Exceeding Expectations

**Exceeding Expectations** is the second episode of the first season of *Power Book II: Ghost* and the first *Power* spin-off.

## Synopsis

*Haunted by the legacy of his father, Tariq tries to understand who James St. Patrick was to the people in his life, how it's shaped Tariq's own life, and how the memories of his father define the man Tariq wants to become.*

## Plot

**ALERTE SPOILER**

Following Cooper Saxe’s big surprise, Davis Maclean, with Paula Matarazzo, his investigator, gets to work immediately by starting questioning Tasha St. Patrick about what exactly is going on. Maclean quickly points out that payment is due, and Matarazzo surprises Tasha by revealing that her son is the one making those payments. Tasha thought Simon Stern was funding her defense, but regardless she promises to get his money. With that out of the way, Maclean wants Tasha to stop playing and tell him the whole truth because he accurately feels she is not telling him the entire story in regards to why she asked Tommy Egan to kill her ex-husband. Maclean knows something smells fishy with Saxe’s federalizing of the case and making her look like the queenpin. After a series of questions simulating as if she was under oath during her actual trial, he gets her to answer his questioning making in a way that it proves that she is not running James and Tommy’s drug enterprise. Maclean knows that Saxe is charging too high, and there is a political motivation behind Saxe’s decision to charge Tasha.

Back at Stansfield, Tariq St. Patrick knows he isn’t bringing in enough money to pay Maclean. The counting of his funds is interrupted when Zeke Cross walks in the room. Tariq hands him the report on Moby Dick he did for him and tells him to read it before he meets with Professor Milgram. Ezekiel claims he will read it, but his focus seems to be on trying to seduce the professor. Before he leaves, Tariq inquires if he can join him for dinner at his Aunt Monet's house, Zeke says he will ask her.

As far as his own school work is concerned, Tariq is still struggling to get on course after he got accepted into the Canonical Studies program. Tariq, of course, was late to class with professor Jabari Reynolds, who already doesn’t really like Tariq and didn’t want him in the program to begin with. Immediately as he takes his seat, the professor asks him about the book he was supposed to complete ahead of class. Tariq answers the question but Laurenchallenges his point, and Tariq has no answer for that. Professor Jabari realizes that Tariq didn’t read the book and isn't pleased. Lauren apologizes to Tariq, and he tells her that it isn't her fault. Tariq gets a text from Maclean because the two need to have a much-needed conversation about his mother's case.

Maclean is still searching for answers and clearly doesn’t believe Tasha. He immediately tells Tariq about the recent developments in his mother's case. Tariq backs his mother's claims that his father was running the drug business, but Maclean is still skeptical, being that they both failed to disclose that she had a history with the Feds. But regardless, Maclean is still on board. In fact, he wants Tariq to deliver the eulogy at his father's funeral and trash him at the same time to help his mother's case. Tariq isn't too sure about that idea, but Maclean tells him to grow a pair and make a decision, his father's integrity, or his mother's freedom.

After a presumed night of passion, Officer Ramirez wants to be more than just Monet’s lover fulfilling her needs due to her husband being locked away for life. Monet isn't trying to hear any of that because he can’t begin to offer her anything that her husband did. She kicks him out before the kids shows back up. Later on that evening, Zeke and Tariq and show up for dinner. The family gathering is interrupted by an unexpected guest, Uncle Frank.

Monet is very curious as to how Uncle Frank got out of prison so soon before eventually telling him to leave after he tries to seduce his own niece. After Uncle Frank leaves, Monet tells Cane to take Tariq home, and she did that for a specific reason. Before they get back to the school, Cane pulls over and tells Tariq to get out of the car so they can have a conversation and set some things straight. Before Cane can tell Tariq he needs to keep whatever he saw at the house to himself, Tariq stops him immediately and tells him that Uncle Frank is a snitch. Tariq also points out that his future depends on Zeke being successful in school, so he has no intention of messing anything up. Cane is impressed, and the two get and the car and drive off.

Cane arrives back at the house, and before he can tell his mother and sister what happened between him and Tariq, he learns that his sister Diana and Monet have already come to that conclusion. Monet inquires if Tariq asked to come to the house or Cane invited him over. Zeke reveals that it was Tariq’s idea which has Monet's drug family senses tingling. She informs her nephew to learn more about his tutor. The following day Uncle Frank's time as a “free man” comes to an end quickly when Cane kills him and chops him up into pieces.

Following her conversation with Zeke, where he tried his best to shoot his shot with Carrie Milgram, she learns that the funeral for Tariq’s Dad is coming up. She decides to reach out to Tariq to talk to him about dealing with the experience and opening up about it. Tariq couldn't care less though and doesn’t want to be bothered. Professor Milgram is determined to help Tariq, but her colleague, Professor Jabari, wants her to relax. Milgram reveals she wants to hold a candlelight vigil for James St. Patrick. Jabari thinks that would be a terrible idea. Carrie and Jabari start fighting and after a bit of an intense back and forth, we learn the two professors were once an item and that a book Jabari wrote that included Milgram in it lead them to breaking up. Eventually, the arguing leads to passion, and the two have sex.

After that, we learn that Milgram is a recovering love and sex addict and her sponsor was not too pleased that she falls in Jabari's arms that easily. Anyway, she still decides to do the vigil despite Jabari accurately warning her not to. When Tariq arrives, he finds the candlelight vigil, which obliges him to go at a party with Brayden Weston.

Cooper Saxe is being pressured by John Mak, who wants with Steven Ott to pin everything on Tasha so James dirt won't come out. At the same time, Maclean is doing his due diligence because he knows something is going on and along with his investigator who is working hard to get to the bottom of this, earn his $50,000, and stick it to Saxe.

Maclean brilliantly decides to use the former prosecutor who Saxe low-balled to try to get the case thrown out, and it almost worked during a private meeting in the judge’s chambers. Saxe counters with Blanca Rodriguez who isn't too happy to be a character witness for Saxe because he burned her after what he did to her. Saxe smartly tells Rodriguez to answer his questions with yes or no answers, limiting her responses, which she desperately tried to clarify but to no avail. After both witnesses testify, the judge decides there is just too much meat on the bone for her to dismiss the case, a small victory for Saxe. But, before Maclean leaves the chambers, Blanca stops him and tells him to get Saxe.

Before the day of James St. Patrick's funerals, Tariq had some thinking to do after conversations with Maclean, his mother, and Simon Stern, who thinks that saying bad things about his father wouldn’t be a good idea. Tasha gave Tariq the option of not having to make a speech at all, opting to deliver the eulogy in his place, and they both agreed at the time.

After a conversation with James' uncle, Gabe, that must have helped Tariq come to his decision. Also, when his mother showed up from prison in her funeral fit with cuffs as her accessory, Tariq decides he will do it since Saxe, who is also at the funeral, won’t allow Tasha to do to deliver the eulogy without taking off the handcuffs. Tariq steps up to the podium following Reverend Macedon's words and delivers a eulogy that tells the story about a conflicted man he didn’t really get to know until his death. Basically, he walked a fine line of keeping things cute about his dad without having to completely trash him. Following the funeral, as Tasha is being taken away, she asks her son to get her a plan B pill. While locked up, Tasha observed a meeting between the correction officer who gives her a hard time and one of the inmates, and apparently, she might have gotten her club shot up by one of the guards.

Tariq gets a surprise visit from Diana at his dorm, and she wants to know how Tariq knew that her Uncle Frank was a snitch because she was impressed. Tariq changes the topic of discussion and asks Diana if her father knew anyone on the inside that could get sneak a morning-after pill to his mom in jail. Diana runs home to share the revelation with her mom, and Monet agrees to do the favor. When Tasha returns to her cell, she finds the book with a phone and the pill inside of it. Tasha immediately uses it to call her son to tell him how proud she was of him and inquires how is paying Maclean because she doesn’t want him selling drugs. Tariq tells her that he found another way that should keep him from ending up being killed or in jail, that way is the Tejada family, but Tasha has no clue yet.

Speaking of the Tejada family, Monet gets a visit from Ramirez, and he comes bearing gifts. Monet is not impressed with the flowers but he does grab her attention when he has evidence confirming Uncle Frank is a snitch asks if she knows anything about him being missing? Monet plays it cool and by using the fact that he is a snitch and that anyone could have killed him. Monet wants Ramirez to leave the crib before her kids come back, but she has no idea that Cane saw Ramirez walk in the house. Also, she asks Ramirez to get more information on Tariq and the St. Patrick family.

## Cast

### Starring

* Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick
* Shane Johnson as Cooper Saxe
* Gianni Paolo as Brayden Weston
* Melanie Liburd as Caridad "Carrie" Milgram
* Lovell Adams-Gray as Dru Tejada
* Daniel Bellomy as Ezekiel "Zeke" Cross
* Quincy Tyler Bernstine as Tameika Washington
* Paige Hurd as Lauren Baldwin
* Woody McClain as Cane Tejada
* Justin Marcel McManus as Jabari Reynolds
* Clifford "Method Man" Smith as Davis Maclean
* LaToya Tonodeo as Diana Tejada
* Mary J. Blige as Monet Stewart Tejada
* Naturi Naughton as Tasha St. Patrick

### Guest Starring

* Monique Gabriela Curnen as Blanca Rodriguez
* Mark Feuerstein as Steven Ott
* Sung Kang as John Mak
* Debbi Morgan as Estelle Green
* Shalim Ortiz as Officer Danilo Ramirez
* Sherri Saum as Paula Matarazzo
* Larenz Tate as Councilman Rashad Tate
* Glynn Turman as Gabriel
* David Zayas as Frank Tejada
* Victor Garber as Simon Stern
* Paton Ashbrook as Jenny Sullivan
* De'Adre Aziza as Marshal Gwen Meredith
* Ryan Bourque as Scott
* Jeanette Branch as Laila Jones
* Anthony Cason as Richard
* Chuck Cooper as Reverend Macedon
* Kathleen Garrett as Judge Nina Larkin
* Salar Ghajar as Campus Cop #1
* Stacey Giambastiani as Campus Cop #2
* David Ginlet as Khalid
* Brey Howard as Isaiah
* Cory Jeacoma as Trace Weston
* Tank Kelly as US Marshall
* Dani Klein as Hannah
* Cooper Joseph Koch as Chase
* Preston Christopher Lawrence as Owl
* LightSkinKeisha as Brushaundria
* Rey Lucas as Marcos Garza
* Paris Morgan as Yasmine St. Patrick
* Zoe Whitford as Ashley

## Soundtrack

 "*99*"
 "*Nobody I Can Trust*"
 "*That's Alright*"
 "*Some Days*"
 "*Out The Mud*"

## Trivia

* The episode scored 0.56 million viewers.
* Frank Tejada is called **Frank Castillo** during the episode. But he is credited as "Frank Tejada".

## Gallery

### Videos

‘Exceeding Expectations’ Ep. 2 Preview - Power Book II- Ghost - STARZ‘Oath’ Ep. 2 Clip - Power Book II- Ghost - STARZ‘Tariq’s Eulogy’ Ep. 2 Clip - Power Book II- Ghost - STARZInside the World Ep. 2 - Power Book II- Ghost - STARZ