(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)
Power Book IV: Force has been relentless when it comes to the death of its characters in season two. Before episode nine, titled “No Loose Ends,” Walter Flynn, Brandon Doyle, Paulie, Leon, and more were among the names that had been killed this season. In episode nine, two more names were added to that list: Miguel’s mother and his longtime associate Nunez. Their deaths were both connected to Mirkovic in different ways. Mirkovic used Nunez to set up Miguel to be killed, but instead, Nunez decided to have Miguel’s mother killed in a move that he thought was more efficient. Unfortunately, it came back to bite him when Tommy (with help from Mireya) figured out that Nunez was the one working with Mirkovic to have Miguel’s mother killed. Tommy kidnaps Nunez and tortures him before bringing him to Miguel to deliver the news. Miguel, disappointed in his longtime friend, wastes no time shooting and killing him for the death of his mother.
This move from Tommy was the latest in his attempt to gain an upper hand on Miguel in the Chicago drug game. After thinking nothing of his moves initially, Miguel sees clearere than ever that Tommy is coming for his spot. Miguel then tells Mireya of his plans to counter Tommy’s moves and eventually kill him once and for all, something that Mireya made sure to tell Tommy the next time she saw him. It here that Mireya did what she knew she’d have to for quite some time: pick between Tommy and her brother. She sides with Tommy by telling him how appreciative of him she is of his love and support toward her. She takes it a step further by helping Tommy figure out that Nunez is the one who betrayed Miguel.
Then we have Diamond, who is still reeling from the death of Leon, a young boy from the neighborhood who was becoming more and more like a son to him. Leon was shot and killed at the end of episode seven, and this week, Diamond sets out to find his killer. He’s successful, but unfortunately, he cannot do anything about it as the killer in question is the nephew of a key member in the drug coalition that he and Tommy have been building in Chicago for quite some time now.
Diamond later shifts his attention to Leon’s father Jamal who was verbally abusive to Leon until Diamond stepped in and told him to stay away from the family. Now Jamal is back to get revenge against Diamond and it started by letting Diamond’s parole officer know that he’s back in the drug game. Diamond learned that Jamal was the one who told his parole officer about his involvement in CBI and he decided to take matters into his own hands and kill Jamal once and for it. The fit of rage from Diamond that led to him killing Jamal was a combination of Jamal’s failure to nurture and correctly raise Leon as well as his choice to snitch on Diamond to his parole officer. Altogether, it’s the latest in Diamond’s progression after Leon’s death which can either be looked at as a decline from his better days or his attempt to right some wrongs.
Elsewhere, we see Claudia and Shanti continue to make moves in the Chicago drug game in their attempt to make some noise for themselves after being cut out by the Flynn family and CBI. One of them involves teaming up with Detroit’s Marquez Cartel, something that impresses Tommy when he gets word of it. What Claudia doesn’t know is that Shanti and Tommy are working together, and it appears that sooner or later, Claudia will find herself in a hole.
How’s that for a recap? Now, let’s see who made the top five Power Players of the Week list based on the events that went down in the “No Loose Ends.”
5. Mirkovic
Though Mirkovic was initially skeptical about a partnership with the Flynn family and specifically Claudia, it seems like his decision to go through with it has paid off. After five episodes of work, he and Claudia inked a deal with the Marquez Cartel from Detroit which puts them back in competition with the drug game in Chicago as the Marquez Cartel is also looking to establish territory in the city. It’s a low-lift opportunity for Marquez as he’s tasked Claudia with supplying the money for the Marquez Cartel deal. Mirkovic lands another win in this episode by taking out Miguel’s grandmother and escaping from an attack when Miguel’s crew attempts to retaliate against them. Not too shabby this week Mr. Mirkovic.
4. Claudia
If there’s anyone who’s had to fight and claw for respect this season it’s Claudia. From being left out of the Flynn family operation to Vic severing ties with her, Claudia has had to fend for her own, but so far this season she’s done a good job of it. Most recently, she played a major role in Mirkovic and the Serbs’ ability to land a deal with Detroit’s Marquez Cartel and she’s also working with Shanti and her love interest Elise on infiltrating Chicago’s Viagra Triangle. Claudia continues to make the necessary moves to stand on her own and increase her position in Chicago, and though her time on the rise may be limited, she’s doing what she needs to at the moment.
3. Mireya
The character arc for Mireya this season has been getting herself out from under her brother Miguel’s thumb. In previous episodes, especially concerning her growing romance with Tommy, she’s been afraid to set out on her own and do what she really wants. Finally, we see a shift in “No Loose Ends.” Following the death of her mother and word from Miguel himself of his plans to kill Tommy, Mireya makes the step to stand up for what she wants and that’s a future with Tommy. She shows her commitment by staying at his place and helping Tommy figure out that it was Nunez who helped Mirkovic kill Miguel’s mother. Mireya is finally breaking free from the grasp of her family, and that’s a big win for her.
2. Diamond
Diamond is still reeling from Leon’s death in “No Loose Ends.” With Leon’s death came his spiral and additional left turns in his life. He killed his parole officer after he walked in on him in possession of a duffel bag of drugs and Gianna is no longer interested in something romantic with him. Despite this, Diamond is aware that there’s a business to handle with CBI and he’s able to take care of the necessary tasks. He also figures out who is responsible for killing Leon, but has to pause his plans to retaliate when he learns that the person responsible is the nephew of someone in the new drug coalition that he and Tommy built. Diamond did not give the same grace to Jamal, especially after he figured out that Jamal was the one who told his parole officer that he was back in the drug game. The anger behind that and Jamal’s failure to be a good father to Leon, who Diamond deemed a good kid with a very promising future, pushed Diamond to and over the edge as he eventually killed Jamal in retaliation. Diamond also received an early release from his parole. All in all, he’s fighting back and no longer being his cool calm and collected. There’s some good and bad to that, but this week was more of the former.
1. Tommy
Tommy’s back on top this week and it comes as a result of his progress in taking over Miguel’s position in the drug game within Chicago. When Miguel’s mother is killed, Tommy quickly figures out that Mirkovic is behind it and sets out to retaliate in order to appeal to Miguel’s boss. He doesn’t get the green light to do so, but he solves another problem for them by discovering that Nunez is the one who set up Miguel’s mother to be killed. Tommy eventually brings Nunez to Miguel and his boss to share his discovery and then earns the respect from Miguel’s boss that he was looking for. Secondly, thanks to Mireya, Tommy learns that Miguel plans to kill him once he can undermine Tommy’s growing status in the Chicago drug world. It’s because of this that Tommy tries to appeal to Miguel’s boss with the hope of gaining some sort of protection, a move that could prove to be beneficial to him. Lastly, Tommy discovers the snitch in the organization, and as viewers have known for weeks now, it’s none other than Vic Flynn. If you know Tommy, you know it’s about to be trouble for Vic, but we’ll have to wait until the season two finale to see what goes down.
New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.