SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Power Book IV: Force Season 3, Episode 6. It also contains mention of abortion.

The expectations for Power Book IV: Force were astronomical after killing off Claudia Flynn. The Starz drama had to prove Claudia’s death wasn’t going to create a void. Season 3, Episode 6, “Asset Forfeiture” accomplishes that by essentially putting everyone at each other’s throats. (We’re not mad at you, Vic, we’re just disappointed.)

Of course, the focus of the hour is how much Claudia’s death messes up everyone else’s plans—including Tommy Egan’s. Vic points out that Stacy Marks can’t make her case against the Marquez cartel without Claudia, and if Stacy can’t make her case, she won’t get elected Mayor. But he’s not the only one who has to adjust. Stacy has a meltdown and leans on Vic, who finally reaches his breaking point in Episode 6. He’s like Milton from Office Space in the criminal underworld. And Diamond Sampson is annoyed that Tommy didn’t loop him into his plans for Claudia, which prompts Tommy to confront Diamond about plotting behind his back. Claudia’s demise sets all these other dominoes falling, as it should. Anything less for a villain of her magnitude would make her death seem unimportant. All of this fallout doesn’t totally make up for the absence of Lilli Simmons, but it does show viewers why the Force writers chose to go that route.

“Asset Forfeiture” makes Vic’s heel turn official. He leads a crew to strike at the Albanians to take back a Flynn bar, and he also tells his girlfriend Rae that he’s been under everyone else’s thumb for too long. This plot twist still doesn’t entirely resonate, as fun as it is to see Shane Harper in full villain mode. On one hand, viewers can completely get why Vic would lash out like this because he really has been getting grief from all sides for too long. But because Vic seemed like the most likely character to be able to have a “normal” life (as normal as anyone gets in the Power universe), and because Harper was so good at the moments when Vic got to drop the gangster persona, it’s disappointing to see him go over the edge. There was that small hope that Vic could get out from under and manage to escape, and that hope is definitely gone.

The hope is replaced by Mireya Garcia finally telling Tommy about her pregnancy, and the dreams they quickly have about family. Fans get a bit of whiplash when Tommy finds out because he sees a notification for a Planned Parenthood appointment on her phone, and a cut to Mireya at the clinic makes viewers think she’s terminating the pregnancy. However, the subsequent scene reveals that she changed her mind. Given the seriousness of the subject, it’s a very jarring fake-out, and it also doesn’t add much. The discussion between Mireya and Tommy about their baby’s safety is the real meat of that subplot.

But no matter how Force gets there, the work between Carmela Zumbado and Joseph Sikora is first-rate. Firstly, their scenes once again highlight the mutual respect in Mireya and Tommy’s relationship. He’s clearly hurt when he thinks she’s gone through with the abortion, but he tells her that he supports whatever she chooses. And to see the emotion in Tommy is another reminder that he’s human and vulnerable, no matter how tough he is 95 percent of the time. That heart beating underneath is what’s made him worth following across multiple shows. Sikora is wonderful at bringing that back out, even if it’s only for a few moments.

And it gets to the tipping point that Power Book IV: Force fans always knew would happen. Mireya has been trying to broker coexistence between Miguel and Tommy all season, and in Season 3, Episode 6 she takes her biggest steps forward yet by asking Tommy to give Miguel money to bail out Cruz and then telling Miguel about her pregnancy. That’s the reason Miguel aborts the attempt on Tommy’s life, keeping Tommy at the dinner table longer than expected. However, doing so means Miguel is now in the Marquez cartel’s crosshairs. And the fact that this happens in the same episode where Diamond and Jenard strike a business deal behind Tommy’s back makes this all juicier. Will Force end with Tommy siding with his rival, and having to fight the people who were his allies? Did this show just do a complete 180? How much were the shots of body parts being dissolved in acid hints about what’s coming next?

“Asset Forfeiture” has everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, and they all somewhat have a point. Stacy and Vic are angry at each other, both of them hate Tommy, while Tommy doesn’t like either of them, and Diamond is now on his own path, while Jenard is stuck between Shanti and Diamond. Most alliances on TV crime shows eventually fall apart, but Power Book IV: Force is doing that in spectacular fashion. What’s most impressive is that all of this chaos makes sense. It’s not violence and arguing just to keep viewers watching. It’s all happening because no one, not even Tommy, really completely understands what they’re doing.

Power Book IV: Force airs Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Starz. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Starz.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.