The last time we saw Tommy Eagon was in season one of Power Book II. After leading the feds on a high-speed chase, he died in a fiery car crash. I mean, he sort of died. Tariq helped Tommy fake his death after his mother testified against him. The two didn’t necessarily end on a good note. Tommy popped up on Tariq at the cemetery, still gunning for Tasha’s head. Instead of finding Tasha, he found Monet Tejada’s gun at the back of his head, demanding that he leave the city. New York ain’t safe no more, so Tommy heads west.
When we first lay eyes on Tommy in Power Book IV: Force, he is doing almost 100 mph on the highway, headed toward Los Angeles. While driving, he has recurring flashbacks of the pain, grief, and trauma he has experienced — the loss of his best friend and business partner turned enemy, the loss of Lakeisha, Holly, and Raina. And let’s not forget about the broken relationship he has with his mother. It all appears heavy for Tommy. He makes a quick stop in Chicago to visit his grandmother, whom he has not seen since he was 4 years old. In Tommy fashion, as soon as he steps foot in Chicago, he breaks the city’s hood parking rules and becomes an easy target for trouble, but it’s nothing Tommy can’t handle.
Episode one immediately separates itself from the Power universe viewers are familiar with with all-new characters. The scene shifts to a federal prison, and we meet Diamond Sampson, the leader of Chicago’s infamous CBI crew (Chicago Brothers Incorporated). For the first time in Power history (arguably, of course), the writers humanize inmates and offer a realistic depiction of the relationship dynamics present in jails. Diamond is the jail’s barber. We get the sense that he is well respected by inmates and correctional officers. He still has haters; that’s part of the game, though. As he heads to his cell to grab his belongings, a small group of inmates map out their plan to attack Diamond once he gets settled on the outside. Before he is released, the correctional officer gifts him a nice set of clippers and shavers to help him tap into his craft sooner than later. Like most coming-home-from-jail stories, Diamond is picked up in style by his younger, flashier brother Jenard Sampson. When he steps outside the jail for the first time in 15 years, the first thing he does is touch a puddle of dirty rainwater.
It’s still relatively early in the day in Chicago, so Tommy stops at the bar to get a drink. He flirts with Gloria, the bartender and owner. With the aroma of Jamaican-inspired dishes filling the space, Gloria invites Tommy to return in the evening to taste her pepper pot soup once the kitchen opens.
While the brothers reunite, Tommy is reunited with the complexities of Chicago’s street parking rules while parked outside of Gloria’s bar. A group of guys, whom we later find out are a part of the Flynn family, rudely asks him to move. Tommy refuses. They get into a semi-heated argument. The Flynn family is run by Walter Flynn, the patriarch and biggest drug kingpin in Chicago. Walter’s children, Claudia and Vic, assist him with the business. What Tommy doesn’t know yet is that Vic and Gloria were an item. Apparently, the Irish crime boss doesn’t accept his son having a Black girlfriend.
On his way out, Vic and Tommy exchange violent stares again. Before either of them can make a move, the two are interrupted by one of Walter’s senior men, who gives Tommy a warning: “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, forget it and move on. Let it go. It ain’t fucking worth it.†He leaves Tommy with a final word of advice — get far from Chicago.
The advice means nothing to Tommy. He walks back into the bar to taste Gloria’s infamous soup. Gloria is feisty. She knows how to give orders and dominate a conversation. She has enough spice to keep up with Tommy, and they are both equally intrigued by each other. Tommy overhears her arguing with Simon, Vic’s errand boy. As soon as Simon, who is drunk by the way, goes out back, Tommy makes his move. He gives Simon a New York beatdown for talking shit earlier, robs him, and breaks his arm. Gloria comes out and is turned on by Tommy’s aggression. She makes sure he gets his soup, and then the two head to her place and have wild sex (Tommy always gets the good sex scenes).
Before we know it, Claudia is in a techno club, snorting drugs and dancing passionately with an attractive woman she spotted from across the room. The camera shifts from the club to a penthouse, and the two ladies indulge in more drugs and hot sex! Claudia realizes she has found a new designer drug.
Vic calls Simon’s phone on his way to complete a drug deal, but he’s not answering (remember, Tommy has his phone). Holding Simon’s phone in his hand so Vic can hear it, Tommy runs up on Vic in the most gangsta way possible. He demands that Vic introduce him to his connect. When they arrive at the spot, to their surprise, Jenard is already there — CBI and the Flynn family have been set up by Zamost. Not only are the drugs bad, but the two rookie drug dealers who were sent to seal the deal are high off of the low-quality product. Shit gets crazy — lots of pointing fingers, blaming, shooting. Tommy manages to control the entire room and kill the rookie dope boys, ultimately saving Jenard’s and Vic’s lives. In exchange, he takes their money and drugs.
Jenard tells his brother Diamond what happened. “This crazy white boy came through with Vic Flynn and bin Laden–ed that whole shit … the man ran the whole room. He dipped with the bread and the butter … like Casper the motherfucking ghost.†He makes Tommy sound like a drug-dealing superhero. Vic tells his version of the story to his sister, and she’s more concerned about his dealings with the Yardies. Claud describes Zamost’s product as “bathtub crank†and makes clear that any collaboration is bad for business.
Okay, brace yourself; here’s where the plot twist comes in. Tommy has a brother, and … he’s Black. After visiting his grandmother for the first time, a well-traveled artist named JP Gibb runs up on him. The two realize they are related and are shocked! JP was raised by his father and knew very little about their mother. Tommy gives him the rundown on Kate by telling him in so many words that she ain’t shit.
Like previous Power seasons, family is the epicenter of all things, and the same remains true in Chicago. Jenard brings Diamond to the old barbershop he rented before getting locked up. He shares with his brother that he is now the owner of his own shop — clean title, no mortgage. Grateful for his brother’s grand gesture, Diamond lets him know that after a 15-year bid, he’s a changed man. The two seem to have different ideas and approaches to running their business. With Diamond gone for so long, we can only hope they will get on one accord. Good news never lasts for long in the Power universe. Diamond receives an unexpected visit from a shady cop with a vendetta.
At the same time, while answering a call from an annoyed Rodolfo Ramirez, the L.A. connect, Tommy unexpectedly gets ambushed by the Flynn family. Four SUVs surround him. Tommy is escorted to the Flynn family estate. While Walter tries to spew a mix of biblical and philosophical cryptic lessons, he tells Tommy his time in Chicago has come to an end.
For Tommy, he makes his own rules. His time in Chicago is just beginning. He calls Rodolfo and lets him know the plans have changed — he no longer desires to work for anyone. Instead Tommy will build his own shit in the Windy City. Welcome to the Chi!