Dahlia is heavy in the clubs. The partnership between and strategy deployed by Tommy and Claudia seems to be working out: They use pretty women to entice and introduce the designer drug to men. With the current hype around their product, Tommy wants to expand the drug by making it affordable to more people. Claudia, however, doesn’t necessarily agree with that approach and prefers to keep the drug exclusive. Snatching a page out of the coke/crack era, Tommy thinks Dahlia is priced too high and wants to change the composition to decrease the price. His overall goal is to make the cut-rate version the newest “it†street drug. Claudia disagrees with his business model but is forced to go along with it anyway.
Over at the barbershop, a familiar face returns to the Chi. Chicago native Barton Fitzpatrick plays Blaxton. After catching up with the CBI brothers, D-Mac and Marshall presents a pitch to the three OGs. They want to help expand CBI’s business to Gary, Indiana, by serving as couriers. They point out that if they were to get picked up by the police, they wouldn’t be required to do any lengthy stints in jail because of their age. On the surface, it sounds like a win-win: CBI gets to expand and increase its overall revenue, and not much is lost in the process. Diamond interrupts their presentation with a firm no thank you. Jenard, however, is quite interested. His overall goal is to conquer as much territory as he can. In contrast, Diamond is more concerned with quality control. He’s also unwilling to take risks. Before the young boys head out, Jenard gives D-Mac another assignment: Kill Tommy. He also decides to move in Gary without Diamond’s input.
At the Flynn estate, Walter is preparing for the Serbs to retaliate. Paully kindly reminds him that their organization is not as powerful as it once was. To remain prepared, he suggests having a few of his men tail Claudia for “protection.†In reality, Walter is using “protection†as a coverup for wanting to know more details about his daughter’s whereabouts. He can’t help but be both sexist and racist and has no idea what Claudia is really capable of.
Tommy tasks Liliana with babysitting Lauryn and convinces him to allow her to go on a date. Of course, Liliana has to tag along. Having their chemist be considered missing wouldn’t be good for business. There’s something about men trying to control women within the Power universe (you know that thing called misogyny). Liliana warns Tommy about pushing her too far— they need her more than she needs them.
Good thing he doesn’t have a sister. In his own New York-I-don’t-really-have-feelings way, Tommy apologizes to JP. He explains the concerns he has about JP joining his operation. What it balls down too is that it would be hard for Tommy to lose another brother. JP offers up some suggestions to ease Tommy’s nerves — filter money through his club and/or allow JP to do the “easy†tasks.
Tommy and JP’s grandmother’s health is declining. JP wants to call Kate, but Tommy is 100 percent against it. Their stark upbringing puts both of them in opposite corners as it relates to Kate. On the one hand, the inner child in JP who grew up not knowing his mother yearns for an introduction. And on the other hand, though Tommy grew up with his mother, her parenting flaws have left him scarred and distrusting of her.
Speaking of family drama, Tommy’s nephew, who he doesn’t yet know is his nephew, runs up on him, but instead of trying to kill him, he gives him a warning about Jenard’s plan. It’s not clear if D-Mac knows that Tommy is his uncle, but he did see him talking with JP. Tommy thanks him for the heads up.
Meanwhile, at Claudia’s penthouse, Liliana and Claudia are prepping a new set of pretty couriers to attract more clientele. Things get a bit iffy when Claudia sneaks off and has one of the girls introduce the drug to Vic. This decision breaks Tommy’s trust, and he snaps at Claudia. Liliana reminds Tommy that she doesn’t trust her. They agree that for now, she is of good use.
Jenard and his crew turn up in the club and have what they deemed to be the greatest night ever. After meeting one of Claudia’s pretty couriers, he experiences the magical Dahlia high. Excited to get his hands on more product, he tells Diamond about the designer drug and doesn’t get the response he wants. As the logical thinker he is, Diamond considers the risks. The brothers know nothing about the drug or the harm it could cause. They find themselves bickering about the best business decisions for CBI.
They are not the only ones experiencing conflict in this episode. Marshall and D-Mac get into a fight after the club. D-Mac swings first after feeling left out. This leads Marshall to pull a gun out on him and question the weight D-Mac holds.
At the lab, Lauryn is struggling to find the right compound that will allow her to keep the experience of Dahlia the same while lowering the costs. If she moves too quickly, she could break the chain.
I knew there was something fishy about Diamond’s new boo. Ol’ girl is an investigative journalist who is looking for a career come up. Her editor inquires about the status of her findings. We see that they are not on the same page and that its quite possible Adrian done caught feelings for Diamond. I mean, how could she not catch feelings? He’s protective, caring, smart as hell, and a great lover! But her editor has eyes on a Pulitzer Prize. She wants to write a tell-all expose about the rise and fall of the Chicago kingpin. I have a feeling this is not going to end well.
Diamond meets with Tommy to talk business. He tells Tommy that the streets are well aware that Walter hit up the Serbs. He asks Tommy what he knows about Dahlia and expresses interest in the drug despite Tommy trying to convince him otherwise.
After deciding to do his own thing, Jenard takes his own business meeting with Marshall’s cousin. Focusing on geographical placement, he sees value in selling product in Gary and clarifies that the business move isn’t affiliated with CBI and only with him alone. The new partnership is a win for Jenard.
Tommy, Claudia, and Liliana also experience a win. Back at the lab, Lauryn has figured out how to change the composition of Dahlia. The newer version’s compound is also nearly unreproducible, and according to the team, the high is just as good (the most important part).
With access to more product that is of quality, things are about to heat up for Tommy and Claudia. And with access to a new territory, things are about to heat up for Jenard. We’ll have to wait until next week to see how this all plays out.