[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the penultimate episode of season seven of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, “Penultimate Means Second to Last.”]
The penultimate episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan didn’t disappoint. Unlike the first episode, “By Blood,” where Lou-Lou’s death was unexpected, Marvin’s demise seemed inevitable in “Penultimate Means Second to Last.”
But it’s not just that Marvin dies — it’s how he dies and who kills him.
After the beatdown Marvin, played by London Brown, gave Kanan to close out episode five, “School of War,” Raising Kanan fans can’t be too surprised that Kanan comes around and kills Marvin. But the details do matter. And so does impact. This action by Mekai Curtis’ Kanan certainly aligns with 50 Cent’s portrayal of Kanan that fans know from the flagship Power series.
But something else also happens in this next-to-last episode: Hailey Kilgore’s Jukebox also takes a step closer to how Power fans met her, as portrayed by Anika Noni Rose. She does this by not just finding out who killed her and Kanan’s friend Fame, or Famous, but by avenging his death. She kills the crime boss duo that has been stirring up things since season three — Ishmael “Snaps” Henry, played by Wendell Pierce, and Stephanie “Pop” Henry, played by Erika Woods.
Together, Snaps and Pop have been central to sowing bad will, especially within the Thomas family. Kanan really began breaking the umbilical cord to his mother Raq (Patina Miller) when he started believing that she killed his best friend Fame and then his girl, Krystal. Last season ended with Kanan putting a gun to Raq in response to those deaths, when the truth is that Snaps and Pop are the puppet masters behind it all.
And they are active to the end. They are behind Shameik Moore’s Breeze joining forces with Kanan. Because of Kanan killing Lou (Malcolm Mays), they are the catalyst for Marvin beating Kanan down and demand that Kanan proves his loyalty to them by directly ordering hits on Raq and Marvin to avenge Defcon’s (Rondell Stark) murder. Clearly, they didn’t see their own deaths coming. And why should they?
“We haven’t lasted this long in the game without being able to play the game, and that’s what you get to see at the height of the tension and the turmoil,” Wendell Pierce, forever remembered for his role as Detective Bunk Moreland in the iconic HBO series The Wire, explains to The Hollywood Reporter about the pivotal episode. “We know how to play the game … they wouldn’t have lasted this long and have had this much of an impact if they didn’t. And that’s what I love about love about these characters.”
Pierce is also grateful to Raising Kanan creator/showrunner Sascha Penn for being able to work alongside his real-life better half. “Working with Erika, we’re like hand in glove. We kind of finish each other’s thoughts and finish each other’s words. Sascha and the writers have really created this couple that will be long remembered. People dress like us for Halloween,” shares the Elsbeth star.
Woods tells THR, “I wanted to conquer her backstory, because she’s based on a real character. Then I wanted to jump into the dialect. I’ve been in New York quite a while, but I wanted to make sure I did her justice. I studied and spent a lot of time in Queens, talked to a lot of people, and really tried to get grounded in her dialect.”
The ultimate payoff for the Texas-born, Kansas-raised actress? “When people ask me what part of New York I’m from.”
In that pivotal moment with Jukebox, Woods, who has played more cop than gangster roles in her career, says Snaps and Pop “didn’t think she was going to kill us. So when you don’t think someone’s going to do something, you move in a different kind of way. But I always kept in the back of my mind, she might shoot us, but, of course, we’ll shoot her. We just weren’t prepared, so my only preparation was thinking how we could outmaneuver her and talk her out of shooting us, so that we could maybe shoot her.”
Woods also adds that “because this is not their first rodeo, I don’t think they thought that she would have the heart to pull the trigger, and they just weren’t prepared. They usually have people with them, and it was a very rare day. She did a lot of preparation.”
That word “preparation” also applies to Brown’s portrayal of Marvin this season. The exiting star spoke to THR below about Raising Kanan’s final season and his demise, touching upon who Marvin is and has been, his relationship with his daughter Jukebox and his relationship with Patina Miller’s Raq and, of course, the beatdown scene with Kanan and that final moment in the church when Kanan takes Marvin out — and Marvin remains as gangster as ever.
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Even though we knew it was coming and that it had to happen, we still weren’t ready for Marvin to go. But before we get into the specifics of how it ends, let’s talk about Marvin’s journey in this final season of Raising Kanan.
First, thank you for talking to me. I appreciate it. This season we see a different side of Marvin because he’s been affected in a different way, unlike the previous seasons. I think a lot of people initially felt Marvin was just an irresponsible uncle and just snacking. They were unaware that they were slowly becoming emotionally invested with Marvin, and so now, when we see this turn of emotions at season five, people I think have realized, “Oh, we actually do care about Marvin, and we do feel what he feels.” There’s a part of the audience that’s cheering for Marvin because, in season five, I think people have put it all together and realized he is a real person. He may not always be the most responsible with things, and, to a default, he’s so loyal that he kind of gets in his own way.
In the previous season, the audience was like, “Marvin, you got to breathe, you got to slow down and you got to think.” I don’t think anyone is even thinking anything about that this season, which is to say that they’ve become a part of Marvin’s journey. Nobody’s thinking about breathing. They’re like, “Go after whomever they got to get after,” [regarding Lou] to bring resolution. And that’s why even with that whole scene, people have been talking about Marvin and Kanan’s whole fight sequence; nobody was even thinking about any therapy. Nobody suggested it. Nobody said, “Hey, man, Marvin, you’re going too far?”
Because I think it’s justified, but only because the audience feels something for Marvin. Now that they’ve gone along with him, they’re like, “Yo, man, whatever Marvin got to do, hey, you get it done. We’re there to support you.” But that’s only because we feel that Marvin is human. We just feel bad for Marvin. We want Marvin to hopefully find some sort of resolution to all the pain he’s dealing with.
We’ve also seen him grow in his relationship with his daughter, Jukebox. After initially rejecting Jukebox’s sexuality and even harming her because of it, Marvin accepted his child’s sexuality and won her trust and love over seasons two and three. By this final season, they are very close. Can you talk about that growth?
With Marvin, we are talking about in the ’90s, too. So [sexuality] wasn’t as discussed as it is now. It wasn’t as liberated as it is now. Marvin just really didn’t even understand that world. But I think what he realized was, at the end of the day, “Man, it’s still my daughter. I do love her. I may not even understand it, but, because I love my daughter, I’m willing to try to understand this.” And I think once he realized that the relationship with his daughter was more important than his own opinions, he was able to live [with it] and I think it brought them closer. Because, in the beginning, they were kind of distant. Then, through therapy and breathing and having some talks, he got closer to her and he became super dad. And now, with this [new] relationship, he realized she’s got his back and he has hers.
How did you and Hailey Kilgore, who plays Jukebox, develop that chemistry?
She’s great, man. She is one of my favorites to work with because she always just shows up. It’s important to do scenes with people you trust, and with Hailey, I never had to worry about if she was going to be present or not because I’ve done some scenes with actors who are not present. They’re just saying the words. I’m looking into their eyes trying to connect, and there’s nothing there. But with Hailey, she’s always present. She’s right there with me emotionally, and I know she’s going to give me something, and really listen and respond accordingly, and let these words form organically. She’s so great for that. So shout out to Hailey.
Marvin has so many great scenes, especially in the second half of this final season. One is in the church with the pastor expressing his anger about Lou being gone.
Marvin has no filter. Marvin is just like, “Can you please provide me with another solution, other than what I’m thinking about? Because Marvin’s trying to process this.” And understand that there are consequences that come with his actions. A lot of this comes from the therapy he went through in the previous seasons. So he is aware that maybe there’s another way. He’s seeking counsel. Marvin is smart enough to understand, “let me just go to somebody who is outside of this world.”
Earlier in the season, Raq told Marvin when she was dealing with the crackhead, “I need you to take him out because he’s talking too much.” Even then, Marvin has always had a heart. The man’s name was Sam and Marvin said, “Take this money, get on this bus, and get out of town. Just don’t return back. I can’t tell you why I’m doing this. Just listen and do it.”
There’s always been some empathy in Marvin from the jump. That’s part of the layers I wanted to create with Marvin. Even though he’s doing all these nefarious things and whatnot, Marvin is still very human. He still feels something in his heart for people because, naturally, as actors we have to bring ourselves to these projects, and London’s very empathetic.
After I lost my brother in 2015, it really changed my heart. I was already a kind person, but it really softened who I was towards people, and I care. So with Marvin, that naturally seeps through, and it’s like, “man, pastor, give me something. Please. I’m really not trying to do this, but can you give me something that can calm me down?” I think ultimately, the pastor did give Marvin some things to think about because later on he has a conversation with Raq [and asks], “You believe in God? What’s your thoughts?” So, he is processing,
There is a point when Marvin tells Raq that she is leading this ship the wrong way, but he’s so loyal to her that he’s going to sink with her. Because, in the end, he doesn’t abandon Raq.
He does call her out, and I think that’s important for the audience to see. I know she’s calling shots, but Marvin is still solid enough to say, “Raq, look at how you moving. Because I care about you [and I know] you’re still the boss, I’m just letting you know that you’re moving out of pocket.” At least from Marvin’s angle, he’s like, “Yo, I don’t know if this is the move.” He can see her spiraling out of control, and he’s just trying to hold her accountable for that. Marvin did it respectfully. He wasn’t wilding out. He wasn’t yelling. That’s not Marvin’s style. He said, “Listen, Raq, I love you, but how you are moving might put us in danger.”
Let’s go to the fight scene. Social media exploded because Marvin gave Kanan a “‘90s-style beating” after Raq finally told him that Kanan killed Lou. I don’t even think this kind of beating is allowed in the 21st century. It’s so intense. How did you guys prepare for that?
Mario Van Peebles directed that one. It was really draining. It took all day because we got to get all the angles, make sure it’s cut right. They did a wonderful job at piecing that together and making it just seem very seamless. Shout out to Mekai Curtis, another team player. He shows up ready to go. I was checking in with him, “Man am I throwing you to the wall too hard?” He was like, “Man, let’s just get the shot.” He was all game.
I think it was just how it developed. Even from previous seasons, I remember people messaging, “When is somebody gonna put a belt to Kanan? ‘Cause he is getting out of control.” He disrespected his mom. There was the scene where Jukebox performed at the mall for a talent show, and Kanan was talking slick then. I’m looking at Raq [as Marvin] like, “You’re gonna let that slide? What’s going on?” So by the time [the fight] happened, I think the audience was like, “okay, finally, it’s here.”
That’s why the beatdown had to be a violent one. But you got to think it’s just time and time of letting this pass, the disrespect to his mom, skimming off the top. I’m looking at Kanan like it’s funny because when Kanan first got into the game, and Marvin just had him watching the stash house, I remember Kanan in one scene early on vomited because he couldn’t stand the sight of blood and was just very green. So by the time we get to season five, he’s walking around with this vibrato, like, “Man, he needs to be humble.”
But it was great choreography. We rehearsed it a couple times a day or two before. I just nailed it and got with it. Shout to Mekai, to the choreographers, [stunt coordinator] Wadi [Skye Jones] and the team. And Mario, he shot it well. He covered it so every punch was just impactful. And the makeup team made sure with the blood, and then even after the fact, that Kanan looked beat up.
If there’s anyone who would know how to film a good beatdown, it would be the New Jack City director. But we also knew in that moment that it was a mistake for Marvin not to kill Kanan. So let’s go to the church. Why does Marvin go to see the pastor?
I think there’s part of him that understands, “This lifestyle is not looking the best for me. Do I have any more options?” Marvin realized that the options are running low because, at some point, these chickens got to come home to roost. So if the pastor can give him some counsel, he’ll hear that. He tried to have a sitdown with Raq a couple times and even with Stefano. He’s running out of options.
When Kanan shows up at the church, was it just a coincidence or did the pastor turn on Marvin?
No, I think the pastor is very solid. Kanan has been on the same run that Marvin was on when Marvin thought that Unique took out Lou-Lou. Marvin was on a hunt, and I think that Kanan was just on the hunt for Marvin because of his ego.
When Kanan and Marvin come face to face, Marvin is such a G in this moment.
I remember early on, maybe season three, where Raq, Marvin and Lou-Lou meet with the Italians. I guess she felt like Lou-Lou was apologizing and being afraid, and she looks at Marvin, and is like, “You scared, Marvin?” and he said, “I ain’t afraid of nothing.” And he’s like that here. I wanted to ground Marvin to something very cool in the sense of all the points that you mentioned, which was Marvin maybe already knew at some point, this lifestyle has got to catch up with him. So he’s not shaking. I think at one point, he even offered Kanan a cigarette, like, “Hey, man, you want to smoke? You sure, man? Listen, do what you gonna do.” Marvin really isn’t afraid. He understands what it is. I don’t think he thinks it’s going to go the way it does, but he’s not afraid.
I like how the writing aligns with Kanan’s death on Power. In that moment, Marvin tells Kanan exactly who he will become, and Power fans know that Marvin is spot on.
Even to that point, he’s saying, “Listen, man, do what you want to do to me, but you’re not who you think you are. But from an OG, listen, man, you’re going to be worse than me because you got nobody. What are we doing here?” Marvin is still trying to give some game. He’s still trying to enlighten somebody: “You can go this route, but I don’t think it’s gonna go well for you.” That’s the empathy of Marvin. Even then, he still cares. The fun part of playing Marvin is creating those layers. He’s not just one thing. He’s not a guy just eating snacks. He’s not a guy with a nice haircut. Marvin is so many things.
And it comes on the heels of another conversation Marvin has with Raq where he essentially tells her that she is part of Kanan’s destruction because she sheltered him from what this game really is.
See, that’s thing. When the show dropped, everyone’s like, “Yes, Raq!” “Go ahead, Sister Queen.” Raq has been puppeteering this whole show. She’s very smart, obviously very sharp. She’s always a few steps ahead of everybody. But I think now we start to see Raq kind of crumble, and we see the flaws within Raq. She’s been manipulating and orchestrating this thing from the jump. She even tried to get her son to take out his own pops. Marvin also has kind of been in the dirt with some of this stuff. All he knows is what he knows. But, at the end of the day, I’m telling you who Raq is, and that’s why Patina deserves her flowers because she’s been so good people forgot how bad Raq was. She’s crazy!
And Marvin was telling her the truth about her running after Kanan trying to get him to love her and making him worse and, also, how the game has passed them both by and she can’t see it.
What’s so interesting is that through all of this, with that conversation Marvin had with her, it’s like, “Man, you doing what you always done: you’re protecting Kanan.” Raq is selfish in a lot of ways, and I think that’s why Marvin had to call her out on some of this stuff.
Well, I’m closing out this conversation by sharing what Wendell Pierce had to say about your performance this season: “It is Gary Oldman in Slow Horses. Robert De Niro in Godfather 2. It is on the level of Louis Gossett Jr. in An Officer and a Gentlemen. That’s the sort of work that London is doing with Marvin this year.”
First of all, I’m really thankful that anyone is even paying attention to me. We’ve had some talks. He’s always been very kind to give me any game anytime I ask him something. From day one, I was very intentional on not getting lost because I know it’s a big show with a lot of cool parts. You got Omar Epps, Tony Danza, Wendell Pierce, all these juggernauts. You got Patina Miller and a lot of times, all throughout the show, even the day players. I just didn’t want to get lost.
I didn’t want an opportunity like this to just pass me up because, as an actor, you work hard to stay employed. if someone decides to trust you, I’m just trying to show up. What are we taking classes for? Why am I up at three, four in the morning talking to my coach, going over the sides for it if we’re not going to deliver. My mom dropping me off at my high school at six in the morning for a play, and she has six of us. All of that sacrifice. People who took the time to support me in whatever way they decided to, whether that’s feeding me or picking me up.
My theater teacher Mark Swinton, I remember one time his car wasn’t working and he lives in Hollywood. My high school was at least 40 minutes in the hood somewhere. So there were like five or six of us. None of our parents had cars, and we get out the theater rehearsal at 11-something at night. He paid for a taxi to drop like five or six of us off in the hood. Then he had to go up to Hollywood. I don’t know what that bill was, but the fact that he did it, there are a lot of people who’ve helped me, and I at least owe it to them to show up and make some of this stuff worth it, to make it count.
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The final episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan airs next week, Friday, Aug. 7, on Starz.
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