That was one hell of an hour.

Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 10 was a more subdued finale. Sure, there were gunfights and death, but it was quiet overall. We didn't leave the season on a cliffhanger, really. Instead, we got Tommy ending the season the way he began it, ready to take over Chicago.

But that's what made the finale so great. Every scene was impactful, and every shot had a purpose. It's precisely the kind of lasting impression you want to leave an audience with as they anticipate what's to come next.

Before getting into the stories, let me just say first that this hour is visually stunning. It's shot beautifully and feels more like a mini-film than an episode of television. And it gives the hour a bit of a different feel than the rest of Power Book IV: Force Season 1.

But I mean that in the best possible way.

The set-up for the finale is simple enough; it's Tommy and the Serbs versus the Flynns and the Four Horsemen.

And Tommy being Tommy, he's not willing to just wait around for the fight to start. No, he gets the ball rolling first by picking off one of the Horsemen, and that's when things start to pick up steam.

Walter has half-crafted this Tommy vendetta in his head, especially once he realized that he could use Tommy as a scapegoat for Gloria's death. Killing two birds with one stone or whatever.

But it's interesting here that in the end, Walter isn't really the one to outsmart Tommy; it's everyone else around him. And it makes you wonder if maybe the general background noise about it being Walter's time to step down soon is true.

Walter Flynn is still as ruthless as ever and equally as petty. But he's so singularly focused that it doesn't allow him to see all the moving parts on the board. He sees one piece and hyper focuses on it like he's doing here with Tommy. He literally calls in the big dogs from the motherland just to get rid of one man.

Jenard and Claudia being the ones to step in and really set the stage for getting Tommy is something I didn't see coming. But for Jenard, his involvement in the situation came as he was looking to protect himself from Diamond.

The battle between Diamond and Jenard has been building since Jenard stepped out of prison on Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 1. It's just Diamond didn't know the beef existed until a little while ago.

Sibling squabbles are normal, and it's typical to not see eye-to-eye with your sister or brother at times. But the issues Jenard has with Diamond go beyond disagreements about how best to furnish the barbershop.

Jenard is power-hungry, and he's a control freak, so his quest to rule CBI has dominated his existence this entire season. And it leads him to a point where he feels like the only way to achieve his goal is to eliminate Diamond.

Can you imagine how obsessed with power you have to be to want to murder your own brother to get it?

Diamond is such an intriguing case study because while he's fallen back into old patterns since his prison stint, according to everyone who knew him before, he's a changed man. He's still an active participant in the drug game but much less willing to get his hands dirty this time.

Which makes sense, considering he's still relishing in the feel of freedom on his skin. But everything goes out the window when Blaxton and company show up at the shop ready to kill him at Jenard's request.

Killing Blaxton feels like the moment Diamond has tried to avoid all season, but there's no way he can let him live. Jenard can't walk back trying to kill him, so Diamond has to make that message clear.

It all leads to Jenard's frankly brilliant plan of stripping Tommy of the Serbs and leaving him vulnerable to the Flynns.

You know, Walter and Jenard have more in common than they probably release. They are both OBSESSED with Tommy Egan.

Jenard's plan is more about self-preservation than anything else, and being on the side of the Flynns, if even for a few moments, provides him with protection. And couple that with Claudia's play with JP, and Jenard sets himself up rather nicely.

Speaking of Claudia, you have to give it to her. She's not here to take anyone's crap. She's an intelligent woman who is not interested in settling for less than she feels she deserves. She makes moves and does what's in her best interest, which is necessary when no one is rooting for you to succeed.

Teaming with Ioan is brilliant because it gives her a connection in Dublin, allowing her to make a power play all on her own. Grabbing Lauryn and, subsequently, JP is the only way to wound Tommy.

Tommy has been terrified about JP getting hurt because of him, and this is his worst nightmare coming to fruition. And poor Tommy.

He does try his best to protect the people he loves, but he's also at a point now where he tries to keep so many things separate because he feels like the kiss of death. Being loved by Tommy is tantamount to a death sentence these days.

Tommy just has too many enemies and too much constant heat on him.

Getting JP back means teaming up with Diamond, and can this partnership be a permanent thing, please? Diamond brings such a nice balance to Tommy, and there's a need for that when it comes to Tommy.

Tommy will always follow his gut and instincts, and while he is a planner, he's also a reacter. Diamond is a planner, and when you merge a person who's thinking 20 steps ahead with someone who's living in the moment, you create a very unpredictable and strategic person.

You get the best of both worlds with Tommy and Diamond.

The power plant standoff goes off the rails immediately and is kind of anti-climatic? Considering how deadly the whole season has been, I just knew we were in for someone dying, like Vic, perhaps. It would have been the perfect ending to the season and a way to drag the Tommy and Flynn battle into the next cycle.

Walter would be on a revenge tour like none we've ever seen in the Power universe.

But we don't get a Vic death. Instead, Liliana goes out as the soldier she was always meant to be.

The Tommy and Liliana duo was an unexpected development this season that took some time to solidify, but it was such a nice treat once it did. Tommy found someone he knew he could count on to have his back, and Liliana found stability.

Her death won't be something Tommy will be getting over anytime soon, and knowing that it was Claudia who pulled the trigger means that tentative partnership is now permanently dissolved.

Claudia: Tommy, we can work out a way that benefits all of us.
Tommy: There ain't no us. Ain't never gonna be an us again.
Claudia: Then I better get ready.
Tommy: Yeah, you fucking better.

Permalink: Yeah, you fucking better.

The idea of Tommy trying to avenge Liliana and even Gloria by taking everything from the Flynns is a very appealing storyline and something I hope the show decides to explore greater in its second season. And while Tommy shouldn't trust Vic and Claudia, those siblings battling him AND their father also has so many possibilities.

Outing Walter as the man ultimately to blame for Gloria's death in the middle of a standoff felt extremely melodramatic but whatever it took to get Vic to stop being so hard-headed was wholly necessary.

His grief really did a number on him, but at least now he's aware that he shouldn't trust anyone but himself. And maybe Claudia, to a degree.

The season wraps itself up with Tommy at the hospital looking on as his mother, brother, and nephew share a laugh. And what kind of bizarro world is this? Tommy Egan, having his family right within arms reach, has to feel so weird for him, as it's something he's never truly had in his life.

Now, this is Kate, so something is bound to go terribly wrong at some point in the future. But at that moment, he gets to have what he's always wanted; a family.

And if that isn't the most poignant way to end the first season of the TOMMY EGAN SHOW, then I don't know what is.

Everything Else You Need To Know

Will we ever be free of Blanca Rodriguez? This is two Power finales in a row she shows up ready to be a pain in everyone's butt. Also, MEDINA IS BACK?! I can't even remember the last time we saw him, but you just know he's also ready to be annoying.

Also, Jenny Sullivan's little cameo at the end has me curious. Might this all lead to one Mr. Cooper Saxe finding his way to the Windy City one day?

Tommy being the new "Ghost" of Chicago? Oh, I love that storytelling!

Thank god D-Mac is alright! We need all the JP and D-Mac bonding time moving forward.

I know Diamond likes Adrienne, but why? When you start a relationship lying, there should really be no coming back from that.

Diamond and Jenard splitting CBI was a surprisingly mature way to settle their beef, and both walk away alive. Diamond isn't Jenard, and he would never kill his brother, but do we trust Jenard to stick to their agreement?

Well, that's a wrap on a great first season! Let me know in the comments what you thought about the season at large and the finale!

The series will be back for a season 2! So, until we meet again, watch Power Book IV: Force online right now!