As Power Book III: Raising Kanan begins its fifth and final season, the series finds itself at a pivotal moment. This origin story for one of the most feared figures in the Power universe has evolved into a family drama driven by ambition, loyalty, betrayal, and survival. At the heart of it all sits the complicated relationship between Kanan Stark and his mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas, a bond that has fueled nearly every major development since the show’s debut.

Looking back, much of the show’s success stems from the relationship between Raq and Kanan. Few television pairings have been as fascinating to watch unravel. Their connection has often been defined by deception and conflict, yet neither has ever truly been able to walk away from the other. Miller believes their closeness is precisely what makes their clashes so intense.

“So much,” she said when asked whether Raq and Kanan ever truly understood one another. “I think that’s why the relationship is the way that it is, is because they know each other in and out, up and down all around. And that can be a good thing, but it can also be a volatile thing. And the life that they live, it’s not a good thing. It’s just that dynamic because they know each other so well is what creates this crazy tension that they’ve had over season one through five.”

While Raq continues wrestling with the consequences of her decisions, Curtis says Kanan enters the final season with a much clearer understanding of himself than he had in previous years. Throughout the series, viewers have watched him struggle with family secrets, questions of identity, and the realization that becoming his own man often means separating himself from the people he loves most.

“I think Kanan, now more so than ever, he’s understanding what it is to be an adult,” Curtis explained. “I think his mindset, he’s still hoping and yearning. This is a story about how a mother loves her son and a son loves his mother, how a family loves each other and how they deal with each other.”

Even as Kanan continues forging his own path, Curtis believes the desire for love and acceptance remains part of who he is. “So there’s still always going to be that dynamic of wanting to be a part of something and wanting to be loved,” he continued. “But in the same token, this is a young man who is now figuring that life out for himself. He’s taking all of the information and things around him and building his own persona or legacy, what he thinks that’s going to be.”

For Miller, one of the greatest joys of playing Raq has been discovering new layers within a character who rarely reveals everything she’s thinking. Over five seasons, audiences have watched Raq operate as a businesswoman, mother, protector, manipulator, and strategist. Each side of her personality created new opportunities for exploration. “I think I would just miss just how dynamic she is,” Miller said when asked about playing her character for the last time. “I will miss being able to investigate and to really try to pull out all the different aspects of who she is because she’s never just one thing at any given moment.”

Several of Raq’s contradictions are what made her so compelling to portray. “I love the switches. I love how she can be compassionate and then conniving. I love how she is savage, but also she has this heart. She does love,” Miller said. “Some people might say she has a cold heart, but I actually don’t think that. I think she’s shown her love and how she wants to protect her family.”

“With Raquel, I’ve tried to just be nuanced, as nuanced as I could with her and just as human,” she added. Curtis experienced a similar process while developing Kanan. Playing the future crime boss forced him to stretch as an actor and challenged assumptions he had about his own abilities.

“I learned that I have a much larger capacity than I thought,” he said. “I think playing this character and dealing with this sort of storyline with all the nuances that come with fleshing out these big personalities and these big responses that they have to things. I’ve learned there’s just a lot more layer and depth to it.” Years spent inhabiting Kanan taught him that strong performances often come from asking more questions rather than searching for easy answers. “It’s really just a capacity thing,” Curtis added. “It’s pushing and challenging myself every day.”

Few actors get the opportunity to play a character for five seasons, and even fewer get the chance to create someone who resonates with audiences the way Raq has. During our conversation, I told Miller something I’ve noticed repeatedly whenever Raising Kanan comes up. People from entirely different generations seem equally invested in her story. “It’s wild,” Miller said with a laugh. She remembers recognizing the character’s potential long before audiences met her. 

“When I got the role, I saw the potential immediately from reading the script.” Miller recalled. “Sure, what was on the page is she’s a queen pin and this is this tough woman and she’s a mother. I saw she’s a mother, she’s a sister, she’s an auntie and she is the matriarch.” What followed was an opportunity to build someone audiences could identify with regardless of age or background. 

“I was just so excited by the opportunity to flesh out a character and to make her so real that when people watch this show, no matter if you are old, you’re young, or if you have a career. Any walk of life you are, there’s something about the character that you can identify with and want to root for. Also, It is nice and it is refreshing to see a woman of color on screen holding a position that men get to portray. Men get to hold this power and be vicious and they never have to explain anything.”

As the series reaches its conclusion, Curtis finds himself reflecting on the experience with gratitude more than anything else. The opportunity to grow alongside Kanan, while helping audiences understand how the character became the man first introduced in Power, is something he doesn’t take for granted. “It’s gratitude all around, man,” Curtis said. “I’m excited that I’ve gotten to grow with this character as a person. I’m excited that I’ve been chosen to make this character grow as a character.”

“A five-year run is something that is really rare these days,” he continued. “Being able to be a part of that system and that machine that the Power Universe has become, it’s been a blessing.”