Who is the girl tariq is dating in power

Is Kanan the Real Father
of Tariq and Raina?

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Here are the three best reader submissions for this round, along with answers from our expert, “The Power Guy.” [Editor’s note: The Power Guy has no knowledge of what goes down after Season 4]

Kanan is the twins’ [Tariq/Raina’s] father, and that’s why he all of a sudden wants to help in the Season 4 finale. Only he and Tasha know the truth.

-- Joshua A.

The Power Guy: Lord, I hope this is true. Kanan smirking at Ghost while a tearful Tasha admits the truth to her husband would be the the best TV moment of 2018 (and possibly ever).

• Some evidence for Joshua’s theory:

  • Look at when Kanan kills Shawn (I know it hurts, but this is important!). Kanan doesn’t shoot Shawn right away after finding out that Shawn didn’t kill Ghost; instead, what sets him off is when Shawn says he’s “taking Tasha and the kids.” Maybe part of why Kanan is so upset is that it’s his kids who would be taken away by Shawn?
  • Remember when Tariq refuses to rat out Kanan to Jukebox when she’s posing as a cop? The first thing Jukebox says to Kanan afterwards is: “Your boy held tough.” Now, we already know Tariq is way more similar to Kanan than Shawn ever was...is it possible Jukebox calls Tariq “your boy” literally, because she knows he’s Kanan’s real son? Also, Tariq in this scene does the exact opposite of Ghost (who set up Kanan to be arrested 10 years earlier), which is a very interesting contrast between “father” and son.
  • Finally, there’s that creepy moment in Season 2 where Kanan brings presents for the kids and tells Tasha, “I used to think about you sometimes when I was inside. If you ever need anything -- anything you ain’t getting from Ghost -- you know you can ask me.” Sure, it’s totally possible that Kanan is just thirsty (and has absolutely no shame), but the awkwardness seems to imply there’s at least some sort of history between them, right? And that could explain why Tasha helped Ghost set up Kanan to get arrested: She wanted to hide the truth, and sending Kanan away would make it easier to keep the secret.

• Ultimately, though, I don’t think Kanan is Tariq’s father. The two biggest problems with Joshua’s theory are:

  • Tariq has so much in common with Ghost
    
    
    • He’s book-smart
    • He wants to go clean (hence his boarding school application)
    • He has a conscience (e.g. when he tries to prevent a rape)
    • He tries to protect his family (unlike Kanan, who kills multiple of his own family members)
    • According to Tasha, Tariq even “lies the same” as Ghost
  • Before her affair with Shawn, Tasha seems to have been faithful to Ghost
    
    
    • Plus, even if Tasha had cheated before, would she really have chosen to hook up with Kanan’s son (Shawn) after having already smashed Kanan? That seems hard to believe, even by Power’s standards

  Kanan is going to team up with Ghost & Tommy, but it’s going to cost Ghost to stay in the game. I mean, Ghost wants out, right? Ghost is going to find out that Kanaan was tied in with Raina getting killed, and that will force them all to be at war with one another again.

  -- Megan K.

  The Power Guy: No doubt Ghost will find out that Ray-Ray was part of Kanan’s crew, and that’s going to create problems within their new alliance. But I’m not as convinced as Megan that this will start an all-out war between Ghost and Kanan. With everything that’s going down heading into Season 5 (Dre making big moves, Angela investigating Ray-Ray’s murder, Proctor holding onto that recording of Tommy killing Ruiz, etc.), I don’t see Ghost starting a war with Kanan on top of all that.

  I think Power should have had Dre kill Shawn, instead of Kanan. I think it would have been a good mystery for the characters.

  I’m excited about Season 5 because the gang is all back together, but I don’t see how it’s possible that Ghost could trust someone who killed their own son (regardless of the common enemy). That’s why it would have been good for Dre to kill Shawn.

  -- Charles C.

  The Power Guy: Charles, I couldn’t agree with you more about Kanan and Shawn. Kanan killing his own son is the most f’d up thing that’s happened on Power, and that crime has proved to be unforgivable: It’s impossible for us to trust Kanan, and it doesn’t feel realistic for any of the characters to get along with him either. If someone else had killed Shawn, we’d be able to appreciate Kanan as just a hilarious loose cannon who understandably wanted payback against Ghost.

  I disagree with you about Dre, though. IMO we’re supposed to like Dre until he sets up Julio at the end of Season 4, so having Dre kill Shawn in Season 2 would’ve turned us against him too soon. Assuming Shawn had to die when we did, I would’ve liked for him to be killed by a bullet that’s meant for Ghost. That would’ve easily fit in with the plot, and it could’ve fueled Kanan’s hatred of Ghost even more.