*In season two of the hit Starz crime drama “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” we watched Raquel Thomas (Patina Miller) expanding her empire while struggling to retain a connection with her son Kanan (Mekai Curtis).
Meanwhile, her brothers and loyal soldiers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou Lou (Malcolm Mays) were battling their own struggles both within the family and business. The explosive season finale, “If Y’Don’t Know, Now Y’Know,” left viewers with several questions about Raq, Kanan, and the family’s future.
Showrunner Sascha Penn talked exclusively with EUR about the finale and gave hints of what to look forward to in the future.
*Warning, this interview contains spoilers.
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This season, we watched Raq establish new ties, how many of her decisions backfired, and how connections double-crossed her. Raq’s battle with Sal (Michael Rispoli) and the New Jersey Mafia resulted in bodies dropping everywhere.
Penn shared that the idea to include the Italians was not something the writers initially set out to do in season one, but once they started building out the world, they felt it made sense to include them.
Raq was putting things in place to become the “boss of all bosses. We spent a good part of the season having Raq making these moves to get her business in order and ultimately take over and expand her operation. But, as is often the case, there are always unintended consequences. She bumped into some people along the way. And, as you get bigger, your enemies get bigger. She moved from Unique (Joey Badass) to the Italians, creating massive problems for her by the end of the season.”
In addition to Raq’s business problems, her relationship with Kanan has fallen apart. We watched as her son developed a relationship with Det. Howard (Omar Epps), who we now know is Kanan’s birth father. We saw a glimpse of the ruthless Kanan that fans of the original “Power” series became familiar with over six seasons. Penn shared that the road to that version of Kanan is all a part of the journey and learning about the people that shaped him.
“We have this character on a journey, and part of the story we’re telling is who was pivotal in turning him into the Kanan that we saw 50 portray (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) in the original Power. So, every choice we make is deliberate,” Penn explained. “There isn’t one path. We can’t start him in the same place where he ended up in the original Power because that’s not interesting. And that’s not even true to life. We all are the total of our experiences and interactions.
Penn continued, “As the seasons progress, assuming God willing, we get more than after season 3. You’ll see the pieces that are the building blocks of Kanan’s story that ultimately bring him to be the character you know in the original Power.”
Penn said that in season three, we will see Raq deal with the repercussions of her actions, a new connection with Unique, and make changes for Kanan. We’ll have to wait until then to see how things ultimately play out.
