‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’: Raq Is a Combination of Ghost and Monet

Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 is underway, and fans are already reeling from a wild ride. After attempting to kill Detective Malcolm Howard (Omar Epps), Kanan (Mekai Curtis) has returned home to Queens. His drug queenpin mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas’ (Patina Miller), has expanded her business into mob territory despite warnings.

Moreover, everyone, including Kanan and Raq’s brothers, Marvin (London Brown) and Lou Lou (Malcolm Mays), are increasingly wary of her ambitions. In fact, Raq has become a combination of Monet Tejada (Mary J. Blige) and James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick).

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Power Book III: Raising Kanan episode 202]

‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s Raq could be alive in the present

Raq is one of the most compelling characters in Raising Kanan. The drug queenpin has been able to outsmart everyone in the drug world, despite sexism and misogyny and she’s currently at the top of her game. In fact, some fans believe that Raq is alive in the present.

In Power, when Kanan was released from prison after 15 years, he said he was going to visit his mother. However, he did not specify if she was living or dead. We think Raq could still be alive.

Raq is a combination of Monet and Ghost

Fans have already known that Raq takes no prisoners in Raising Kanan. However, after episode 202, when she kills Scrappy, we know that Raq has taken things a step further. London Brown, who portrays her older brother Marvin on the show, says Raq is a combination of Monet and Ghost.

“I probably would say… Well, you know, it’s interesting because she [Raq] has the femininity of Monet, and so she’s holding down the end, but she got the authority of Ghost. So, she’s not to be played with, so I think she is almost a combination of the both of them in an interesting sort of a way,” Brown told Landon Buford. “Where she isn’t tough [enough] to where she loses her femininity, but she’s still very ladylike. She’s still gonna be nails done and hair whipped up, but you can’t cross her. She’s not to be played with or taken for granted. So, I’ll probably say maybe a combination of both.”

Let’s just hope she doesn’t meet the same fate as Ghost.

Patina Miller says she wants Raq to meet Monet and Tommy

In addition to Raq, Monet and Tommy are some of the most ruthless (living) characters in the Power Universe. Monet is dominating in Power Book II: Ghost, while Tommy is trying to take Chicago by storm in Power Book IV: Force. Miller says she would love the opportunity for her character to intersect with these two.

“I wish there was some sort of way, although Raq is in the prequel, that she could work with them,” she said during a SAG-AFTRA panel discussion “Obviously, I would jump at the opportunity. I don’t know what a Raq, Tommy, and Monet meeting would be like, but I bet it would be so interesting.”

Interestingly enough, if Raq is alive in the present, she would only be roughly 15-20 years older than both Tommy and Monet.