Will Cane really have to kill Lorenzo?
Mecca gifts Monet with a new necklace. She loves it. They talk about their plans of how to get rid of Lorenzo. For it all to work, Mecca believes Cane is the one who has to pull the trigger. This is how they will have an alibi and be able to not get caught. So it’s Monet’s job to talk him into doing this.
Tariq is worried about Lauren. She’s not answering his calls or text messages. Effie tells him Lauren is most likely safe and just got rid of her phone. Either way, Tariq says he still has to worry. Someone is always coming for him. And he’s not sure how the case will play out. So he has Effie promise that she will find Yasmine if Tariq does have to go to prison. At this point, she’s the only person he can trust.
Trace is a concern.
Back at court, Tariq learns from Maclean and Saxe that Trace has been called in to testify. Tariq says this is a problem. Trace knows Cane. He stole Cane’s pills once, and Cane retaliated by kidnapping him and Brayden. Cane dropped them off in the hood and this is how they met Ramirez.
Luckily, Tariq was in his dorm room with Saxe’s niece Riley when all this happened. So he has an alibi, however, Saxe doesn’t want Riley on the stand. He’s not in a good place with his sister, Riley’s mother, already. This would worsen it. If Trace brings up Cane in court, Cane will think Tariq put him up to it since he planted the badge in Tariq’s dorm room, setting off this entire investigation.
What will Zeke decide?
Mecca wants Zeke to leave town with him and Monet. He gifts him with a new car and tells him there is a seat for Zeke on the private jet. Zeke isn’t sure about this. Although his future in the NBA looks bleak, he doesn’t think he can trust Monet. And if Mecca trusts Monet, then Zeke won’t be able to trust him. Regardless of Zeke’s feelings, Mecca says that Monet loves Zeke. So he should start a new life with them because they care about him. However, Zeke isn’t convinced that Monet’s alibi with Mecca checks out on the night of Milgram’s death.
**Monet meets up with Cane. She tells him that she and Mecca want him to kill Lorenzo. Cane doesn’t want to do this. He only lied to Mecca and blamed the robbery on Lorenzo because Monet told him to. But he could never do that to the man who gave him his name. Monet keeps pushing him to it. She tells him Lorenzo doesn’t respect him. He even gave the business to Dru. And while Cane is hesitant to pull the trigger, Tariq wasn’t when he killed Ghost. Cane is shocked to learn Tariq killed his own father. Determined not to be outdone by his foe, Cane says he’ll do it. He takes the “clean” gun Monet gives him.
Brayden comes through for Tariq.
Back in court, DA Sullivan tells the judge that Trace won’t take the stand. He’s ill. So Brayden will instead. Tariq is in shock. When Brayden takes the stand, he says that he knows Tariq didn’t kill Reynolds or Ramirez. And he’s the one who was selling drugs at Choate and Stansfield. In fact, he started CourseCorrect. When Sullivan doubts this, Brayden presents papers that confirm he’s the president of the company that founded the app. Realizing there’s no way the jury will convict Tariq, the judge dismisses the case. Tariq is free to go. Maclean is elated. Brayden’s father is not. Saxe’s s*xual relationship with Sullivan is over.
Tariq tells Maclean he wants the adoption process for Yasmine to end now that he’s free. And once this is done, he’s taking her and leaving the game. Maclean doesn’t suggest he does this now. In fact, he tells Tariq he should keep hustling for a few years. Then find Yasmine and leave the game. Tariq disagrees. He’s not Ghost. So he’s putting his family first.
Since Brayden was the one who got him off the hook, Tariq wants a refund from Maclean. He knows Maclean has been getting money from Cane as well. And Maclean didn’t even tell him that he knew Cane planted the badge.
Maclean is unmoved. He won’t be refunding the money. Nor is he worried about Tariq’s threat of reporting him to the Bar Association. And if anyone finds out what Cane has done, it won’t be a good situation for anyone involved. After Tariq leaves, Maclean tells Cane that the case was dismissed.
Lauren’s fate is revealed.
Sullivan approaches Saxe at his favorite bar. She breaks down in tears, telling him Lauren was found dead. It looked like a car accident. The car had no tags and she had a bag full of money. So it looked as if she was running. Sullivan wants to keep pursuing Tariq as more people continue to die around him. However, Saxe warns against this. He tells her that Ghost took him to such a dark place that he wanted to kill him. But someone else killed Ghost at the club before he could. So he suggests Sullivan walks away. Sullivan doesn’t want to do that. In her opinion, walking away will eventually make someone an accomplice. Saxe’s mindset is why they will never be in a serious relationship.
Tariq and Monet meet up. She congratulates him on winning his case. But she needs a favor. Mecca has to die. But she wants to make it seem like she’s having Cane kill Lorenzo. She’s really going to intervene and kill Mecca instead. Tariq will help. He also tells her that Mecca is actually a snitch. And they spoke, and Mecca knows Tariq has his paperwork. So Mecca has to stay alive long enough for Tariq to get the $2 million he was promised. Tariq wants out of the game after Mecca dies. Monet agrees to this.
Lorenzo is on board.
Monet gives Lorenzo a recap on the current plan. Mecca must die and they will need Tariq to pull everything off. At this point, Monet feels Mecca has been playing their whole family. And he’s the one who had men shoot at them while they were on the basketball court with Zeke. However, Mecca wanted it to look like Lorenzo did it. Although Lorenzo wants to be the one to pull the trigger, Monet says she will be the one to do it to protect the children. Dru and Diana must also be a part of the plan.
Dru and Diana are hesitant to trust Monet and help, however, Lorenzo says they must do whatever is necessary to protect Cane. Cane is in danger and it’s no telling what Mecca’s true plans are for him.
Brayden is leaving Stansfield.
When Tariq makes it back to his dorm room, he finds Brayden packing his things. His dad is pulling him out of Stansfield to work at the family’s hedge fund. But Brayden still thinks they can get something else going even though CourseCorrect is dead. But Tariq wants out and he wants to look out for his sibling like Brayden looked out for Trace. He thanks Brayden for helping him in court. And he says he can’t get in touch with Lauren. Brayden lies, saying Lauren pulled off without him. But he’s sure she’s fine because he told her to get rid of her phone.
Cane knocks on the door. He asks Brayden if he handled everything and he says yes. Once Brayden leaves, Tariq tells Cane he’ll be forever changed if he kills Lorenzo. So he really needs to think it all through because killing Ghost was something he felt he had to do to save his family.
Regardless, Tariq tells Cane that he set his phone up to look like he’s on campus when he’s not. This will help him if Mecca comes for him.
Cane has questions.
Zeke goes down to the precinct to ask Whitman if he’s sure Milgram died by suicide. Whitman says the medical examiner confirmed this. But if Zeke knows something, it’s an open-door policy. Zeke says he just wanted to make sure that it was actually a suicide.
Tate gets what he wants. To avoid the blackface photo being published, Sweeney reluctantly agrees to step down from his congress seat and endorse Tate. Down the line, he will run for senate or be considered for a cabinet position.
Cane asks Mecca why they just can’t take out Tariq instead of Lorenzo. Mecca says they will handle Tariq later. But for now, their plan is best. Cane killing Lorenzo will prove his loyalty. After he does it, Mecca will let Cane run his New York business. Monet tells them that Dru, Diana, and Zeke aren’t leaving the city with them. Lorenzo is also not trying to talk to her. But she believes Zeke will change his mind after they leave.
Lauren’s death upsets Tariq.
Tariq talks to the estate attorney Daniel about Yasmine. It was confirmed the adoption process stopped. And Tariq will get custody. Saxe interrupts the conversation. Daniel leaves. Saxe tells Tariq that Lauren is dead and it looks like a car accident. Tariq told her to get out of town for her safety. Tariq is in shock. He leaves when Saxe questions who else knew she was trying to leave town.
Saxe gives Maclean an update on Lauren. He wonders if Maclean played Lauren’s audio to Cane. Maclean is insulted by the question. He says he did not. But he reminds Saxe that they are the same. Both have done dirty things to survive. Saxe framed Ghost for murder. And Maclean slyly made sure Tariq heard the audio. So there’s no need to point fingers.
Maclean also asks for an update on his brother Theo’s case. Saxe confirms Theo is innocent and shouldn’t be in prison. The evidence shows that it was someone else 4 inches taller that pulled the trigger, not Theo.
Tasha and Yasmine reunite.
Effie tries to console Tariq about Lauren. He feels he’s responsible for her death. Everyone around him dies or goes away. This is why he wants out of the game. He feels so alone. Effie reminds him he’s not alone. She is there for him.
Tasha has been living her new life in a cabin in the woods as Vanessa Edwards. She hears a car pull up and grabs her gun. Luckily, it’s just Tameika and other officers. Yasmine is with Tameika. She will begin her new life as Olivia Edwards with Tasha. Tasha wants to know how Tariq is doing but Tameika tells her to move on. Tariq watches Yasmine and Tasha’s reunion from a distance in one of the police vehicles with Saxe. He was told that they can’t see him.
Tariq asks about Dante. Saxe confirms he’s a big-time informant. Not only did he help take down Lobos, but he also helped them investigate Ghost. And it was Dante and Angela who got the ball rolling.
Dru is given the whole plan by Tariq. He makes it known that he knows they stole his drugs from the rooftop. But that’s where they will place one of the bags. Mecca wants his bag back from Tariq in exchange for $2 million. They will fool Mecca with a fake bag. However, Diana must not look into the real bag so she’ll have plausible deniability. As for Tariq, he’ll lure Mecca to the place where Monet will shoot him.
Zeke is conflicted.
Whitman shows Zeke a traffic light photo of Monet just blocks away from Milgram’s place around the time she died. Zeke says that he was around the area and Monet was supposed to pick him up. But he changed his mind. Then he went to Milgram’s place and discovered her body. He has nothing more to add. Zeke breaks down in tears as he leaves in the new car Mecca gave him.
Tariq and Cane show up to Mecca’s drug deal with Lorenzo. Before Cane can shoot Lorenzo, Tariq tells him the real plan. Monet lied. They are there to kill Mecca’s men with Lorenzo’s help. The bag there is fake and Diana has Mecca’s real bag. They accomplish the task and Tariq leaves to meet Diana. Cane leaves to find Dru because he’s in danger. Lorenzo reads one of Mecca’s dead soldier’s text messages from Mecca. Mecca’s other men are out looking to kill Dru.
Meanwhile, Mecca calls someone and tells them he thinks his cover has been compromised. And he later tells Monet there is a change of plans. The jet’s refueling has been delayed. So Tariq needs to meet them at his place.
Cane comes through.
Dru goes to meet Everett because he wanted to talk about something urgent. Turns out he found out his new ID was used to go somewhere on campus he’s never been. He believes Dru had something to do with that. They don’t have much time to argue because Everett is late for practice.
While Dru is getting into his car to leave, a BSK member, Carlito, comes out of his car. He and another man speak and then start beating up Dru. They demand to have Mecca’s real bag.
When they get the bag, they see it’s empty. Dru feels betrayed because BSK was supposed to be working with him and Lorenzo. But they switched up to work for Mecca behind their backs. Carlito says he didn’t like how Lorenzo turned on Kino. So this is payback. They want Mecca’s real bag or Dru dies. Luckily, Cane comes just in time to start helping Dru beat up the men. Cane tells Dru they need to put the men in the trunk so Lorenzo can make an example out of them.
Lorenzo doesn’t stick to the plan.
Diana is back at the house after giving Tariq Mecca’s real bag. Lorenzo knows her very well and asks her what was in the bag. He knows she looked even though she was told by Dru not to. She tells him that she saw papers about bank accounts Mecca set up for her, Dru, Cane, and Zeke. Lorenzo tells her he’s going out to do something. She and the other children need to stay in.
Mecca sees Tariq coming into the condo with his bag on the security cameras. Before he can prepare to take out Tariq, Monet pulls her gun out on him. Meanwhile, Lorenzo makes it to Mecca’s private jet. He sees Zeke pulling up in the new car. Zeke is wearing a hoodie and Lorenzo assumes he’s Mecca. He shoots Zeke dead. Before he can see that it wasn’t Mecca, he leaves so he isn’t caught. Monet kills Mecca. She tells Tariq she had to because he was going to kill them both anyway. He knew it was Tariq and Monet who robbed him. Although Monet is allowing Tariq to leave the game, he says he may not be able to yet because he has no drugs or money. He’s going to wipe the security cameras as Effie taught him.
Lorenzo and Monet make it back home. Diana urges them to watch the news where it’s being reported that Mecca was killed in his condo. Lorenzo quietly realizes it wasn’t Mecca he killed. And no one has heard from Zeke.
Tariq is back on law enforcement’s radar.
Turns out, the phone call Mecca made about being compromised was to Rodriguez. She’s with the DEA now. He was her informant. She’s told the security footage from the condo was wiped. However, a grainy video was taken from the front desk. She sees the picture and recognizes Tariq.
Tate plans to have his brother become his head of security once he’s in congress.
Tasha reads a letter from Tariq telling her he will do whatever he can to get back to her and Yasmine. He just needs the money and power to do so.
During a conversation between Maclean and Theo, it comes out that it was actually Maclean who pulled the trigger. Theo doesn’t want Saxe to uncover the truth and Maclean to end up in prison.
Saxe is in bed with Sullivan. He’s ready to do what he feels is right and help her take down Maclean, Cane, and Tariq. He’s convinced all three are working together. And he believes they are responsible for Lauren and Milgram’s deaths.
And Whitman calls Monet to inform her that Zeke is dead.
What are your thoughts on the season finale?
