Malcolm Mays Says Goodbye to Lou Lou In Raising Kanan “It Ended Just How It Was Supposed To”

In Raising Kanan, what happens to a family when its second-in-command is no longer there to provide guidance because its heir has accidentally done the unthinkable? For Lou Lou Thomas life has always been a struggle; incapable of dealing with the death of his father, he often sought strength and comfort from his sister Raquel, but she had hardened herself. He instead found his passion in music, but when family needed him most, he rejoined Raquel’s drug crew because it was best for business and family.

But, unlike the criminals of the past, Lou Lou wasn’t meant for the streets, and after murdering D-Wiz, which was built on a lie, and after the death of Famous, Lou Lou began to unravel mentally. He would spend four seasons stranded in the hellscape of addiction, depression, and a desperate need to escape the drug trade. But when his family needed him the most, he was there, telling Raquel, “I’m a fucking dragon slayer, Raq. What the fuck do you call a dragon slayer when he hasn’t got any dragons to slay?”

Instead of slaying dragons by Raquel’s side, he gasped his final breath after Kanan accidentally shot him in a cliffhanger standoff. He accepted his fate as he smiled into that darkness filled with peace, understanding, and acceptance. The noises in his head finally stopped as cruel irony stepped in. He was dead but finally redeemed.

In celebration of Raising Kanan’s fifth and final season, The Koalition attended its red-carpet premiere, where we spoke with actor Malcolm Mays about Lou Lou’s final moments, what Lou Lou would have told Kanan and Raquel if he had lived, working with Joey Bada$$ on an upcoming project, and saying goodbye to the Power Universe.

“He was in so much pain throughout the season. Yeah, he had to go. It was the right way, all those sins weighing on you. Some people can carry those. He just couldn’t, and I know people like that. I probably couldn’t carry half of what he was carrying. So, I understand it. I understand why the writers did it, and I understand why he was kind of okay. You could see in that last moment, hopefully, if you paid attention to that, and he was like, “I understand why I’m going, and I get it, and thank God I don’t have to carry your shit anymore.”

“It was interesting because it didn’t really feel like a death. It felt like I was back with my family, doing what we are supposed to do, which is provide great human content for y’all to tell stories that hopefully speak to the human condition. I felt like I was with the best people in the world to do it with. And I closed a beautiful chapter in my life that ended just how it was supposed to, creatively.”

At the behest of Jukebox, who was deeply worried about Kanan’s and Raq’s fragile and crumbling relationship, Lou Lou went to Raquel’s place in hopes that everyone would be honest with each other. But this is a family riddled in lies and deceit. Kanan was certain his mother was responsible for the murder of his best friend Famous and girlfriend Krystal; after years of the lies and death spread throughout the previous four seasons, who could blame him? Kanan saw his mother as a threat instead of an ally. She bound her trauma to his.

But to Raquel, she was unfairly deemed the enemy when all she did was clean up after Kanan’s constant mistakes. In reality, Famous and Krystal were murdered by Snaps and Pops, who were manipulating Kanan behind-the-scenes and longing for Kanan to kill Raquel, but despite telling Kanan her version of the truth, it came too late.

“I think [Lou Lou] would have told Kanan shut the fuck up and listen. He would have told Raquel, “You have to tell him everything, and you have to be okay with whatever the consequences are of that, but we are family, and nothing will go beyond that.”

In the season five opener, Kanan was going to shoot Raquel but turned around too quickly when Lou-Lou entered the room, intercepting Raq’s bodyguard, Ruben, and drawing Kanan’s attention. In the commotion, Kanan fired, killing Lou-Lou.

Kanan was left speechless and in shock, entering a state of dissociative personality disorder, with Raquel telling Kanan to flee, protecting him from his mistakes once again. Despite the upcoming chaos and mental fallout this will cause the Thomas family, Mays is happy Kanan killed Lou Lou instead of someone else. “To him probably, yeah. For him, probably yes. ” Lou Lou died in the loving arms of his sister instead of the cold streets, alone and afraid.

As for the future, Mays is currently working on a secret project with his former Raising Kanan co-star. “I’m doing a new movie now with my friends, so hopefully that’s coming. One of them is on this cast. Name starts with Joey [Bada$$]. So hopefully that comes out soon. We’re working on that now.”

To learn more about Lou Lou’s final moments, watch our full interview in the video above. Watch our full review of Raising Kanan season five, episode one, “By Blood.” Raising Kanan is now streaming on Starz and the Starz app.