Power Book II: Ghost Post Mortem: Michael Rainey Jr. Talks Note From Ghost & Cane/Tariq Duo

Where Tariq St. Patrick goes, trouble seems to follow.

And that was definitely the case on Power Book II: Ghost Season 2 Episode 10, which saw the season end with Tariq beating his case but possibly getting himself swept up in another.

Michael Rainey Jr. is a dream to talk to, and this was an interview filled with so much laughter. We got to ask Michael who Tariq trusts the most, what Tariq thought about THAT note from Ghost, and what shocked him the most about the finale.

So, first of all, I want to congratulate you on a great second season. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing Tariq's growth, and you did a great job with it.

Michael Rainey Jr.: Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

You're welcome. When I talked to you on press day before the season, I asked you where Tariq's headspace was heading into season two. So now I wanted to know where Tariq's head is at, at the end of season two?

Michael Rainey Jr.: At the end of season two. Okay, so his headspace right now, he's kind of got everything under control in a way. That's what he thinks. He thinks he has everything under control. He got Yasmine and mom. He got them together, stuff like that. He got the business with the family done.

The whole plan kind of worked out with the Tejada family, so he thinks he got everything sorted out. But as everyone saw at the end of last episode, modern-day technology is nothing to play with. So, heading into season three, he's definitely going to have to deal with that.

Yeah. And like I said before, I think this is probably the season, through Power and now Ghost, where I feel like Tariq grew the most. So can you speak to that growth and where you'd like to see Tariq continue to move forward?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Yeah, he did grow a lot. We're definitely seeing him become more and more like his father. He's handling things very well. He's making huge heist plans. He has everyone on the same page.

Obviously, he's built a bond with Brayden already, but as we've seen in the last episode, Brayden has done a lot for him, so they're definitely going to become closer this season.

And then Tariq is just going to continue to grow, he's going to continue to make certain mistakes, of course, but he always has a way to fix the problems that he's created for himself.

Sure. And speaking of Brayden, too, at this point in time, who do you think Tariq trusts the most?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Who does Tariq trust the most? It's hard for him to trust, but Brayden, he held it down in court, so I feel like Brayden is definitely the person that has the most of Tariq's trust right now. Tariq feels that he can trust Brayden the most. Brayden proved himself, so Brayden has a lot of Tariq's trust right now.

Ghost always wanted Tariq to be out of the game, but Tariq always pushed back against that. However, in the finale, Tariq seemed to hit a point where he did want to get out. Do you think it was a series of events that pushed him to that point? Or what do you think it was that got him to that point where he wanted to make a change?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Well, just the history of the family. Being the person his dad was, he sees how far that got the family. He sees the position that he got the family in, so I feel like he wants to nip that in the bud as fast as he can.

He doesn't want to drag on this situation between Lauren and repeating the same exact history taking place in Power. But it's kind of inevitable. He has to survive, he has to make money, so he has to be in the game, but who knows? Tariq might want to step out, but it's hard for him.

It's a difficult choice for him to make, especially with the people he has around him, like Effie and Brayden, they're not his best influence, but it's a hard decision.

I agree, yeah. And speaking of Effie, this season, Tariq had his fair share of romances with Lauren, Diana, and Effie.

Michael Rainey Jr.: That damn Tariq.

He was busy.

Michael Rainey Jr.: Pretty busy.

Under the right circumstances, which girl do you think would've been the best for Tariq or is the best for Tariq?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Man, are there any right circumstances with him? Who even knows. But I would say it really makes a lot of sense for Effie to be the one for Tariq because they're very similar.

Because Effie, she understands Tariq more than anyone. She understands Tariq even more than he understands himself, so I feel like that's just a good match for him.

It might not be the best match because she knows him a little more than himself, but I feel like that's one out of the three that's the best for him because he can confide in her, and she knows what be going through his mind. But who knows who he'll end up with. He's taking his time.

Sure. So, there were a lot of shocking moments in the finale involving Tariq and not involving Tariq. What moment shocked you, Michael, the most?

Michael Rainey Jr.: What moment shocked me the most? I wouldn't say this shocked me because it's not too shocking, but I would say it was shocking for me to see because when I was filming it, I was just so excited to see what it would look like. But I would say the shoot-out scene with Cane and Lorenzo and them.

It was so fun filming that, and then when I saw it, I didn't really picture it to look what it looked like. So, when I saw it, I was like, "Damn, this is actually fire." But I would say that. There are so many shocking moments, though. Obviously, Mecca and Monet, that standoff, that was pretty insane.

The whole episode! Everything that went on that episode was just shocking, I would say.

Yeah, it was crazy. Speaking of Cane, though, the Tariq and Cane duo it's really complicated, but I think they work well together when they're forced to.

Michael Rainey Jr.: I think they work well together too.

Yeah. And I wonder, and I'm going to ask you, do you think those two could ever get past the animosity to be true allies?

Michael Rainey Jr.: I look at it like this, Tariq, he doesn't care. Tariq is the one like, "Yo, bro, we're on the same team." In the first season, "We're on the same team. I don't understand." I feel like Tariq, he's on good terms with Cane as far as that goes, but Cane, he just has that venom in his heart. I don't know, man.

He sees something in Tariq. I don't know what it is. Obviously, the fact that Monet trusts Tariq a little more, she picks Tariq's side, but she doesn't really make it too evident. But they know that Tariq is the one that Monet chooses, so Cane kind of hates that, but Tariq is like, "Bro, listen, we friends, we family. I don't understand."

So hopefully, they could become cool because they could be another dynamic duo.

I wanted to ask real quick, the note from Ghost, that was a pretty brutal, kind of petty note. What do you think Tariq thought when he read those words?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Man, I feel like Tariq had the same exact reaction that Michael Rainey Jr. had because when we were reading the script, and I came across that line, I was just like, "Damn." I'm like, "Damn, that's how you feel?" That's crazy. It's just so insane. How do you think that far ahead?

How do you think that? But Tariq, he had so many thoughts going through his mind like, "Damn, he knew what was going to happen. This is what he looked at me as the whole entire time." There was a lot going through his mind, but definitely, the first thing that came to his mind was, "Damn."

And the last question for me is, do you have any final thoughts on season two or anything you can tease for us for the future of Tariq?

Michael Rainey Jr.: Man, the future of Tariq? One thing I can tease is that as soon as he ties up one loose end, another one becomes loose, as y'all saw in episode 10. There's going to be a lot on his plate coming into season three, as it was coming into season two, there's going to be a lot on his plate, just like in season two.