Every Death on ‘Power’ Has Been More Intense Than The Last — So Are We Ready For What’s Still To Come?

This season of Power was always going to be about death — and lots of it. When I spoke to the show’s creator Courtney Kemp ahead of the sixth and final season’s premiere, she shared that one of the biggest questions of the season would not be “Who will die?” but rather, “Who isn’t going to die?” And now that we’ve reached the Starz drama’s mid-season finale, that question’s never carried more weight. And I feel nervous.

Going into this season, I braced myself for the many inevitable deaths that were to come. And yet, just minutes into Episode 1, I still found myself shocked by the fact that Angela (Lela Loren) was dead. It didn’t feel possible. But that sure did let viewers know what they were in for this year. Each succeeding death, no matter how inevitable, has still managed to feel more emotional than the last. Proctor’s (Jerry Ferrara) brutal gun-down courtesy of Tommy (Joseph Sikora) in Ghost’s (Omari Hardwick) penthouse was nothing short of shocking. We knew it was coming but damn if that execution didn’t make your jaw drop. In fact, most of the deaths, specifically when it comes to the action and the visuals, have been so raw and gory, if you weren’t emotionally shocked, you were for sure physically shocked at what you were watching.

From Jerry Donovan (Ty Jones) to Jason Micic (Mike Dopud) to Benny’s (Domenick Lombardozzi) heart stabbing and Keisha’s (La La Anthony) heart-wrenching demise at the hands of Tasha (Naturi Naughton), the sky-high stakes manage to rise with every single episode (duh, this is Power, after all), and now we’re heading towards the Ghost vs. Tommy showdown that the show has been building to for years. And while I have full faith in this show’s creative team, and my own personal wishes as to who comes out on top — or even remotely breathing, this interaction also signals that it’s truly time to start grappling with the fact that Power is nearly over.

It’s a different kind of mourning that’s set in, almost like an upcoming graduation. Even though you know its coming and that there are more opportunities ahead (in this case, the show’s spinoffs) it still marks the end of an important era. This show is the most popular one on the Starz platform and has influenced, and will continue to influence, so many elements of the entire industry: representation on TV, the stories told, the way they’re told, and how fan bases will continue to not only be cultivated but also encouraged to interact with the show and its stars via social media every Sunday night. Few other programs have come close to the impact this show has had and is likely to leave behind. The characters, this world, it’s all been developed so thoroughly and burrowed so deeply into viewers’ emotions that it’s no surprise at all that viewers have become invested in storylines and Starz has become invested in making more of them via spinoffs.

Shows end every month, the lucky ones on their own terms, but it’s been a while since I’ve felt this torn up about one coming to an end. Will I have to watch with one eye open when Ghost and Tommy find themselves in the same room? What will Tasha’s fate be? How the heck have two of the messiest and biggest risk-takers, Dre (Rotimi) and Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.), lasted this long — and why do I feel so sad for their families at the thought of either not making it to the end?

Power has remained entirely unrelenting in its final season when it comes to convincing viewers to cling even tighter to the characters we’ve watched for over half a decade now. This excellence in storytelling is why I know I’m not alone in feeling nervous about learning the final fates of yes, these fictional people (who, let’s not forget, have made numerous mistakes and are mostly criminals). It’s due to Hardwick’s faces of late, truly selling the drama and the survival skills that are kicking into high gear when he’s putting his hands on Tasha and when he’s grunting while choking Jason in an elevator. All this time and Ghost’s still never been so desperate. It’s also the hope that Joseph Sikora’s performance somewhere, someday earns the full credit it deserves, with all those steely faces that hide the fire burning up inside Tommy — even though the actor will surely be called his character’s name out in public for the rest of his life, the real testament to what he’s delivered on screen.

There’s something about knowing this show won’t be pulling any fast ones on us again (well, for now) that is so bittersweet — there’s no Kanan (Curtis 50 Cent Jackson) escaping a fiery death for a second chance at corrupting Tariq. These deaths are final and fierce and part of this show’s legacy — one that will live on for much, much longer than the majority of its characters.

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