‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’: Raq Is Causing Problems for Herself Just Like Ghost
Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 is showcasing just how ruthless Raquel “Raq” Thomas’ (Patina Miller) is. Despite warnings from her brothers, Marvin (London Brown) and Lou Lou (Malcolm Mays), Raq is expanding her business into mob territory.
Moreover, her lies are beginning to directly affect her relationship with her son, Kanan (Mekai Curtis). It seems she is causing problems for herself just like James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) did in Power.
Patina Miller says Raq is much more than a ruthless queenpin in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’
Fearless, vengeful, and determined to get what she wants, Raq bows to no one. In fact, she’s even put Kanan in harm’s way to try and cover up her problems and lies. Though fans see her as increasingly vicious, Miller says there is much more to her character than her profession.
“I try to shy away from playing her as a ruthless queenpin,” the actor told Shondaland. “She is a businesswoman, a CEO. For a Black woman in the 1990s, which is the time the show is set in, she has made this world for herself. She has decided to do something for herself. She’s great with numbers. If she lived in a different time, she would probably be the CEO of a company. She is building her empire, unafraid of going out toe-to-toe to people. She is heard and loud.”
Still, we can’t help but notice that Raq is walking the same path that Ghost did.
In ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ Raq is causing problems for herself, just like Ghost
In the Raising Kanan Season 1 finale, Raq visits her mother at church as an alibi for Detective Howard’s (Omar Epps) shooting. We know that Raq, Marvin, and Lou Lou’s parents were addicts. As a result, Marvin took care of the siblings and began selling drugs to survive. In the scene at church, Raq questions her mother about her upbringing and how that has shaped her today. However, Raq’s mom takes no responsibility. Instead, she says, “Your mama ain’t you’re problem Raquel, you are.”
To a certain extent, this is true. Because of her arrogance and her need for power and control, Raq is creating problems for herself, just like Ghost did in Power. London Brown, who portrays Marvin on the show, sees the similarities.
“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.”
However, as we know for Ghost in Power and even with Monet in Power Book II: Ghost, both thought they were in a position to always win, which became their downfall.
Raq may have survived into the present day
Still, Raq is extremely smart; there is a chance she survives into the present day. In Power Season 2, Episode 2, Kanan tells Tommy he visited his mother. However, he does not specify where he visited her.
For her part, Miller thinks Raq might still be around. “Her goal is to leave something, her legacy for her family, but more so if she gets knocked down, she’s gonna get back up,” the actor told Express U.K. “And you’re gonna see that grit, that determination, that passion, that, like, ferociousness. She’s a fighter, and she’s a survivor. It’s what she is, and she’s always done, and don’t ever count her out.”
