*As Power Book III: Raising Kanan heads into its fifth and final season, MeKai Curtis is bringing Kanan Stark to the most dangerous stage of his origin story yet: the moment where survival, power, and emotional damage all start speaking the same language.
The hit STARZ drama has spent four seasons showing how Kanan moved from a kid desperate to prove himself into someone who understands that power does not come free. Speaking with EURweb, Curtis said that shift is at the center of Kanan’s final-season evolution.
“I think it’s understanding that power has a cost,” Curtis said. “I think now more than ever, Kanan is realizing what Raq was talking about when she took him out to the beach at the end of episode one in season one.”
That callback matters because so much of Kanan’s journey has been about trying to escape the influence of his mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas, played by Patina Miller. But the cruel joke of the Power universe is that running from someone does not mean you are not becoming them.
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Curtis said Kanan may not fully recognize that transformation yet.
“I don’t think he necessarily realizes he’s becoming her yet,” he explained. “He is so dead set in his own way of becoming who he thinks he or who he wants to be. He doesn’t necessarily understand that he’s exemplifying a lot of the things that he didn’t want to be via his mother.”
Season 5 also brings long-awaited mythology into motion with the arrival of Breeze, played by Shameik Moore. For Power fans, Breeze has never been just another name. He is part of the foundation of what Kanan eventually becomes. For Curtis, the Kanan-Breeze dynamic is layered with tension, mystery and mutual curiosity.
“There’s a lot of layers and dynamics and secrets at play,” he said. “There’s a lot that I think the two are trying to figure out about each other, but there’s also something that they can’t get away from each other about.”
Still, even as Kanan gets colder, Curtis said the show has always worked to keep the humanity of these characters intact.
“He didn’t just get colder just to get colder,” Curtis said. “It’s extremely easy to get caught up in the queen pin, drugs and guns of it all, but the core of this story is a family and how they protect themselves against the world.”
That family story gets even more complicated as Kanan searches for love, loyalty and guidance in all the wrong rooms.
“The people closest to you can be your safest bet or your most dangerous adversary,” Curtis said. “In his mind, it’s him against the world.”
Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 premieres Friday, June 12, with new episodes streaming weekly on Fridays on the STARZ app and across all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms. Episodes also air Fridays at 8 PM ET/PT 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-Thu on KBLA Talk 1580 from 6PM to 7PM.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: STARZ Releases Trailer for Final Season of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’
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