Michael Rainey Jr., Mary J. Blige, Larenz Tate and more talk loyalty in ‘Power Book 2: Ghost’
“Loyalty is pretty big for Tariq. Obviously, he goes against that sometimes, but in his mind, it's for the best interest of everyone,” the star of the series Michael Rainey Jr. shared with theGrio.
The definition of “loyalty” is considered to be pretty straightforward, however, when it comes to the series Power Universe, the meaning can get a little blurred.
Power Book 2: Ghost has returned to Starz for its much anticipated second season. The series follows the life of Tariq St. Patrick, who tried his best to distance himself from the legacy of his father. TheGrio caught up with the cast to discuss season two and what they believe loyalty means to their characters.
“Loyalty is pretty big for Tariq. Obviously, he goes against that sometimes, but in his mind, it’s for the best interest of everyone,” the star of the series Michael Rainey Jr. shared with theGrio.
Rainey’s co-star, Mary J. Blige, did not deny her character Monet’s lack of loyalty, however.
“Is she super loyal at the moment? No. She is going to tell everyone she is [loyal] to get what she wants. She knows how to trick everybody to believe that she is and when she finds out what she wants, she knows how to make her love them anyway,” Blige shared with a laugh when discussing Monet’s tough but lovable exterior.
The extent of character loyalty is put to a different test for actors Larenz Tate, Shane Johnson, and Method Man, as their loyalty ties more into their careers and politics.
“He’s loyal to those who can help his agenda,” Tate shared regarding his character, Councilman Tate. “If you can’t help his agenda — he’s a politician, he understands he can be loyal to a fault. But sometimes, if you are too loyal, then you can’t accomplish things that you want to accomplish. Being in the political space it’s eat or be eaten.”
Tate continued with a laugh, “In the long run there’s no loyalty.”
As for Johnson, he said that for his character, Cooper Saxe, the biggest challenge with loyalty is trying to be loyal to everyone. “The problem is you can’t be loyal to a bunch of different masters, when all the masters disagree with each other,” he explained. “So it’s a matter of trying to pick what you can live with.”
Method Man’s character, Davis, meanwhile, is more focused on the loyalty of the people surrounding him, according to the rapper-actor.
“Does he want his employees and associates to be loyal? Absolutely. He pays their checks, [they] better be,” Method Man shared. “But as for his clients and everybody else on the outside of his purpose, nah.”
Tate added that the series’ writers and creator, Courtney Kemp, write the storylines and characters in a nuanced way, adding to the loyalty conundrum. “They are so complex on how they write things. For us to sorta process it all, we have to really resonate with it. It’s not an easy answer,” the actor said.
Season two of Power Book 2: Ghost premiered on Sunday, Nov. 21. Episodes are available to stream on Starz and air every Sunday at 10pm.
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