When you get a chance to speak with THEE LeToya Luckett, you take it happily!
And when you get to pick her brain a bit about some of the more devastating scenes from Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2 Episode 8, you make sure to do the interview justice.
Luckett was incredibly candid as she detailed Kenya’s thought process during the hour and broke down many of Kenya’s motivations pertaining to Jukebox and that fractured relationship.
Kenya and Jukebox’s relationship deteriorates throughout this hour after Kenya ambushes her with a conversion therapy session. It’s a gut-wrenching scene, and I wondered what was Kenya’s thought process throughout this complicated hour as she put her daughter in such a disturbing space.
“Well, it’s heavy because I feel for Kenya in this situation, and, of course, I feel for Juke,” Luckett explained. “Because of her decision to step out and do what she felt was best for her life at the time.
“Now that she’s trying to earn her love and trust from her daughter again, this is something that I feel she’s struggling with what she knows to be true in the church and then thinks is right.
“And her also feeling like, do I have the place because I left for so long to say or share with her or to do this to try and make things right or fix Juke?
“She’s struggling with that, but at the same time, because she’s been told this is the right thing to do, she doesn’t want to lose her daughter as far as with her salvation and for her to go to hell by not doing it, or at least offering what is right to her or what she thinks is right.
“But it’s a tug of war in her mind because she’s feeling like, do I have this place to do this? I’ve been gone. But at the same time, I feel like I want to save her.
“I want to be the light in her life because I’m sure leaving her with her father or just knowing how that street life can be, she wants to provide a better life for her. And she just thinks that she’s doing the right thing. Although, it’s probably not. I think there’s a struggle there. She thinks she’s saving her.”
Since Kenya’s return, it’s clear that she went through a lot in those years she was away, and there was much more to her than meets the eye. She’s a very complex and dense character.
When asked whether those intricacies and complexities drew her to the role, Luckett said, “Absolutely, because I’m complex. Women, in general, we have to go through so many different things, and we have to process so many different things.
“And especially with being a mother as Kenya and as a mom of two of my own, I could relate to Kenya in many ways. But at the same time, I didn’t understand her decision-making, and I love characters that spark my interest and make me think harder or overthink.
“And she was that. She presented all of that, and I felt like her story deserved to be told even though people would judge her. What? You left your daughter to pursue a career, and now you’re doing this? I felt like I wanted her to be able to share her truth, and I just did my best.
“I did my best with trying to bring her character to life and tell her story.”
Luckett succeeded in bringing Kenya to life on-screen in a challenging role, as Kenya did seem conflicted at times with whether or not she was doing the right thing.
So, did Kenya believe the relationship she was cultivating with Jukebox came from a good place?
“Yes, I think it was her trying to get her time back. I think it was her trying to earn her place as a mother again because she knew she made a bad decision before, a selfish decision before.
“Although going out there, she thought that she was doing something for them, being able to provide a better life for her daughter. I think that that has always been her way of thinking; even though she got caught up, I feel this might provide a better life for my daughter.
“This might be a good thing for us, or this might be a good thing for her.
“But there’s some selfishness that wraps itself around that every time. And that is one, the lack of communication with Marvin, just picking up and leaving, and realizing that you’re just leaving your daughter or you guys’ daughter in the hands of the streets.
“Also, with the church, yes, this might be what you think is a good or the right thing to do, but it might not be who she is or what she wants to represent. This isn’t who she has become. And I do feel that although her intentions were good, a lot of times that it wasn’t the best thing for her.”
Because this is Power, Kenya’s story may not be over yet, so we’ll be looking to see if there is more story to tell here.
Let me know in the comments what you thought about Kenya and her introduction this season, as well as what Luckett had to say about this hour.
You can watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan on Sundays at 9/8c on Starz.
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.