The Power is a fitting title for Prime Video’s upcoming sci-fi drama. Of course, it is also the title of Naomi Alderman’s book that provides the show’s source material. But, within its narrative, power struggles are happening in multiple ways. First, there’s the incessant struggle for women and girls to get the agency and resources they need in our patriarchal society… which The Power will challenge in a major way. How? There’s another literal power struggle happening within girls’ bodies as they discover new abilities that give them a shot at ruling the world. The struggles with how to hone their electrical powers and when to use them is what we will explore through a roster of primary characters and those close to them. The Power has quite a few characters to keep up with, so let’s rundown the major players.
Allie
Allie is a foster kid who has been through (and still going through) lots of trauma. She’s bounced from foster home to foster home with little hope of adoption now that she’s close to aging out of the system. Her power comes to life and she escapes, going on a journey that will take her to interesting and transformative places in The Power universe, where she will convene with similar characters.
Played by: Halle Bush
Jos Cleary-Lopez
Jos is the daughter of Margot, the mayor of Seattle, and Rob. She’s a quiet high school student who doesn’t feel like she has much purpose nor power, an odd place to be with two successful parents. And, of course, she frequently finds herself at odds with her mother. Jos has two siblings, Izzy and Matt, and is crushing on Ryan, a skater boy. She realizes she has powers but frustratingly has little to no control over them, as seen the The Power trailer when she fries her dad’s radio and burns up the family microwave. But she will come to realize that these powers can cure her fears.
Played by: Auli’i Cravalho
Margot Cleary-Lopez
Margot genuinely wants to make the world a progressive and equitable place. She becomes heavily invested in this new “power surge” after Jos’ power reveal and discovering Tunde’s video, thanks to her trusted advisor and right-hand woman Helen. In fact, we see her and Rob taking Jos in for a CAT scan to determine the source of these powers. Margot comes into the spotlight in a major way, which will shift her life both privately and professionally.
Played by: Toni Collette
Rob Lopez
Rob is a devoted dad and the “rock” of his family who is always willing to provide support and humor. However, he’s going through a rough patch in his marriage to Margot. When this new power shows up, it changes their family forever as Rob fears for their safety but also sees the surprising ways it changes Jos and Margot.
Played by: John Leguizamo
Roxy Monke
Roxy is quite different from other The Power teen characters (who may become her comrades one day). She’s a hard-nosed Londoner who is the illegitimate daughter of Bernie Monke, a crime boss who barely acknowledges her existence. He refuses to let her join the family business, instead favoring her older brothers. So, when she gets her powers, there’s nothing that will hold her back from getting what she wants.
Played by: Ria Zmitrowicz
Tunde
Tunde is an aspiring video journalist living in Nigeria. He captures a video of this newfound power, which goes viral globally and leads him into a deeper investigation of this new world. In the clip, Tunde’s friend Ndudi is shocked, an event that will surely change her life and encourage her to investigate alongside him. It will be interesting to see how he interprets and documents the world from his perspective.
Played by: Toheeb Jimoh
Tatiana Moskalev
Right now, Tatiana seems to be a bit of a wild card. She’s the wife of Viktor Moskalev, a Russian president and certainly not a person to be trifled with. It’s not clear how she fits into this overall picture, but she has more social/political power than Margot to perhaps leverage this revolution in her own way. We will see what happens with her in the near future.
Played by: Zrinka Cvitešić
Daniel Dandon
Daniel is the governor of Washington state, an experienced politician who will play the game to win. Margot frequent finds herself at odds with the so-called “liberal Democrat.” And, the revelation of this new power among girls puts eyes on him as well, potentially threatening his run for state senator if he makes the wrong choices.
Played by: Josh Charles
As the series progresses, we will certainly learn more about other The Power characters like Helen, Bernie, Ryan, and others. But, for now, these are the main players in this global game.
The Power hits Prime Video on March 31.
