Power - "No Friends on the Street" Retrospective. Lies and More Lies.

Season 2, Episode 2

Air Date: Saturday, June 13, 2015, 9:00 pm ET/PT on Starz

Rating: ★★★★★

“Well, I’m building the best night out in New York. I want the uptown crowd with the downtown crowd; I want Park Avenue money and the bodega owners partying together. I want the rich, the famous, and the freaks. Don’t you ever forget, Kantos, the famous want to be entertained, too.” – Jamie “Ghost” St. Patrick

Tasha knows something is up with Ghost.

I don’t think Ghost (Omari Hardwick) believed Tommy (Joseph Sikora) when he told him the truth about Angela (Lela Loren) in last week’s season premiere, “Consequences.” Why else would he surreptitiously follow Angela when she leaves their bed to go jogging in the opening scenes of “No Friends on the Street.” Much to Ghost’s chagrin, Angela meets up with Greg Knox (Andy Bean) who is (conveniently) wearing a sweatshirt from Ben’s Steakhouse in Quantico, VA. Even though Ghost has been cheating on his wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton) all this time, I feel a bit sorry for him. Angela is his heart and soul and to discover she’s an AUSA must be extremely heartbreaking. So what is Ghost going to do about this situation, especially once Angela tells him he can have a key to her apartment? You know she wouldn’t do that if she knew Jamie is the person she’s hunting. Love can be blind and unfortunately, I think that is the case here. Angela really ought to listen to her friend Paz (guest star Elizabeth Rodriguez) when she asks her, “You sure your know everything about him? Does he know everything about you? It’s easy to love someone when you only see them an hour a day.” Yeah, like I said, love is blind and all that.

A very lovesick Tommy

Finally, Holly (Lucy Walters) wakes up. For a while there, I thought she was going to spend the season in that hospital bed! But man, is Ghost pissed when he finds out Tommy spilled the beans about their business to Holly. Tommy needs to pay attention to what Ghost tells him. “Then know this well enough. She opened her mouth to me, Tommy; she’ll open her mouth to somebody else. She says the wrong thing to the wrong person, she gets hurt. You do the math, brother.” I doubt Holly is long for this world even though she thinks she’s invincible. “It’s going to take a lot more than a bullet, a few drinks, and a pill to take me down.” Holly is not the sharpest tool in the shed, nor should she be trusted. She says she loves Tommy but I have no doubt she’ll sell him and Ghost out in a hot minute if it means she’d profit somehow. The only problem is Tommy is so much in love with Holly, he wouldn’t see her deceit if it bit him in his fine ass. I wonder if Tommy’s words to Holly are prophetic—“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

It’s fascinating to watch the Lobos task force work. Cooper Saxe (Shane Johnson) might not be far off in his thinking about the Ruiz (Luis Antonio Ramos), Nomar (Vinicius Machado), and Rolla (Darrell Brit-Gibson) shootings. Although, I think Saxe is a bit naïve if he truly believes Diego Martinez, aka Cristobal (guest star Matt Cedeno), the new head of the Tainos, will talk about street business during a federal interrogation. So is Sandoval (David Fumero), for that matter. I got a real kick out of the smirk on Greg’s face when Cristobal plays Sandoval like a fiddle during questioning.

Angela is still hell bent on using young Isabel (guest star Yainis Ynoa) to help her find out who Nomar’s “Ghost” is. Remember, Angela only knows the real Ghost as “Jamie.” She shows Isabel the incomplete sketch and she decides to complete it since she’s seen the guy at her father’s house. Needless to say, Tommy’s name pops up among the eight people who match the drawing. It doesn’t surprise me when Greg refuses to get Angela the tapes in order to identify Tommy’s voice but the way she sidesteps the rules is just stupid. For an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Angela takes too many chances; if she’s not careful, she’s going to lose her job or even worse if—or should I say when—she figures out who Ghost really is.

Smiles all around!

Kanan (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) finally decides to drop in on Ghost and Tasha. While everyone is thrilled Kanan is out of jail earlier than expected, several of his comments make Ghost take pause. They’re not enough for Ghost to question Kanan but they are sufficient enough for Ghost to stop Tommy from talking business in front of Kanan. I hope Ghost trusts his instincts because Kanan is out for blood. As much as I like Tommy, let’s face it; he can be really stupid at times. He has a bad habit of talking before he thinks, specifically opening his mouth and inserting his foot.

With all the bad blood between the rival gangs, it’s more important than ever to bring them together if Ghost is going to make good on his promise to Lobos (Enrique Murciano) to distribute twice the amount of goods. Enter Tommy, who did Ruiz a favor last week by killing Nomar. So even though Q-Dubs (guest star Marc John Jeffries) and the RSKs paid Pink Sneakers (Leslie Lopez) to stab Ruiz and Ruiz wants revenge, Tommy needs him to “make peace with Q-Dubs.” After all, Ruiz owes Tommy. Can he swallow his pride long enough to do what Tommy asks?

Other Observations

Why does Ghost want Angela to go with him to Miami? Is it to make killing her easier? After all, there’s a whole big ocean out there to dump her in.

***

“Told you, everyone leaves me.” Well, hell yeah, Holly! When you lie as much as you do to cover your own ass, you’re just asking for trouble. Holly has no idea who she’s playing games with, and telling lies about. Let’s just hope Tommy doesn’t follow through on his promise.

Traitors!

I am shocked and can’t imagine what Ghost is thinking when he agrees to let Simon (guest star Victor Garber) absorb Truth as part of his “brand.” Now, Ghost is stuck working for Simon and I know that doesn’t sit well with him. Even though the two adversaries agree about Ghost buying out Simon when the profits reach 20%, I don’t trust Simon. What’s to stop him from raising the amount of profits to keep Ghost under his wing? I’d much rather Ghost wipe that constant smirk off Simon’s face. Seems to me, you can’t trust anyone in this business, even when you have a plan and even when you think you can trust those who are close to you. *cough Kantos (Adam Huss) cough* What a snake Simon is!

Overall

“No Friends on the Street” is a very thought-provoking episode. With so many deals being made left and right, it’s impossible for anyone to know who they can and cannot trust. And lies? I’ve never heard so many lies in one episode. It seems like everyone is only out for themselves. I am totally hooked on Power; this may be the first time I actually look forward to spending a Saturday night at home.

What did you think of “No Friends on the Street?” Hit me up on Twitter @SeasideTV or leave your comments below.

Tune in to Power Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT, only on Starz.

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Follow Power on Twitter using hashtag #PowerTV. You can also follow these cast members: Kanan @50Cent, Jamie “Ghost” St. James @OmariHardwick and @IAmTheRealGhost, Tasha @naturinaughton, Shawn @sinquawalls, Angela @LelaLoren, Tommy @JosephSikora4, Holly @lucytwalters, Greg @andybeanactor, Dre @rotimi, Miguel “Mike” Sandoval @davidfumero, Isabela @YainisYnoa, Pink Sneakers @TheLopezLopez, Julio @JR8Ramirez, Ruiz @LuisARamosActor, Felipe Lobos @vmachado82, Kantos @adamthuss, Cooper Saxe @shane_m_johnson, and Lakeisha @lala.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!