Joey Bada$$ Reacts to That Shocking [SPOILER] in Power Book III: Raising Kanan: ‘Boy, Was I Wrong’ (Exclusive) 

This post contains spoilers from Friday’s episode Book of Power III: The Rise of Kanan.

The South Jamaican community of Queens suffered a great loss in Friday’s episode Book of Power III: The Rise of Kananwhile tensions between Ronnie (Grantham Coleman) and his younger brother Unique (Joey Bada$$) reached an all-time high leading to Unique’s death.

Ronnie was released from prison at the start of Season 3, and, as Joey Bada$$ tells PEOPLE, “Unique was excited to have his brother home, and he looked at it as … last season, he lost his right – manual man. And now, boom, his brother’s home. I think he looked at it as, ‘Whoa, I’ve got support.'”

While Unique—a fan favorite since Season 1 whose love story with Raq (Patina Miller) cemented his place in Kanan’s story—was eager to bring Ronnie under his wing in the family’s drug-dealing business, Ronnie set out to remove Unique from the equation and grab the reins himself . At the end of episode five, he did just that.

Juliana (Rosal Colon) hinted that Ronnie must take care of Unique in order to take control of the operation, and when Unique came looking for Ronnie, ready to fight him for discovering his affair with Raq, he seized the moment and brutally beat his friend to death. younger brother. The episode ended with Ronnie driving away from Unique’s body, leaving it lifeless and battered in a roadside ditch.

In light of his character’s heartbreaking death, Joey Bada$$, 28, spoke with PEOPLE about his journey over three seasons Power spinoff (which tells the story of a young Kanan Stark, a character created by 50 Cent), opening up a complicated dynamic with Raq and that abrupt ending to Unique’s story.

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As a character, Unique has gone through so many life changes. His job has changed a lot, changed a lot, from Raqa’s enemy to her love interest. Tell me how you managed that character streak through each of the three seasons. Unique is a very ambitious character. I feel like his vision was always bigger than what his reality was, so the fact that he had so many changes I don’t think is a surprise, because he always had his eye on the prize in many ways. In Season 1, he was kind of at the top of his game, and then he got—fired, if you will, but he’s such an ambitious, resilient type of character that his setbacks only led to bigger comebacks each time.

Did you see the Raq love story when it was first hinted at in the season 2 finale? I don’t think any of us necessarily predicted that, but I will say that I was always intelligent enough to kind of fit into it. So I planted that seed from the very beginning, and I think it was something that even the writer’s room didn’t necessarily expect, but the way I played the character, it kind of set it up for that. And that was actually the result of Patina and [my] chemistry, where it just made sense to play with them like that. But also, it was like I thought it was very real. Why wouldn’t this guy want to play with her like that?

Unique (Joey Badass) and Raq Thomas (Patina Miller) in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’.

STARZ

Were you rooting for them to be together or did you feel like it would be a short-lived relationship that would end in flames? Who knows where it could have gone, but I think those two characters — Unique and Raq — really have a genuine interest in each other because they have so much in common. They are in the same place, that is, in their individual lives. They have so many people depending on them, and they are the bosses of their operations. And when you have two people like that, there’s so much you can relate to with each other, and I feel like they almost both felt like – there’s no one else like that in their lives. Raq will not find another Unique, and Unique will not find another Raq.

They would also make a crazy team, with Raq really trying to get out of the game and Unique wanting to be on top of his game. I think there could have been some sort of opportunity for Raq to be the brains and Unique to be, like, the muscle. One can only dream at this point.

Instead, things took a sudden turn at the end of episode 5 and Unique was killed. The scene itself was quite brutal. Were you shocked when you read the script? Absolutely. I was devastated. But all good things come to an end and I feel this character helped me spread my wings in the TV and film industry. I mean, it’s very unfortunate. I hate to leave Canaan family.

‘Raising Kanan’ Patina Miller ‘laughed’ when she saw her ’80s character Mullet’s wig

Ronnie (Grantham Coleman) and Unique (Joey Bada$$) in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’.

STARZ

What was the last day on set like? Was it an emotional farewell? Everyone knew it was my last episode, so it was a very somber atmosphere. I definitely felt all the love and all the reluctance everyone had, myself included, that it had to come to an end. But hey, the way I look at it, on the bright side — I survived two and a half seasons. I don’t think people thought I would make it this far.

When you read the script, did you say, “So, do we have any flexibility here?” Have you tried to change his fate? That. Trust me, I tried to do it. I called [showrunner] Sascha Penn immediately, like, “Dude, are you serious?”

How do you think fans will react to this death? I don’t think they will like it one bit. I think a lot of people will be a little disappointed. I think a lot of people will be a little disappointed. It’s like, “What the fuck? He’s dead?” It’s not even the end of the season yet! It’s the middle of the fucking season!

What do you think is left unsaid or unfinished for Unique? I feel like we never really saw Unique reach his full potential. He had a few setbacks and has been climbing again ever since. I mean, s—, the romance with Raq, I feel like something was left unsaid. I feel like Unique’s relationship with the mother of his child was a little… I feel like we definitely could have expanded on that more.

And also the relationship with the brother. Unique is kind of a lone wolf, so I think he was eager to build something while his brother and his brother were at home, but it kind of took a different turn because they were just on two different pages. And the unfortunate thing happened.

When Ronnie showed up at the beginning of Season 3, did you have any doubt that it could lead to the downfall of Unique? I thought I would have to kill him. I thought Unique would get rid of him. I didn’t really see the other way around. I mean I could see them clashing but I thought maybe they would be on the same page or Unique would just have to remove him. But boy, was I wrong.

I wish I could have told Unique. I wish I could have warned him.

Unique (Joey Bada$$) in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’.

STARZ

How would you describe Ronnie and his role in this story? Ronnie is like a dark gray cloud that somehow came through and screwed everyone over. It’s funny because Grantham, that’s my man, but there’s this word we use to describe Ronnie, and it’s snarky. That’s Ronnie to a literal T. He’s unpleasant with him, he’s argumentative.

What do you think Unique’s role was in Kanan’s story? It is Raising Kanan, after all. I mean, listen — he saved Kanan’s mom. If it wasn’t for Unique, Raq might have been wiped out, so I feel like that’s definitely a big part of it. But just in the beginning, serving as an adversary, I feel like it gave it to Kanan [Mekai Curtis] a lot of perspective on what can happen, being a part of this life that he’s entering, and even how to deal with his enemies, because yes – they put Unique through.

They sent him to prison. They tried to kill him. They did all that, and then he became an ally. So I feel like that’s a lesson that Kanan could take in this street life. I mean, Raq took “keep your enemies closer” to a whole other level.

anan Stark (Mekai Curtis); Detective Malcolm Howard (Omar Epps) and Raquel ‘Raq’ Thomas (Patina Miller) in the third season of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’.

Starz

This series was your longest-running film role. How does it feel to look back on it now, knowing it’s over? It seems rewarding to say the least. It taught me so much. It brought me a new family, a new network of people I can bond with for the rest of my life. And I feel like that opened a lot of doors for me. It brought me great exposure to my career as an actor as well as a musician. And yes, overall I am very grateful for the experience and look forward to what the future holds.

This type of role was something I held back from doing for a long time because I just didn’t want to become a drug dealer type of actor because I was a rapper. I felt like it was so close to home. I wanted to show people – with things like [the short film] Two distant strangers and Mr. Robot — that I had the range, but I felt that this role came at the right time and was perfect.

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Book of Power III: The Rise of Kanan is now streaming on the Starz app, with new episodes airing Fridays at 8:00 PM ET.

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