Are Tommy and Liliana the new dream team?
I kid, I kid. But also, they’re kind of a badass duo, which is INSANE when you think about where they started. However, two people driven by money and making ends meet is a dangerous combination.
And the Serbs found that out the hard way on Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 4.
Bringing back Liliana was a shocker, but drawing the Serbs back into Tommy’s web wasn’t. However, the way things ended here sets us up for a thrilling rest of the season.
It’s crazy to think that Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 1, while strong by all accounts and a great starting point, has actually been the weakest of the bunch thus far. Each hour has gotten increasingly better, as we get to know the characters better, understand their motivations, and root for or against their success.
Tommy is always going to be Tommy. And we’re always going to root for him to succeed. We know him so intimately now that we’re always going to be on his side.
But what about Diamond? Vic? Jenard?
It’s been fun as hell getting to see a little bit more of everyone each hour. This spinoff is absolutely bringing it every week and deserves its recognition.
After the catastrophe that was the meeting with Diamond and Walter on Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 3, Tommy still wanted to work with Diamond. And he should.
Diamond has a good head on his shoulders, and he and Tommy have the capacity to be a good team. Hell, they’ve already proven that to themselves and the audience.
But bringing in Vic is risky for more than one reason.
Reason number one is his father.
Walter is horrendous, and he deserves never to have any good things, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a significant player in Chicago, and all things run through him, to a degree.
Vic: And if I walk away from that legacy with Gloria, I’m not a man right?
Walter: You’re fucking right.
Vic: But if I stay with you, I’m still a fucking boy.
Tommy has never really feared anything, and I’m not saying he should start now, but he would be wise to think about how much he needs to cross the Flynn’s at this point.
There’s also the whole love triangle of it all that comes out finally when Vic makes it known he’s hip to what’s been going with Gloria and Tommy.
Vic is shockingly level-headed when he talks to Tommy, but it seems to be more of an ego thing above all else. He often talks about Gloria as if it’s just a matter of time before they get back together, but if that’s so, what is he waiting for?
He could be waiting for Walter to pass, but even then, who knows when that will be and how entrenched in everything he will be by then.
If Gloria is the endgame for Vic, and I believe right now she is, then it’s probably best for him to break away from Walter as much as he can. Establishing something for himself is pretty much the only way he can stop Walter from holding things over his head and essentially keeping him where he wants him.
But even if Vic is all-in on going behind Vic’s back, is Tommy right to trust him with his business and his life?
It works out here when Tommy once again finds himself in bed with the Serbs, and he needs someone to have his back.
Tommy sure is running into many familiar faces in the Windy City, and being honest, I’m not sure we’ve needed all these Power throwback players carried over into this new world. Though, it’s not harming anything either.
Liliana: What took you so fucking long?
Tommy: Thank you for saving my fucking life will do.
Liliana’s addition has actually been welcome. She and Tommy’s antagonistic relationship works well here. They have a brother/sister vibe that morphs into true camaraderie more than anything else.
They don’t need each other, but they also do need each other in some ways. They’re a good balance for one another right now, and Tommy could use more allies over foes.
And that brings us back to the whole partnership between Tommy, Diamond, and Vic, which looks like it has a chance to be something down the line. But Tommy currently has to deal with the Serbs, and Diamond was not down to get into someone else’s war.
Does Diamond owe Tommy? Sure. But he also doesn’t need to court trouble for himself unnecessarily.
Jason was an evil man, and Tatiana was a force as well. So are we to expect Markovich will be any less ruthless? The fact that Diamond was basically like, “Nah, I’m good on THAT war,’ means that things are about to get worse before they get better.
Tommy loves poking a bear. And he could have easily given Liliana over, but that probably wouldn’t have done much good. The minute he took that coke from her and decided to do what he pleased with it, this was always going to be the outcome.
Vic has his back here, and that just solidifies them working together now. And I guess that they’ll need Walter’s help at some point. And Diamond’s, for that matter.
And suddenly, that partnership we didn’t think would ever happen after the events of the last installment will come to fruition. Nothing brings enemies together like a good old-fashioned war.
Elsewhere, Claudia was off on her own trying to move her botched diet pill drug, and this story feels like it’s ramping up to something, but I’m just not sure what it is yet.
Like her brother, she’s going behind Walter’s back to carve her own path because she has no other choice. The men in her life don’t listen to her, and if she wants something that is solely hers, she has to do it herself.
But the plot is separate from everything else right now, sans for Tommy tasking Liliana with tailing her, so it’s a bit of a record-scratch when we check in with her. But everything is going to sync together at some point. It has to.
You could say the same for JP and D-Mack, who we learn has been the one defacing JP’s bar for unknown reasons.
Interestingly, we know D-Mack is JP’s son (or at least that’s the assumption), but JP clearly has no clue who the kid is. That’s a rather intriguing mystery moving forward. Just how much does D-Mack know about anything?
It’s especially intriguing when you factor in Jenard, with whom D-Mack has a connection.
Jenard wants Tommy gone, and while his reasoning is flimsy, that won’t stop him from trying to make that happen. Will he enlist D-Mack and his soldiers to go after Tommy? And what if he learns that Tommy is his uncle? What does that do to D-Mack?
So many possibilities here.
And speaking of Jenard, this man needs a timeout. I want to be on his side because his struggle is understandable. He feels like he was pushed out of an operation he helped grow when Diamond was away, but nothing is ever that simplistic.
He also seems to resent his older brother that we need like a whole hour to unpack.
These two really need to sit down and have a conversation about the past fifteen years and what they want for CBI moving forward. I get sibling rivalry and the need alpha males have to be alpha males and be in charge.
But family is family, and these two should be working together to find common ground instead of intensifying the chasm that’s been growing between them since the minute Diamond stepped out of those prison doors.
I shudder to think about this because it would NEVER work or happen but imagine in some weird dimension where life is simpler, and Tommy, Diamond, Jenard, and Vic work together. Talk about being on top of the world.
Who would ever step to that crew?
Everything Else You Need To Know
- Jenard has Elijah, and Diamond is in desperate need of a number two.
- Mai already questioning Claudia about calling all the shots makes me think there will be trouble brewing between these two one day.
- Neither Liliana nor Tommy selling out the other makes me happy for this twosome, who are slowly becoming such a chaotic duo.
- Jenard literally paying money to touch Liliana’s scar. Men.
- Can we spend more time with Gloria just getting to know her outside of the men? She deserves better than that. But I have a feeling her time is coming.
Again, I can’t say enough good things about what this spinoff is doing and the stories it’s weaving. The series is on fire, and I need everyone to step onboard and hit me in the comments with what you think about things so far!
Make sure to join the conversation and remember to watch Power Book IV: Force online via TV Fanatic whenever you like!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.