Power Book II: Ghost returned this week after a two-month break. The final season is wrapping up soon and it did not take long for the second half to have two memorable moments in one episode.
In the mid-season premiere, Tariq brutally stabs Zion, leaving him barely clinging to life before ultimately shooting him to finish the job. Meanwhile, Diana faces a terrifying ordeal of her own. After refusing to cooperate with Officer Felicia’s scheme, she is violently assaulted. The situation is even more distressing because Diana is pregnant, and the attack specifically targets her stomach, heightening the danger and emotional intensity of the scene.
Michael Rainey Jr. previously explained that he felt it was unrealistic for Tariq to be involved in major physical fights while attending college. However, this time, Rainey Jr. believed the situation was different, as Tariq was forced into a life-or-death situation where he had to kill Zion. He shared how this heightened the stakes and how ready he was to mentally and physically prepare for the intense scene, understanding the gravity of the moment for his character.
“Well I was just like, ‘Tariq gotta do what he gotta do.’ If you got to stab up a few people, then stab up a few people, you know what I’m saying? I was just ready for it. I was like, ‘damn. another action scene, let’s make it lit,’” said Rainey Jr.
Speaking of fight scenes, Diana has not had a physical fight scene until this episode. Despite the dangerous situation, LaToya Tonodeo was excited to partake in the scene while Rainey Jr. also shared his thoughts about the scene.
“I was definitely excited because it was her first official fight scene, but I was thinking, all right. In the back of my mind, I thought, I better get some payback because I didn’t really do much, you know. So yeah, that’s how I felt,” said Tonodeo.
“That was literally the first thing—being an ally, you know, obviously she was pregnant. Getting into fights like that could be very dangerous. It was really a What the hell’s going to happen moment. So, yeah, that was definitely going through my mind, especially for Tariq man.”
Michael Rainey Jr. and LaToya Tonodeo expressed their biggest takeaways from working with the show’s cast. For Rainey, the experience of creating a family while working was invaluable. “If you have the luxury of building close relationships with your cast while you’re on set, you get to experience life together every day. Take that and cherish it because who knows when we’ll all be part of the same crew and cast again,” said Rainey Jr.
“I have to second that because like you said, I’ve heard from so many different people that not all sets are like that and it’s our cast and crew. We all work together like it’s literally family,” said Tonodeo.
