'Power Book III: Raising Kanan' Season 3 Episode 8 Recap

Source: Courtesy / Starz

As a despondent Lou becomes a liability for the family, Raq and Marvin work to get the new heroin operation up and running amidst new competition from Kanan and Ronnie.

This week’s episode began with Raq getting a not so pleasant surprise from her younger brother. A drunk Lou arrived outside of her crib and proceeded to yell out all of their business, specifically how they were killers. While this was taking place, Kanan met with Snaps, Pop and Ronnie. They discussed Def Con, how feared and respected he was and the fact that he kept a clear mind by not having any vices. Snaps asked Kanan if he’d rather be feared or respected. Kanan responded that it was a trick question because the two are tied together. When Marvin got to Raq’s, he recommended that they send Lou somewhere to get help. Raq wasn’t the biggest fan of that idea and basically waved it off. Meanwhile Iesha and Juke shared yet another moment. The group mates talked about Nicole’s death and the impact it had on her. Raq told Marvin that Kanan was working with Ronnie, Snaps and Pop. Marvin admitted to knowing that Kanan was moving weed. Raq knew that old heads wouldn’t be rocking with him just for weed so she instructed her older brother to figure out what the business was. After they finished talking about Kanan, Marvin once again brought up Lou. He told Raq to trust him on the fact that he needed help. Although she sort of agreed, she still concluded that Lou needed to look in the mirror and take responsibility for what he did. Marvin shared that his whole life was currently about looking in the mirror. He let his sister know that he liked who he seen when he looked in the mirror. After their meeting, Snaps made sure to fill Kanan in on the current situation. He told Kanan that Raq was getting her work from an Italian-Vietnamese connection. He also made sure to let Kanan know that Raq was really good at the business they’re in. Without hesitation, Kanan replied and said he was too.

The next morning, Mama Joyce showed up to Raq’s place. Raq asked her to watch Lou and to make sure he didn’t leave or do anything else stupid. Speaking of watching, Marvin was peeping Kanan and Ronnie’s moves. He sat outside watching and waiting until one of the couriers left and then followed him. While Marvin is on that mission, Raq is busy trying to parlay a transportation deal with Terry (and his brother David). Instead of the interaction going smoothly, Terry asks Raq for the same deal that she gave Hong. David intervenes and tells his brother to not be greedy. Terry ignores his brother and tells Raq that his mind is made up. N’Kiyah finally made up her mind about who was going to be Butta’s lead. Much to the dismay of Krystal, it was Juke! After the announcement was made, Khristal stormed out of the rehearsal space. Juke and Iesha were overjoyed and shared their excitement with each other until they got outside and saw Kanan and Krystal hugging and kissing. It was obvious that Krystal was trying to push her and Kanan’s relationship in their face. Iesha had to stop Juke from walking over and attacking the two of them. Iesha then rhetorically asked why would she care about them when she has Juke. Marvin got the answer he was looking for. After snatching the delivery boy off of his scooter and taking his bag, Marvin realized that Kanan and Ronnie were moving heroin. While everyone else’s days were already in full effect, Lou’s was just starting…and not the way he probably wanted. He woke up and was immediately mocked by his mother. She made light of the fact that he was a grown man that needed his mother to come watch over him. He quickly noted that he didn’t ask her for anything, before getting up and leaving (The one thing Raq didn’t want him to do). One thing Captain Patrick Burke didn’t want to do was let the death of his daughter go. He showed up to Mr. Bingham’s house to discuss the details of what happened to Nicole. Without actually saying his name, Mr. Bingham pretty much told Captain Burke that Howard was the one that voiced his opinion about Burke’s possible involvement.

That wasn’t the only meeting that took place. Raq met up with Quân and he hipped her that she has competition. He told her that she needed to make an example of whoever it was. He also reminded her that she was still buying the same amount that Unique was and she was supposed to be expanding. She assured him that she’d be alright and he had nothing to worry about. Lou briefly made his way to Cafe Vous. He had a drink and left Shirley Famous’ tape and told her to give it to him when he stopped by. Noticing that everything wasn’t okay, Shirley called Marvin to let him know that Lou had left and didn’t seem. When Raq arrived, she was surprised to find out that the heroin Quân was given was from Kanan and Ronnie. Although Marvin told his sister about Lou and thought that he should be their main priority, her mind was strictly on business. She seemingly ignored what Marvin had to say about their brother and continued to talk about the trucks and what needed to be done next. When Detective Howard went to go visit Ogden (the person he’s supposed to be replacing soon), he was tipped off about what he should do next. Ogden divulged that Marvin was checking off a lot of boxes in their investigation. He urged Howard to hit the ground running and try to find out as much as he could about Marvin so they could get the case over with. Ogden wasn’t the only person looking out. Famous arrived at Cafe Vous and was bummed out when he found out that Lou might be gone for a minute, while he got his life together. Luckily for him, Shirley held it down. She told Famous that he could keep using the studio if he agreed to help her out around the club. We can’t bring up Famous without bringing up the fact that Kanan is still staying in his crib and he isn’t. Apparently Raq got tired of her son defying her and took things to the next level. While chilling in the crib with Krystal, Kanan hears a knock on the door. Unfortunately for him, it’s Ms. Walsh. She informed him that Raq called her and let her know that he wasn’t living at home. She threatened that if Kanan didn’t return home in the next 24 hours, the next time he’d see her, she’d be accompanied by police.

Raq wasn’t accompanied by anyone when she had her epic sit down with Snaps and Pop. Apparently, the two old heads have known Raq since she was a little girl. That isn’t who she is currently though. She has her own child and came to ask Snaps and Pop to stay away from him. They made it clear that Kanan was just an associate through Ronnie. After Raq tried warning them again, Snaps started to take offense. He told Raq that she isn’t in their league. When she tried to rebuttal by telling them that they didn’t know who was standing behind her, she was a bit taken back to find out that Snaps and Pop actually knew Stefano also. In fact, they let Raq know that he was only standing behind her until they told him to sit down. The power couple continued to talk their talk, even going as far as to say that they made the game. Raq mentioned how every one always claims to be the ones who invited the game but the ones who really matter are the ones who are the last to leave, the ones who turn off the lights. Before she left, she issued them one last warning to stay away from Kanan. After Pop asked Snaps if all of their stuff with Ronnie was worth it, Snaps quickly made it clear that it was about them and Raq now. Things got more tense in the episode when we caught back up with Lou. He was drunk somewhere that he obviously shouldn’t have been. Two guys approached him and were about to attempt to rob him. To their surprise, Lou encouraged them to do it. They apparently were taking too long for him, so he pulled out his own gun and decided to scare them a bit by shooting in the air. It was clear at this point that Lou didn’t care whether he lived or died. In other news, Ronnie must’ve threatened Ms. Walsh’s life. He and Kanan caught her outside of her work building. Ronnie walked up to her and whatever he said put the fear of God in her. He reassured Kanan that she wouldn’t mess with him again. Juke showed that she isn’t to be messed with at all. Two girls tried to jump her while she was waiting for the Subway to go to rehearsal. She made pretty quick work of them though. Feeling as if she was out of options, Raq went to Pernessa to try and figure out where Ronnie and Kanan were getting their work from. In the midst of their conversation, Pernessa accidentally shared that Ronnie had a girl now and it was the woman from the bodega. It seems that at that exact moment, Raq knew all that she needed to. After Juke almost missed rehearsal due to the fight, she needed to let Krystal know about herself once she got there. She told her groupmate that her friends went home with some lumps, they weren’t sh-t and neither was she.

Terry had to change his mind about working with Raq and Marvin when he was caught having sexual relations with the secretary that works for him. Marvin snapped pictures and threatened to show them to Terry’s wife if he didn’t agree to the terms of their deal. Deals are very important. Raq went to Joaquin to inform him that Julianna had cut one behind his back. Joaquin told her that if he could confirm it with his people, he’d give her permission to kill his cousin. Marvin and Gerald’s deal was that Gerald would write a story on Juke to get her and Butta some exposure. While at breakfast with Marvin and his two daughters, Gerald kept asking questions about Bulletproof Records, the Mafia and their family business. He eventually came out and told Marvin that one of his friends in the NYPD told him that there might be a connection. This upset Marvin, who let Gerald know that the questions he was asking had nothing to do with his job. Juke had some a burning question for Sergeant Healey. She made her way to his office to find out if it was too late to back out of her contract. He told her that she made a commitment to her country and that was a big deal. It turns out that Gerald’s friend in the NYPD was none other than Detective Tanner, the head of the task force. He obviously has something over Gerald because he threatened to send him to jail if he didn’t tell them anything that could help them with their case against Marvin. Lou just needs help period. The second to last scene of the episode shows Lou alone in a car drinking then staring to the passenger seat where a gun is sitting. Thankfully Lou didn’t use it. The same can’t be said for his sister. Apparently Joaquin found out that Raq’s intel was correct and gave her the go ahead to take out Julianna. As soon as Juliana heard Raq’s voice, she knew her fate. Juliana tried to offer Raq money but the only response she got was a shot to the leg, dropping her to the floor. Raq then explained to her how losing impacts her and how making mistakes makes her better. She shot Julianna two more times in the chest and once in the head. Calling back to her conversation earlier with Snaps and Pops, after Raq killed her, she turned the lights in Juliana’s house off. How will Ronnie respond to his connect being killed? Are Snaps and Pop more formidable than anybody else Raq has went up against? Will Lou get help? How much longer will Howard keep the information he knows about Marvin and the investigation away from Raq? How will Marvin find out about what Gerald is doing? How will Butta’s show go? Is Kanan really free from Ms. Walsh? How will him and Ronnie continue without a connect? There are still so many questions left to be answered with only two episodes left in the season. Let us know what you thought about this episode and what you think will happen on the next one in the comments!