OPINION: While the vengeance of Unique is the storyline that bridges season 4, the evolution of Jukebox has been the most interesting storyline.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I’ve said over and over again that the thing keeping me tethered to the machinations of Southside Jamaica Queens’ Thomas family from “Raising Kanan” is really my curiosity about LaVerne “Jukebox” Thomas. Her evolution from the potential 90s songbird into the diabolical killer and psychopath we know her as in the middle seasons of “Power” keeps me coming back. And while in real life, rapper Ja Rule might think that 50 Cent’s various shows are trash (he is buggin’ by the way), I’d wager that I’m not the only person invested in Juke’s story.
With that said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Unique is making himself more and more present to the various goons and bosses in Queens. Unique, who has hurt Raquel and Marvin significantly in the drug business and put some fear into Kanan’s organization, has decided it’s time for his vengeance plot to reveal itself. He has left Raquel’s operation at a standstill as all of her partners are leery of the loud violence surrounding her and Marvin’s agreements.
At the same time, he’s trying to take back his streets from her. Again, why he has decided that Raquel tried to have him killed is beyond me, but I suppose we need a reason for him to be brought back to life as fan service, so here we are. I will say that Unique showing up in her kitchen at the end of episode 6 was chef’s kiss.
Let’s get back to Jukebox, though. In episode 5, we find out that Famous has been killed, probably in retaliation for his guilty conscience, the street’s belief that he’s been talking to the police, and the immortalization of that guilty conscience in the song, “411.” His death, understandably, has hit everybody hard, confirming what was suspected despite everybody’s hope that he just ran away, never to be seen again. In episode 6, Juke and Kanan (and Lou and Marvin, really) are ready to hit the streets in search of retaliation, and Jukebox makes it very clear that she’s ready to go to war.
Her father, Marvin, has been concerned that Jukebox, who shot and killed her homegirl’s husband to save her father, is too…unbothered about taking a life. Marvin wonders if the Army has made her too comfortable with killing, to which Jukebox quips that if she’s comfortable with killing, it’s not because of the Army, a potential shot at all of the death and violence she’s been around as a result of the family business. Marvin, whom I love dearly, has to shoulder some of that blame. He points out he wants more than a life of crime for her, but really, that doesn’t seem to be what she wants.
It’s been interesting watching her “grow” into the person she will be decades later. For one, as she becomes more comfortable with herself, embracing her queerness and her taste for blood, she seems almost…happy.
When Kanan gets intel that a crew of knuckleheads they know killed Famous, he and Jukebox go to kill them, and Juke seems almost sad they didn’t get a chance to commit a quadruple murder. Even Kanan, no stranger to gun violence and murder himself, seems worried about the glee Juke displays with the power she wields over their friends, asking for their lives to be spared.
The old Jukebox is still in there, but this new and maniacal Jukebox is poking her head out. This is also why I’m afraid her father, Uncle Marvin, isn’t going to make it to the end of the season; I feel like it will be the villain origin story event that effectively erases LaVerne, leaving only the murderous psychopath Jukebox to wreak havoc.
To that end, the writers of “Raising Kanan” are nailing the evolution of a supervillain in Jukebox. It makes sense, too: Jukebox and Marvin’s relationship has allowed for the most character development in the show. Marvin has grown as a human, developing friendships and taking a more cerebral approach to his actions; but he’s had to grow as a father because of Jukebox. He’s also had to grow as a man trying to make his way in a world where he seems to want more, even if his skillset keeps him entrenched in the drug game. Marvin is a soldier through and through, but one whose maturation we get to see in real-time. That’s why I think he’s going to die; he’s the one we’ll care most about, and that goes double for Jukebox.
Anyway, I hope the Thomas family figures out their struggles and now that Unique has made his presence known, who knows what’s on the table. Raquel has some choices to make and frankly, I can’t wait to see what episode 7 brings in the way of this first convo between Unique and Raquel, former lovers turned mortal enemies now. Whew, chile; we’re cooking with gas now.
Southside.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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