‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s Asjha Cooper Breaks Down Jarita Reveal & What’s Next

Welcome back, Jarita.

The July 3 episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan revealed that Tiana (Asjha Cooper), the woman sleeping with Kanan (who is also one of Flossie’s escorts), is not Tiana. Warning: Spoilers for Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 ahead!

Tiana is actually Jarita, a character Power fans know from the original series. In the flagship show, Jarita (then played by Tasha Smith) is introduced in Season 2 as Kanan’s (50 Cent) ex and the mother of his son, Shawn (Sinqua Walls). TV Insider spoke with Asjha Cooper, who will be a series regular on the upcoming Power: Origins prequel series, about stepping into such a crucial role within the Power universe.

When Cooper first auditioned, she had no idea that she was actually auditioning for Jarita. It wasn’t until after she got the role that she got the lowdown. “Sascha [Penn] called me, and it was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know, but Tiana’s gonna play a bigger role in the world.’ And I was like, ‘OK, sure.’ I didn’t really know what that meant because I didn’t watch Power, so I just was like, ‘OK, maybe it means I don’t die.'”

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Cooper soon got to work on the character, watching clips of Smith’s performance, and trying to “get her voice down.” Even though Jarita is already known within the world of Power, Cooper felt like she “had the freedom to just kind of find her” because viewers still don’t know that much about her.

Jarita made quite the entrance in the third episode of Raising Kanan’s final season. She’s first seen when Flossie (Leslie Grossman), Raq (Patina Miller), and Marvin (London Brown) tap her to start delivering drugs on top of being an escort.

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When she’s strutting down the hallway in those heels and with that bold red lip, that’s when Cooper was fully immersed in the role. “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, I understand this woman. She’s OK being seen; she’s alive; she’s out there.'”

In the fourth episode of Season 4, Kanan (Mekai Curtis) and Jarita’s relationship continues to deepen. She tells him her real name, which requires a massive amount of trust. And in the world of Power, you really shouldn’t trust anyone. So, why is Kanan different?

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“I think in her line of work, there’s a lot of people that want to take care of her financially, but emotionally, spiritually, I feel like maybe she’s still very hidden with those other Johns, right? She’s still very guarded,” Cooper explained. “I think there’s just a disconnect, and I think with him, his actions are the same as other Johns, but I think, one, they’re similar in age, and I just think that she thinks that his actions are more pure. When he wants to do things for her, it feels different than when other Johns want to do it. It feels more authentic. It’s still very early stages when I reveal my name, but I also think Jarita is very young. I think there’s hope there, too. She sees this guy that’s around, that’s doing well, and he is showing her interest, and I feel like there’s a little bit of hope, and she’s like, well, let me take the risk and see what happens.”

Even though the last thing Jarita should be doing is getting more involved with Kanan Stark, the heart wants what it wants. “You’re seeing the beginning of a romantic relationship,” Cooper said. “You’re seeing the beginning of a relationship that was not supposed to happen.”

The Power universe is one filled with betrayals and death, but despite everything, Jarita is one of the very few people who’s still alive and breathing in the present day. As Cooper stressed, “Jarita is a survivor.”

Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Season 5, Fridays, Starz