Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Pay The Toll

Things are heating up as we head into the midway point of the season.

Raq is forever pushing forward and solving problems, but with so many things to juggle, she’s not fully aware of everything going wrong around her. And a lot is going wrong on Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 4.

You should never count Raq out because, time and time again, she’s shown that she is not one to be played with. But things are slowly but surely slipping out of her grasp.

Raq started Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 on such a high, but things have been going downhill since then.

Business-wise, her speedy expansion into New Jersey is crumbling before it’s even gotten a chance to start due to her lack of planning. It was shortsighted to venture into a whole new territory without doing any retcon on the area.

They’ve entered Italian turf and were wholly unprepared for it. And when it was time to figure out the next steps, the siblings were all over the place as usual.

The Raq and Lou-Lou split continues to widen, and at this point, I’m very curious to see what the plan is for these two. They’re both stubborn as hell and unwilling to yield (Raq more than Lou-Lou), and they’ve never been further apart. So, what will it take for these two to ultimately split for good?

Are we heading toward a total sibling split?

Marvin sits in the middle always, not particularly jumping at any of the opportunities to side against Raq since he’s gotten on her good side, even though you can tell at times he wants to push back some.

Marvin: I told you movin’ to Jersey gonna be a problem.
Lou-Lou: Being on the wrong side of them Italians is not a place we want to be, Raq.
Marvin: Them Italians don’t play.

So, it’s always two-on-one right now, with Lou-Lou doing himself no favors by failing at basically all of his current jobs.

I’ve always understood Lou-Lou’s need to have his own thing away from the business, but he’s never been able to find the proper balance. And he’s never been able to show Raq that the music business is profitable and not just a distraction. Knowing Raq, she would still be skeptical, but at least he’d have a leg to stand on.

It’s funny that Lou-Lou is so removed from the business, but he’s the first to speak up at the meeting with Boselli, mainly because he’s not in the mood to be murdered or nearly murdered again.

Raq’s play seems to be to call Boselli’s bluff, but again, does she really know what she’s getting into? Unique is a known quantity, in so much that she has a history with the man. She can anticipate his moves and knows the right ways to push back. 

She knows nothing about the Italians and underestimating your opponents will forever be one of the biggest mistakes a person can make.

Speaking of Unique, he appears to be on the come-up, as his talk about laying low and just wanting to be left alone was all an act. If he’s found himself in bed with the Italians, that’s a new level of diabolical for Unique because he’ll be a million steps ahead of Raq.

Blindly trusting Worrell in any way was always going to be a mistake, and while you’d think Raq would be prepared for his betrayal, she doesn’t seem to be. Assuming he would be loyal, especially with Unique out and out, was very naive.

But worrying about Worrell is very low on Raq’s priority list, as Kanan is slipping away, and she’s trying desperately to move forward.

It’s obvious Kanan isn’t sold on the things Raq sells him anymore. Gone are the days of him just listening and assuming she’s telling the truth. He’s doing his own research and connecting his own dots, which is a good thing.

He starts with Vernon, and then he ends with Howard himself.

Kanan isn’t dumb; he knows that his family loves him and wants to protect him, but you can also feel his increasing frustration with the way he’s pushed aside. He’s a kid, sure, but the minute Raq tasked him with killing a man, his father no less, was the minute his family should have taken the kid’s gloves off.

With each lie Raq tells Kanan, the more and more he will lie back and figure things out for himself. Starting with Howard is a good place, and deep down, he must realize that Howard is telling the truth more than he’s lying because what does he have to gain at this point?

Unless he tried to do some deep psychological warfare against Kanan and Raq, there is no reason for him to lie about something like this. Especially when a simple test could confirm or deny everything he’s saying.

I am indifferent to Howard, but he wants to know Kanan. His curiosity and pledge to be a father to him feel real, and doesn’t Kanan deserve to know him?

Of course, he does, but both Kanan and Howard need to remember who they’re dealing with her. Much like Raq shouldn’t underestimate Boselli, Howard and Kanan should never minimize Raq and what she’s capable of regarding her family.

It was a small but very intriguing moment when Jukebox mentioned meeting Kenya to Raq. Raq keeps calm in nearly every situation, but you can tell when she’s pissed off. And hearing about Kenya pissed her off.

And it’s beyond just the Marvin of it all. Raq doesn’t respect Kenya, and she doesn’t respect a parent leaving their child.

This feels like a classic case of Kenya, the long-lost parent, coming back into their child’s life and righting all past wrongs. Only for the child to soon discover that their parent is nothing like the person you want them to be.

Even if Kenya ends up being the absolute worse, I don’t think Jukebox will discover she was better off with Marvin all along because Marvin has not been the parent to Jukebox that he should have been. And while he’s trying in his own Marvin way to make things right, he still has a lot of work to do.

Marvin could have thrown in the towel and just given up on his relationship with Jukebox after what happened, but he is trying to make amends. The best thing he’s doing for Jukebox is giving her the space she’s asking for and waiting until she’s ready, if she’s ever ready, to extend him an olive branch.

I’m still waiting for Marvin to take some accountability, and maybe that day will come, but only then will it feel like he’s in the right place to have those tough conversations he needs to have with Jukebox. And it does appear like that’s where the story may be heading eventually.

At its core, Raising Kanan is all about family, and we’re getting so much of that this season, and it’s elevating things in a whole new way. New dynamics and evolving storylines make this a top-tier Power universe season.

Everything Else You Need To Know

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  Not sure what we were supposed to take away from Corinne and Palomar, but that whole exchange with Kanan was extremely weird.

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  Symphony came back to tell Raq to let him fly free, basically, and while I understand the sentiment, he’s also very capable of putting his foot down. She definitely needs to let him go, but he must be willing to do the same.

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  Raq’s moving into the countryside is for what reason exactly? Is it just because she can, or is there a bigger play here?

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  Unique is such a menace. Intimidating Juliana and then playing in Burke’s face! Give that man an inch, and he will run with it. He’s already got the tailor spot looking sleek once again!

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  Cartier and his sleek art gallery trying to lure Raq in! These two could be a very formidable duo.

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  Crown pushes Lou-Lou’s buttons far too much for someone who looks like he’s never been a fight a day in his life.

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  Nite and Day playing at Famous’s party when Crown shows up. I see you, Raising Kanan!

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  Raq is so rude to Lou-Lou, and it’s kind of sad but also hilarious.

Somehow we are already approaching midseason, and storylines are moving fast and furious! As Kanan seeks answers, it’ll be interesting to see what tales Raq weaves because I’m not sure she would even tell the truth if she were on her death bed.

Let me know in the comments how you see things playing out next, and make sure you watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan online right now so you can join the conversation!

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