Sumith Prasad
Detective Shannon Burke’s life gets threatened when Kanan Stark lets his mother Raquel Thomas and father Malcolm Howard know that the former learned about him shooting down his father. In the first episode of Starz’s crime drama series ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ season 3, Raq and Howard realize the need to take care of Burke despite the latter’s suspension from the force. Burke’s efforts to unravel the truth about her partner force her superior to keep her away from the department and start an investigation into her activities. Although Howard initially thinks that the detective’s suspension is enough to keep her mouth shut, he eventually reconsiders the same, only for Burke’s life to hang by a thread!
The End of Poking the Wrong People
Shannon Burke dies at the end of the third season premiere. Burke has been trying to find the shooter of her partner Howard for a long while. Her investigation leads her to the secret that her colleague has a son nobody knows about. After some digging, Burke learns that Howard’s son is Kanan. In the second season finale, she takes Kanan to the spot where her colleague got shot. By then, she figures out how Howard had an affair with his then-informant Raq, which led to the birth of Kanan. What she doesn’t understand is why Howard’s own son shot him. To figure out the missing piece of the puzzle, she takes the predicament to her superior, who has had enough of her investigating a fellow detective.
When Raq and Howard meet Kanan for the former to reconnect with her son, the boy lets them know about Burke’s confrontation. The father tries to settle the matter by saying that the detective doesn’t even have the badge anymore but Kanan reminds them of her danger as long as she can talk and others can listen. Howard realizes that his son is right, which makes him have a secret conversation with Burke. The detective seemingly doesn’t meet his former partner to kill her but to convince her to stay away from his affairs. What he doesn’t anticipate is that Burke knows his history too well.
Burke shocks Howard by telling him how he is Kanan’s father and how she discovered the truth about everything he has been hiding, including Sam’s death. The suspended detective’s words and confidence provoke Howard to shoot her down in the heat of the moment. Burke dies instantly and a terrified Howard vanishes from the place.
Shanley Caswell’s Exit From Raising Kanan
As of now, neither Starz nor Shanley Caswell has officially announced the departure of the actress from ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan.’ However, Shannon Burke’s death makes it clear that Caswell most likely will not feature in the show in a regular capacity anymore. The startling character deaths in the ‘Power’ universe have taught us that these developments pave the way for surprising cast member exits, which can be the case with the actress as well. Burke’s death concludes the detective’s arc for now, leaving no room for Caswell to extensively feature in the crime drama from now on.
Having said that, we may not be able to completely rule out Caswell’s potential appearances in the upcoming episodes. The actress can still feature in flashback scenes, especially considering that Burke’s death possibly will stir some lives in the rest of the third season. Her partner Detective Adina Foyle may know that the former is not someone who will kill herself after a suspension. Adina may dive into Burke’s death to unravel the mystery behind the same. If the current installment will partially revolve around the detective’s death, the chances of seeing Caswell again in the period drama are indeed high.
Before meeting Howard, Burke may have even revealed what she knows about the detective and Kanan to someone else. She decides to see her former partner with the fear of getting hurt, indicated by the gun she keeps beside her. If such a conversation really has happened, Caswell may feature in flashback scenes while the same gets revealed.
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