Marvin is alive! Thank goodness. That would’ve been a tough pill to swallow. He lost a good friend, though. A potential love interest. Someone who helped him change how he manages his anger. Renee’s death is forcing Marvin to acknowledge and reflect on some of the messed-up shit he has done in the name of the game.
When Raq tasked Marvin with killing Sam, the well-known hood dope fiend, he chooses not to, perhaps motivated by this loss. Instead, he attempts to send Sam to Atlanta by bus. He also gives him a wad of cash in order to help him get on his feet. This decision is going to come back and bite Marvin (and Raq) in the ass. Sam hops off the bus before it even makes it to the end of the block. He’s been running his mouth to the cops about what he saw the night Howard got shot, and of course, the only cop interested in listening to him is Detective Burke, though she’s unable to get a recorded statement from him. Although he’s technically an unreliable witness, such a statement could potentially cause a new set of problems for Raq and her family.
Renee’s death didn’t come without consequences. A mature Kanan’s narration reminds viewers that “when you a hitter, you gon’ get hit.†Lou puts a bullet in one of Sal’s top men. The retaliation sends a few important messages to Sal. First, Raq is nobody to fuck with. Second, You gon’ get the same energy you put out. So it looks like Raq and Sal are at war unofficially. To one up his opponent, Sal goes to Unique fishing for information. “I need you to tell me about Raq’s operation. How many soldiers, what kind of firepower they got, where they working out from. I need to know what it looks like from top to bottom,†he says. Despite all the personal drama Unique has experienced with Raq and her brothers, he refuses to snitch just because Sal asked him to.
“You and Raq shit is just you and Raq shit, it got nothing to do with me man,†Unique replies to Sal, respectfully. He remains ten toes down and refuses to get involved, knowing that his decision has the potential to ruin both his business and personal relationship with Sal. One of the show’s strengths is the development of complex characters that are realistic and relatable. In the drug game, snitching is one of the most offensive acts a person can do. Once you’re labeled a snitch, ain’t no coming back from that. We witness Unique remain honorable to himself, and when your back is against the wall, sometimes that is hard to do.
Let’s look at Famous for example. Though Kanan and Famous are best friends, Famous isn’t a street kid. He isn’t a fighter, and he doesn’t have the skill set needed to sell drugs. He’s just a regular guy who has dreams of becoming a rapper, but his rapping career is at a standstill and he has no job and rent to pay. With Crown no longer around to bail him out, Famous is super close to getting evicted. He goes to Lou for assistance, but Cartier, Lou’s not-so-silent partner, shuts the conversation down.
After running into Freddy while in the pizza shop with Kanan, Famous questions why he’s broke and a stickup kid like Freddy isn’t. “When you grimy like Freddy you can stay paid too …,†Kanan tells Famous. Kanan’s assessment of Freddy’s morals (or lack thereof) doesn’t stop a desperate Famous from trying to rob Freddy. Cue theme song: “robbery-turned-homicide is nothing to play with.â€
Because, Famous isn’t about this life and Freddy is, the attempted robbery goes left. It takes Freddy less than two seconds to realize it is Famous underneath the ski mask, and he is not intimidated. The two exchange threatening words and once Freddy flashes a gun bigger than Famous’ the power dynamics shift. There’s only one way for a scared Famous to get out of this situation: kill Freddy. And so he does.
Meanwhile, Kanan has been busy trying to stay clear of his mother and sort things out with Detective Howard. He meets up with a changed Howard at a Mosque. Kanan tells Howard that he knows he’s his father and he doesn’t need a DNA test to convince him. With more questions than answers, Kanan opens up to Howard about his fractured relationship with his mother. Howard interrupts him from speaking ill of Raq and encourages his son to focus on their future instead of reflecting on the past.
Raq has been feeling the shift in her and Kanan’s relationship. She finds time to catch up with Juke and the two discuss everything from whether or not people can change, humans’ desire to be loved, and Kenya and Kanan. “Not having Kanan here has been a lot. I feel like I’m reaching out for something that I can’t quite get to. And it hurts. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for him,†Raq tells Juke. She finally receives the keys to the house, but with no Kanan and no Symphony, the win is not the same.
There isn’t much time for Raq to sit in her sadness though. She has too much shit on her plate, from the drama in Jersey to still wanting to expand her business. And, in order to expand her business, she must get rid of Cartier and convince his top distributor, Traymont Stinson, to work in collaboration with her. To win his trust, she helps him get one of his men out of jail, something that Cartier wasn’t able to do. Then, Cartier attempts to buy into Raq’s operation after claiming the New York area was too competitive with thin margins. He presents her with an offer that would guarantee him a 50 percent stake in her organization. Raq and Cartier are both trying to one-up each other. Cartier has forced his way into Lou-Lou’s business and he’s well aware that Raq could have easily fulfilled his role. And now, he is attempting to force his way into Raq’s main business under the guise of expansion. Raq’s strategy, meanwhile, has been to admire how Cartier has managed to successfully expand and invest his money. She gets close to him only to learn his strategies. And as the voice of a more mature Kanan reminds viewers, “It’s a short stop at the top. It don’t matter if you CEO, Baller, Rapper, or you slanging. You ain’t gon’ be the best for long.â€
As Cartier enters his building and presses “PH†on the elevator, Raq and Lou await his arrival. Once the elevator doors open up and he sees the brother and sister duo, he knows exactly what’s up. In this game, even when the cards are not dealt in your favor, you can’t fumble. “Bitch, FUCK you and Fuck your family,†he yells angrily right before Raq and Lou put multiple bullets in him. “When you fall from that top spot, you down. You down for good.â€
Let’s see how much longer Raq can hold her spot with her brothers at her side.
Other Notes
• I just KNEW they were going to play “Renee†by the Lost Boyz–Queens legends, after Renee’s funeral. Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge have been killing the score this season though.
• I’m loving the rebuilding of Marvin and Juke’s relationship. It gives us hope that maybe Kanan and Raq can get on one accord again.
• Will Raq and her brothers be able to survive beef with Jersey? I don’t know. But something tells me Unique is going to get wrapped up in the crossfire some way somehow.
• Burke’s day is coming and it’s going to cost her her badge, loved ones, and family.