Are Snaps and Pop Dead in Raising Kanan?

Created by Sascha Penn, Starz’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan,’ also shortened as ‘Raising Kanan,’ charts Kanan’s journey as a high school dropout, all the way to him becoming the most fearsome gangster on the street. While he is known as the grand antagonist of ‘Power,’ there was a time in his childhood when he, too, had friends and a genuine support system. Jukebox, his cousin, is introduced as precisely that, but over the course of five seasons, she grows into a rebel of her own, unafraid of anything in pursuit of the power to bend the world to her will. Life takes a turn for Jukebox and Kanan when their friends, Krystal and Famous, meet their end in season 4.

Desperate for answers, Kanan begins seeing everyone as a potential suspect, and is eventually convinced that it’s his mother who called for the hit. That isn’t quite true, however, as we actually see the people who kill Famous and Krystal under suspicion that they are a mole. These killers are Ishmael “Snaps” Henry and Stephanie “Pop” Henry, the power couple who are known for being old-school gangsters with considerable sway this side of the town. However, the thing about power, as this show illustrates, is that it can never be easy to hold on to. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Jukebox Guns Down Snaps and Pop as Revenge For Famous and Krystal

Snaps and Pop are killed by Jukebox after she discovers that they are the ones who orchestrated the murders of Famous and Krystal. Though several characters, including Kanan, have wrestled with that mystery at one point, suspecting Raq, Stefano, and many others, it is Jukebox who connects the dots at last and doesn’t waste a second in taking revenge. The power duo meets its demise in the show’s penultimate episode, aptly titled ‘Penultimate Means Second to Last,’ bringing an end to a major chapter within the story. As the larger theme of the season is the complete breakdown of the world surrounding Kanan, leading up to the events of ‘Power,’ this makes for a rather poetic conclusion, both for Snaps and Pop and Jukebox’s arc.

Though Jukebox doesn’t know it yet, in this episode, Kanan kills her father, Marvin, severing whatever ties he had left with the family. Ironically, then, he is responsible for killing two of the most important guardians in Jukebox’s life, her father and her uncle, Lou-Lou. To that end, her actions against Snaps and Pop, who are themselves Kanan’s parent figures, can be seen as a spiritual revenge, despite the events not being literally connected. This has always been a story about the cycle of violence and how it seems to force all characters on a predetermined path, one that only leads to more bloodshed and misfortune. In a world without mentors and guiding lights, Kanan and Jukebox are essentially lost children, and tragically, we know exactly where they end up a decade or two from now.

Snaps and Pop’s Death Marks the Beginning of the End For Raising Kanan

While Snaps and Pop’s deaths have a dark thematic meaning, they take a backseat when taking the plot implications into account. There is now a fresh gap in the drug kingdom, as it’s not just the power duo that has gone down, but most likely also Raq. Given how solid Breeze’s relationship with Snaps and Pop was prior to their death, he will likely be seeing red. The problem, though, is that the person who did this has a closer relationship with Kanan than even Breeze, and therein lies the conflict of interest. Whether Kanan sides with his cousin or his new friend is likely to define the series finale and how it bridges to ‘Power.’ We know that, as older gangsters, Kanan and Jukebox are bitter enemies, but the fact that Breeze isn’t a central player in the original series is as telling as it gets.

Kanan may side with Jukebox when push comes to shove, but it still doesn’t change the fact that she has killed two of his biggest allies. However, we can expect the equation to change when Kanan learns the full truth about Famous’ death. The season begins with him drawing a gun at his own mother, suspecting that she is the killer of his friends. This alone displays just how committed he is to revenge, and in that case, the death of Snaps and Pop isn’t likely going to be a big deal for him. Still, nothing can cover up the fact that he is still the killer of Jukebox’s father, and that perfectly explains the strain in their relationship that is still visible, decades later. Ultimately, this is a story filled to the brim with tragedy, and perhaps the only thing that Jukebox can be happy about is that she got revenge.

Read More: Is Marvin Dead in Raising Kanan? Why Does Kanan Kill Him?