Dialogue is undoubtedly the best way to solve conflicts, but characters in crime shows never seem to realize this. Any minor disagreement tends to be solved by a trip to the afterlife. At times, the murders don’t even stem from antipathy. They happen because the murderer is evil, hence killing is very enjoyable for them. In the Power universe, the “senseless killings” trend began in the parent show and is now common in the spin-offs.
While these murders tend to be unnecessary, there is usually no reason for fans to shed a tear because the victims had been playing dangerous games all along, and their demise was all bound to happen at some point. However, a few deaths in the universe hit fans hard because the victims were either nice or innocent, compared to everyone else, or were very likable.
Before they were homicide victims, these characters proved that there was still some good left in humanity. Sadly, they couldn’t survive for long in the chaotic worlds in which they existed.
Shawn Stark – ‘Power’
Killed by Kanan Stark in Season 2, Episode 9, “Time’s Up”
Shawn (Sinqua Walls) came into the picture in the first season of Power as James St. Patrick’s driver. It was later revealed that he was the son of James’s former business partner. Kanan Stark. To him, life was good. Apart from having a steady paycheck, he was sleeping with James’ unhappy wife, Tasha, who had turned to him after the New York drug lord began having an affair. Sadly, Shawn’s life took a turn for the worse when his dad came out of prison.
The above words were said by Kanan right before he shot Shawn dead, earning him a spot as one of the terrible television parents. He had tasked Shawn with killing Ghost, but the driver had too big a conscience to pull the trigger. Under no circumstances is it acceptable for a father to kill his son, so Shawn’s death hit fans hard. The young man might have been naïve and delusional, but he was nicer than everyone around him. All he wanted was a happy life with Tasha.
Liliana – ‘Power Book IV: Force’
Killed by Claudia Flyn in Season 1, Episode 10, “Family Business”
Liliana (Audrey Esparza) briefly appeared in Power Season 1 as one of the drug mules in Ghost’s organization in New York. She then disappeared before reappearing in Power Book IV: Force. This time, she was caught up in a minor conflict with Tommy Egan, but the two patched their differences and began working together. Regrettably, she became the victim of a fresh drug war in Chicago.
Before her death, Lilian had already endured plenty of suffering. During her Power days, she was attacked, leaving her with a huge scar. Chicago was supposed to be her haven. More so, she was proving to be very resourceful and ambitious. She had helped Tommy learn how to cook meth again and was instrumental in helping him set up base in the new city. Fans were looking forward to seeing her grow into a major player, only for her to be brutally murdered by Claudian Flynn.
Raina St. Patrick – ‘Power’
Killed by Ray Ray in Season 4, Episode 10, “You Can’t Fix This”
Ghost’s daughter, Raina St. Patrick (Donshea Hopkins), was the type of child any parent would want. She wasn’t stubborn like her brother, Tariq. Neither was she nosy. She didn’t even know her father was a drug trafficker. Her mind was focused on her studies. Sadly, she accidentally got caught up in her brother’s misadventures and ended up dead.
Tariq was never a saint, but Raina always loved him, hence why she gladly went out to confront the crooked cop, Ray Ray, for harassing him. Unimpressed with her audacity, Ray Ray shot her dead. It was a development no one saw coming, and it turned out to be one of the most heartbreaking deaths in TV history. Even sadder was seeing how badly her death affected Ghost. He became miserable and would occasionally see her image in random places.
Cooper Saxe – ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Killed by Dru Tejada in Season 3, Episode 9, “A Last Gift”
Saxe (Shane Johnson) also got his start in Power, where he was part of the law enforcement team tasked with bringing Lobos and Ghost down. The mission was a major failure, and almost everyone on the team died. He would then try to take Tasha down, only to fail and lose his FBI license. Luckily for him, superstar lawyer Davis McLean was kind enough to hire him in his law firm in Power Book II: Ghost.
Even when he was trying to get fan-favorite characters locked up, Saxe remained a likable and often misunderstood TV villain. He was just trying to do his job, hence it wasn’t surprising to see him trying to double-cross McLean after learning that the lawyer was involved in shady activities. This didn’t impress McLean’s brother, Leo, who shot him dead. His death caused a major ache in the chest because he had survived so much. He had proved capable of dodging the violence that often caught up with everyone else, so fans were eager to see him slither some more.
LaKeisha “Keisha” Grant – ‘Power’
Killed by Tasha St. Patrick in Season 6, Episode 5, “King’s Gambit”
Keisha (La La Anthony) was yet another good person who hung out with the wrong people. She was Tasha’s best friend and was often okay with letting her win at the expense of her happiness. Keisha was the first to have a crush on Shawn, only for him to end up with Tasha. She was also okay with Tasha using her hair salon to conduct some of her illegal activities. Sadly, the same Tasha would end up killing her.
As much as Keisha loved Tasha, her loyalty to her son, Cash, came first. When the police threatened to take him away from her if she didn’t testify, there was no doubt regarding which choice she would make. Any parent would relate to her decision to put her son first. Unfortunately, Tasha found out, and since ‘ratting’ is one of the cardinal sins when it comes to organized crime, she was left with no other option but to kill her best friend.
Ezekiel “Zeke” Cross – ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Killed by Lorenzo Tejada in Season 2, Episode 10, “Love and War”
Like Shawn Stark, Zeke (Daniel Bellomy) was living the young man’s dream. He was not only a promising basketball player about to be drafted, but had also caught the eye of the most beautiful lecturer at Stansfield University. He didn’t have to study too hard either, as he had Tariq helping him with schoolwork. Still, his guardian was a crime boss, and it was only a matter of time before the violence caught up with him.
Zeke was seemingly modeled after Shawn since he also got killed by his ‘father.’ Mistaking him for his enemy, Mecca, Lorenzo shot him and tried to hide what he had done. His mother, Monet, felt the pain deeply, having high hopes for him, believing he would be the one to uplift the family and make them legitimate. To fans, his demise hurt deeply, too, because he was the only non-violent member of the Tejada family. Zeke only wanted to ‘play ball,’
Angela Valdes – ‘Power’
Killed by Tommy Egan in Season 5, Episode 10, “Ghost”
On-again-off-again relationships don’t come better than that of AUSA Angela Valdes (Lela Loren) and James “Ghost” St. Patriq. The two high school sweethearts reunited in adulthood and began a passionate affair. Angela would later discover that Ghost was a drug trafficker, so she got caught up in a pattern of trying to bring him down and trying to save him. She just never made logical choices whenever she was dealing with him, and it’s partly because of her indecision that she got a tragic ending.
One of the most iconic lines in television history was said by Ghost shortly after Angela’s death: “Tasha, I just lost the love of my life.” He couldn’t stand the fact that his wife was trying to argue with him, yet he was mourning his mistress. The audacity that came with his utterance was mind-blowing. Just like Ghost, fans were sad too, because Angela was the only person who made him human. Without her, he was nothing but a killing machine. It, therefore, wasn’t surprising to see him spiral out of control until the end of the parent series.
Shannon Burke – ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’
Killed by Det. Malcolm Howard in Season 3, Episode 1, “Home Sweet Home”
Detective Shannon Burke (Shanley Caswell) was paired with Malcolm Howard at the start of the series, and immediately got to business by investigating everyone. She soon made plenty of discoveries, notably that Howard was Kanan’s father. Eager to be seen as good in her job, she kept pushing too hard. Well, in movies and TV shows, there is always only one outcome for characters who push too hard.
Burke spent an entire season trying to prove that Howard was corrupt. She found out that he was sleeping with a C.I. and had murdered a witness. All she needed was a confession. Well, she predictably went about it the wrong way by trying to extract the admission of guilt while the two were in a car. Consequently, he shot her. As much as it would have been tempting to scold Burke for her lack of caution, it was easier to sympathize with her because she was only trying to do her job. Officers shouldn’t be corrupt, and Burke wanted to make sure Howard paid for his actions.
Holly Weaver – ‘Power’
Killed by Tommy Egan in Season 5, Episode 10, “Ghost”
Holly (Brittany E. O’Grady) had a normal life working as a waitress at Ghost’s nightclub, but all that changed when she met Tommy. She was now dating a high-ranking criminal, which meant she was in greater danger. Interestingly, the danger never came from external parties, as fans might have expected. It came in the form of her lover.
Holly’s death stemmed from both her and Tommy taking matters into their own hands, literally and figuratively. Tommy had been ordered to kill Ghost or else the people he loved would be eliminated, but he hesitated because of how far he and Ghost had come. Holly thus took matters into her own hands by hiring assassins to kill Ghost. The attempt failed, and when Tommy learned what Holly had done, the two got in a fight, which resulted in Tommy strangling Holly to death.
Greg Knox – ‘Power’
Killed by Sandoval in Season 6, Episode 14, “Exactly How We Planned”
Greg Knox (Sean Ringgold) was the true definition of the phrase, “The good guy always loses.” He was deeply in love with Angela Valdes, only for her to begin an affair with a former lover, who happened to be a drug lord. Knox was then suspended from work briefly because of false harassment allegations. He would ultimately die while trying to expose his coworker, Mike Sandoval, as the mole in the department.
Like Shannon Burke, Knox made the same old mistake that good cops make when trying to expose their corrupt colleagues: confronting them and trying to extract a confession. Immediately, he learned what Sandoval had done. Knox approached him and tried to turn him in. This was never going to work. Sandoval shot him. As he made a rookie move, he didn’t deserve to die so brutally. He was the perfect example of what an honorable lawman ought to be like.
These deaths certainly hit fans of Power hard, but let us know which deaths in the long-running series hit hardest for you.
- Release Date
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2014 – 2020-00-00
- Network
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Starz
- Directors
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Hernán Otaño, Bart Wenrich, Kari Skogland, Sanford Bookstaver, Shana Stein, Kieron Hawkes, Slick Naim, Ami Canaan Mann, Anthony Hemingway, David Rodriguez, M.J. Bassett, Mario Van Peebles, Rob Hardy, Stefan Schwartz, 50 Cent
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