Oh, wait a night!

Such a fun and iconic song to play over an absolute bloodbath!

There was nothing fun about the end of Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 10, which saw Raq's crew gunned down at the hands of Sal Boselli. And Raq was one second away from joining them until an unlikely ally came to her rescue.

Let's start by admitting that this was the best episode of Raising Kanan.

From start to finish, everything worked here. They closed some storylines, opened others, and carried over a few that will keep the excitement there as we wait for the next season.

It was everything a finale should be. And it was made all the better by the ever-steady presence of Patina Miller.

Patina is an absolute force, and she brings everything to this role. And in this hour, Raq is everywhere, dealing with fire after fire, all while the most important relationship in her life is on life support.

Raq's clear focus this season has been on expansion, and it's been the only real thing she's thought about in many ways. Moving out of Queens, reveling in the fruits of her labor, was a way for Raq to celebrate herself and start anew.

She's bigger than just Queens, and she's been ready to go higher and higher. Never content to stay put and see others pass her by.

And that's perfectly respectable, but Raq has struggled to see the whole board in front of her, instead using her bravado and asserting her dominance in situations that haven't sat well with others.

Take Juliana, for instance. She was rightly frightened by her encounter with Unique, and all she wanted was for Raq to stop doing business with him. Raq couldn't do that for various reasons, but her approach to Juliana was from an 'I know better than you' place and not one of trying to make her understand.

You know you fighting above your weight class, Juliana. You punching up it ain't about whether you can throw. It's how you take.

Raq

• Permalink: You know you fighting above your weight class, Juliana. You punching up it ain't about...

Their working and personal relationship has continued to deteriorate, and she may have underestimated the kind of influence she would have on Joaquin.

To his credit, he doesn't seem totally sold on the plan to undermine Raq, but he doesn't stop it either.

It's incredible how many people look at Raq, see how she moves, and will still stick their whole chest out and try her.

But Joaquin, Juliana, and Traymont will have to wait because the Boselli problem winds up being the most immediate threat.

Raq makes a move on him first, but it feels bush league compared to how he ends up hitting her. He sends his men all over the city to get rid of EVERYONE. And the blood ends up scattered all over the place, with Worrell, Zisa, and Kenya the most notable casualties.

The scene is Power at its finest, with the action pieces and killings that have you holding your breath. You know that in this universe, no one is safe, which always heightens these scenes. Marvin or Lou-Lou could have easily died, and I would have been devastated but not even surprised because Power does not play.

Marvin still ends up kind of in a state of limbo, and Lou-Lou is seemingly okay. But Raq comes face-to-face with her own mortality and stares it in the face with that same confidence she brings to everything.

I wasn't sure how she would get out of the bullet with her name on it, but Unique coming to her rescue was unexpected but welcome. Because while these two have been enemies, they also have much in common. One of those being a zip code.

So much of adult Kanan's identity and youth is rooted in being from Jamaica, Queens. It's such a part of him, and you can see that pride a lot in Unique. It's why he refused to get out of town when all the odds were against him because southside is home.

Unique: They say most romances start at the office. Hands bumping into each other at the water cooler and what not. I'm just wondering if you ever favor me like that.
Raq: We ain't got no water cooler. And the last time I checked, you and me we was trying to kill each other for a hot second.
Unique: Well, you know what they say, it's a thin line.

• Permalink: Well, you know what they say, it's a thin line.

Whether or not you see a potential romance blooming, hinted at in a scene between the two that was just oozing chemistry, you can see the respect between them. It's why Raq approached Unique in the first place about working for her because she knows what he can do.

She recognizes that being in business with Unique is better than being against him.

So, think about what happens here with Unique. He almost dies and loses his right-hand man. But instead of hiding out, he goes directly to Raq's house, knowing she's in trouble. THINK ABOUT THAT.

Raq will never need someone to rescue her, but Unique was there when she needed a hand. And it was symbolic for her to allow him to help her off the ground, bloodied and bruised but still ready to stand up.

I haven't been shy about wanting these two to work together because it would just be wild to see. Who could stop them?

Talk about a power duo. These two would be unstoppable in so many ways. And maybe that's where things will go because Raq will be down many soldiers when the dust settles, and she will need Unique.

Lou-Lou has been a bit of a lost soul for a while and finding out that he once again can't escape from Raq pushes him to a broken place.

That scene between him and Raq was gutwrenching. All of Raq's frustrations with life came out in that monologue, and she wasn't wrong when she lamented to Lou-Lou that she was tired of having the same conversation.

Lou-Lou hasn't wanted to listen. And he's done everything he can to become his own man, but he will never be free unless Raq is no longer living. And you'd like to think that deep down inside, he knows that, but he truly doesn't seem to get the memo.

So, what's it going to take?

I can't tell if Lou-Lou is happy most of the time because he appears to be in a permanent state of annoyance.

Once again, he leaves a season barely alive, and instead of running from what is proving to be his destiny, he needs to figure out a way to deal with it because, right now, there is no path forward for him. At least not one that I can see.

Raq is a little harsh in her delivery, but she's not wrong. She is the one, and everyone else around her feeds off what she gives them. That's the truth. That's the life. And it's a life Lou-Lou signed up for a long time ago.

Marvin also signed up for this life and is much more willing to take the punches and do what needs to be done.

The poor guy can't even go a whole day on his new being better kick because he has to put down Sam for not getting out of town.

Marvin's growth this season was one for the ages, and he genuinely did work with Jukebox and Raq to prove himself capable in many ways. The whole thing with the Boselli's does start with him, BUT he didn't mess up the job. Marco did. And that was a grown man that took a job and couldn't complete it.

If you want to blame Marvin, sure, you can somewhat. But he was ultimately not the one that got Marco killed.

Raq was always right to defend him, and Lou-Lou was always right to kill for him.

When I tell you, I gasped when the neighbor Marvin had previously beefed with opened his door for him. I had this sick feeling he would shut it or do something to get Marvin killed, and I would have been sick to my stomach.

It's a testament to the writing and London Brown's incredible performance. He's nailed this arc, which has allowed Marvin to show a tremendous amount of vulnerability and understanding.

And I appreciate that they haven't just flipped a switch with Marvin. He's still getting things wrong, but he's trying and working to be better for himself first.

Jukebox sees it, and that's why she finally comes home.

Someone who's in no rush to come home? Kanan.

Kanan's distrust of Raq is warranted, and it's okay that he wants to find his own path. But it's funny that he's using his mother's business to start that new path.

Is it his to take, use, and mold into his own? Sure, if you want to see it that way.

When he and Raq sat in the woods that night, Raq reiterated that this was his kingdom if he wanted it. And he did. But for someone who is so hellbent on getting away from Raq, he still needs her. There's no business for him to inherit without her.

Whatever happens, moving forward, he will have to find a way to at least have a truce with Raq because they all need each other. Threats are coming at them from many angles, and while their relationship may never go back to how it once was, they still need to be on the same page because they're still family.

It's family above everything, and that's the way it should always be.

Future Kanan may not remember that, but this Kanan should.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• Tony Danza as a mafia king who owns a tropical fish shop? Sign me up for him to be the big villain next season.

• RIP to Worrell, Zisa, and Kenya. Worrell's death was a long time coming. Zisa...was a person on the show. Someone will miss her. And Kenya. Look, she was extremely misguided, and Jukebox deserved better. But she will mourn her mother's passing, so RIP to her.

• Kanan pushed Burke down like he was on the playground, and I should not have laughed as loud as I did.

• The acting this hour was genuinely next level, and I'd be remiss not to shout out Malcolm Mays, who had the challenging job of relaying all the emotions Lou-Lou was feeling while Raq verbally beat him down without saying a word. You could see all the pain and sadness in his eyes.

That was the fastest season of a series! It feels like just yesterday we were getting started and guessing how things would play out, and here we are now, beginning that long wait to get back to Queens.

This series gets better and better, showcasing masterful storytelling and impactful acting each week. Never, ever bet against the Power Universe because they will always prove you wrong.

Tell me in the comments what you thought about the finale and what you're looking forward to seeing when the series returns. And please watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan online via TV Fanatic, so you're not left behind!

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.