‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ Recap – ‘In Sheep’s Clothing’

12/26/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Patrina Miller and Mekai Curtis as Raquel ‘Raq’ Thomas and Kanan Stark in Episode 304 of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ – ‘In Sheep’s Clothing’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 304 of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One particular mantra that we embrace in the modern world, is the fresh start. Where we leave everything behind and hit the reset button in our lives. So, we can be free of a life we do not care for and find the joy and peace we’ve always wanted and well, we love that mantra so much, people often take part in it. Wherein they quit their job, pack up the car and move to a new town to start over or where they blow up their lives to get that fresh start because their current path just isn’t cutting it. But while that can indeed provide us with a new beginning and a new path forward, there is a slight problem that accompanies this particular concept.

In that we often forget that to truly get a fresh start, there’s so much more we must do. Because there are factors that lead to us being miserable in the first place, and if we don’t address those factors, we’ll be right back where we started and miserable again. Which is why we sometimes feel stuck even when we’re starting over. Because we are in fact, trapped in a cycle of misery from which there will be no escape until real change is enacted. If anything, that super important aspect of life is top of mind today, simply because… it’s a truth that so many ignored in the next episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan on STARZ, and that made ‘In Sheep’s Clothing’ quite the powerful watch.

Because it properly showcased how this can be an outright problem, by putting characters we love in difficult situations that they could escape if they took the time to address the past. For instance, Lou decided that the best way forward for his musical needs was to bring Marvin in on the club that he discovered. Because Marvin had the finances to help him create a true bastion for music and new acts. But alas, Marvin not only saw this as a great business opportunity, but a chance to set up a new base of operations for his business. Something that Lou was not down with and begged to have reversed, but because Marvin only knew the game and only knew how to hustle, despite trying to forge a new path with the business gone forever… he only knew how to revert to old haunts, and he wasn’t the only one.

Grantham Coleman and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Ronnie Mathis and Deen in Episode 304 of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ – ‘In Sheep’s Clothing’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

For despite having some legitimate business space in front of her, Raquel still needed to manipulate certain situations into her own liking. To be in control, and that was why, she did something shocking with Kanan. For she saw him hustling and forging his own path. But she was hellbent in the belief that her son should be in her house, living by her rules and her teachings, and in true Raquel fashion… she forced that into existence, through the skill set she supposedly left behind. Since she threw a gun into his bag and used her ties with Detective Howard to force Kanan home when that gun was discovered at school. A move she thought was for the better, but likely created a bigger divide between her and her son, all because Raq could not leave behind the micromanager mentality that drove her business.

But while that made for some fascinating moments that hammered home the central theme, we’d be foolish to not talk about the biggest one of all present in this story. Because despite being out of the clink for some time now, and despite the world changing around him, Ronnie could not let the past go. He was convinced that his fresh start had to involve success in the game this time around. Only to be stonewalled at every step and well… that frustrated him to no end and prompted him to act out like never before. All because Ronnie didn’t learn a damn thing in prison, and didn’t change in the slightest, and now more people have died at his hands because of the outright refusal he has made to change and really address his past.

Which will of course, bring forth great trouble, especially for Raq since he is convinced, she is the enemy, and well… had it not been for Jukebox’s good news, in that she landed the gig and started rehearsals with her new band, this would have been an utterly bleak and hopeless episode. But this one was still pretty dark, since we garnered a deep understanding of how ugly things can be when we don’t fix/address what we want to leave behind in this life and well… clearly… showcasing this now, informs us that old haunts are going to come back to bite everyone down the line. The only questions that remain, are what kind of damage this cycle of misery will impart and how much influence will it have on young Kanan… to truly begin to walk his tragic path. Until next time.

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