(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book III: Raising Kanan episode will be found below.)
After a one-week break for the holiday season, Power Book III: Raising Kanan is back with a new episode. The sixth episode in the show’s third season, titled “Into The Darkness,” followed a shocking episode five that left viewers to sit and digest for two weeks: Unique is dead. The character played by Joey Badass was killed by his brother Ronnie, a new character in Power Book III: Raising Kanan season, and in this week’s episode, we see exactly why Ronnie did what he did.
Ronnie killed Unique to appeal to Juliana, a Colombian drug connect, in hopes that she would work with him and supply him drugs. His plan was a success and she agreed to partner with him, so long as her husband was kept out of the deal. Ronnie buys a few keys of cocaine, gets Snaps and Pop on board, and then recruits Kanan to join him. It took a party and a picture with some high-profile drug dealers from the city, but Kanan got over his initial reluctance and agreed with work with Ronnie.
The federal investigations in Queens continue, and in a surprise twist, Marvin is now on their radar as they were able to theoretically connect him to the murder of Sal. All that’s left is for them to find evidence to connect the two, but with Marvin running into a drug customer during a catch-up with Gerald, you get the feeling that the walls are closing in on Marvin. The timing couldn’t be worse for Marvin as things in his personal life are finally on the up and up.
His daughter Jukebox was picked for a girl group, and in episode six, the trio that consists of singers Krystal, Iesha, and Jukebox herfled, performs for label executives and though the girls thought they did well, their manager feels otherwise. Their manager voices her frustration at the group’s lack of leadership, something that Jukebox aims to correct after a conversation with Marvin. Elsewhere, Kanan and Famous’ friendship takes a turn for the worse while Raq meets with Lou-Lou to apologize for her wrongs, but it doesn’t go quite like she planned.
Here are some of the major points and questions we had after the sixth episode of season three:
Kanan Is In The Big Leagues Now
Kanan’s weed delivery system continues to be a success, despite all that Raq has done to slow it and Kanan down. With that success comes attention from others and Kanan received just that from Ronnie. Kanan was initially intimidated by Ronnie’s presence, and rightfully so as Ronnie takes sinister and menacing to a whole new level. Luckily for Kanan, it seems like Ronnie’s approach to him was in hopes of making a business deal with him as he admired Kanan’s progress with his own business. After some initial hesitation, Kanan accepts Ronnie’s deal, which includes monetary support from OG drug dealer Snaps (Wendell Pierce) and his wife Pop (Erika Woods). With this deal, it’s no longer weed that Kanan is dealing with. Now he’s in the big leagues as cocaine will be his main product. The big leagues mean higher rewards, but the risks are also higher, which Kanan is hopefully ready for.
The Spotlight Is Jukebox’s For The Taking
By the end of “Into The Darkness,” Jukebox is left to accept one thing: talent is never enough. After their first performance for label executives, Krystal, Iesha, and Jukebox’s manager criticizes them for being sub-par and for not having the qualities necessary to seize the lead role. She says Krystal is too entitled for it at the moment, Iesha underestimates herself too much for it, and Jukebox is too in the middle for it. The manager goes as far as to question whether or not Jukebox truly wants to be in the group and be successful. Afterward, Jukebox takes a look in the mirror and realizes that she can be the leader the group needs. She can keep Krystal in check and make sure that Iesha keeps her confidence while keeping up with the group. The spotlight is Jukebox’s for the taking, all she has to do is seize it.
Can Raq And Lou-Lou Patch Things Up?
Raq and Lou-Lou’s relationship has been in the gutter since the end of last season when Lou-Lou learned that Scrappy did not snitch on them and that he was ultimately murdered for no reason. The trauma from that has been heavy on Lou-Lou, and add in Raq’s initial refusal to let him walk away from the game, and you can see why Lou-Lou is so angry with Raq. Episode six also reveals that Lou-Lou has some anger towards himself and his inability to say “no” to Raq sometimes, specifically in the case of Scrappy, as he reveals in his conversation with Raq at Cafe Vous. Raq is at the bar to apologize to Lou-Lou and hopefully start to repair their relationship, but that attempt turns into a blame game. Lou-Lou blames Raq, his big sister, for leading him incorrectly and instructing him to do things he regrets like killing Scrappy while Raq blames him for not being man enough to say no if he wanted to. There’s truth on both sides, but for the task of repairing their relationship, who’s at fault doesn’t matter as they both have their wrongs and faults to accept. This conversation is a start, but the two will both have to show some sympathy to the other side if any real progress wants to be made.
Marvin Can’t Hide His Double Life Or Outrun His Past
It was getting too good to be true for Marvin. For a few weeks, he was the perfect character with minor problems at best. He’s working on being a better father to Jukebox, which has its ups and downs. He’s been there for Raq and Lou-Lou as well as Gerald — Marvin has just been better overall. Despite all of that, his past is catching up with him. We see it when the gentleman Marvin sold drugs to approaches him in the park during his meeting with Gerald. We see it again as federal investigators piece together Marvin’s involvement in Sal’s murder. The walls are closing in a bit on Marvin and it’s unfortunate for him because, and I know I keep saying it but, things have been going so well for him!!! The truth is a double life won’t work for Marvin, especially if he wants to be friends with a local journalist or not put his daughter at risk during her blossoming music career. He also can’t outrun his past and has to be ready for whatever consequences arise as a result of it.
What’s The Catch With Ronnie?
If Ronnie was willing to go as far as to kill his brother Unique to get into the game, there has to be a bigger catch for him with his partnership alongside Kanan. It’s something that Kanan isn’t seeing yet, because killing Unique wasn’t an absolutely necessary move for Ronnie to get back in the game. I will say it was the easiest and most immediate move he could make to get a foot back in the game. Yet still, killing Unique to get a drug supplier to trust him and give him product to then reel in Kanan into a deal with Snaps and Pop to sell it, seems a bit overdramatic (which is typical of the Power Universe). In situations like this, you can almost be certain there are other things that complete the big picture of Ronnie’s plan. We’ll just have to wait and see what ends up being in the next episodes of Power Book III: Raising Kanan
New episodes of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.