Dru and Diana’s plan to kill their mother Monet was a disaster from the start. In the Power Book II: Ghost season three finale, The Tejada children enlisted Tariq St. Patrick to get the job done in retaliation for Monet orchestrating the murders of their father Lorenzo and Dru’s love interest Gordo.
Though they assured Tariq that potentially killing Monet wouldn’t come back to bite him, Dru and Diana’s true plan was to let Tariq take the fall for her death by telling Cane, who would presumably be seething with anger, that Tariq was solely responsible for Monet’s death. Unfortunately for them, the plan took an unexpected left turn when Tasha, Tariq’s mother, arrived at the Tejada home to fire gunshots at Monet, leaving her in a coma, which she emerged from in the season four opener.
In last week’s episode “The Reckoning,” Dru and Diana’s plot comes back to bite them as Monet receives proof of her children’s attempt to kill. It made for yet another chaotic dinner scene that ended with Dru and Diana speeding away in a car and Cane nearly firing gunshots at them. Tariq also got a hold of this evidence which led to an all out pursuit from him and Monet to find and kill Dru and Diana. Thankfully for the latter duo, they will live to see another day as surprising news about Diana becomes the centerpiece of a deal between Monet and Tariq to let Dru and Diana live.
With the Power Book II: Ghost season four midseason finale just a week away, we caught up with actors Lovell Adams-Gray and LaToya Tonodeo, who play Dru and Diana Tejada respectively, to talk about their failed plot against Monet and what to expect for the remaining episodes in season four.
Seeing how everything played out in the aftermath of the attempted murder of Monet. Where do you both think that Dru and Diana went wrong in their initial plan to kill Monet?
Lovell Adams-Grey: They didn’t go all the way through. They didn’t execute, you have to execute. That’s what happens. You don’t destroy your enemy completely, that’s exactly what happens [laughs].
LaToya Tonodeo: Diana, of course, leaving off in season three, episode ten, the first time she felt like Monet actually saw her, she immediately felt guilty. She felt bad and it was just like, I can’t go through with killing my mom. From there, I feel like it was the start of the demise for Dru and Diana because Dru was always adamant like, “No, this is what we’re going to do.” Diana thought she was until that car moment and it switched everything.
Lovell, there’s a new level of fearlessness for Dru in this episode and we see it in his confrontations with Cane and Monet. Would you say this comes as a result of him being ready to die as a consequence of his actions or is it connected to something else?
Adams-Grey: I think Dru is in a space right now where he has nothing to lose and that’s a dangerous place to be, right? You’ve already lost your father and you already plotted against your mother. You’re not married, you don’t have kids, there’s no… not collateral, but there’s none of that where he’s worried about anything. He can be as reckless and as fearless as he wants to be because he believes in what he’s doing so strongly
Between both of your characters, LaToya, I think Diana still has the most love for her mother despite everything. From being bedside with her in the hospital to trying to convince Dru to apologize and explain why they tried to kill her. Would you say all this from this season is a result of that guilt from the shooting last year, or there’s more to it?
Tonodeo: I feel like — and I’ve been saying it for a long time — Diana’s strength and weakness is her family. It makes her still very vulnerable or guilty really quickly in certain situations when it comes to her family. It’s her crutch, it will always lead back to family.
Adams-Grey: It’s a beautiful thing to be able to have and be anchored with your family. At the end of the day, what do we do this for, right?
‘Power Book II: Ghost’ 404 w/ LaToya Tonodeo as Diana Tejada
Lovell, what makes it so difficult for Dru to understand the loyalty Diana and Cane have to Monet
Adams-Grey: I think it’s because Dru felt really connected to his father. There are certain affiliations, right? We see that Dru says that Cane is the mama’s boy and Diana has the relationship with Monet because they’re both women. They both have to be very powerful in an environment where you’re fighting for your power all the time. So the only person who truthfully saw Dru was his dad and that was taken from him. So, it’s not as easy to let that go as it is for everyone else. Seemingly at least.
At this point, what would say that Dru and Diana want from their mother Monet? What would be the best thing for them to receive to move forward?
Tonodeo: Diana has always wanted to feel seen by her mother, for the longest time since season one. There will be moments like in season one where they’re sitting on the steps and Monet is trying to teach Diana about the game, how men work, and how you need to work men before they work you. Even though that was this heart-to-heart sincere moment between Diana and Monet, I feel like growing up she has been wanting to feel seen by her mother. As Lovell said earlier, I think with Diana and Dru that connection with their father is very strong. Diana is a daddy’s girl and not by default, but kind of so because Monet is so hard on Diana. So for the longest time, and I will continue to say [it], she just wants to feel seen. I think maybe that could be something that could change it.
Adams-Grey: I think Dru just needs a small loan of a million dollars and some emancipation just to go do what he needs to do because I don’t know if we can get back. You gon’ find out, but me as a fan? I’m like, I don’t know.
‘Power Book II: Ghost’ 404 w/ Lovell Adams-Grey as Dru
Lovell, brothers fight all the time and we’ve seen it happen here and there throughout Ghost between Dru and Cane. With the events in this episode, are Dru and Cane at a point of no return?
Adams-Grey: I think there’s love there still. My dad used to say to me when I was younger — I actually am an older brother, my brother in real life is seven years older than me — and he would always tell us that we’re all we got and we have to look out for each other, protect each other, and defend each other. We can have infighting all we want, but as soon as anything from the outside comes and threatens the family dynamic, we’re there to protect each other. I think that lets you know that there’s still love there and we’ll see it. I think for Cane and Dru specifically, there’s definitely still love there.
LaToya, Diana has gone through a lot since the beginning of Ghost. What was your reaction when you read that Diana would be pregnant with Tariq’s baby this season?
Tonodeo: I was just like, another thing??? [laughs]. Just know that every season I’m like, what can they do to elevate the storyline even more than what they’re already doing? I’m not a writer, so I’m just like, how can they elevate this more and more because it’s already at a high note? When I saw that, I was just like, oh, man, what’s gonna happen? How am I gonna get out of this? How am I gonna tell my mother? My brothers?? I’m just gonna keep it there because I don’t want to end up spoiling anything.
What can you say viewers can expect next for Dru and Diana’s storyline as the first half of this final Ghost season wraps up and we head into part two this fall?
Adams-Grey: You ever see that video where the dude was so mad that his team lost and he punched the TV and it broke? Buy a new TV set or just get some money together to make sure you have enough to get that new TV set or get insurance on your television if you need to get it. Get that plan that says if anything happens to the TV, you’ll get a new one in the mail. Lock all those things in place.
Tonodeo: Have a warranty [laughs].
Adams-Grey: Have a warranty! Thank you, yes.