NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
While watching Raising Kanan, many viewers wondered how Kanan could be so naive and continue to be manipulated by those around him, given that he came across as so calculating and menacing in the original Power.
Season 4 was when the pieces of Kanan started to come together. His business was booming, he had a girl by his side and a loyal crew, or so he thought. But the cracks in his armor were still visible, and that’s why people have been doubting his intelligence since the premiere of Raising Kanan.
Raq is not his enemy, no matter how Kanan, Snaps, Pops, or Unique tries to paint that picture. However, Kanan keeping Raq at a distance is not a bad play. He does have trust issues, and how can any viewer be mad at Kanan for believing that Raq had nothing to do with a few of his friends’ deaths?
As he keeps saying to her, what about D-Wiz? Kanan is telling the truth there. Raq had his friend killed. Then came the infamous Famous incident, and if you’re Kanan, what is he supposed to believe? He saw Raq hand over money to crooked cops, then word hit the streets that Famous was killed by crooked cops.
But we, as viewers, have the luxury of seeing things that Kanan the character can’t see. Hell, from the outside, I would point the finger at Raq as well. She killed a friend before, so why can’t she do it again?
Let’s not forget that she also killed Detective Howard, who just happened to be Kanan’s dad at the end of Season 3. And this was right when he and Kanan were getting to know each other. Oh, wait, didn’t she also have Kanan attempt to kill Howard at the end of Season 1? So, at what point is Kanan coming off as stupid here?
By what he has seen, done, and heard, his mother and those around her are terrible people and can’t be trusted. And with Pops and Snaps in his ear, that’s all he needed to hear. Now, killing his own mother, that’s a bit much, but emotion has a way of getting the best of us. Kanan is no different. We’re still focused on the Kanan we met in the original Power, who took out his son and cousin Jukebox, but that Kanan has not emerged yet.
As we get near the end of his younger days, we can start to see how and why he became the menace that he was. Has he made all the right decisions? No. His family has done a number on him from the start. He was an emotional kid, and even during his early hustling days, he showed remorse. He was never built for the drug game; he was thrown in.
In the original Power, we didn’t know of the manipulation, but it was there. Jukebox manipulated him. That’s why he took Tariq. When Kanan had had enough of Juke, he killed her. We already know what his mom and uncles were capable of, so we get why the pain is there. Kanan was fine living in his trap house, but it was his girl who convinced him they needed better, which forced a move to a new apartment.
The reason he killed Shawn was due to the need for revenge. That was him minipulating himself. And the main truth is, we don’t know what kind of mind power Breeze had on him. Maybe Breeze did the same when they were younger.
As awful as Kanan will become, the kid we’re seeing on Raising Kanan is still one that we can stand next to in battle. The beast is not out yet. We’re seeing a kid who has been lied to numerous times, and it’s too much for his young brain to handle. By the time the smoke does clear, all the minuiplation would have done its job.
