This week’s episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan may not have been packed with nonstop action, but it delivered some of the season’s strongest character work while bringing several familiar faces back into the story.
With multiple storylines beginning to converge, the series continues setting the stage for what feels like an explosive endgame. Especially one episode after that brutal beatdown Kanan got from Marvin.
One of the biggest highlights came from Marvin finally addressing something that has been lingering since the season premiere. He called out the way Raq abandoned Lou after dropping him off at rehab. It was one of the coldest moments the show has delivered. Lou was broken, begging his siblings not to leave him, and Raq’s response was little more than holding his hand and telling him she loved him before driving away.
Marvin acknowledging that betrayal gave the moment the weight it deserved. Out of everyone left standing, Marvin remains the character who is easiest to sympathize with. He has spent the season trying to become a better man while continuing to carry the emotional burden of his family’s choices.
Kanan continues to evolve into the man audiences already know from Power, and the writers deserve credit for how consistent they have been with that transformation. One of his defining traits has always been his inability to accept criticism or being challenged. Whether it was his son Shawn, Jukebox, or the young man he killed in this episode, anyone who bruises his ego eventually becomes a target. That same overconfidence nearly got him killed when he believed he could eliminate Flossy. Had Kanan not been the central character of the series, that decision probably would have ended very differently.
His partnership with Jukebox also feels like it’s heading toward an inevitable confrontation with Snaps and Pop. It is easy to imagine the cousins joining forces, possibly even bringing Breeze into the equation. Another possibility is that Snaps and Pop are eliminated by someone else, with their deaths staged as an accident, allowing Kanan to continue working with Breeze without creating unnecessary conflict. Breeze has never had a connection to Famous, making it hard to believe revenge would factor into any future alliance.
Raq once again proved why she has remained one step ahead of nearly everyone around her. She immediately recognized Kanan’s poorly conceived plan and shut it down before it could unfold. Given how resourceful she is, it also raised questions about how she handled Kanan’s gunshot wound. She has talked her way through far more complicated situations over the years, making it seem entirely plausible that she could have created another believable cover story while getting him medical attention.
The episode’s biggest surprise came with the police captain’s death. At first glance, it looked like guilt had finally caught up with him, but the reality appeared far more complicated. He spent years protecting the department by covering up corruption rather than participating in it directly. As federal pressure mounted and dangerous people closed in, it became clear that every cover up had only delayed the inevitable. His death served as a reminder that even those trying to preserve the system eventually become casualties of it.
The introduction of Raq’s new ally continues to be one of the season’s more intriguing developments. She immediately saw through Kanan and Jukebox’s amateur attempt to manipulate her and never lost control of the situation. More importantly, her relationship with Marvin doesn’t feel romantic or transactional. She simply appears to value having someone she can trust. That makes her one of the few genuinely decent people left in this world, which unfortunately is often a dangerous position to occupy in Power.
While this wasn’t the fastest moving episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, it excelled at deepening relationships, paying off long simmering tensions, and positioning several major players for the conflicts still to come. With returning characters tying up loose ends and Kanan inching closer to becoming the ruthless figure fans know from Power, the series continues building toward what should be a memorable conclusion.
