Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 6 Review:

Damn. This show is really hitting its stride.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 6 is probably the strongest hour yet, which is saying something because every single installment thus far has been way above average.

You can tell that every story is building toward its climax, and there’s no telling how things will shake out.

An unpredictable series is always the best kind of series.

I can firmly say that right now, I have no idea how many of these stories are going to shake out when all is said and done.

Take, for instance, Raq and her desire to expand the business no matter the cost. It leads her to another meeting with Boselli, where she hopes to broker peace and find an arrangement.

Her unwillingness to give in and give up is admirable, but you have to wonder if she’s not getting in over her head in some ways. Moving on the Italians after that first meeting went straight to hell, paved the way for Unique and Worrell to weasel their way right into her operation.

And even though she’s fully aware of what they did, there’s also not much she can do about it because she needs the New Jersey business, as her plans to expand mean developing an operation outside the city. So, again it makes sense why she’s doing what she’s doing, but perhaps she’s moving a little too quickly.

Unique is an opportunist, and he’s astute. Allowing him to live was probably a mistake because he was never going to go away, but it’s also not like anyone could have predicted he’d have a relationship with a mob boss operating out of Newark, New Jersey.

Raq: It’s a long game, Nique. It’s not about who starts. It’s about who finishes.
Unique: I ain’t gonna lie. It feels like I just hit the buzzer-beater, though.

In another universe, I could see Raq and Unique working together and building an empire because they’re a lot alike. They’re both stubborn, intuitive, and ruthless. The two of them together could set the world on fire.

But in this universe, they’re both unwilling to yield total control and power to anyone else.

It was okay when they were splitting the city because it still didn’t feel like one was necessarily above the other. But those days are gone, and all goodwill evaporated after failed murder attempts and false imprisonment.

Unique is out for himself, and a man who was once entirely on his own is now under Raq, mainly because she failed to do her due diligence.

This whole situation has disaster written all over it, and I’ve never been more interested in seeing how this plays out. Is there a possibility that Boselli screws them both over, and the two adversaries find themselves on the same team?

Might I get a taste of that universe where Raq and Unique have to depend on one another?

While Raq was suitably distracted, she gave Kanan extra responsibilities within the business, and things went left almost immediately. Poor Kanan couldn’t even get to the parking lot before getting robbed!

To this point, the Kanan we see in this prequel seems so different from the Kanan from Power. And you can probably chalk much of that up to his youth and inexperience. We’re literally seeing him get his first taste of life as a drug dealer, and it hasn’t been easy for him.

But here we get a little taste of future Kanan. The man with no conscience, no morals, and no problem pulling the trigger when necessary.

His beatdown of Freddy was so unlike the kid we’ve gotten to know, and it was almost like you could see the switch in him from the minute they took his bag. He wasn’t willing to be made a fool, and he wasn’t going to face his mother’s wrath and tell her that he messed things up the first day on the job.

If anyone has any idea what they’re trying to do with Palomar and Corinne, please let me know because I am lost.

Palomar is inappropriate on every single level, and considering Raq is Kanan’s mother, this most definitely feels like it will set up a situation where maybe Kanan develops a relationship with Palomar that threatens the one with his mother.

And the mother and son bond is only deteriorating the more he gets to know Howard, who pulls through for him in a big way when Raq and everyone else in his family can’t be bothered.

I can’t blame Raq for not wanting to stick her neck out for Famous, especially because Kanan doesn’t give her the full scope of the situation. He chooses to protect himself instead.

Going to Howard for help is a ballsy move, but if nothing else, Kanan can see that Howard wants to know him and, therefore, can be relied on for a favor. He probably shouldn’t keep asking for these favors, but it must be nice knowing that Howard is willing to help him.

I’m itching for more scenes between Howard and Kanan because it feels like there’s so much meat on the bone. What can these two learn from each other? How does Kanan’s relationship with Howard impact the man he becomes? And how does this relationship alter the one he has with his mother?

Sure, there’s time to get into all of this, but I’m greedy and want it now!

Howard has been laser-focused on getting to know Kanan and bridging that gap, but he should probably pay more attention to Burke because she is obsessed with finding out what he’s hiding. Of course, it’s staring her right in the face, and she has no idea, but once she figures it out, then what?

I’m still confused about what she’s trying to do here, but she’s getting closer and closer to the truth each hour. Perhaps it’s because I’ve immersed myself in the Power Universe for so long, but I have a bad feeling about Burke this season.

She’s playing with fire, and when you stick your nose places it doesn’t belong in this world, you typically don’t make it out alive.

Speaking of making it out alive, we have to pour one out for everyone’s favorite record producer.

Crown Camacho could not keep his mouth shut, which cost him. He caught Lou-Lou on a bad day, one in which people repeatedly questioned him about who he was and whether or not he was still the big dog that others could call upon to take care of business.

All you are is Raq’s baby brother. That’s all you’re ever gonna be.

Crown [to Lou-Lou]

We know that Lou-Lou has evolved beyond being Raq’s number one because he’s had his own thing at the recording studio. That’s his focus, and that’s where he wants to be, but just because that’s how he sees himself doesn’t mean everyone else will as well.

He’s still looked upon as Raq’s brother. An enforcer. A man that stands beside his sister as she makes the demands and calls the shots.

And Crown, who’s wanted Lou-Lou out of the studio from pretty much the minute he showed up, couldn’t help but twist the knife in his back one final time and remind him just who he really is.

Honestly, Crown is lucky Lou-Lou didn’t kill him sooner. He was doing Lou-Lou all kinds of dirty, and yet, I don’t think Lou was even planning on killing him when he walked into the building. It felt much more like a crime of opportunity. He pissed Lou off, Lou saw an auxiliary cord, and the rest was history.

We don’t know much about Crown to understand what kind of backlash his death could spark, but Lou will have to deal with Zisa now, who appears to be on board with hiding his secret, but it wouldn’t shock me to hear that she has some ulterior motives.

Lastly, during this hour, we had some brief scenes with Jukebox and Kenya, and it was not great to see how out of touch Kenya was with her daughter. She’s barely been around Juke, and she’s already trying to mold her into the daughter she wants to be, and it’s sad.

Jukebox is very uncomfortable with the outfits Kenya chooses for her, but it has to be difficult for her to push back against someone who’s just come into her life. And in everything that happened with Marvin, it’s clear that Jukebox is struggling.

Marvin is trying. He really is. And while I don’t know if there is anything he can do to atone for his sins, I do appreciate that he’s finally putting in some work to be a better person in his own way.

Going to see Kenya, as someone who has firsthand knowledge of who she is, felt less like a power play and more like a father who was concerned his daughter would be hurt again.

Kenya didn’t seem very receptive to Marvin’s threats, so I’m not expecting her to leave anytime soon. But instead of dragging Laverne all over town, she should sit down and get to know Jukebox.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• So, what will happen with the guy who saw Kanan shoot Howard way back when? They made a big show of showing him eyeing the pair before being led into the jail.

• Famous is such a great character. He never fails to make me laugh every week.

• Cartier and Raq need to get together and be the power duo they were meant to be.

I’m not ready for this season to end! Luckily we still have four more episodes to go!

Tell me in the comments what you thought about this installment and where you feel things are going!

After you leave your comment, watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan online, so you’re all caught up!

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Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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