Never say never.
We should know better by now as Power fans to assume anything because rarely are things exactly what they seem.
And Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3 Episode 10 was the kind of hour that makes you remember why the Power Universe is one of the best things on television.
This whole season has been building toward Raq versus Ronnie, Lou-Lou confronting his demons head-on, and Howard either getting away with it all or finally getting his comeuppance.
And the finale didn't disappoint in getting us a lot of answers.
Coming off the Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3 Episode 9 cliffhanger, we quickly learned that Raq and Marvin didn't kill their younger brother or leave him somewhere to fend for himself.
Instead, they enrolled him in a posh rehabilitation center, which wasn't surprising. No matter how frustrated they became with Lou-Lou, he's still family. And even in anger, they wanted to help their brother, even if it took them a long time to realize the kind of help he needed.
The two-week time jump was essential to show Lou-Lou past the detoxification phase on-screen and firmly enmeshed in his therapy. If there were more time this season, it would have been a wonderful opportunity to explore the first few days of substance abuse treatment.
But dropping us into the later stages of the beginning of his journey worked to show us Lou-Lou free from the physical effects of the alcohol and focusing on working through the twisted web of difficult emotions he's been grappling with.
Raq: Not everything meant to go out into the world, Lou. Some shit needs to stay close.
Lou-Lou: I'm speaking on feelings, Raq. My feelings. Shit that belong to me. Shit that matter to me.
A family session with Raq wasn't how I expected the hour to begin, but so much of Lou-Lou's pain comes from that strained relationship, so it made sense that she would be the one he'd want there to speak with first.
Raq and Lou-Lou's dynamic has always seemed more mother/son than sibling, unlike Raq's relationship with Marvin. There was a power dynamic at times, which Raq would often exploit to get Lou-Lou to do what she needed him to.
And when Lou-Lou fought back against that finally, he started to drown in the sorrow he felt for all the things he'd done.
The older you get, the more you realize that a lot of your anger about certain things is misplaced pain.
Raq often controls her anger, keeping it buried but simmering right under the surface. She's not necessarily one to come into a situation screaming her head off or throwing things; quite frankly, she can't afford to be like that.
But Raq's words are often cutting, and she's spent a lot of time cutting into Lou-Lou. That's not something she can deny.
She does it in their session, laughing at Lou-Lou "suddenly" having feelings and then turning everything back onto herself and what she's allowed to feel and not feel.
One of the most significant issues between the pair has always been their inability to listen to one another. Both have made valid points, and both have been wrong, but neither has been willing to think outside of themselves.
There were some sensational moments between the two, but perhaps the most profound being the one outside when Raq apologized, and Lou-Lou took ownership of his actions. That felt like the thing both of them were looking for from the other, and it didn't feel fake or forced.
One professional family session won't change decades more of trauma, but it was certainly the start they both needed.
For Lou-Lou, in order for him to fully heal, he will have to forgive himself. And to be frank, that may never happen.
His suicide attempt seemed to be born from the belief that he can't live with himself for the things he's done, nor can he be more than what he currently is.
His inability to go through with it highlights his mixed emotional state, but he's exactly where he needs to be inside that facility. Hopefully, he's very upfront with his doctor about what he did. And I think he will be.
Lou-Lou wants to punish himself, and he has to reframe that thinking to get to a place where he can just be okay with himself. And that's all he should be striving for at this point.
Just to be okay.
I worry about what life will be like for Lou-Lou when he inevitably comes back to the southside because things are just continuously changing there, and you can't ever really say it's for the best.
Raq's decision to blow up Ronnie and Kanan's operation was never going to be met with indifference and silence. She had to know Ronnie would do something, though she may not have concluded that something would be violent because of the Kanan of it all.
But she's been preaching about Ronnie being an uncontrollable variable all season, so his decision to go after her in broad daylight shouldn't have been as shocking as it seemed.
How Raq doesn't have a permanent bodyguard is beyond me, though she gets there in the end, at least while at home.
Raq made this huge move, and then when things started to get dangerous, she decided she was ready to bring herself to the big table to talk. And I don't blame Snaps and Pop for basically telling her they weren't interested.
She doesn't get to dictate everything, and she certainly can't be in control of all things. She knew very well that her actions could and would have consequences, but with her life suddenly in jeopardy, she wanted to call some truce?
Life doesn't work like that.
Now, everything seemed pretty straightforward during this episode, but considering where things ended up, many questions started to crop up about what was and wasn't true throughout the hour.
When Famous told Kanan about the shooting, Kanan seemed genuinely surprised. We've never really known Kanan to be some master actor, but was he acting?
I'm inclined to believe he wasn't, and his anger toward Ronnie when he bum-rushed him at the restaurant felt real, but then, at some point between that and his kidnapping, he and Ronnie cooked up a plan to get Raq to hand over a substantial amount of money.
I don't know what to believe about anything.
Is it possible Kanan cooked up the kidnapping, along with Ronnie, and didn't even tell Snaps and Pop? Or were they in on it as well?
I wish there were more insight into the machinations behind this whole plan, though they were obviously going for the big reveal at the end, which wouldn't work if the audience knew too much.
Assuming this was all Kanan, it's a genius way to get Raq and Ronnie in the same place and then do the dirty work himself.
I've been screaming at anyone who would listen that Ronnie had to go, and while he was never untouchable, it was beginning to feel like the only person who could take him out would be someone close to him.
And considering he didn't have anyone close to him, that person would have to be Kanan.
They've been quietly building up that tension between the two for some time now, especially as it became more apparent that they both felt they were in charge and neither would be willing to bend to the other.
Their partnership was born from greed and a hatred for Raq. There was no trust there, and that became clearer and clearer.
Killing Ronnie was best for Kanana because he'd become a threat that Kanan could no longer control.
So, was Ronnie's death shocking? I'd say yes and no.
Kanan pulling the trigger and staging his own kidnapping was certainly something to think about. We know Kanan to be callous and cunning, and this situation was certainly that.
Of the deaths this hour, the other one that took place in that warehouse was certainly more unexpected.
Although Howard has been living on borrowed time since we met him, he's done a pretty good job of protecting himself, even if he got sloppy at times.
I think Howard's lasted so long because he's been so selfish. He's been a lone wolf, and that meant not caring about anyone else. But learning about Kanan changed him in so much that he at least thought beyond himself.
But Howard also had this warped idea that he, Raq, and Kanan were all protecting each other, which was never the case.
Howard was never their family, and no matter how much he helped them, and he certainly did at various points, he would never be more important to them than their core nucleus.
When Howard talked to Raq about the three of them being some kind of unit, I knew he was somehow on his way out the door. Now, whether that be in prison or by a stray bullet, I wasn't sure, but there was just no way Raq would let him keep rambling on about flipping on Marvin.
Howard's been a very complex character, and perhaps once he killed Shannon, the writing was on the wall for where he'd end up.
As long as he was valuable to Raq, he had a place. But with the walls closing in on him, he had nothing else to do but take the fall.
When you look back on his whole character arc, it's odd that we never got much of him and Kanan together and seeing what that dynamic was like. But then again, that adds more to the Kanan Stark lore.
He almost killed his father without knowing he was his father, found out his twisted backstory, never got to know his father formally, and then watched his mother shoot him dead in cold blood.
That's a lot to process, and I think he never processed any of it throughout his life.
Whether or not Raq killed him, Howard's career was presumably over anyway, with Tanner and Baptiste going full-throttle in their pursuit of him. And it was kind of funny to see them interrogate everyone about Howard when Raq was the only person who would potentially have anything to say.
With Ronnie gone and Howard gone (seemingly taking all the blame with him to the grave), that essentially leaves Raq and Kanan with a do-over.
Will they decide to work on their issues and take on the business together? That would involve Kanan being okay with taking a backseat and coming to terms with his mother's lies.
I don't think that's very likely, though; there are many scenarios where associating with Snaps and Pop comes back to haunt Kanan, and he has no choice but to rely on Raq.
There are so many possibilities for the story moving forward, and that's to say nothing of the fact that UNIQUE IS ALIVE.
I hope you celebrate loudly if you were a Unique truther!
Unique looked dead, dead. But again, knowing how these series functions, we should know better by now. We watched adult Kanan get set on fire and live to see another day.
Has Unique been just sulking around the city watching Ronnie? And waiting for the perfect opportunity to slink out of the shadows?
I'm overjoyed that Unique is alive, especially if it means we can revisit him and Raq while potentially putting them back at odds in the crowded southside streets.
Season 4 can not come soon enough.
Everything Else You Need To Know
- You've got to feel for Marvin because he lost a friend in Gerald. It's telling that even after the betrayal, he still paid his respects, even from afar.
- Hopefully, we get some Marvin and Lou-Lou deep dives in season 3. I really enjoyed their scenes this season, and there's a lot to explore there with the two brothers heading down different paths.
- Famous getting jammed up could affect everyone next season. He's no snitch, but Famous in prison? I can't see it.
- Krystal is pregnant, and it's safe to assume that the baby will be Shawn.
- Jukebox wanting to get the hell out of town, while Kanan commits himself to forever being in New York. Knowing Jukebox will eventually return and die in the place she wanted so badly to leave makes her story all the more heartbreaking.
- Iesha and Jukebox were so sweet together! It's a shame they never got a chance to explore their connection, assuming Jukebox really is headed out of town.
It'll be interesting to see how Stefano fits into things in the future. He has a soft spot for Raq, which she may be able to use to her advantage.
All around, there was a lot to enjoy about this season, even if things were a bit slower.
Leaving things on one hell of a cliffhanger will have me buzzing until the series returns!
What did you all think about the finale? What are you most looking forward to?
Leave me a comment below to discuss it all! And thanks for taking the ride with me this season!
