Sumith Prasad
In the third episode of Starz’s crime drama series ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ season 3, LaVerne “Jukebox” Thomas attends a singing audition with the hope of getting out of Queens. After her girlfriend Nicole Bingham and mother Kenya Pierce’s deaths, Jukebox gets tired of her corrupt and life-threatening way of life. She doesn’t want to remain with her family members, who have been spilling blood while getting hurt themselves. She tries to enlist in the Army but the option ceases to exist when an officer tells her that she doesn’t meet the requirements. If she gets selected after her audition, Jukebox may succeed in vanishing from the haunting streets of Queens but is it possible? SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jukebox’s Escape Plan
Jukebox seriously considers leaving Queens after the death of her mother Kenya, who loses her life due to Raquel “Raq” Thomas’ feud with Sal Boselli. The knowledge that her mother died, while looking for her, without any involvement in the conflicts between her aunt and her rival unsettles Jukebox enough to decide to disappear from her crime family. Her career counselor suggests enlisting in the Army but her efforts to join the force meet a dead end when an officer discourages her. Meanwhile, an audition comes her way, which can open a door for her to vanish from the city.
Jukebox practices extensively for the audition with her uncle Louis “Lou-Lou” Thomas. However, on the day of the audition, Lou fails to join her as he gets arrested for getting involved in a bar brawl. Jukebox gets forced to sing on her own without any accompanying track. Furthermore, the judges ask her to stop soon after she starts singing, adding that they have listened to her enough to make a judgment. If Jukebox gets selected, she may find a way out of her family and Queens, the principal setting of the crime drama. Does that mean we have seen the last of Hailey Kilgore in the show?
Hailey Kilgore Likely Will Remain in Raising Kanan
Hailey Kilgore most likely will remain as a main cast member of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan.’ Irrespective of her selection after the audition, Jukebox’s storyline is expected to be an integral part of the third season, especially considering the additions of Liv Symone and Aliyah Turner to the cast of the installment to play Iesha and Krystal respectively. Jukebox, Iesha, and Krystal will form a girl group of singers in an upcoming episode of the season, which makes it clear that there’s a lot to happen in the former’s storyline.
Jukebox may bond with Iesha and Krystal after meeting them while taking part in the audition. Either the three of them will get selected to form a group or they will launch themselves as a group to overcome their rejection. Regardless of how they will band together, we may see their rise and the conflicts they will face while trying to establish themselves in the music scene of New York City. The girl group may convince Jukebox to remain in Queens and her new friends may provide her with much-needed companionship and distraction from the affairs of her family.
As a prequel to ‘Power,’ ‘Raising Kanan’ is expected to depict how an innocent girl like Jukebox becomes the corrupt police officer we see in the original series. With enormous scope left in her character’s story arc to explore, it is highly unlikely that Kilgore will bid adieu to the crime drama. In the upcoming episodes, Jukebox possibly will find a new home among Iesha and Krystal but her roots may keep pulling her, affecting her personality beyond her control. Her efforts to distance herself from the gritty world of crime may become inadequate, only for her to get stuck in the same and eventually become a younger version of Anika Noni Rose’s Jukebox in ‘Power.’
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