After six acclaimed seasons, Power came to an end in 2020 by resolving its season-long whodunit premise. Created by Courtney A. Kemp in collaboration with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Power is a crime drama that centers on James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), the smart, smooth-talking drug dealer-turned-nightclub-owner who isn’t afraid to be a little ruthless. Known by the alias “Ghost,” James struggles to balance his business endeavors with the needs of his family. Ghost’s wife, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), and their three kids — namely Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) — don’t always have the best relationships with James, as the finale proves.
Power‘s cast of characters is rounded out by Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora), Ghost’s best friend, and Angela Valdes (Lela Loren), James’ enduring love interest. All of these principal characters — and a few others, like 50 Cent’s Kanan — come into play in the 15-episode final season of Power. At the beginning of the sixth outing, Tommy and Ghost are on the outs, while Tasha plans to move against her ex. It’s clear that Ghost’s story is meant to end in death, and Power teases various would-be murders who want James dead. In the end, however, the St. Patrick family’s story ends in a very Shakespearean way.
Power Finally Reveals That Tariq Killed Ghost
Tariq Can’t Live Peacefully While His Father Still Breathes
In true anti-hero fashion, James dies at the end of Power‘s six-season run. “With Ghost, it was always dead or in jail,” Kemp explains (via USA Today). “Toward the end of his life, he got arrogant enough to think that he could escape it.” Unfortunately for Power‘s main player, that’s not how life works. The identity of Ghost’s shooter remains a mystery; for a while, Tariq, Tasha, and Tommy all seem like fully capable, probable suspects. Both Tariq and Tasha realize that the only way to escape the sticky situations they’re both in is to kill Ghost, but, ultimately, Power reveals that Tariq pulls the trigger on his father.
After some more verbal back and forth, Tariq decides he can’t go back and fires at Ghost
Buoyed by his recent wins, James thinks he’s an unstoppable force. And then his son shows up out of the blue. Tariq calls his dad out for years of lies and, most especially, for not revealing his alias. James claims he’ll be there for his son, as he’s “always” been, but it’s also clear Ghost is ready to turn both Tasha and Tariq in for their own criminal activities. “When the f— are you gonna pay for all the bull—- you’ve done, huh, dad?” Tariq asks, revealing a gun. After some more verbal back and forth, Tariq decides he can’t go back and fires at Ghost, just as Tasha appears.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Returns As Kanan In Power’s Finale
Kanan’s Presence Pushes Tariq To Kill Ghost
Before Tariq resolves to kill his own father, he receives a visit from a key Power character who technically died in season 5. Played by Power‘s 50 Cent, Kanan was once Ghost’s mentor, though he quickly became his drug-dealing rival. In a very Richard III moment, Kanan returns to Tariq as a vision, hammering home Kemp’s very Shakespearean take on the St. Patrick family’s rise, downfall, and rebirth.
Tariq hopes to distance himself from Ghost’s legacy — easier said than done.
Although Kanan’s role is minor, his presence definitely pushes Tariq to shoot his father. In doing so, Tariq definitely hopes to distance himself from Ghost’s legacy — but that’s easier said than done.
Ghost Tells Tommy To Spare Tariq
James Uses His Last Words To Try And Save His Son
After Tasha bursts onto the scene of Ghost’s death, she panics about what to do next. Tariq assures his mom that he knows what to do and gives her some instructions. Once Tasha leaves, another central character pops up: Tommy. Gun drawn, Tommy runs to his dying best friend’s side, propping Ghost up.
In previous
Power
episodes, Tommy promised to be there for Tariq, but that changes very quickly when he puts two and two together.
In previous Power episodes, Tommy promised to be there for Tariq, but that changes very quickly when he puts two and two together. Tommy aims his gun at Tariq, though he doesn’t shoot. With his dying breath, Ghost tells Tommy to, “let him go,” ultimately sparing his son the same tragic fate.
Tasha Ends Up In Jail At The End Of Power Season 6
Ghost Got The Last Laugh When It Came To Tasha
After Tariq kills Ghost, Tasha works to shield her son (and herself) from any involvment in James’ downfall. Tasha had actually intended to do the deed herself with the help of her beau, Quinton. Put more precisely, she had planned to lead police into believing Quinton was Ghost’s shooter by planting some detailed evidence. However, that doesn’t quite pan out.
At the very end of the Power season 6 finale, Tasha is arrested for her connections to her ex’s death. In the final scenes of the series, Tasha is in a jail cell, unable to skirt the fate that James had wanted to condemn her to before his death.
Tariq Goes To College In The Power Finale
The Power Character Tries To Educate Himself For A Better Future (And An Inheritance)
Tariq’s Power season 6 ending sets up the show’s direct sequel, Power Book II: Ghost, which centers on Tariq. In the parent show’s finale, Tariq is able to avoid blame for his father’s death. In order to receive the massive inheritance James St. Patrick left behind, however, Tariq must attend and graduate college.
In the final scenes of the series, Tariq is in his dorm room, cementing that Ghost follows Tariq as he navigates a new life. In Power Book II: Ghost, Tariq tries to leave his dad’s legacy behind, but, given the pressure to keep his family together, he finds himself becoming even more like James.
What Power Season 6’s Post-Credits Scene Means
Despite Fan Hopes, The Scene Isn’t Teasing A Spinoff
While the main segment of the episode ends with Tasha in jail and Tariq at college, there’s still more after the credits role. The Power finale’s post-credits scene is a flashback to 1996, and it features high-school versions of Ghost, Tommy, and Angela. While it seems like the perfect setup to a prequel series — Angela even encourages Ghost to check out a college outside the city and escape Queens — Kemp claims it isn’t.
Instead, she says the flashback moment is “just a coda to our main story” (via USA Today). So far, that’s been proven by the content of all four Power shows and spinoffs, but who’s to say where the popular franchise goes next.
The Real Meaning Of The Power Ending
The Finale Had Several Thematic Layers
There are several themes at play at the end of Power, which is only fitting given how far Tariq and the rest of the characters had come during the highly emotional crime drama. A key theme is, of course, revenge — both when it is served and when it’s not. On learning that Ghost was actually James, his father, Tariq managed to commit one final act of violence to get revenge on his father for several wrongs. The most obvious of these being that Ghost wanted to turn Tariq and Tasha in, but there’s also the many lies James had told his children over the years.
The true meaning is about the inescapable cycle of violence and crime Tariq, James, Tasha, Tommy, and the rest of the characters exist in.
There’s also, of course, the subtler revenge motivation — Tariq blames his father’s legacy for his won descent into a life of crime, so killing James was vengeance for the inevitability of Tariq’s life as a whole. The ending of Power also explores unfulfilled revenge too. Tariq may have killed Ghost, but the act doesn’t sit well with every character, least of all Tommy. Tommy wants to get vengeance on Tariq for the death of Ghost, but is convinced not to by James in one of the characters (incredibly few) redeeming moments).
However, while vengeance and violence are obvious key themes of the Power ending, the true meaning is about the inescapable cycle of violence and crime Tariq, James, Tasha, Tommy, and the rest of the characters exist in. Everything from Tariq trying to make it through college and the post-credits scene point to the cyclical history of the many criminal characters in Power.
For every character’s effort to make something better out of their lives, they seem doomed to fall back into the same life of violence and criminal activity that they, and previous generations of their kin, have known. This is further proven by the events of the sequel series, Power Book II: Ghost, which shows just how inescapable the legacy of James St. Patrick is even after his death.
How The Power Ending Was Received
Most Responses Were Positive, But Not All
Overall, the ending of Power was received well by fans and critics, as is partly evidenced by the continued success of the multiple spinoffs set both before and after the events of the original show. Aside from the many shocking moments as the storylines of the various characters came to a head, many praised the somber tone of the Power finale, commenting that ending on such a tone helped the show stay grounded and true to its roots.
Power season 6, episode 15, “Exactly How We Planned It”, was announced as the finale of the series a while before it aired in 2020, so there were high expectations when it arrived. While most enjoyed the send-off and thought it was a fitting final chapter, the praise wasn’t universal. There were many, especially among fans and casual viewers rather than critics, who felt that “Exactly How We Planned It” was too slow-paced for a show like Power. What’s more, there were also, somewhat ironically, many complaints that conclusions to certain storylines felt rushed.
Pacing was a criticism that followed all of season 6, but these sentiments really came to a head when the Power finale arrived. Fortunately, thanks to sequel spinoffs like Power Book II: Ghost extending the timeline of the franchise, the ending of Power can be retrospectively seen as the mid-point in a wider story, which does somewhat lessen the impact of the pacing troubles of season 6.