“The Power” brings perspective to the idea of women having more power than men. What can this do to the world we live in, and how different does the gender dynamic become when a new factor like the ability to become a human electric conductor is introduced as being evolutionarily inherent to women only? Previously, we learned that Allie and Roxy are extremely strong individuals and have the potential to shake nations with their power. Margot finds herself getting more and more distant from her daughter Jos while she struggles with her responsibilities as the mayor and also chooses to speak out about the electrical power of women across the world.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In ‘The Power’ Episode 4?
In “The Power” Episode 4, we follow Tunde, who has now traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for CNN. The girls in Saudi Arabia are banned from using their power, and journalists aren’t allowed to communicate through international channels. Tunde sneaks in as a businessman there for a conference. He sees a girl using her powers in a neighborhood and asks the taxi driver to help him with the name of the place. He finds himself there only to realize that the girl named Amal was beaten up for using her powers out in the open by one of the boys in the neighborhood. She is terribly wounded and taken inside a safe house by her mother and some of the women. Soon the neighborhood starts rioting, and Tunde manages to capture these things on his camera. Amal is brought out to be taken to a hospital, and the ladies begin to chant a slogan. Upon inspection, Tunde finds out that it means “see us, hear us.” Tunde is easily able to riot with the women and show their side of the story because they need an outlet to make people see their power. The women and girls are very cooperative with him and even explain what’s happening to him, using their slogans in front of his camera.
After a little while, they gather more and more women across the city, and the women who were banned from using their power are unafraid to use it. The police are called to take action on the protesting women, and there’s a bomb. Tunde is initially super excited about having experienced such an event, but later, when the police start shooting at the women, and one of them dies right in front of him, he realizes the gravity of the situation. They then get hit by tear gas, which Tunde narrowly escapes with the help of a woman who is a fellow journalist from Saudi Arabia. She tells him he needs to be careful and helps him navigate the place, even saving him from being electrocuted by an angry woman. By then, the protest is so huge that the military has to take action, and they stand in front of the women in tanks and with their guns loaded. By now, the younger girls have been sharing their power with the older women, spreading their freedom across the city. The ladies begin to burn up the tanks to show their strength against the military. An old lady in the crowd stands up as she sees her own son in one of the tanks. She asks him what he’s doing and why; it’s an emotional conversation between mother and son where she is able to open his eyes to the wonder that this “curse” could bring on them. The women then help the military out of their tanks as they command them to stop firing.
The new organ is called a “skein” and has electrons that push the charge of electricity in one direction through the cells of the skein. Then the charge is released from the body by subtly letting the electrons flow back in the opposite direction. Allie learns this on television along with her fellow girls. Sister Veronica is still very skeptical of her and doesn’t approve of the girls using their powers because she believes its unnatural (even if it’s actually part of the body). Sister Maria, in a conversation with Sister Veronica, tells her that she is worried for no reason; there is nothing evil about this power, just as there is nothing evil about televisions, etc. Allie, on the other hand, realizes precisely how strong she is as God continues to speak to her. She tells her that Allie can be much more than she is right now; she only needs to try. When Allie has to feed the chicken, she uses her powers through a metal conductor and controls the chicken’s brain, then kills it. Veronica sees this and is more afraid of “Eve” (the name Allie gave them) than ever before. Allie is also making friends with the other girls, and it is very clear that “God” is pushing her to reach her potential as their leader. She is able to bring a dead pigeon back to life, and that’s when the other girls begin to follow her. Later, when the storm hits, Allie stops a girl’s seizures with her power, and Sister Veronica has had enough of her by then, but Allie has now gained more confidence than ever before.
In the UK, Roxy is enraged by her father’s lack of compassion for her. She wants to know who the two men who killed her mother are, but he tells her that one has already been caught, and that’s it. There’s nothing more they need to do. Because she’s young and reckless, her father asks her brothers to take her out and get her mind off things. They reluctantly agree and head out. Roxy doesn’t have any fun at the club, even with some drinks, and then cries on the stairs for her mother. Roxy was clearly very close to her mother, who was her only support. They were more like sisters. Terry then decides to give her some drugs to calm her down a little bit and take things a little bit slow. She ends up taking too much and starts to dance with her power (yes, the dancing electricity in between her fingers) in the club. The other brothers worry for her, but they let it be. Finally, when it gets a bit too much, they take her out of there. Terry tells her who the guy who killed her mom is, and Roxy heads out of the club. She gets into a car, and the boys join her before she drives off. They find the guy’s house, and with Roxy’s temper, things are definitely going to go wrong. Roxy and her brothers share a healthy relationship. Specifically, Terry is very caring for her even though they don’t share a birth mother.
What Happens To Tunde? What Does Roxy Do?
By the end, with a storm raging outside, Allie faces Veronica dead in the eye and tells her that she can’t tell them to do anything. They get to think for themselves and do what they like. She has found her tribe and her “power,” which will keep her free from fear and allow her to lead with ambition. From a young girl trembling in fear to a leader.
Back in Riyadh, the woman journalist helps Tunde escape and also gives him a way out of the country. It turns out that during the time he was with the women protesting, his belongings were searched back at the hotel, and everything was ruined. The woman thinks he will be on the no-fly list, but she has a way to help him out. CNN will only accept his content if he can get out of Riyadh. Before leaving, Tunde thanks the woman for all her help and support. He tells her that if she ever wants to leave and needs help, he will be there for her. She tells him that it is easy to say that within 24 hours of entering her country, she would want to leave, but the change she wants is so that she and other women can be free within her country. There is as much love for their country as there is fear; she wants a change in the country, not so that she can leave but so that other women like her can have opportunities too. Tunde leaves Saudi Arabia with the belief that humans have inherent goodness. He thinks that the power is going to bring positive change to the world like never before. He ends “The Power” Episode 4 with a monologue about how he has hope for a new world that is greater than the one he lives in.
Roxy reaches the man and forces him to tell her that he killed her mother. The man, who is initially unbothered by Roxy’s presence, punches her in the face. She then electrocutes him until he realizes he’s made a big mistake. Roxy kills him in a fit of rage and even releases a huge amount of lightning through her hands, screaming at the top of her lungs. All she has wanted is closure for her mother’s death. Soon, she realizes that the man, too, has young daughters, and she may have deprived them of a father. By then, a bunch of men has arrived, and the brothers try to fight them off, even getting ‘shocked’ by Roxy occasionally. Terry brings out a gun, and the other brothers start to freak out a little bit. They tell him to put the gun away before it’s too late. Unfortunately, the other team also brings out their guns, and before Roxy can drive off, Terry gets shot. In Roxy’s recklessness, her dear brother has been lost in the crossfire. They rush home, and Terry’s mother blames Roxy for the death of her beloved son.
