‘Power Book II: Ghost’: Shane Johnson Says This Season Showcases a Major Generational Divide

While Power focused on drug kingpin James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) and his attempts to go legit, Power Book II: Ghost centers on his son, Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.). Though Tariq hated his father, he finds himself walking in his footsteps. Though their paths have similarities, Shane Johnson who portrays Cooper Saxe in the series says Ghost showcases the generational divide.

Here’s how the series taps into the different mentalities of Tariq and his father’s generations.

Shane Johnson says everything will change for Saxe in ‘Ghost’ Season 2

For eight seasons from Power to Ghost, Saxe has been the comic relief, we’ve watched as he’s tried to take down the St. Patricks, failing at every turn. Now that he’s gone to the dark side and teamed up with criminal defense attorney Davis MacLean (Clifford “Method Man” Smith), everything is about to change for him.

“I have been trying to take Tariq down, not necessarily Tariq, but a St. Patrick,” Johnson told Hollywood Life. “I don’t care which one. I’ll take any one of them. I might even go after the little sister next, Yasmine. I’ll take her. I’m trying to take a St. Patrick down, right? And now I find myself in a position where I might actually have to be protecting him. And so it’s kind of like flipping the script and really questioning of my ethics and what I’m willing to do. I think one of the themes of this season is: what are you willing to do to get what you really want most in life? And then, are you willing to live with the consequences of those decisions because nothing comes for free, right? The aspirations that we have, Larenz and I [with] both our characters, there’s no way that there aren’t bodies along the side of the road. And can you sleep at night with yourself after knowing that you’re responsible?”

‘Power Book II: Ghost’ showcases a major generational divide

With Tariq and Cane’s (Woody McClain) generation juxtaposed against Monet’s (Mary J. Blige) and Mecca’s (Daniel Sunjata) approach to things, it’s safe to say that Ghost has a perspective on the generational divide.

“Where we are at right now in our culture where everything is so immediate and everything is so recorded like I’m reminded of a scene a couple of episodes ago where there’s that character that comes up to Mecca’s loft and he’s filming and he’s like ‘Oh yeah, look at his oh, snap, look where I’m at right now’, while he’s doing Instagram Live,” Johnson told The Knockturnal. “And Mecca shuts it down and breaks his hand in half. It just shows you the mentality of the different generations too. That’s one of the cool things about our show as well as you have. Different generations kind of with different mentalities and expectations playing against each other. You know, you got the college-age group and then you’ve got these adults who have lived through a couple of generations now and are looking at these kids going, ‘What are you doing?’”

‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Season 2 has a lot more explosive bombshells on the way

Fans were stunned when it was revealed in episode 204 that Zeke (Daniel Bellomy) is actually the son that Monet had with Mecca, instead of her nephew. However, this relationship is just the tip of the iceberg. With six more episodes left until the close of the season, there are a lot more explosive bombshells on the way.

“Tariq definitely feels like he’s walking around as a ticking time bomb,” Power Universe creator Courtney Kemp told Entertainment Weekly. “His relationships are going to get more complicated, and while that’s all happening he’s still got a love life.”

We’re certain that Mecca is going to blow some things up now that he knows Zeke is his son.