Fans of the TV show Power will collectively be on the edge of their seats when the season finale airs this Sunday on STARZ. While those of us who did not watch the leaked episodes that hit Facebook weeks ago aren’t sure what to expect – other than mayhem and some slow singing and flower bringing in the aftermath of the character Raina St. Patrick’s murder – the actress who plays the slain teenager says Season 4 ending with her character’s death would have been intriguing.
“A lot of [the cast and crew] wanted it to the end right there,” Donshea Hopkins, who played Raina on the show since its inception, revealed to REVOLT TV.
The young actress says she even voiced her opinion to the show runner Courtney-Kemp Agboh.
“Even I was like ‘this is not gonna be a cliffhanger?’ She was like, ‘no Donshea,’” Hopkins recounted. “I think it would have been interesting if it was a cliffhanger.”
Everyone who follows Power was in utter disbelief and dismay when Raina was shot and killed by crooked cop Ray Ray Jones two weeks ago after standing up for her brother Tariq. If you think you were stunned by watching the tragedy transpire, imagine how Hopkins felt when reading the script.
“It depends, but we get a very short notice,” Hopkins told about the lead time the cast has before shooting an episode. “Three to two days before the table read. Sometimes a week. But usually, we go to the table read, do our lines and get a day or two before we start shooting.”
“I was like ‘wow, this is really happening. It was surreal at the time,” she added. “I don’t know how to explain it. I was five years here and I’m now I’m gone. But it was very surreal. For days after that, we went into rehearsal and we rehearsed the scene and we had a stunt coordinator there. So it went by very quickly. I didn’t get that much time to think about it. It was like ‘c’mon, c’mon you gotta do this.’ So I think if I did have more time to think about it, I probably would be crying. I would have been an emotional mess. But it was over quickly and I’m glad.”
Hopkins described filming the scenes–which were shot from Raina’s , Ray Ray’s and a hiding Tariq’s perspective–as “fast paced,” but it still “felt like 20 days.”
“I was out in the cold, I did my own stunts. I had to fall down on the ground over and over,” said Hopkins, who sings and raps outside of acting.
What will be the fallout from Raina’s untimely demise in episode nine? We will all see on Sunday when the finale of season four of “Power” airs at 9PM on STARZ.