Were my eyes deceiving me?

Did Power Book II: Ghost Season 3 Episode 8 actually end with the show's longest-running villain finally running out of second chances?

Stop right here if you're not caught up because we're sprinting headfirst into the final moments of the hour, which were a doozy, and are going to see us up for a crazy end to this chapter.

Cooper Saxe has been there since the very beginning of Power. Really think about that and what it means. He was there through Ghost, Angela, Tasha, and Tommy. A constant thorn in their sides for years, failing time and time again to bring them down.

Even though he was a US attorney tasked with being on the side of the "good guys," looking to bring the big, bad murdering drug dealers down, he was an antagonist from the start. A man obsessed with getting justice to the point where he was willing to do anything to get it.

Time and time again, it looked like Saxe's time was going to be up, but he wiggled his way out of death on several occasions to the point where it looked like he would outlast everyone.

At one time, I wondered if he or Dre would ever die because they kept cheating death like it was their full-time job.

But this is Power, and eventually, life will catch up to you, probably in a way you weren't expecting.

Saxe's role in Power Book II: Ghost has mostly been to showcase his adversarial relationship with Davis and his continued pursuit of bringing down Tariq when it suits him. And re-establishing a relationship with Jenny got him back into the 'takedown the St. Patrick's' mindset.

Once Tariq learned about the RICO and Saxe's involvement, you knew that target was headed right for Saxe's back. But the most likely suspect to kill Saxe would have been the Tejadas.

His death doesn't really help them because it's just another body Jenny and Blanca can link back to the drug organization, but the Tejadas don't always see logic. And Cane was more than ready to kill Saxe if the opportunity presented itself.

But instead of Cane or Dru sulking in the shadows with a hoodie and a silencer, Theo decided to take matters into his own hands.

The Davis and Theo relationship was always underdeveloped, but they did enough this season to highlight both the brotherly bond and the resentments that have been festering inside Theo all those years he sat in prison.

Theo did the time, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he did it. All of it in hopes that Davis would do something productive with his life. And you could say that Davis had been productive, but did he do it the right way? Has he bettered his life to be a better human being?

That appears to be a pretty resounding no, and Theo's frustrations with Davis after his release made sense. He was dying, serving time for a crime he didn't commit, and here was Davis potentially putting himself in a position where he could end up right next to him.

Davis often thinks he's untouchable in a way that comes off much more cocky than confident, though you can say he has the cache and record to back it up.

You know, things might work out better for you if you ain't always so sure you're the smartest motherfucker in the room.

Theo [to Davis]

• Permalink: You know, things might work out better for you if you ain't always so sure you're the...

But he slipped up in how much faith he allowed himself to put in Saxe, and now suddenly Theo was back in a position where Davis could blow both of their lives up.

Theo didn't have beef with Saxe, not in the broader sense. But killing him felt like a way to eliminate a problem, right? No more Saxe meant no more CI for the FEDs.

Turning the gun on himself, though, was just what he said; a way to set himself free from a slow, debilitating death and a way to set Davis free from worrying about Theo any longer.

It's all pretty sad when you think about it, and Davis's reaction was one of utter confusion and heartbreak. Method Man's cries of agony were gut-wrenching, and it was the kind of ending to an hour that Power has perfected over the years.

It's an absolutely stunning death that will reverberate throughout the rest of the season.

Jenny set Saxe up when she pulled his protection, though everything happened so quickly that whether or not he had that protection may not have mattered. But Saxe got his licks in on Jenny at the right moment.

Jenny and Saxe had a lot of similarities, but they were both so scared of being burned by the other and never able to open up to each other in any sort of tangible way. Their whole relationship was based on mutual physical attraction, and even that seemed to wane over time, replaced by an unbridled determination to pursue justice by any means necessary.

Their relationship was the definition of toxic. Still, Jenny will feel some type of way about Saxe's death because she wasn't willing to even give him the benefit of the doubt, considering how much he was risking to help her.

After Whitman's death, she had to have realized how dangerous this case was, and Saxe wouldn't be playing double agent just to set Jenny up. It didn't make sense for him.

Now that Saxe is dead, the FEDs have lost a CI, but they still have Lauren, and now they have Effie.

It's funny that Tariq, Davis, and Monet set Effie up, knowing she wouldn't be busted, but just tipping her to the FEDs got her more on their radar than ever before.

Effie should have been arrested a long time ago for Lauren's attempted murder, but Jenny wanted the bigger fish, and she wanted the more high-profile arrests. But after the sugar fiasco, she needed something, and bringing Effie in, the one with so much to lose, meant a chance at a flip.

Now, Effie isn't a snitch. And it's hard to imagine she would turn into one now, even if it were in her best interest to throw Tariq, especially, all the way under the bus and never look back.

But that's not who she is at her core. And while I don't think Effie likes Cane as anything more than a fun little current fling, she wouldn't turn on him either. Effie is a ride-or-die, even if she's been burned.

Tariq will have bigger issues than Effie sitting in jail, though, as he'll have to figure out if Saxe was telling the truth about burying Tasha and Yas's whereabouts and dealing with whatever fallout you know is coming from Lucas.

Everyone kept playing with Lucas all hour, from Monet to RSJ, and he took it, but if you think he's just going to do whatever they say and not mount one last attack, you need to see the bigger picture.

I'm expecting Lucas to fight back in a way that will try to screw everyone over and save himself, which makes me wonder if we can expect him to make it out of this season alive.

Speaking of aliveness, do Dru and the Tejadas have a plan for explaining Gordo's sudden disappearance? Because it certainly didn't seem like they did.

When Evelyn asked Dru if he knew where Gordo was, he looked totally unprepared for the question, like it was coming out of nowhere. From what we've seen, the Castillos are a tight bunch and have a family business. Of course, they would notice Gordo being suddenly MIA.

Dru has had a very tough time when it comes to his love life, and while in the immediate aftermath of Gordo's death, he seemed to be okay, I knew it wouldn't take long before the ramifications of what happened hit him.

Gordo was someone he really fell for and someone he saw a future with. They understood each other and didn't have to hide anything from each other or their families. Their pairing was actually pretty perfect, save for the fact that their entire relationship was built on lies.

The Tejadas killed Frank, and the Castillos killed Lorenzo. Word just got back to Dru faster.

I didn't think we would ever see Everett again, but having him show up right after Dru lost Gordo was so cruel. Naturally, Dru didn't know how to handle seeing his ex out there living the life he thought they'd live together.

Was he jealous of Everett's new boo? Probably. But more than that, he seemed just to be lamenting the fact that, once again, he was alone and in pain. He loved someone again, and it ended with him broken.

I've never been Everett's biggest fan, but I was happy that in that moment, he saw the obvious pain Dru was in, and he didn't just leave him there to flounder in the middle of the restaurant. As someone he used to love, he showed concern and comfort, which Dru desperately needed.

This hurt will be an ongoing issue for Dru, and he will have to come face-to-face with the Castillos again, so things are about to get much worse for him before they get better.

Plus, he and everyone else STILL have this RICO hanging over their heads.

Prepare yourselves for the end of this season, y'all. This is Power, after all, and the shocks have only just begun.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• Tate and Harper are in love, and he's talking about marriage. And we've only seen .02 seconds of their relationship on screen. Tate is a great character, but there has been a struggle to incorporate him sometimes, and there's just been no time to expand upon his relationship.

• Lauren deserved her moment to look Effie in the eyes and see that shock reflected back at her.

• Now that Cane knows Lauren is alive, he will surely try to kill her.

• RIP to Cooper Saxe, I guess. It's wild to think that he outlived Ghost, Angela, Kanan, Proctor, and so many others. I started believing he was untouchable because he just kept surviving. But alas, he's dead now. See you never.

• There have been quite a few Tasha mentions this season, and along with Tariq's current lack of a family unit, I wonder if we'll see her pop up before the end of the season.

• Taking a video of Dru at such a low point and posting it on social media was so LOW, but also the world we live in.

• The way Diana wants away from her family, and Monet will never let it happen. She will have to sneak out in the middle of the night with whatever cash she can find. Otherwise, she will be stuck in New York forever.

We've only got two more episodes left in Power Book II: Ghost Season 3, and things have reached a critical point.

This RICO case is REAL, and who knows what the fallout from Saxe's murder will be. Plus, the Castillos will be lurking, and Noma is still out there somewhere, trying to avenge Mecca!

You guys will not want to miss these final hours. And while we wait, drop all your reactions to this installment and your predictions for the rest in the comments below!

Remember you can watch Power Book II: Ghost online anytime so you don't miss a second of the action.

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.