Power Book III: Raising Kanan Has Raq Going Nuclear as Kanan Becomes the Biggest Threat of All

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

For Raq to go nuclear, her back truly had to be up against the wall.

We’ve seen her in various positions that seemed insurmountable, and she’s always found a way out. But to give up Kanan to Marvin in a moment of sheer panic?

Raq’s officially reached the point where she’s realized her son is a bigger problem than she ever could have imagined.

After the failed hit on Stefano during Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 4, Raq and Marvin knew they were in trouble, and it’s clear how much Lou-Lou is missed as the two siblings continuously butt heads over things.

Raq always wants to assess every situation from every angle, while Marvin is a reactor.

He sees a problem, and he follows his instincts to solve it. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s not always the wrong decision.

But in this scenario, Raq was banking on her connection with Pino and the money she was making him to help keep her safe, which was a safe bet, albeit a little shortsighted.

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Stefano since we met him, it’s that he carries a grudge. He’s vindictive, and he’s clever, and there was never a universe where he was going to turn the other cheek after Raq tried to get him whacked.

Raq choosing to just act as if she had nothing to do with the hit on Stefano when talking to Pino was comical because it’s not as if she thought Pino was buying it, but she still had to stick to the story that she wasn’t behind it.

What’s worrisome about Raq’s position right now is that everything depends on her business flourishing. If she’s not producing for Pino and Flossie, she’s of no use to them and has no protection.

Pino’s been an interesting addition thus far, and Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 5 felt like the first time we got to see how he operates.

There’s obviously no love lost between the two bosses, but while Stefano is outwardly menacing, Pino’s a little more casual with it. There’s no doubt he’s a killer, same as Stefano, but he’s a little quieter about it.

Stefano is quick to cut people down and issue threats, but Pino is a little less bold and hides behind a smile.

Considering we only have a few more episodes left, I’d love for the focus to be on Raq and Kanan, but there’s something inherently fun about seeing Tony Danza and Joe Pantoliano go up against each other every week.

Stefano making the rounds to all of Raq’s enemies shows just how much she’s gotten under his skin, and that was before she wanted him dead. He’s always felt like he’s above Raq, as many of these men do, and when she didn’t give in to his demands earlier this season, he decided she was persona non grata.

When Pino didn’t budge, he pulled Kanan, Breeze, and Flossie to get them to do his dirty work.

Breeze was the only one who bit, and I do wonder if Stefano will eventually keep pressing Raq enough that he ultimately pushes everyone else away.

Either way, it’s very unlikely that Pino and Stefano both make it out of this season alive.

It’s always fascinating to see how people approach Kanan about Raq, because no matter what he says, how does one trust that he’d ever truly go against his mother?

Of course, we know there is no love lost between them, but from the outside looking in, how does Stefano believe that Kanan would truly side with him when push came to shove? He has no allegiance to him outside of the shared business, and why would that be enough?

Breeze is smart enough to recognize that, to truly get Kanan, he needs to hammer home the idea that they are long-lost brothers bonded by their dead drug-dealing superstar daddy.

Kanan knows it’s all crap, but there’s no reason to let Breeze in on that when they’ve got a good thing going.

The dynamic between Breeze and Kanan has been growing steadily, but you can still tell these are two alphas learning how the other works. They’re a good team, and they can sense that, but it still feels like there’s a wall between them.

They aren’t in competition with each other, but they’re still figuring the other one out. And it’s a fun little cat-and-mouse game they’re playing right now. But how long will that last?

This hour proved to be a bit of a defining moment in the series as things played out, with Raq becoming increasingly overwhelmed by her situation.

It wasn’t like the walls were closing in on her just yet, but she could tell she wasn’t in a comfortable position at all. And pulling one of Kanan’s messenger boys off the streets felt a little desperate, but also showed she was finally taking Kanan seriously as a threat.

Both she and Marvin have failed to see the kind of man Kanan has become, or more likely, they’re unwilling to. Kanan’s still a kid in their eyes, and definitely still making kid mistakes, but he’s far from some incompetent new player in the game.

And that’s to say nothing of the people who have gathered behind him.

We’re seeing Kanan become increasingly violent and menacing, and it’s such a treat to see MeKai Curtis fully embody and embrace this side of Kanan.

Kanan’s reached a point where he’s setting himself up to be completely opposite of his family, even if it may not seem like it on the surface.

Kanan’s side is in Queens, and Raq’s is in Manhattan, but there’s overlap, history, and a lot of animosity. Stefano coming to him was as much about gauging his feelings as it was further reiterating that the side he’s on is firmly plotting against Raq, and thus his family.

Kanan’s okay with that because he’s made it very clear how he feels about his mother. And I’m inclined to believe him at this point.

Raq’s a different story.

She’s done a lot of cleaning up for Kanan and a lot of protecting, but she’s also done a lot of lying and a lot of looking out for her own interests before looking out for her son.

It’s very fair to say that, in some ways, she’s getting what’s been coming to her, but in other ways, you can see that she’s done so much for Kanan that Kanan has repaid her with venom and judgment.

Their relationship has always been a slippery slope, and you’ll talk yourself in circles trying to justify why one is “better” than the other, or why one deserves more compassion than the other.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan has done a masterful job over the years of fleshing out these two deeply imperfect characters, giving them the space and nuance to be complicated and to exist within that complexity.

I constantly find myself warring with understanding Raq and agreeing with her, then feeling confused or disappointed by her choices. That emotional push and pull is the hallmark of truly great character writing and one of the reasons she’s always been so compelling.

She’s now at a point where she sees that while she’s not losing, she’s also not winning. And she’s been pushing Kanan to the back of her mind, focusing on the work and only the work, but she could only ignore Kanan for so long.

When she shot the poor boy, I knew that she’d officially come unglued in a way we hadn’t seen from her in a while. Even when Raq loses herself, you can hardly tell, because she will parlay it into making sense one way or the other.

There was no reason to kill that boy, and there was no reason to tell Marvin about Kanan outside of her realizing that she was losing her grip on the situation, Marvin, and everything around her.

Raq can exist within the chaos, but she has to feel she controls it. That’s not what’s happening right now, and in many ways, it hasn’t been for some time.

By telling Marvin that Kanan killed Lou-Lou, she knew Kanan would be dealt with, and she could feel in control again. Control of Marvin and, by extension, everything else, because she knew that Marvin was going to leave a mark on Kanan that he would never forget.

But we then circle back to the fact that no one understands just what kind of monster Kanan has become.

I wonder if this will be the real turning point for Kanan Stark. The moment when everything shut off, and he turned into the kind of man who would murder his own child in cold blood.

Marvin gave him the beating of a lifetime, and he should have finished the job if we’re being honest.

I wonder if Jukebox ever regretted stopping her father that day, because it’s very likely that it changed the trajectory of their lives.

It certainly changes Power Book III: Raising Kanan and prepares us for the final days of this piece of the universe.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• I’m loving this side plot of Jukebox entering the business and seeing how she starts to break away from her family. Marvin’s trying, weakly, to steer her away, but everyone in that family was doomed from the start.

• Justice for Famous! At least there’s someone out there still trying to avenge his murder.

• When did Garcia get so tough? He’s really doing the most when nobody told him he had to become a dirty cop!

• Jarita is soft-launching her departure from Flossie to become Kanan’s full-time girlfriend. I wish someone would tell her to run!

• Joaquin coming back for one week only to be taken out the next. And that foreshadowing of Breeze’s own demise? Perfection.

• Submit that confrontation between Patina Miller and London Brown for every award possible.

Everything changes from here on out, and the series continues to reach new heights, gifting us with one of the greatest scenes in the entire Power Universe.

There’s much to discuss with this one, so don’t be shy! Let me know in the comments where you see things going over the final hours!

You can watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan at midnight on the STARZ app. On linear, it airs on STARZ at 8:00 pm ET/PT in the U.S.