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SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains plot details from the series finale of “Raising Kanan” now streaming on Starz.
The final curtain has closed on the hit 1990s-set crime series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.”
The show has been the origin story of Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis), who, by embracing the very business his drug-queenpin mother, Raquel Thomas (an incomparable Patina Miller), desperately wanted to keep him away from, becomes the monster who rips his entire family apart. The fifth and final season has not only depicted a young man at odds with his mother, but also his willingness to decimate his own family.
Fans of “Power” — Courtney Kemp’s original series — have always known how Kanan’s story ends, but his background has been somewhat of a mystery until now. His story is one rife with terror, pain and a sweltering rage that has usurped everything around him.
In “Power,” adult Kanan (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) viciously murders his cousin Laverne “Jukebox” Thomas (Anika Noni Rose). Viewers could never reconcile this ending, considering how close the cousins appeared to be. However, series creator Sascha Penn has always promised “a full and complete answer to that question.”
“One of the things that’s so interesting about ‘Power’ is the notion of reliable narrators and people’s recollections and how they differ from the fact,” Penn tells Variety. “Something we played with quite a bit across the series is who told the truth. For Ghost [Omari Hardwick] in the original ‘Power,’ the story is always shifting with him in terms of who killed Breeze [Shameik Moore] and who was there, who wasn’t there, who knew?”
In the final moments of the series finale, “Unconditional Love,” that nagging question has finally been answered. In retaliation for Kanan murdering her father Marvin (London Brown), Jukebox (Hailey Kilgrove) kills Raq, the woman who raised her. “Watch until the end of the credits,” Penn says.
With this chapter of the “Power” Universe officially over,Variety chats with Penn, Miller and Curtis about the series finale, Raq’s shocking death and how the story will continue in Penn’s upcoming Starz series, “Power: Origins.”
Sascha, did you know that this is how the chips would fall for the Thomas family?
Sascha Penn: I kind of did. I mean, I didn’t know exactly when all this stuff would happen. I always knew Raq would most likely die in the final episode. That I knew. But I will say this: I did go back and forth quite a bit about that over the years. I think people forget we are telling the origin story of perhaps the most diabolically evil character in the history of the “Power” Universe. So when people are up in arms about Kanan killing Uncle Marvin, I mean, I’m always sort of surprised because it’s like, did you see the character I saw on “Power”? Because that guy was a monster.
What was the alternative ending for Raq?
Penn: I thought for a little while she could get away like Unique [Joey Bada$$]. I thought that was a possibility. But I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know that I felt like she deserved that ending, both in terms of the story that we set out to tell, but also in terms of the character. One of the most amazing things about this experience is entirely because of Patina Miller. People have really gravitated toward Raq in the same way they gravitated toward Tony Soprano. Both characters are monstrous in their own ways.
Mekai, killing Lou (Malcolm Mays) was an accident for Kanan, but when he kills Marvin, that’s very deliberate. Do you think that’s a pivotal moment of change for him?
Mekai Curtis: Absolutely. I think they both are, because one doesn’t necessarily happen without the other. Kanan’s becoming a man. I think everything that he’s run into, everything that he’s been exposed to, everything that he’s learned has led him to this moment. Again, we’re talking about the pursuit of power. We’re talking about the pursuit of being great in this world. And that’s simply what sacrificing Uncle Marv is about for Kanan in that moment. It’s nothing more, nothing less. Kanan, more so than ever, is about his business. He understands all of the seeds that he has sown.
After Lou’s death and then again after Marvin is killed, we begin to see glimmers of Raq’s humanity for the first time in a long time. Patina, how did you navigate showcasing this as the walls are closing in on her?
Patina Miller: I think her having her little family, which she’s a matriarch of, really meant so much to her. So having the pieces start to fall around her is devastating. She’s been able to work and survive in this world because of the family unit she helped create and protect. To have her brothers, whom she desperately loved — and I know sometimes it might look like she didn’t, but everything she’s done shows that she loved her brothers — to have them gone, the only people she has are her niece and her son. Navigating that was exciting for me. There’s never really time or space for Raq to be vulnerable because of the world she’s in. Raq never gets the opportunity to sit with her feelings because it all comes at a cost. For the first time, you get to see her actually deal with herself, her humanity and the people around her.
We have to talk about Shameik Moore’s performance as Breeze, because he’s a wild boy. What was it like working with Shameik? Does Kanan admire him, especially because Breeze is under the impression that they’re actual blood brothers?
Curtis: It’s Kanan doing what Kanan does. He’s applying what he’s learned from Raq early on: Get what you can from who you can, hold your information until you very much need it, and just let the cards play out. Kanan is a very observant person, and I know it becomes a topic of discussion for people, especially given how emotionally charged and almost impulsive Kanan seems a lot of the time. But he’s a bit more calculated in why he does those things.
One of the quotes that sticks out this season is when Joaquin (Goya Robles) tells Raq that her issue is that she has no boundaries. Do you think that’s true of the character?
Miller: Oh, absolutely. I think she’s willing to do whatever, whenever, however. I think she’s so focused that she loses sight of what’s in front of her. In the beginning of this journey, it’s like, “Yeah, Raquel, there’s this woman. She’s in a man’s world, and she’s doing all this for legacy, legacy, legacy.” But then it starts to get a little iffy in the way she uses her power and manipulates the people she loves. She does lose sight of it, but I don’t think it’s because she wants to. I think she still thinks that she’s doing this for a purpose. She’s doing this because she has to. But Joaquin was 100% right about that for sure.
Speaking of manipulation, do you think that Raq ever anticipated telling Marvin the truth about who killed Lou? Or was it something she just did as a reaction?
Miller: I think it was a reaction. I think that one thing you can know about her is she’s good at keeping a secret. I think she would’ve protected that secret the entire time. But as the stakes grew even higher and she knew Kanan was in a dangerous space and had become an enemy, she needed her brother on her side. She’s always so good at having a card to play. She knows that she can’t do this really, truly without her brother. I don’t think she means to pull it out, but in that moment she saw an opening, and she took it.
Before he dies, Marvin accuses Raq of never really caring about him in Lou. How do you think that affects Raq in the final days of her life?
Miller: Raq has always been so good at keeping the traumas and all of the hurt at bay. It’s not because she doesn’t want to feel; she knows she doesn’t have the space to feel. I think that it’s a hurtful thing for Marvin to say that because, for her and in my own opinion, it’s like, “I have shown you so many times that I love you. Yes, I’m hard on you, but I went to war twice for you.” There have been so many opportunities where you could have seen if she really hated her brothers. With Lou, she loved him. She really did love him. Obviously, she loves the game, and she loves that they’re in it with her, but she raised [Marvin’s] daughter for him. That’s the ultimate act of love for me. So I think she’s feeling the words, and I think she’s realizing that even though she does love them, they feel this way. And it’s a lot. She’s just trying to put the pieces together and coming to terms with that. It’s devastating. It’s heartbreaking for her in the end, and then to lose him. I think she knows her time is coming. I think she’s ready for it. I think she’s not going to back down from it, which makes it even more devastating.
In the penultimate episode, just before Kanan kills Marvin, Marvin tells him that he will eventually meet a lonely, tragic end. It’s something that Juke reiterates when she reveals that she’s killed Raq. Do you think that disturbs him at all?
Curtis: A little bit. But at the end of the day, this story is about a mother and son. By the time Juke and Marvin are telling him the things that they’re saying, he already knows it. It’s more of a catharsis for them because they’ve been holding on to it. They’ve been just cleaning up his mess this entire time.
London Brown’s performance as Marvin this season is phenomenal; the character development is astounding. Did you always know that Marvin would get this sort of redemption story?
Penn: London is an unbelievable talent. I’ve been screaming this for as long as I’ve been doing this: all these actors deserve Emmy nominations. What people don’t really remember at this point is that in Episode 8 of Season 1, Marvin put his hands on his daughter because she’s a lesbian. London and I had many conversations about it, because he really felt like Marvin was irredeemable. He’s like, “Anyone who puts their hands on their daughter for that, how can anyone ever like him again?” And I said to him, “We can do it. I’m telling you we can do it, because here’s the thing about people in general: they have an incredible capacity for forgiveness.” I think that’s what’s happened with the audience: They forgave Marvin. He’s flawed, but he acknowledges his flaws, which, by the way, there aren’t many characters in this show that do that.
Sascha, do you think Raq is a good mother?
Penn: I’m always sort of intrigued when people talk about Raq as a mother. She’s not a good mother in any way. She uses her son to justify so many awful things. “I’m doing this for you” is the ultimate form of manipulation. During their final conversation, she still needs [Kanan] to say, “I love you.” She still is trying to get that. You see Kanan’s maturation in that moment where he says to her, “No, we’re past all that. That doesn’t matter anymore.” And Raq can’t get past it. She’s a narcissist, and she needs that, and she can’t get it.
Patina, do you think Raq anticipated that Juke would take her out?
Miller: I don’t think she ever would’ve thought in a million years, just like Marvin would’ve never thought in a million years that Kanan would ever do that to family. That would’ve never crossed her mind, especially for someone she raised, accepted, was there for and loved. I know it’s devastating for her. But even in that split second where she realizes this is happening, there’s nothing she can do about it. And again, she never backs down. Those last few seconds of her going for her gun. I don’t even know if she would’ve ever used it had she gotten to it, but that’s just that thing in her that is never willing to back down.
Mekai, when Kanan goes to Raq’s house and sees her body on the floor, what was that like for you?
Curtis: It’s devastating, but it is poetic; Raq’s not super innocent. We all love to root for her. She’s the ultimate antihero, but she’s also done her own wrongs. I think as Mekai, I went into that last episode trying to play an overhanging grief, knowing that that was going to happen. Not necessarily having control of it, but understanding what Kanan did and how this was going to come back to him.
Raq is one of the most iconic characters I’ve ever seen on television, and her journey has been phenomenal to watch. What have you learned from her these last five seasons?
Miller: I think what I’ve learned from her is, honestly, her perseverance. I’ve learned to own my voice. I’ve learned how to walk in my power. I’ve learned to trust myself more, honestly. I gained so much confidence from the very first season through the last episode of season five. I’ve learned to trust my gut, trust my instincts. I’ve learned, even through the craziness and messiness of her relationship, what it truly means to be bonded to someone. Loving my child the way that I do. When I first started the show, I was a new mom, and I just desperately wanted to be a good mother. Raquel’s battling that same thing of just not really knowing how, but wanting to be in her version of being a good mom. I’ve learned to give myself grace, but I think the biggest thing is the confidence to walk into spaces, own them and be yourself.
As the narration says, as this series closes, this is in many ways just the beginning for Kanan. We’re going to see him again in “Power: Origins,” the Tommy and Ghost origin story. Can you share anything about what we can expect to see of the character and how this will continue for you?
Curtis: Just buckle up. I had a lot of fun putting those 18 episodes together. I said it about “Raising Kanan,” but literal blood, sweat and tears stretched me in ways that I didn’t know were possible. But I’m extremely proud. I feel accomplished and ready for the world to see it. Not just my performance, but the entire show. There’s something different to it. I think with every spinoff that we’ve gotten to do and every spinoff that Sascha’s been a part of, he continues to up the ante. “Origins” is very much up there. We’re constantly pushing the boundary. We’re just trying shit, but I think it all worked out. I’m excited for people to go on that ride with us.
Penn: It’s a true privilege to be able to continue the story. First and foremost, tonally the show is very different than “Kanan.” “Kanan,” I think we can agree, is pretty dark. “Origins” is a lot more fun. I sort of crafted it as much more of a two-hander like “48 Hours.” It has a real levity. Not to say there isn’t any darkness, and there is obviously violence and action. We do see Kanan more as the 50 Cent version than the “Raising Kanan” version. But the heart and soul of the show is the relationship between Ghost [Spence Moore] and Tommy [Charlie Mann]. I think this is what the “Power” fan base has really been clamoring for. This is their story. The access point to “Origins” is like, just flip it on. You’re along for the ride. You don’t have to have watched “Power” before. It’s just another incredible ensemble cast we’ve assembled. Again, it is not dark like “Raising Kanan,” and it’s not as glitzy and glamorous as “Power.” It’s somewhere in between. We’re still in South Jamaica.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
