Is Diana Tejada okay?
That was the central question lingering on our minds when the credits rolled on Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 Episode 6, and Diana was lying on the pavement with a panicked Tariq calling out for help.
We’ll have to wait for answers about what comes next for Diana and Tariq, but even so, we had to go right to the source to try and get some answers.
Tariq and Diana’s portrayers, Michael Rainey Jr. and LaToya Tonodeo, were kind enough to spend a few minutes with me reacting to the latest episode and looking ahead to what’s coming from the final few episodes.
Diana found herself in a tricky situation when one of Carter’s underlings, Felicia, tasked her with killing drug dealer Zion after he made a potential mess for her and her fellow dirty cops.
Diana and Tariq have a lengthy and complicated history, made all the more complex now that they’re expecting a child together. But she went straight to Tariq when she needed someone to help her.
Tonodeo believes Tariq will always have her back even with their trust so eroded.
“With that particular episode, I went back, and I was thinking, well, Monet is not available; she’s also unpredictable,” Tonodeo explained. “Cane is, first of all, he’s not effing with me right now, so I can’t. And then, Drew also has his own thing.
“Even though Tariq and Diana have that push-and-pull, at the end of the day, Diana truly believes that she can trust Tariq to help her through any situation. Even back in, I think it was Season 1 or Season 2 where Monet killed, I can’t remember the character’s name, Tariq came when Cane wasn’t available.
“It was Tariq who came and helped with the body and everything.
“So regardless of the situation, I believe that Diana believes Tariq will always be there for her. And they share a kid together, regardless if people don’t believe it’s his or not, they share a kid. For now, it’s in the belly.”
Tariq does show up for Diana, even while he’s in the midst of his own plans, which involve him ascending to heights he’s never reached before since we’ve seen him on Power Book: II Ghost.
“I think the most important thing for Tariq moving forward is staying in the driver’s seat,” Rainey Jr. explained when asked about what’s important to Tariq currently.
“Right now, like he says, he’s the apex predator, so he’s just calling shots on everybody. Before, people called the shots on him, and he had to play defense. He’s playing offense. He’s going for everything he wants.
“And I think that’s the biggest pivot that he’s experienced as far as his character goes because he usually is just used to doing him, and whatever’s happening, he’ll do damage control, or he’ll figure out a way to get out of whatever situation he’s in.
“But now, he’s putting other people in situations they don’t want to be in. He’s calling the shots now, so that’s what he’s doing.”
It’s a new position for Tariq, and it makes you wonder just how long he’ll be able to stay in it and what it could mean for his future—a future Rainey Jr. isn’t sure Tariq is looking too closely at.
“I don’t think he really knows what his future looks like at this moment,” Rainey Jr. explained. “I feel he’s so present, he’ll just be worried about what’s going on at the time, like, in the moment.
“He’s so focused on the moment, I don’t even think he knows what he wants for his future.
“Right now, what I do know is that he wants to be top shot right now. He wants to be top shot, and he’s putting targets on everybody’s back, and that’s where he’s at. He’s not even worried about his future; he’s worried about right now.”
The same can’t be said for Diana, who’s in a much different position from Tariq. She’s led a sheltered life in some ways while also being shackled by her family’s sins.
As an expectant mother, you have to think about the future. As Tonodeo told us, Diana knows what she wants. But of course that’s assuming everything is all good with her after that devastating conclusion.
“Independence and breaking the chains of family,” Tonodeo said about Diana’s future. “Because I always say, family for her is her strength and her weakness. Her ultimate goal would be to be able to trust herself and her own instincts and not lean on family but be able to keep them at bay.
“Always keep family first, but at the end of the day, it’s about her and her independence and what she wants. That could possibly be what her goals are.”
Leaving on such a heavy cliffhanger, with Diana’s health and her baby’s health hanging in the balance, left viewers on the edge of their seats.
It was hard for the two stars to say much without giving things away, but Rainey Jr. summed up what we can expect from the finale four episodes pretty simply.
“A lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of plot twists, a lot of things that you all would not expect. So, without spoiling it, I would say that much. It’s a very fine line.”
The final season of Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 airs on Friday at 8/7c on Starz.