SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Power Book IV: Force Season 3, Episode 10.

The Power Book IV: Force series finale is called “Beginning of the End,” because it’s really not the conclusion. It provides a suitable amount of closure, yet it also leaves a few very important plot threads dangling. Some Starz viewers wil love that, others may hate it—and no one is necessarily wrong.

The final showdown between Team Tommy and Team Jenard happens and happens in style, with plenty of threatening and then shooting, and a sizeable body count. The episode, co-written by showrunner Gary Lennon with Sarah Gambles, does considerably simplify the situation. The Estrada cartel and the Marquez cartel decide to merge, which then eliminates the Roberto Ortega problem that once seemed so ominous. On one hand, this makes the finale easier; on the other hand, it also allows the writers to focus on the beef between Tommy Egan and Jenard Sampson, which is what everyone is primarily tuning in for.

However, Tommy and Jenard do not get the operatic, face-to-face showdown that audiences have been craving. They exchange some gunfire and Tommy does beat Jenard, by virtue of the remaining CBI members finally realizing that Jenard is so far off the reservation that he’s in his own zip code. His comeuppance is satisfying. Yet Jenard remains alive, and his fate is also left open-ended as Vic Flynn returns and proposes they join forces to defeat their common enemy. It is wonderful to see Shane Harper in the finale, and for a lot more than a sendoff scene. When Vic screams at Rae that he’s “Vic fucking Flynn,” it’s a line that the audience can feel. But some viewers may be disappointed that this huge war that built up so intensely doesn’t have a definitive period at the end.

The finale also pulls a rabbit out of its hat with the return of Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick. Tariq swoops in to save Tommy from being killed in the shootout, which is a little deus ex machina. Critically, Lennon and Gambles deserve their flowers for making Tariq’s return a significant part of the plotline. He’s not simply there to make Power fans even more excited. Tariq’s presence has an effect on Tommy and even moreso on D-Mac, as the two have a brief conversation about losing their fathers. Actor Lucien Cambric is the quiet MVP of the finale, as viewers see and hear just how devastated D-Mac is over JP’s death. Even though he says that he’s got Tommy (and he does), audiences get the sense that he’s trying to convince himself.

Tariq is also the way that Power Book IV: Force sets up what’s only half a conclusion. Tommy has won the war for Chicago, and makes a plan to come and get his pregnant girlfriend Mireya Garcia from Mexico. But in the final minutes, Tariq proposes that Tommy return to New York and become his new business partner. Force ends on the implication that Tommy is taking Tariq up on the offer. It’s a neat full-circle moment for those who have been following the Power universe. Tommy and Ghost were once on top of the world, and now Tommy is working with Ghost’s son. And technically it is an ending for Force, because Tommy will be leaving Chicago. But that choice also makes this episode feel more like a middle chapter than the final one.

In a technical sense, audiences get satisfaction; they know where almost all the main characters are heading. Shanti “Showstopper” Page and Miguel Garcia are now running things for Tommy, underneath the unified cartels. Bill Tseng is the new U.S. Attorney, after shooting Bobby DiFranco to get rid of the government threat to Tommy. Jenard and Vic are plotting something against Tommy. Mireya is in Mexico and Kate Egan is also back in New York. D-Mac is the only one who feels lost in the woods. So “Beginning of the End” does allows viewers to walk away with plenty of information. And it has a fair number of memorable moments, big and small, like Tommy telling Shanti that she reminds him of Liliana.

Yet there’s a way that there could have been more jaw-dropping scenes, and that the ending could have truly been a line in the sand, everyone off the map conclusion. Especially after the gut punches in the previous episodes such as Diamond Sampson’s death, “Beginning of the End” actually feels quieter. Power Book IV: Force burned itself to the ground with gusto over the prior installments. This one—the one in which audiences are expecting another hit to the stomach—is not that at all. It’s complete, but it’s not completely over, and so every fan will have a different experience with it. Some will love that subversive approach. Others will be left wanting. Is it too late to campaign for Power Book IV: Force Season 4?

Power Book IV: Force is now streaming on the Starz app. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Starz.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 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.