Exclusive: LaToya Tonodeo on Power Book II: Ghost Season 3 finale and Diana’s Rise In The Family Business
In last night’s Season 3 finale of Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost, twists and turns were at the highest level. (Spoiler alert) Coming off Episode 9 where audiences saw the return of Naturi Naughton as Tariq’s mom, Tasha St. Patrick and Power fan favorite Joseph Sikora as Tommy, a lot was questions were going in for the final episode. Is Tommy out for blood? Did Tasha survive and escape? Is Monet’s family empire crumbling now that they know she had their father Lorenzo killed? Can Effie be trusted to keep her mouth shut as she gets pressured by the FBI? Can Jenny think straight after Saxe’s death? Will Tariq get away again from prosecution?
As we saw it played out, unless you saw the leaked episodes in advanced, it was definitely a show stopper. Tommy and Tariq worked things out with Tommy giving him some advice. Either you’re in the gangster business all in or all out. Effie was able to get out free at the expense of Jenny blowing up the case. Monet and Nona partnered up, if only for a brief time. Diana and Dru schemed to have Monet killed and set up Cane so he would go after Tariq. Tariq was about to get killed when Effie dimed him out to Nona and the Tejadas siding with her when Brayden (off all people!) came through BIG TIME and saved him from execution. It was like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid riding off, but with these two, they have no idea what installed for them. Season 4 can’t get here fast enough.
Blackfilmandtv.com caught up with LaToya Tonodeo as she spoke heavily on the finale, Diana’s state of mind and what this season has meant for her
How twisted was that script for the finale when you first read it?
LaToya Tonodeo: Oh my gosh. Season three all together was just crazy. But when I got the last few episodes, I was like, "What the heck!” And then with those shootout in the cliffhanger, there was a lot going on.
When did Diana finally have the guts and heart to have her mom Monet killed?
LaToya Tonodeo: After finding out that she's the one who pretty much killed her father, I thought that was the final straw. And then of course, when you see that car scene right before that whole plan happened, she realizes for the first time like when Monet says all of that stuff, it's the first time that Diana feels that she's actually being seen by her mother genuinely. Tthere's times before where when Monet said sorry, but it was like in a passive aggressive way just to get her to do something for the family. But this time and this moment, it felt really genuine and honest. And it felt like wow, Monet sees me for the first time, I can't do this. I don't want to do this anymore. So she changed her mind to try to go back into the house, but it's too late.
Why did Diana decide to go Team Dru and not Team Cane?
LaToya Tonodeo: Diana and Dru Diana have a very special relationship. I feel like between the two they understand each other in a different way. They both want more than just the family business. He's all about the family business. That's all he knows. I wouldn't say he doesn't have any other aspirations outside of being the top dog in the family business. But with Diana, it's clear that, it's school and with Drew, it's wanting to do art and step outside of the family business. Although with Diana, when it's time to channel the family business and the family over everything she's gonna do it full throttle.
There's an earlier scene where Tommy tells Tariq he has to decide to be all in or all out. For Diana, having grown up in that world and business and now going to school, is she the one ready to be the leader of the clan?
LaToya Tonodeo: I've been hearing people say like they could see Diana being that. I believe she could be because she's very much levelheaded, and of course, her strength and her weakness is matters of the heart. But for the most part, she's level headed. She's very, very smart. She's methodical, strategic, I could see her being the leader of the clan.
That was a good twister where we see that it was Diana (in a red wig), not Monet, dropping off the note to Tommy’s mom on the location to Tosha’s location. What was that scene like?
LaToya Tonodeo: It was actually really fun to have a different hair color. That was fun. It was like playing dress up and then trying to like step into this super boss dropping off this letter, and then when you have me finally turning around and you see it's Diana and not Monet, I think they did a really good job with that.
This whole year, Diana’s been through a lot. She’s had two boyfriends. Her father was killed. She's been to jail. She's experienced a lot this season right?
LaToya Tonodeo: 100%. She growing up super fast and becoming a very, very much a woman and stepping into her power. She has no choice. She's being pushed in that direction. So it's time to fully step into it and channel all the things to become the boss that she’s been groomed to be.
Compared to the previous seasons, how have you grown as an actress working on the show?
LaToya Tonodeo: I have grown a lot. I feel like all of the different challenges that I have had to face, from characterizing the layers of the character and diving into different parts of me and finding different situations that could mirror Diana's story, has been great for me because it helps me grow as an actress for even roles outside of Power.
Speaking of episodes… although the finale is airing today (may 26), the diehard fans have seen it already. What’s that feeling when you're reading that people have seen the last two episodes before today. Especially those who don't want to go through the trouble of waiting and they were looking around and finding these leaked links out there.
LaToya Tonodeo: I feel like our super fans, and most of our fans are super fans, they're going to tune in and watch it on the app, and they want to watch it linearly. So they're going to make sure that they keep our viewership up, because it's important. When the leaks happened, of course, we weren't too happy about it. Because we put a lot of work into these episodes, and a lot of time from our days, a lot of work and effort, blood, sweat and tears into these episodes. So I'm hoping that people who watch it on whatever leak they sign on, I hope that they still tune in because it's better if you watch it properly. They'll enjoy it even more.
How was it seeing the cast again throughout this season because you shot this about a year ago?
LaToya Tonodeo: Oh, wow. We talk all the time. So even if we shot something a year ago, we all speak throughout the year even when we're not filming. So it's always good to see people in person, especially if we're all in different parts of the country. But it's always love. We are real family. And I'm happy that being this far into the show, season wise, or series wise, we're still very close.
How was working with Berto Colon and Shane Johnson, whose characters were killed off this season? Shane's Saxe was there from day one of Power and day one of Ghost, and he's right now he was the most tenured actor on that show until Saxe got his comeuppance. Berto played your father. Good actors. Hopefully we'll see them later on another project.
LaToya Tonodeo: So first of all, they are phenomenal actors. Definitely you will see them again in other things. It's just bound to happen. They're too good to not be on phenomenal shows or films. But there is always a joy. Because first of all, I've always been a fan of Shane, who played Saxe from the very beginning of this whole Power universe. Day one, I was a fan of him, even when his character would do things and get on my nerves. I still loved how he carried his character. So seeing him is always so great. And then of course, seeing Berto who played my papi aka Lorenzo The relationship there is nice because I actually got to work with him a lot. So we built up a rapport as family and yeah, so seeing them is always great. It's always love.
Take care LaToya
LaToya Tonodeo: Thank you so much. Always a pleasure speaking with you, take care.