Tamal Kundu
Starz’s ‘Power‘ universe is a sprawling franchise that currently consists of four TV shows — ‘Power’ and three spin-offs, ‘Power Book II: Ghost,’ ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan,’ and ‘Power Book IV: Force.’ While the other two are sequels, ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ is a prequel, predominantly set in the 1990s and revolves around Kanan Stark, one of the most notorious villains of the ‘Power’ Universe. Portrayed by American actress Patina Miller, Kanan’s mother, Raquel Thomas, is the deuteragonist of the prequel. Ruthless, brilliant, and ambitious, Raq establishes her control over the drug trade in South Jamaica, Queens, in the first season of the series. Given that she is one of the most important characters in the prequel, you might be wondering where she is during the events of ‘Power.’ Here is what we know about it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Where Is Raq in the Timeline of Power?
Although Raq never appears in ‘Power,’ her son does mention her. In season 2, Kanan Stark, portrayed by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, tells James “Ghost” St. Patrick and Thomas “Tommy” Egan that he went to see his mother before coming to Ghost’s penthouse suite in Tribeca. This seems to imply that his mother is alive at this point in the series. This comes sometime after he is released from prison. We know that the first person he meets after being released from prison is his son Shawn, who has come to pick him up. After learning that Ghost is still alive, a furious Kanan goes on the hunt for Pink Sneakers, the assassin he tasked earlier to eliminate Ghost. He then reaches out to his lieutenant Dre and begins plotting his next move. Soon after, he goes to see Ghost, and the aforementioned reunion takes place.
However, in season 5, after Kanan is killed, a news report states that he has no known surviving next to kin. Given this sequence of events, we can speculate about where Raq is during ‘Power.’ When Kanan tells Ghost and Tommy that he went to see his mother, it is possible that he is lying to hide the fact that he was hunting down the person he hired to kill Ghost while simultaneously plotting Ghost’s downfall. But it has to be a lie with certain elements of truth. Considering the relationship that Ghost and Tommy have with Kanan, they are likely to know whether she is alive or not. At the same time, when he says he went to see his mother, it’s possible that he means that he visited her grave, and Ghost and Tommy are aware of this as well.
Courtney A. Kemp, the creator of ‘Power,’ reportedly stated during an interview that they started giving the idea of spin-offs a serious thought around the fourth season. This potentially explains discrepancies involving various characters. So, this either means that Raq is alive in season 2 but dies by the fifth season, or she has been dead all along.
There is also a third possibility. In a couple of instances of the first season of ‘Raising Kanan,’ Raq speculates about leaving the life of a drug kingpin behind. By the time the show ends, she can do just that. Someone like her must have an exit strategy. This can explain the news report or any possible reappearance of the character in one of the sequel shows.
Read More: Is Scrappy Dead? Did Ade Chike Torbert Leave Power Book III: Raising Kanan?
