This week’s episode of Power, entitled “Reversal Of Fortune,” presented viewers with the calm before the storm. After the violence and the emotional ups and downs of last week’s episode, Courtney Kemp slowed things down a bit. Hopeful politician Rashad Tate took the mainstage in “Reversal Of Fortune.” The clock rewinds back to the moment that St. Patrick and Tate split ways, and we witness the enraged politician have a night out on the town. In a drunken stupor, he puts a hit on Ghost which leads to a guest-starring role for Cedric the Entertainer. Viewers saw Cedric (who is named Croop in the show) get killed by Tommy before the mid-season break, and now Power illustrates how it reached that point. 

After his night of drunken bliss, Tate wakes up in his brother Kamal’s home. Kamal is a cop, and is both supportive and wary of his brother. It’s in his brother’s home that Tate gets the news of Ghost joining rival Loretta Walsh’s campaign. The family dynamic between Tate, his brother, his nephew, and sister-in-law is on full display here. Kemp does the same thing here that the show did with Paz two episodes earlier. Tate is given a solid family background that helps make his character more relatable. He loves his nephew and plays the supporting uncle role. As interesting as it is, it’s also strange to see a show devote so much time to a supporting character that is presumably at the end of his run. With the amount they’ve invested into his backstory this late in the game, it could just be an indicator of Tate’s involvement in a spin-off show.

Tate tries to plead his case to the DNC after Ghost and Loretta team up, but they advise him to concede. That isn’t an option for Tate though and he storms off only to be greeted by Croop and his son. The young politician tries to call off the hit on Ghost, but Croop wants his money. He gives Tate an ultimatum: tell him where to find Ghost or die. The obvious answer is given and Croop is on his way to tail Mr. St. Patrick. 

This could have been a game-changing moment. Ghost has a chance to save his own life here, but he lets his pride destroy him. Tate heads to Truth to speak with Ghost and warn him about the hit, but the former drug kingpin’s arrogance causes Tate to rethink his strategy. If Ghost had just been humble, Tate would have warned him about the hit and he would have beefed up his security. Instead, Ghost allowed his power trip to consume him to the point of letting his guard down. Tate becomes even more determined to take Ghost down, and later, Dre gives him the ammo he needs. The treacherous thug mentions Tariq suspiciously, and Tate then tries to use that information to agitate Tasha. He tells Tasha that Ghost is planning to get his son locked up for the murder of Raymond Jones, but she doesn’t buy it. Something tells me this piece of information is crucial though, and may have been heard or passed to Tariq at some point. None the less, Tate leaves empty-handed. Viewers are treated to a repeat of the scene where Tate hires Dre to kill Ghost out of desperation, but we all know how that one turns out. 

Later, while Tate is taking out the trash, he is approached by Croop’s vengeful son. Before Tate can meet his doom though, Kamal kills Croop’s son, which ties up that loose end nicely for the councilman. It seems like Tate is in the clear at first, but his brother is rightfully suspicious. Kamal takes Tate down to the station to file a report, and this is where they learn that there was a shooting at Truth. Now, Tate has an alibi and we know he didn’t kill Ghost because he was already at the police station at the time of the gunshot. Tate rides along with Kamal to the crime scene, and begrudgingly admits that Dre might have killed Ghost and he may be implicated. Kamal’s suspicions grow even more when they are informed at Truth that Ghost is dead. 

Tate spins the story of Ghost’s death into a beautiful press moment and wins back the hearts of his constituents. Slick work for a man who was desperate just hours before. The next day, the DNC comes crawling back to Tate and Kamal informs him that Dre was killed in prison. “Reversal Of Fortune” is true to the title: Tate goes from political homicide to earning the Democratic nomination in a matter of days. To cap things off Tate sullies Romona’s career by telling the press that she was sleeping with Ghost. Once again, this move implies that there is more story to tell in regards to Tate. It would be pointless to show Rashad still creating enemies if the show didn’t plan to explore these relationships at some point. Before the episode ends, Tate is enjoying the spoils of his victory when the local news announces Ghost’s killer. Tate is in shock, and the audience is left clueless. I believe the most important part of this episode may be Tate telling Tasha that Ghost planned to let Tariq go to jail. That has been an unresolved plot line for most of the season, and Ghost at one point did consider letting his son take the fall to learn a lesson. Could that have motivated Tasha and Tariq to kill Ghost? We’ll see next week.