Well, that was an awful lot of Dre.
If you were ever in the mood for a Dre-centric hour of television, then Power Season 6 Episode 11 would be right up your alley.
Getting to know Dre a little better wasn’t a bad thing, but was it too little, too late?
Dre has always been one of the more maddening characters to grace our screens.
In the criminal world that Power inhabits, there’s a certain code of loyalty the men and women are supposed to follow. But Dre has never prescribed to that brand of thinking.
He has always looked out for himself and what he can do to not only protect himself but enhance his position within the drug racquet. If that means selling out a friend or killing basically anyone, then he’ll do it without skipping a beat.
Ghost: I’m disappointed in you, Dre. You had all the potential in the world, but at the end of the day you just a wannabe gangster. You lie, you snitch, sell anyone the fuck out to get what you want.
Dre: I learned from the best.
The one thing that has humanized him slightly over the years was the relationship with his daughter. He loved his daughter dearly, but he also wasn’t above using her as a chip to help improve his status.
Outside of Heaven, there wasn’t much known about Dre but during this hour we were introduced to Mama Dre who was, to put it nicely, awful.
Dre isn’t a beloved Power character by any means. And feeling sorry for Dre is not something that comes easily, but after meeting his mother, you couldn’t help but sympathize with him.
He grew up under the eye of a woman who never gave him much of a chance. When you’re constantly being told you’re wicked and won’t amount to anything, you start to believe it.
Now would Dre have still been the man he turned out to be even if his mother wasn’t the absolute worst? That’s something we will never know, but introducing Dre’s mother gave even the biggest Dre haters a reason to at least see Dre in a different light.
Traveling back in time pre-shooting to show what the days were like for Dre was a tactic I didn’t see coming and I’m still not sure if it worked.
Once it became clear it was the Dre show, you just knew he wasn’t going to be the one to have shot Ghost, even though the episode would want you to believe that.
Having him interact with mostly all the other suspects was a nice touch though, and there were a lot of clues dropped that could lead you to deduce who pulled the trigger.
There’s, of course, Tariq, who was practically begging Dre for a gun. And then there’s Tommy who was very much in the vicinity of Truth just after the gunshot.
The slo-mo image of Dre triumphantly walking towards his girls with a new lease on life and a sense of peace was downright cruel. Can you imagine if he’d got away with everything he had done in just the past 24 hours alone?
The man had been involved in a shootout, blackmailed multiple people, and escaped FBI custody all within a matter of hours. It honestly would have been impressive if he’d found a way to make it to Las Vegas.
Dre had cheated surefire death so many times it was becoming a joke, but he finally ran out of good fortune.
2-Bit and Spanky went back and forth trying to figure out who set them up and trying to find ways to get out of a long term prison sentences.
You know what I love about criminals? They’re predictable as fuck.
Blanca
2-Bit was steadfast in his decision to keep quiet and not throw anyone under the bus, but Spanky wasn’t as keen to spend the next thirty years in jail.
These two men have been around forever, and they’ve been loyal soldiers. But when push came to shove, Spanky looked out for Spanky.
And if you think about it, how much different is he from Dre?
Ghost wanted Dre dead in jail, and with a promise to take care of 2-Bit’s family as long as he was locked up, 2-Bit accepted the challenge.
When they finally had Dre cornered, for a second, I thought he might talk his way out of things, but 2-Bit and Spanky were in too deep. Dre had to go for all the sins of his past and all the people he exposed along the way.
And wow did he die a brutal death.
There’s a lot of death in this world, and some rather brutal ones over the year, but this one may take the top spot. Dre wasn’t shot quickly, he was burned alive and made to suffer.
Now the big question moving forward is if all the final episodes will follow this format of essentially giving us a day in the life of each suspect.
It quasi worked with Dre, as we’d known him for a long time and had a vested interest in him, even it was a negative one. But does anyone want to see the Saxe hour? Or the Paz hour?
No offense, but the final episodes of an iconic series like Power shouldn’t be regulated to secondary characters.
Everything Else You Need To Know
- I’m going to spend as much time talking about Ghost’s death as the episode did. We haven’t seen a body yet or any proof that he’s gone, so I’ll reserve my eulogy until the day we get some more information.
- 2-Bit and Spanky’s real names being Francis and Spotswood was the best thing about this episode.
- RIP Andre Coleman. You lived hard and recklessly, and you did all that you could to make sure anyone but you took the fall. In the end, that selfishness cost you your life.
Welcome back to the final hours, guys! I want all your predictions and thoughts down below as we inch closer and closer to the end of the series!
Is Ghost really dead?
Are you sad to see Dre go?
Which suspect do you think most likely shot Ghost?
Let me know what you think and make sure you watch Power online right this minute so you don’t miss a thing!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.