SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points for Starz’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan Episode 7.
Following the airing of the penultimate episode of Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan, viewers will be in mourning yet again. The fifth and final season is turning out to be a true heartbreaker: first, with the death of Lou (Malcolm Mays) at the hands of his nephew Kanan (Mekai Curtis) barely minutes into the premiere of Season 1— and now this.
This series deals with New York’s criminal underbelly from the point of view of its many characters: Kanan, his mom/drug queenpin Raq (Patina Miller), her brothers and business partners Lou and Marvin (London Brown), as well as their many families, competitors, and partners. They exist in a world where allegiances are good in the interim, but rarely last forever. With greed and ego at the forefront, the focus remains on money and power.
In Episode 7, Kanan gets revenge on his Uncle Marvin, who beat him to a pulp, after discovering the younger Stark was behind Lou’s murder. Marvin was preparing for the end, not knowing how it would happen and at the hands of whom. While leaving money behind with a preacher at a church to provide for Jukebox in the tragic event of Marvin’s murder, he is surprised by Kanan. He is now standing before his uncle with a gun pointed at him. It didn’t take long for Marvin to realize this is how he would go out.
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Marvin was fearless while staring death in the face. He smoked a cigarette, very chill, almost taunting destiny. In his final moments, he challenges his nephew, showing that Kanan is still not controlling the situation like he thinks he is. Marvin challenges Kanan to get on with it…then boom: Marvin joins his brother in the afterlife. Kanan walks away cocky and self-assured.
Death will come for all of us, and as fans of the Power franchise already know, Kanan meets his maker in the fifth season of the mothership series. He was played then by franchise executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Brown spoke to Deadline earlier this week for a true post-mortem. We discussed Marvin’s life and how it pushed Brown as an actor, and more.
DEADLINE: London, I am so sad.
LONDON BROWN: I know, I know.
DEADLINE: I know you guys shot this a while ago, so have you already said goodbye to Marvin?
BROWN: For us, we’ve been kind of removed from it. But it’s still living because the show just came out, so there was this wave. I wish we could have gotten at least one more season out of Marvin, but something else is on the way. Marvin was fun to play; he really was.
DEADLINE: Viewers were on a roller coaster with your character. We were mad at Marvin when he had the fallout with Juke over her sexuality. But then other times, we couldn’t help but love his heart, looking after his siblings, his daughter, and his nephew. What was it like playing these different facets of Marvin?
BROWN: As an actor, I definitely felt pushed with this character. There are places that Marvin had to go, and I wasn’t sure if I could tap into some of that stuff. But now, I just feel stronger. I know something else is on the way. I can tell from the growth I’ve experienced playing Marvin that I’m being prepared for something else. Marvin was great, man. What was cool about him was that people feel like they know Marvin. So, feeling what you mentioned, going on that roller coaster of emotions, that’s what we’re supposed to feel. You’re supposed to be upset with him, you feel bad for him, you cheer for him. All those things make Marvin human. He’s a complex guy, and I’m glad that people have been able to enjoy him.
DEADLINE: Would you say after Lou died, that Marvin started feeling like his days were counted too?
BROWN: I feel like that definitely caught him off guard, and that pain touched him in a different way. We’ve seen Marvin put lots of people down throughout the seasons, but nothing really hit close to his heart like that. I understand that [feeling] because I’ve lost a brother. Losing somebody that you grew up in a house with, sharing the same utensils and the bathrooms and everything. It’s a different sort of pain. Grief can make you feel pain physically. It would have been easier for Marvin to accept if he thought Unique [Joey Bada$$] had done it. To find out it was his nephew, oh man, that’s a double type of pain. As far as a turning point, Marvin, after losing his brother, it ain’t really much left for him besides Jukebox.
DEADLINE: When Marvin is at church where he finds Kanan ready to kill him, how do you think Marvin felt?
BROWN: I think Marvin understands how karma works. Marvin’s not afraid. At some point, he knew Kanan was probably going to spin the block. In that scene, he even offered Kanan a cigarette. Marvin’s easygoing, and he knew his time was running out. That’s why Marvin started to seek spiritual guidance, to try to make sense of this; it’s beyond Marvin’s understanding. There’s too much going on out of my control. Kanan’s really going off into the deep end because there’s nobody left to help him or protect him. So good luck in this afterlife, man. I don’t think Marvin accepted it, but it is what it is.
DEADLINE: So much went down between Marvin and Raq. She was caught in a web of lies and broke trust. If Marvin had lived, do you think he would’ve stayed by her side?
BROWN: I think Marvin would have. I don’t think he would have gotten out of the game, but I think he would have slowed down and rearranged some things because Marvin is still a street guy. Let’s say if Raq hadn’t made it, I think Marvin and Jukebox would have found some other life to live. Maybe Marvin would have moved around a little bit, slowed down, and reassessed his life. But the fact that things went down as they did makes you wonder what it could’ve been like for Marvin and Jukebox riding off into the sunset.
