*Season four of the hit STARZ crime drama “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” sets the stage for Kanan Stark (MeKai Curtis) to take his biggest steps toward becoming the ruthless figure we know from the Power universe. But despite his growing confidence in the game, his biggest weaknesses remain his mother, Raq (Patina Miller), and his own internal conflicts.
MeKai Curtis and showrunner Sascha Penn talked exclusively with EUR to discuss Kanan’s emotional journey, his battle for independence, and why his need for love and approval could be his downfall.
After three seasons of learning the hard way, Kanan started to move with more strategy, but his greatest vulnerability was still his mother.
“His blind spot is his mother, per usual,” Curtis revealed. “At its core, Raising Kanan is a family drama. We’re watching a son do everything to protect his mother, and a mother do a lot of things in the name of protecting her son.”
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Even though Kanan has grown more independent, there’s still an undeniable pull toward Raq.
“Family will always be a weak spot or a blind spot for anybody,” Curtis added. “No matter what shortcomings your parents might have had, there’s always something in you that wants to love them. No matter how disappointing they have been, you still want that approval.”
But this season, the more Kanan learns, the more distance grows between them.
“There’s more and more that Kanan unfolds and discovers that pushes him further away from his mother,” Curtis said. “But at the same time, he still wants that love. And he’s finding that love in other places—with Snaps, with Pops, with Crystal, with Juke. He’s building a world for himself, but part of it is still for her approval.”
While Raq remains a defining influence, Penn believes Kanan’s other biggest blind spot is his own identity.
“Kanan still doesn’t quite know who he is, and he’s still trying to figure that out,” Penn explained.
He added: “That’s a complicated journey because so much of who he is has been informed by his mother, and yet he has this very complicated relationship with her.”
As Kanan takes on more responsibility in the game, he still lacks the experience to fully grasp what’s at stake.
“He’s a kid,” Penn continued.”I have younger sons, and at 17 or 18, they know enough that you can let them out of the house, but on some level, they’re still five years old in their brains. They don’t have great executive function yet.”
That immaturity, combined with the high-risk world Kanan is stepping into, creates a dangerous mix.
“A lot of his journey this season is trial and error,” Penn said. “He tries something, it goes poorly. He tries something else. He’s been put in these adult situations, but he’s still his mother’s child.”
By the end of season four, however, something shifts. “I don’t know if I’d say he sees things with sharper focus, but he starts to view the world through a very specific lens,” Penn teased. “And that starts to wreak real havoc on his life—and on his sense of himself.”
As MeKai Curtis put it, “He’s building a life for himself, but the past is never really gone.”
New Raising Kanan Season 4 episodes drop Thursdays at midnight on the STARZ app and Fridays on STARZ.
Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. Follow her socials @StilettoJill or visit JillMunroe.com. Catch her live M-F on KBLA Talk 1580 from 6PM to 7PM.
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