’s death, whatever emerges, if not all, in season three, the damage that follows will be severe.

New episodes of Power Book II: Ghost are available Fridays at 12:00 p.m. EST on the STARZ App and at 8:00 p.m. EST on the STARZ TV Channel.