Power’s hit spin-off series has finally returned to Starz and so far viewers have spotted signs of Tariq St Patrick’s (played by Michael Rainey Jr) mental health heading downhill. Ahead of the release of Power Book II season two, express.co.uk spoke to Tariq star Michael, who hinted his character may experience signs of PTSD as the series continues.
“Everything is getting so much heavier now,” Michael revealed when asked about his character’s mental state this season.
“In season one, it was weighing on him and now he really realises that he’s in it alone.
“He doesn’t really have anyone on his side for stuff like this,” the actor continued.
In season one, the series ended with Tariq committing another murder and this time it was his college professor Jabari Reynolds (Justin McManus).
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Fans of the original Power will remember the jaw-dropping season six finale when Tariq pulled the trigger on his father James ‘Ghost’ St Patrick (Omari Hardwick).
Which spurred this hit spin-off to follow his journey as he studies at Stanford University and trafficked drugs on campus to help pay defence lawyer Davis Maclean (Method Man).
In order to protect Tariq, his mother Tasha St Patrick (Naturi Naughton) had taken the fall, however, the teenager’s efforts proved successful as his mother was now on witness protection.
“I feel like he’s really dealing with that stuff and it’s just weighing on him and in his mind,” Michael added.
While Tariq was thankful he didn’t say anything and instead hung up, destroyed the phone after the officer introduced himself, the student had other major problems on his mind.
His younger sister Yas St Patrick who was under the care of their grandmother Estelle Green (Debbi Morgan) was now in foster care after Estelle was arrested with a DUI.
Although this added to the teenager’s overfilling plate, Michael confessed: “As a kid, obviously, the stuff is not easy to deal with, he’s definitely dealing with it in PTSD kind of way, for sure.”
Viewers got a glimpse of this when Tariq was battling flashbacks, including one of a dead Kanan Stark (50 Cent) who stood over the teenager’s shoulder and told him to throw the phone in a furnace.
A second flashback came during a hunting trip with his roommate Brayden Weston’s (Gianni Paolo) family.
As he stood over a wailing deer to put it out of its misery, the teenager hesitated and remembered when he shot his father.
“For Tariq it’s obviously not easy for him, navigating throughout the world, doing the school thing, doing the streets and the family man thing,” he said.
“He’s young, figuring everything out and I think he’s doing a pretty good job. Growing up pretty fast and he’s handling things pretty well, “ Michael concluded.
Power Book II: Ghost season two is available to stream on Starzplay.