Power book iv force season 1 episode 5

So. Much. Brain. Splatter.

Power has never shied away from the violence in the world of drugs, guns, and massive amounts of cash. But Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 5 was on another level.

How many different gunshot wounds to the head did we see during this hour?

We knew the war was coming after the events of Power Book IV: Force Season 1 Episode 4, and it came alright.

Killing Tatiana was an emotional move but a necessary one. If the end goal is to get the Serbs pipeline, you have to eliminate the Serbs. That's just simple math.

But as we saw during this hour, the Serbs are a well-oiled machine with soldiers sprinkled all over the city, and it was never going to be easy for Tommy to pull off the ultimate coup.

One of the coolest things about this spinoff has been seeing Tommy try to navigate this new world alone. His entire life, he had Ghost in some way, shape, or form by his side. So in that regard, he was never truly alone.

Even when they were one the outs, Tommy always had someone watching his back.

But he entered Chicago all alone, and while he's been slowly acquiring assets, he doesn't have a Ghost in Chicago. Though, Liliana is far from the worst partner to have.

Tommy is insane. We all know that. But when he cares about someone, he cares deeply. And he can play it off like he doesn't care about Liliana, but we all know he does. His trying to shepherd her out of town was born from a desire to protect her.

Marković was not going to rest until he found Tommy, and once he got his hands on Liliana, that was the perfect way to lure him in.

Poor Liliana just can't catch a break. Although, Tommy did warn her more than once not to touch the dahlia.

The potency of that drug is clearly like nothing else out there on the street. Anything strong enough to knock Tommy Egan on his ass is a powerful drug.

Claudia's subplot with the dahlia has been slow-moving, but things picked up here when she finally made a move to partner with Tommy. It's all well and good to have the product of a lifetime, but if you have no way to get it out there on the streets, you're not bringing in any money.

Partnering with Tommy works out well for Claudia because it's something her dad can't touch. Tommy isn't going to rat her out to Walter, and the two of them can grow the business in their own way.

Tommy isn't beholden to any of the old Chicago rules, and that's a good thing, especially when it comes to a drug like this, which will undoubtedly set the streets on fire.

Like Claudia went to Tommy for help pushing the product, Mai originally went to Claudia, believing that she was the Flynn that could help get the product out there. But Claudia struggled with that piece of the equation, and Mai got restless.

As soon as Mai started questioning Claudia, you knew their arrangement was getting ready to explode. But I didn't see Mai's death coming at all.

Claudia is a lot of things, but she doesn't strike me as a killer. And considering the way she looked to be melting down afterward, it's not something she often does.

Was this her first kill? If so, it'll be fascinating to see where she goes from here. She's more like Walter than Vic is, so this kill could be the catalyst that pushes her into a whole new stratosphere of evil.

But circling back to the war with the Serbs, Tommy had no choice but to get everyone together and broker a deal to save his life.

Vic, who desperately wants to carve a name for himself away from the family name, was already on board, but convincing Diamond took a little more work.

Jenard: If we do roll with team white boy, what do we get in return, D?
Diamond: 34%. Now you a numbers man. Tell me what that is?
Jenard: That's big. I mean, shit, that one point'll add up like a motherfucker. Puts us at the top financially.

Diamond is a practical person with a conscience (to a degree.) He will measure the pros and cons before jumping into things, and the more we see him, the more it's obvious why he helped bring CBI to such great heights.

He sees the opportunities Tommy is presenting him with, and he wants to capitalize on them for his organization's good. Taking over the Serbs pipeline, and having the controlling share, puts them near the head of the pack. It opens up doors previously closed and takes CBI to new heights.

Jenard gets on board, but you can tell he's not all the way invested. He's still not okay with Diamond being in charge of CBI, and he's still salty toward Tommy in general, so all it was going to take was one thing to not going according to plan, and he was going to spiral.

And Elijah's death definitely had Jenard reeling.

There has been a ton of bloodshed on Power Book IV: Force to this point, but this was probably the first hour where the deaths felt genuinely shocking.

Both Simon and Elijah's deaths were unexpected and got to the heart of what these guys are trying to do. They're going to lose people as they take this ride up the ranks.

Vic and Jenard are now down their most loyal soldiers, which will affect them. Will they blame Tommy since it's his fault they got into this war in the first place?

The jury is still out on Vic, but Jenard was feeling some type of way for sure.

Though Tommy has business partners and people willing to fight with him when there's something in it for themselves, all his partners were ghost when he needed backup to help Liliana.

He had to meet Marković to get Liliana back, and Jenard deciding to go rogue and kill Tommy actually worked out in Tommy's favor this time. The distraction drove the Serbs away, and Tommy and Liliana escaped, though the latter caught a bullet for her troubles.

Jenard has lost it. And I have tried to stick up for him because it's easy to understand why he's disgruntled. But now he's crossed a line.

Going after the Serbs together solidified the partnership between the three factions, and making that move against Tommy can't be undone.

I don't believe Jenard and Tommy can ever truly be on the same team, at least not at this stage of the game. So, where does that leave Diamond?

We got that little boxing match, but that feels like it'll end up being child's play compared to the inevitable clash of these two titans.

While all hell was breaking loose elsewhere, poor Gloria could just not escape the Flynn's!

First, she has to deal with Walter and his liquor breath all up in her face making sure she knows she'll never be a suitable choice for his son like it's something for him to decide.

And then she has to deal with Claudia sauntering in and trying to pay her off, and it's all so unnecessary. Vic is a grown-ass man, and yet he's got his daddy and his sister trying to decide his future for him.

Walter's threats make sense here. He's a virulent racist, and even with his health steadily declining, he's concerned about his unborn grandchildren and making sure they're not a particular hue. We've come to expect this kind of nastiness from the older Flynn, but what does Claudia have to gain here?

Why does she care who Vic ends up with?

The only thing that makes a bit of sense is her thinking these kinds of moves will endear her to Walter, but at this point, she's got a serious shot to make herself bigger than her family if dahlia takes off.

Or maybe she's a raging racist like her father and just keeps it more undercover.

Time will tell here, but hopefully, Gloria decides to do what's best for her and the life she wants. Damn the Flynn's.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• If the brain matter all over the place during this installment wasn't enough, Liliana also got her arm violently broken.

• I'm royally confused about the picture JP found and what it means. JP is a likable character, and I want to invest in  Tommy's family, but it's a very stagnant storyline.

• We got the reasoning behind Bennigan's disdain for Diamond, but now what?

• Vic's gesture to buy that plot of land was sweet, but it literally looked like they were in the middle of a marsh. What kind of house can you build there?

Alright, guys, let your hot takes about Jenard fly in the comment section, and let me know what you thought about the hour!

As always, you can watch Power Book IV: Force online anytime via TV Fanatic!

Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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