NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Power Book II: Ghost season 3 episode 3, "Human Capital."
An opening montage to the Drake classic "The Motto" kicks of episode 3, with Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.), Brayden (Gianni Paolo), Effie (Alix Lapri) and Cane (Woody McClain) needing to figure out how to move Noma’s load.
Tariq’s strategy sees him continue working with Brayden at his father’s financial firm. This includes expensive suits and thousand dollar watches so that he can better look the part. Davis Maclean (Method Man) even explains to Tariq during a fitting that even if a fancy suit does a lot of an image, it won’t stop people’s suspicions of him. Effie moves her weight through the college scene as she simultaneously pursues her education. Cane, meanwhile, has Lorenzo jumped during a fake drug deal.
Tariq, Brayden, Effie and Cane all get called in from Noma’s favorite henchmen, Obi (Kyle Vincent Terry). He’s disappointed they were only able to move half of the weight provided, so he displays photos of their loved ones for incentive to sell everything or risk their lives. Making things worse, Jenny Sullivan (Paton Ashbrook) is getting closer and closer to bringing a R.I.C.O. charge against Tariq, with the hope of finding who Tariq is getting his drugs from.
As Tariq and Effie try to figure out how to expand, Effie suggests selling drugs at Stansfield. Tariq initially disagrees, as he still has eyeballs on him on campus. There’s also the issues of Tariq, Effie and Diana’s love triangle that’s sure to make things more complicated. It doesn’t help when Diana sees Tariq and Effie enter the classroom together.
Monet (Mary J. Blige) gets harassed by the federal agent Kevin Whitman (Jeff Hephner) in her bar. She approaches Maclean about it; a quick side note, it’s always great to see Mary J. Blige and Method Man act alongside each other.
During a family meeting between Cane, Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray), Diana and Lorenzo (Berto Colon), Cane comes up with a plan to make sure they can move the drugs and stay safe at the same time. In order to satisfy their agreement with Noma, Cane advises they force their way into more territory by taking out a rival family’s Russian contact.
Back at the firm, Tariq and Brayden have a meeting with business mogul Ron Samuel Jenkins (Gbenga Akinnagbe), as Jenkins is looking for a firm to handle his finances. Jenkins takes a liking to Tariq when he is honest about being the token Black man at the firm.
Elsewhere, Brayden gets involved with a company working in the crypto section, but not successfully. Considering how crypto is a great way to wash drug money, the look on Brayden’s face means possible opportunity.
Monet and Maclean meet with Whitman, who begins to piece together some of the bodies the Tejada’s have been associated with, which annoys Monet. Monet and Maclean come up with a plan to take Whitman down, building a harassment case against him. But Whitman has a plan of his own, interviewing Theo, an inmate who is also Maclean’s brother to get more information on Monet.
Tariq and Brayden come up with a plan to sell more drugs through a coffee business and online orders. How do potential buyers pay for coffee and drugs through cards? By buying their own crypto currency using the technology from the crypto company. Think of it as Course Correct 2.0.
But it’s not all smooth sailing, Cane pressures Brayden to kill the Russian contact since he’s white and won’t be connected to the Tejadas. But Brayden messes up his attempt to kill the Russian plug before Tariq and Effie interfere and do the deed. So Brayden gets away again with not having to kill anyone. However, they’re caught by some Russians who witness the murder. In the heat of the moment, Tariq tries to convince Effie they should have a real relationship, similar to his mom Tasha and father Ghost.
Cane attempts to work with the Russians following the murder, but they’re on edge after their contact was killed. Cane nearly kills Brayden for not pulling for the trigger and says that a body is still owed. Meanwhile, Lorenzo asks Diana to push weight for him on Stansfield, effectively making her Effie’s drug competition on campus.
With the drug operation officially expanded, coffee/drug business underway and all the college drug game on lock, things are pulling forward for the crew to fulfill Noma’s duties. However, other factors may get in the way of all of that as they worry about the feds on their heads.
Power Book II: Ghost season 3 airs new episodes on STARZ on Fridays.
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