Monet has no power over Gordo.
The Russians are still retaliating over Pavel’s death. Monet calls a meeting with Gordo about all the violence that is taking place. She blames him for working with Dru to pin Lorenzo’s death on the Russians. Although Monet tells Gordo to stay away from Dru for safety reasons, Gordo isn’t buying this. And he believes Monet just wants to cover up that she told him to kill Lorenzo. So Gordo tells Monet that he will continue to see Dru. In fact, he tells her it’s nothing she can do to stop him because both of them have something to lose if they reveal the truth.
Tariq calls Lauren to talk her into agreeing to not cooperate with the feds. But she is hesitant. Her conversation with Saxe is fresh on her brain. While she doesn’t reveal her source, Lauren tells Tariq she was told he was a monster who got his own sister killed.
He tells Lauren a dirty cop killed Raina. And all he’s ever done is whatever is necessary to protect his family. Even though Lauren doesn’t trust him, he plans to show her that he’s serious about getting them out of the mess they are in.
Keke knows everything.
Brayden and Keke are still hooking up. Keke tells Brayden what she knows. He didn’t think she saw much when she recovered his phone in Italy. Brayden is shocked when she tells him she knows he and Tariq are selling drugs via Weston Holdings. And she knows she helped them create a paper trail for a $2 million cash deposit (Cane enlisted Brayden to invest the cash from Lorenzo’s life insurance policy).
Even though Brayden denies this, Keke says she knows they have been using cryptocurrency and created a fake coffee business to keep a low profile. And she questions why Brayden is so concerned about fixing his friendship with Tariq when his ideas have helped their drug business the most.
Cane finally fills Monet in on Noma and her crew. She wishes she was put in the loop sooner. But they will have to take their product off the streets for now and rely on Tariq and Brayden’s earnings. The Russians need to be dealt with.
Saxe makes a way.
Tariq comes up with a plan to sic the authorities on the Russians. They will have Gordo’s crew find out the next drop time and location for the Russians. And that should get the Russians to calm down since they’ll be tied up with detectives.
Dru speaks to Gordo and his crew about siccing the cops on the Russians. Gordo is down but his brothers are not. In fact, they tell Dru that they don’t want that kind of heat unless they start receiving 50 percent of the money brought in. And Dru tells them he and his family can’t agree to that. Gordo is stuck in the middle.
Saxe and Maclean aren’t so confident about Theo’s release from prison. So Saxe meets with Jenny to ask if she can have one of Theo’s parole panel members swapped out in exchange for someone who will take bribes and guarantee his release. She will do this.
Before their meeting ends, Saxe tells Jenny that she lied to him about everything. Moving forward, it’s strictly business. And if she crosses him again, he’ll destroy her.
On his way out of her office, he questions if Lauren has been in communication with Tariq. Jenny answers no but Saxe questions what other means Tariq would have to find out about the investigation he now knows about.
Effie discovers the campus camera.
Tariq asks Tate to call one of his NYPD connects to bust the Russians’ next drop. And this will help him climb back up the polls. Tate agrees to this. He also tells Maclean that Saxe is lying about there not being an investigation into him.
Monet invites Kai over to discuss the Russians and Dru isn’t happy to see them being so chummy. Kai agrees that the Russians are a problem. However, between cops and attacks from the Russians, he’s down too many men. So it’s not a good time for him to team up with the Tejada family to take out the Russians. Once Kai departs, Monet urges Dru to keep Gordo in line since his brothers aren’t on the same page.
Salim tries to win Diana back by reciting a poem about her during a student talent showcase. When she’s not receptive, Salim fires her from her on-campus job at the candy shop. And he accuses her of selling drugs there since she doesn’t deny hooking up with Tariq.
Tariq goes to Effie’s dorm room to talk her into handing over the photo of Noma with her ex and daughter. But Effie doesn’t want to give it to him unless he lets her back into the business. Tariq says no. Effie then calls him weak for not killing Lauren. He responds by calling her damaged and questions what he ever saw in her.
Effie later notices there’s a camera near their campus stash.
The RICO case is coming together.
Blanca, Jenny, and another detective meet now that the Russians were arrested. Blanca is thinking it’s likely Tariq is the person who tipped off Tate because the Russians became a nuisance. And she suspects Tariq and Brayden are selling drugs via Weston Holdings.
Cane tells Effie he won’t be able to supply her drugs to sell on the side because of Monet’s decision to yank the drugs off the streets. But he offers her cash to pay her tuition. But she declines because she doesn’t want to be his charity case.
The new investigator goes undercover as a homeless man. He finds drug packaging thrown out in coffee cops from Brayden and Tariq’s business.
Monet covers her tracks once again.
Diana gets her revenge on Salim. She discovers he’s been using a fake name. And he was adopted by a rich white couple. So he lied about being raised by a single black mother. In order to buy Diana’s silence, Salim agrees to give her a raise and hand his position at the candy store over to someone more deserving.
Monet has Dru and Cane agree to go to Kai’s establishment to make a move. It ends in bullets flying. Cane kills Kai. After Cane leaves, Monet takes Kai’s phone out of his pocket. She pens a text that reads: I think they know the Russians didn’t do Lorenzo. We need to talk.
She then puts the phone back in the dead man’s pocket.
Dru later picks up the phone and reads it as well as the response which reads: When do you want to meet?
Monet tells Dru and Cane that Kai is behind Lorenzo’s death. And now it’s time they do something about it.
The feds have all they need.
Effie visits the financial aid office in a panic. But she’s told that her tuition was paid for the current term. She goes off on Cane in a text message and he responds: You’re welcome.
Dru, Monet, and Cane visit the leader of the Russian mob. He opens up a cooler and sees Kai’s head inside. Monet tells him that Kai killed Lorenzo and set up the Russians to take the fall. With Kai dead, they can end the war. The Russian mob boss agrees.
Maclean is there to pick up Theo the day he’s released from prison. But Theo knows his release interview didn’t go well. So he accuses Maclean of doing something dirty to get him out. And now he no longer wants anything to do with Maclean. He said he took the fall for Maclean so he’d become someone great. But Maclean threw all of that away to get him released.
Blanca tells Jenny and the new detective that the packaging found at Weston Holdings matches the packaging from the drugs found at Stansfield. Now that they have Effie on camera, it’s time to move forward.
Brayden uncovers a troublesome secret.
Dru saved the number of the person Kai texted about killing Lorenzo. Dru still has no idea that Monet sent the text from Kai’s phone after he was killed. While Gordo is in the shower, Dru texts the number. And he discovers it’s Gordo’s other phone. So he shoots and kills Gordo.
Brayden discovers documentation that makes him suspect that Weston Holdings is actually a Ponzi scheme. His uncle confirms that it actually is but Brayden’s father isn’t aware. His uncle has no regrets about doing things the illegal way to keep the family business going. He and Keke also confirm to Brayden that they know he’s selling drugs with Tariq at Weston. So if Brayden opens his mouth, his uncle will do the same and send Brayden to prison.
It’s safe to say Brayden’s days of hooking up with Keke may now be over as he can’t get past her helping his uncle break the law.
Diana is the first to go down.
Tariq meets with Lauren to play her audio of his conversation with Effie in which she admitted she “killed” Lauren behind his back. Lauren confirms feds are building a RICO case against Tariq. But she won’t say anything that will harm him even further. This will buy Tariq some time to figure out what to do next. Tariq is shocked when Lauren confirms Saxe has been working on the case.
While the Tejada clan is having dinner, Blanca, Jenny, and the feds bust in. Diana is arrested for possession of an illegal narcotic with intent to distribute.
What are your thoughts on the episode?
