Wendell Pierce & Erika Woods Talk ‘Raising Kanan’ Penultimate Episode

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points for Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 7.

With only one episode to go for the series finale of the hit Starz crime drama Power Book II: Raising Kanan, there’s no doubt that there are plenty of bodies yet to be piled up. In last night’s episode—the penultimate of the series—fans witnessed the end of three lives that were mostly unexpected.

As I reported this morning, following the early season death of Lou (Malcolm Mays), Raising Kanan killed off his brother Marvin (London Brown) in Episode 7. This ending was not fully a surprise, as the character had accepted his fate and had plans put in motion to protect his daughter Jukebox (Hailey Kilgore). Read Brown’s true post-mortem to learn more about what was going on in Marvin’s head and what could’ve been should he have survived.

What I didn’t note in that story is that there were two more significant deaths. Last night, we also said goodbye to Snaps (Wendell Pierce) and Pop (Erika Woods), two agents of chaos who joined the fold in Season 3. They were murdered by Juke in a surprise twist following the revelation that they were behind Famous’ (Antonio Ortiz) death in Season 4.

Pierce and Woods spoke to Deadline about Snaps and Pop’s demise, what it’s like playing a couple as a real-life couple, and why it was perfect that they were shot to death by Juke.

DEADLINE: What was the initial attraction for you both to play Snaps and Pop?

ERIKA WOODS: Getting to work with Wendell Pierce definitely made it very attractive. I mean, duh. [Laughs] For me, that was that was first and foremost. And then getting to play someone on the other side of law, since I’ve always played law enforcement. Getting to play someone so devious and delicious and methodical-it was really challenging and, most of all, fun.

WENDELL PIERCE: I just wanted to be a part of the world. They are very specific in the way they develop characters and populate the world of the Power universe. That’s a very rare thing. So, any sort of good writing is always attractive.

DEADLINE: When I announced your castings, I learned you are a real-life couple. What was it like working together?

WOODS: It was really fun and a great learning experience. And just like with any coworker, it was a great collaboration with not just Wendell, but our nephew Breeze [Shameik Moore] and all the other great characters in the universe. It was the icing on the cake.

PIERCE: You do the work as normal. You try to be a great collaborator and be there for your scene partner. And since we know each other really well, it really helps develop the characters a little deeper.

DEADLINE: One of my favorite elements of this couple was how they dressed and carried themselves. The costumes were all top-notch. Did you enjoy that as well?

WOODS: Yes, it was the other character in the universe; our wardrobe, led by Tsigie White, was another collaborator for us. I absolutely loved it. It helped shape our characters.

PIERCE: It lets you know who you are. The clothes are just another variable that lets you know who the character is as a part of the character development. And Tsigie is a great designer. Everything was custom. I really think the work that she did is worthy of awards because people always take it for granted that costuming is not easy, especially when it’s a contemporary show. It really is very specific, very inventive, very creative work with different fabrics. We became known for dressing alike and complementing each other so much so that our characters have become one of the leading characters for Halloween.

DEADLINE: Did either of you take anything home as a memento?

PIERCE: I did. I had such great hats. I took several hats. You know, the red ostrich and brown leather and all of that. So I have a collection of a few of the hats.

WOODS: I definitely did take a pair of boots. Really nice vintage boots that I loved.

DEADLINE: Focusing on Episode 7, we all say goodbye to Snaps and Pop after Jukebox murders them. Why was she the right person to kill them?

WOODS: I think with Juke it was the element of surprise, which I think was perfect, because Kanan [Mekai Curtis] might have been the obvious choice. I think to have Juke and her discretion and being so methodical, we had no idea we were being followed. She outgained us in the end. I thought that was just genius writing, and very well played.

PIERCE: Ultimately, when you are in the game, you always have to have your head on a swivel and watch your back. But it’s almost impossible for anyone to be absolutely perfect. With as long as we have been in the game, and as the OGs, we let our guard down. It takes that one moment of indiscretion and relaxation that puts you in jeopardy. That’s the lesson that’s learned. You pay the consequences for the lifestyle that you lead, and as the saying goes, no one gets out of this life alive.

DEADLINE: With the loss of Marvin, Snaps, and Pop, how do you think it will affect the game?

PIERCE: The thing I love about the Power Universe is we play with time. This was a prequel set before the original Power, and next we’re seeing Origins, how others come on. We spoke for two seasons about Breeze before we even saw him. So there are opportunities to go back and discover how these people got involved in the game, and what made them an OG. There are flashbacks [on the show]. We saw Lou after he was dead, and we saw scenes leading up to his death. There’s still a lot of history about Snaps and Pop that we don’t know. Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Who’s Crackle?

DEADLINE: Wait a minute, there’s a Crackle?

WOODS: Yep!

PIERCE: You’ll have to wait and see.

DEADLINE: It has to be DefCon.

PIERCE: We’ll have to wait and see. And what was our relationship with DefCon? Who is DefCon?

WOODS: Huh? It would be nice to reveal that in Origins, don’t you think, Rosy? I think that would be a very nice reveal because I can neither confirm nor deny.

PIERCE: Ultimately, you have to pay the consequences for your actions. So that’s the lesson in what happens to these characters in this episode. What you do in the dark will ultimately come to light, so you best be careful. There, but by the grace of God, go I. What happened to me can also happen to you.

DEADLINE: So what you are teasing is that you both could come back as flashbacks in Power: Origins?

PIERCE: Anything is possible.