Ezekiel "Zeke" Cross is a tritagonist in Power Book II: Ghost. He was a freshman basketball prodigy attending Stansfield University. The University is so focused on having him play that they threaten to expel Tariq St. Patrick if he doesn't tutor Ezekiel well enough to pass his classes and continue playing. He dropped out after finding out the truth about his age and was accidentally killed by Lorenzo for mistaken identity. He was actually the Eldest Son of Monet Tejada as it was revealed in Season 2.
Zeke served as a central character in Season 1, one of the deuteragonists of Season 2, and the posthumous overarching protagonist for Season 3-4.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Zeke lived in the Southern US until he was 13/14 when he came to New York to live with the Tejadas for high school.[2][3]
Power Book II: Ghost[]
Ezekiel is first introduced while having sex with a Girl named Tanisha, which Tariq unfortunately stumbles upon as they are room-mates. Ezekiel urges him to leave for 15 minutes, while silently mouthing "five minutes". Later, partly in an apology and to have his family meet the person who'd be tutoring him, Ezekiel brings Tariq to meet his large Family at his Aunt Monet's house. He receives a King's welcome for his achievements of attending Stansfield as a Basketball Player, and introduces Tariq to his cousins, Dru and Diana. When a fight breaks out, Monet urges Zeke not to involve himself, saying he's "too valuable" to their family and that it'll be "squashed in a minute".
In the aftermath, Ezekiel returns to his dorm, where Tariq assures him that he'll handle his Moby Dick report. Ezekiel is relieved and only asks that Tariq make it sound like he wrote it, and mentions that his family took a liking to Tariq. Some night later, while Ezekiel is playing video games, Tariq asks to use his popular Instagram page to post about his mom, so Ezekiel reluctantly agrees.
Lorenzo shot and killed Zeke in the back entering the plane, when he thought Zeke was Mecca. His death was avenged in season 3 episode 5 where Lorenzo was killed by Gordo under the manipulation tactics of Monet after finding out from Davis, Lorenzo's DNA was at Zeke's crime scene through a report she had seen, Lorenzo reluctantly confessed to killing Zeke to Monet after the fact of being killed anyway.
Murders connected to Zeke[]
- GTG member: shot to death by Cane for almost killing Zeke along with his teammates.
- K.O.: shot to death by Cane for almost killing Zeke along with his teammates.
- Caridad Milgram: Zeke walked in Carrie's apartment and saw her body hanging.
Goals[]
- Make it to the NBA (failed)
- Introduce Tariq to his family (succeeded)
- Get off academic probation (succeeded)
- Have sex with Professor Milgram (succeeded)
- Talk to the cops (formerly)
- Prove his innocence in the Jabari Reynolds murder case (succeeded)
Trivia[]
- Zeke is 6'5" feet'. (1.98m)[citation needed]
- Zeke's character is similar to Shawn Stark and that of Derek D-Wiz Washington all deceased as a result of a connection to being in the game.
- Zeke being Monet's son and a Tejada half-sibling is foreshadowed in Season 1 Episode 1 when he tells Tariq, "This is my Aunt Monet's house. Her kids are my cousins but more like my brothers and a sister. You know how it is." This is confirmed by Courtney Kemp in her post-episode Instagram live for Ghost Season 2 Episode 4, where she stated that this has always been the plan for Zeke, and that there has always been hints of them being related throughout the first season.[3]
- Monet never made amends with Zeke before he died which was shown in her flashback, Zeke disowned her before death, despite covering for her of her alibi confirmation when talking to Det. Kevin Whitman about Carrie Milgram.
- Zeke's Instagram username is Freaky°Zekey, as shown in Everett's phone where it appears as one of the users who liked Everett's post of the team demanding the police free Zeke.[4]
- Zeke's age in Season 2 of Ghost is 23, as mentioned by Diana.[1]
- As the eldest of Monet's sons, this would make Cane and Dru's age fall somewhere between 20-22, since Courtney A. Kemp confirmed they are in their twenties.[5]
- This would make the year Season 2 takes place in 2021.
Appearances[]
| Power Book II: Ghost, Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "The Stranger" | #05 | "The Gift of the Magi" | #09 | "Monster" |
| #02 | "Exceeding Expectations" | #06 | "Good vs Evil" | #10 | "Heart of Darkness" |
| #03 | "Play the Game" | #07 | "Sex Week" | ||
| #04 | "The Prince" | #08 | "Family First" | ||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Drug Related". Julian Ouanés (writer), Shana Stein (director). Power Book II: Ghost. STARZ. January 23, 2022. 2x8.
- ↑ S1e1 ref tba
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Courtney Kemp Instagram Live Post-Episode S2E4 ref TBA
- ↑ "Gettin' These Ends". Charles Ray Hamilton (writer), Ruben Garcia (director). Power Book II: Ghost. STARZ. December 12th, 2021. 2x4.
- ↑ Post-episode Q&A for Ghost S2E6
- ↑ "Coming Home To Roost". Aixsha Hiciano (writer), Shana Stein (director). Power Book II: Ghost. STARZ. December 19th, 2021. 2x5.
- ↑ Post-episode Q&A for Ghost S2E8