Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s Mekai Curtis Says Kanan and Raq 'Constantly' Butt Heads in Season 4 (Exclusive)

If you thought there was tension between Kanan Stark and Raq before, Power Book III: Raising Kanan raises the stakes even more.

Mekai Curtis, who plays the titular character, a younger version of the character Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson originated in Power, tells PEOPLE that in season 4 of Raising Kanan, "it's always a constant butting of heads" between his character and his mom, Raq, played by Patina Miller.

After the season 3 finale left off with Raq killing Kanan's dad Howard (Omar Epps) right in front of him, Curtis, 24, says the lingering effects of that choice will continue to affect the mother-son dynamic because there's still "so much unsaid."

"We're going to watch that unfold in a lot of different ways," he says, as Kanan "just wants to know why" Raq made that choice. "And in true mom and son fashion on this show, [Raq thinks], 'I was looking out for you, but you don't see that.'"

Miller, 40, tells PEOPLE that season 4 sees the characters "navigating a different temperature to their relationship" than ever before.

"Raq spent all of last season trying to find a way back in with Kanan, but now she's busy. She's trying to get some things [done]. And so her and Kanan are kind of business partners at best right now."

She continues, "Obviously, there's still the, 'I love my son, I wish he loved me back' — because I don't think that ever goes away. I think that's what makes the story the story, is you always need to have these two characters that are in this push-pull."

Right now, though, Kanan "hates" Raq. "She's like, okay, I guess I got to be okay with this for right now. I got to think about what I need. And so you get to really see her try to navigate this new world of being alone really."

Curtis adds of their onscreen dynamic, "It's fun getting to play that out. You get to see a lot of the colors that everyday families and people go through with people that they love. So it's fun to be able to translate that for people."

Aside from a continually complicated dynamic with his mom, Curtis says that in season 4 of the prequel series, fans will get to "see more of the Kanan that people saw in the original [show]."

"It's insane. It's a chess game. Everybody's playing," he says of what's to come this season, particularly given the miraculous resurrection of Unique (Joey Bada$$). "And that's even been Kanan's mindset this whole year too — he doesn't trust anything."

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New episodes of Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 4 air Thursdays at 12 a.m. ET on Starz.