Things have gotten real for Dru.
Dru and Lorenzo go to Kino’s place to take him out. When they bust in, they find him having s*x with a woman. Dru shoots Kino in the head, instantly killing him. They are greeted by Lorenzo’s associate who says that he will handle the next phase of their takeover. Dru wants the woman to stay alive and tells her not to tell anyone what she just saw happen. But Lorenzo’s associate kills her anyway. And Lorenzo tells Dru this had to be done to make sure that Dru wouldn’t be named as the killer. It’s important for them not to have any loose ends.
While Monet is inside her bar, she gets a visit from a woman named Evelyn. Evelyn brings up a man named Frank who Monet feels may have snitched to get released from prison early. Apparently, Evelyn and Frank had children together. Monet says that there are consequences when it comes to the game they are in. But she gives Evelyn some cash to help her get back on her feet. On the way out, Evelyn tells Monet to tell Lorenzo to be careful.
Tariq won’t give up Cane.
Saxe and Maclean meet up with Tariq. They tell him there is footage of a young man at the crime scene of Jabari’s death. Tariq says it isn’t him and he has an alibi. He was with Maclean’s former associate Paula that night. At this point, both lawyers believe Tariq is being set up. Saxe presses Tariq to tell them who’s behind all of this, but Tariq won’t talk. Maclean tells Saxe that Tariq isn’t revealing who is setting him up because he can’t. Doing so would cause him more problems and put his life in danger.
When Dru and Lorenzo make it back home, Monet questions where they were and what they were doing. Dru doesn’t say much and heads upstairs. Monet calls Lorenzo out for possibly putting Dru’s life in danger. But Lorenzo feels Monet needs to stop babying Dru. Monet feels her decision to take the business off the streets while Lorenzo was locked up was the better idea. It kept everyone safe. And at this point, getting off the streets and working for Zeke sounds like a better strategy. However, Lorenzo refuses to depend on another man. And he’s confident that his way is the best way.
Tate continues to pressure Tariq.
Brayden comes through for Tariq and hands him his dad’s photo album from his college days. There’s a photo of Congressman Sweeney with his dad rocking blackface on Halloween. Brayden doesn’t want the photo leaked because it could harm his father. So he refuses to hand the photo over to Tariq.
Tariq later meets with Tate and tells him about the blackface photo. Apparently, Sweeney was dressed as OJ Simpson and he was doing the Heisman with a bloody knife. And Brayden’s father was supposed to be a deceased Nicole Simpson who was being held in a headlock.
Since Tariq doesn’t want to upset Brayden, he asks Tate not to include the Westons in his next move. But Tate doesn’t care about sparing Brayden’s father. He won’t help Tariq unless he gets that photo.
Tariq returns to class.
It’s the first day back at class for Tariq. Milgram is surprised to see him and Tate plays like he has no idea what’s going on. The subject is whether or not it’s okay to make decisions for other people. It comes out that Lauren’s dorm room was raided and drugs were found. The drugs weren’t hers but she had to go to the police station anyway.
Tariq asks Lauren about this after class. He feels she should have told him what was going on. But Lauren reminds Tariq that he keeps secrets from her all the time. However, Tariq says he kept things from her to protect her. Lauren is unmoved by this and ends the conversation, reminding Tariq that he broke up with her. So she doesn’t have to finish their conversation. Milgram looks on from a distance.
Paula won’t be helping Tariq.
Maclean meets Paula at a restaurant. She confirms she did meet with Tariq behind his back the night Ramirez was killed but there was still enough time for Tariq to leave there and pull the trigger. She can’t take the stand because when she met with Tariq, she showed him a video of him confessing to killing Ghost. And with Maclean now working with Saxe, the one who recorded the video illegally, she has no reason to help.
Maclean and Saxe meet with Tariq again. They tell him they won’t be able to put Paula on the stand to help Tariq. So Tariq needs to get Yasmine to be his alibi. But Tariq isn’t comfortable having her on the stand. He questions if Lauren getting caught up because of drugs being found in her room is connected to him. Saxe asks how Lauren looks and Tariq shows him a photo. Saxe gets awkward and tells Tariq that he should probably stay away from Lauren. After Tariq leaves, Saxe reveals he saw Lauren in the DA/Jenny’s office. So she’s definitely one of the DA’s witnesses.
Whitman visits Everett.
While Dru and Everett are making out, someone knocks on the door. Whitman announces himself as NYPD. Dru hides. When Everette opens the door, Whitman explains he’s investigating Jabari’s death. He knows Everett already gave a statement saying Zeke was attacked by gang members at the club one night. So he wants more details. However, Everett says he has nothing else to add. So Whitman is told to leave. Dru warns Everett that Whitman will be back.
Mecca/Dante approaches Zeke while he’s practicing on a public basketball court. He tells Zeke he’s his father. And he got his name from scripture that Mecca tattooed on his body when he was just 16. Even though Zeke doesn’t believe any of this, Mecca urges him to ask his mother.
Monet is frantically getting ready to meet with Zeke’s agent. While she’s doing this, Diana notices the text from Dante/Mecca saying they need to talk about “him.”
Tate comes through for Milgram.
Milgram is preparing to speak at Jabari’s memorial dinner and she overhears Brushaundria and the other students discussing her on Clubhouse. They gossip about all the people they heard Milgram slept with, including Zeke and Jabari. Dean Wong comes into her office and says she shouldn’t speak at the dinner because of all the gossip. Tate interjects and says Wong is being s*xist. Out of pressure, Wong changes his mind. Milgram now has no choice but to make Tate her plus one.
Zeke is packing his things up to head back home. Monet walks in and questions what he’s doing. He confirms he met Dante and he was told that Dante is his father. So he needs to go home and get answers from his mother because he was told his father died. Monet calls Dante a liar who just wants to get close to Zeke to get his money. And Zeke’s father is serving life in prison.
Tariq needs Tamieka’s help, Monet wants Dante to back off.
Monet confronts Dante for telling Zeke the truth. He has no regrets. Dante is upset Monet never told him he had a son. He was arrested when they were young and he went into the military because he didn’t think he had anything to live for. Monet wants him to stay away from her and Zeke because she worries he will hurt their future.
Tariq meets Tameika at a church. He wants her help and he’s not okay with having Yasmine on the stand. He admits he didn’t kill Ramirez. But someone did make him kill Jabari. Tameika says she can get him a deal where he will serve 5 years in prison and whoever forced him to kill Jabari will catch most of the heat. But this isn’t something Tariq wants to do because doing so means Yas will be in the foster care system for 5 years.
Lorenzo finally meets Mecca with Dru and Cane. Mecca agrees to give them product to sell in Queens. He’ll also provide them with some soldiers for an extra cut.
Tate makes his move.
During Jabari’s memorial dinner, Milgram warns Lauren to stay away from Tariq because he’s a drug dealer and a murderer. Lauren feels Milgram is the dangerous one. And everyone she’s linked to ends up in some kind of trouble.
Tate sees Brayden’s father. He warns him that there’s a certain picture with him and Sweeney that may be leaked soon. So he should talk Sweeney into stepping down so the blackface photo isn’t released. Brayden notices them speaking. He gets upset.
Milgram takes the stage to give a speech in Jabari’s honor. But she notices people whispering about her and who she may have slept with. So she cuts the speech short and leaves the dinner. Tate meets her in her office. He wants her to understand he came to the dinner to save his career. So he understands how she feels. But if she’s a fighter like he is, he knows she will survive.
Tariq shuts down Lauren but makes his move on Diana.
Lauren tries to go by Tariq’s room to apologize for not being supportive during his difficult time. He’s cold towards her. Diana interrupts and he allows her in before telling Lauren his lawyer told him not to speak to her. He closes the door in her face.
Diana gives Tariq a rundown about the tension in her family. She confirms Monet wants out of the game. Tariq says Monet hasn’t been working with him as of late because of the investigation. What Diana really wants is to go to Stansfield but Monet won’t allow this because she doesn’t want her around Tariq. But if Tariq and Monet aren’t working together, Diana doesn’t see why she can’t be with Tariq. They kiss and hook up after Tariq makes sure Diana is confident about taking the next step with him.
Dru and Cane come to blows.
Back at the Tejada house, tension grows between Dru and Cane. Dru puts Cane on the spot and wonders what the issue is. Cane thinks Dru is feeling himself now that Lorenzo is pushing for him to be in charge. But Cane says he’s the one feeding the family thanks to his connect Mecca. Dru claps back, saying Cane is nothing but a guard dog with a new master. And he’s sure that the DA will figure out Cane killed Ramirez because it’s not hard to put together.
Cane brings up Everett. In his opinion, they are where they are because Everett snitched. The two men begin fist fighting. Lorenzo breaks it up. This is when Cane says that Dru’s boyfriend is a snitch who needs to be handled. Dru says he has everything in control and there isn’t an issue with Everett. After Lorenzo walks away, Cane warns Dru to handle Everette before someone else does.
It doesn’t work out with Yasmine.
Yasmine is asked some questions about Tariq’s whereabouts before they head to trial and she struggles when the DA asks questions. Jenny accuses Tariq of telling Yasmine what to say. So Tariq decides he doesn’t want Yasmine taking the stand at all. Tameika watches all of this unfold.
Cane tells Monet that Dru and Lorenzo met Mecca (she still has no idea that Dante is Mecca). And Mecca decided to cut Cane off to give all his product to Lorenzo and Dru. With Course Correct being done for now and Lorenzo and Dru taking over, Cane has to think of something fast to get Maclean the rest of his money.
Dru changes his mind.
Tameika approaches Saxe when she sees him at a restaurant. She points out that they both know Tariq didn’t kill Ramirez. He has the potential to be better than his father, but he can’t do that if they don’t prevent him from going down for killing a cop he didn’t kill. If Saxe can get Maclean to agree to have Tariq agree to a deal and get Yasmine out of the foster care system, Tariq will have a chance.
Dru watches Everett from his car. Everett speaks to a friend and begins walking down the street near his home. Dru quietly exits the car with a black mask on and his gun. He’s planning to kill Everett but stops when he gets a text from Everett saying he misses him.
Zeke spends the night at Lorenzo and Monet’s house. He tells Diana that a man named Dante said he is his father. It’s not true and he just wants money. So he’s laying low at the Tejada house.
Cane doesn’t get his way with Maclean.
Maclean is greeted by Cane when he gets in his car. Cane is masked up. He’s in Maclean’s backseat. And he has his gun pointed at the back of Maclean’s head. Cane demands that Tariq be the one pinned for the murders. Maclean explains it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep Tariq out of prison because if Tariq is busted, Cane will be next. And he knows that it’s Cane in his car. So Cane needs to play it cool and be as loyal as Tariq is being to him. At this point, Cane and Monet need to stay out of the way and get Maclean the rest of his money.
Lorenzo has the associate that was with him when Dru killed Kino taken out. He gets a text message when the job is done. Dante once again texts Monet saying they need to talk.
Tariq still refuses to take the deal.
Saxe, Jenny, and Tameika go to Tariq’s dorm room to convince him to take the deal. He’ll serve time in prison for 5 years and he must give up Ramirez’s killer. Yasmine will go back to the foster family she liked. And she will live with her grandmother again once she completes her rehab program. But Tariq refuses. He won’t snitch because it will put his life and his loved ones’ lives in danger. Tamieka tells Tariq to never call her again.
Saxe is confronted by Maclean for trying to get Tariq to take a deal behind his back. But both men are concerned when they learn who Lauren’s legal representation happens to be.
Milgram and Maclean clash.
Cane tells Tariq that he and Monet no longer have product. So Tariq will have to figure out how to get the money he needs to pay his lawyers.
Lauren’s legal representation turns out to be Milgram. So Maclean pays her a visit at her house. He says she has slept with four people involved in the case: himself, Whitman, Jabari, and Zeke. If Lauren takes the stand, Maclean plans to tear her apart. And he’s confident Tariq will go free.
What are your thoughts on the episode?
