GoKawiilThis article contains spoilers for the Season 5 premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
Fans have always known that Kanan Stark was a loner, but with the closeout season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, it's becoming clearer and clearer how he got there. The series ended its fourth season with a blank screen and a gunshot, leaving viewers wondering if Kanan (MeKai Curtis) shot his mother, Raq (Patina Miller), or if something else happened after their charged confrontation.
Now back with the premiere for its fifth and final season, the show sealed the fate of one of its characters, Lou Thomas, played by Malcolm Mays. In a gut-wrenching opening scene, Kanan accidentally shoots his Uncle Lou-Lou, who moved to stop his bodyguard from shooting at Kanan. Lou, bleeding, looks starkly at his nephew before he drops to the floor. In a blink, Raq rushes to him, but he dies in his sister's arms. Make no mistake: This death sets the tone for the rest of season 5, and Miller shared how it felt saying goodbye to the character -- and Mays.
Patina Miller was heartbroken over Lou's death in Raising Kanan. Her character, Raq, will need to come to terms with some things. Starz
"It wasn't easy," she said. "This whole unit -- we really love this material, and we love these characters. I feel like we were cast so perfectly in these roles." Miller shared that when Mays first got the role and before she learned who he was, he warmly reached out to her via direct message to greet her.
"We went into this with love, and he is someone who is so dear to me," said Miller about their work on the series. "I've had such amazing moments with Malcolm on screen, and we've been able to just be safe for each other to play, and some of my best work is with him playing Lou-Lou. It was pretty devastating. I'll say that."
Viewers have seen the relationship between Raq and Lou have its highs and lows, with her behaving harshly or, at times, betraying his trust. As Lou's older sister, Raq had the tendency to be bossy, but it was tempered with protection and love.
"That performance is a character saying goodbye to her brother, but it's only that real because of the love that I, Patina, have for Malcolm as a human. To not be able to finish this story with him was heartbreaking."
She pointed out that we don't know who will survive Power, and when she read the script for this episode, it hit her in the heart. "To know that Lou-Lou was riding for Raq in the end and to know the relationship of just how much she loves him… it was devastating." According to Miller, Lou's death will affect the story in the next episodes. "The bond is broken. Someone's missing now."
Showrunner and executive producer Sascha Penn explained how Lou-Lou's death was a natural part of the series' storytelling. "The story kind of tells us which way it wants to go," he said, adding that it evolved in its own way. "In the case of Raising Kanan, we always aimed to tell the origin story of this incredibly polarizing character who was scary and violent. What are the things that he did to turn him into that guy?"
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