Loyal Queen Sugar fans, we have finally gotten what we deserve. A great, solid, beautiful episode. The backdrop of this episode, officially called “Study War No More” is Aunt Vi’s (Tina Lifford) 60th birthday. Queen Sugar is always at its best when there’s a family event and this is no exception. Director DeMane Davis does a beautiful job with shots and light and color making everyone look even more gorgeous than usual.
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Aunt Vi doesn’t want a big celebration but too bad. She’s happily surprised, at least until Hollywood’s (Omar Dorsey) mama shows up. Apparently the two have had some issues in the past – probably like any mother would when your son’s girlfriend is much older, but this time she comes in peace.
Aside from the party, Hollywood has a special gift – an empty box that he will fill up with anything Vi might want. (Note to men: I can’t ever see a time that this approach would not work). But his mother does have some words for her son, reminding him that an independent woman like Violet don’t need nothing from him and that he needs to consider his own needs and wants more. She’s right and it provides an insight into Hollywood that we haven’t seen before.
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Keke’s (Tanyell Waivers) is back this episode -yay – and there’s a really funny scene where Aunt Vi almost catches Micah (Nicholas Ashe) and Keke kissing. Until I realized they were at the party, I thought Micah might finally get them draws. But not at Aunt Vi’s house, that’s for sure.
Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) has brought Trinh (Vivien Ngô) to the party which naturally makes everyone curious, even though he introduces her as his coworker. She also meets Blue (Ethan Hutchinson) who side-eyes her as much as we have. But since Blue’s a friendly kind of kid, he ultimately warms up a little bit. When Aunt Vi needs something, the group heads to the store, where they run right into Darla (Bianca Lawson). Man, when will somebody give Bianca Lawson some recognition?
She’s one of the best non-verbal actors, on not just this show, but any show. The way her eyes when she sees Ralph Angel with her son and this woman at the store convey more than words ever could. She’s especially upset because it was clear she wasn’t getting an invite to Aunt Vi’s party and because Ralph Angel forgot to tell her, she had to cancel her plans with Blue.
That’s why she wants them to have a parenting schedule but Ralph’s not really feeling it. He has other more pressing concerns, like deciding whether or not to give Benny (Jaren Mitchell) another chance. Benny wants his job back, as he knew he was never getting back in the house. RA lets him keep the job, something I feel will come back to haunt him because Benny just doesn’t make good decisions.
Nova has been talking to Prosper Denton (Henry G. Sanders) and she finds out that her father was once so distraught, he considered suicide. Nova must feel bad that despite being right there, she didn’t see how bad things had gotten. She’s feeling kind of down so is keeping a low profile at the party. Remy (Dondre Whitfield) sees her and wants to dance. She’s not feeling it, but later, in the kitchen, they share an extremely intimate moment.
No words, no kisses, just glances and touches. Uh-oh. I know people don’t like this relationship, but the way they are slow-burning it is giving Nova’s character a chance to evolve. She’s feeling him, but she’s being restrained, which is a big step for her. This may be something serious. But I’d like to see Remy get some more screen time. We don’t know much more about him than we did before.
As the party goes on, Hollywood can’t hide his joy at making Violet the future Mrs. Desonier. But here’s the thing – she doesn’t want to be Mrs. Desonier. She wants to marry him, but she wants to keep her name. Hollywood can’t understand it. Why is it that he wants to give Vi everything and she doesn’t want it? But at 60, she’s finally coming into herself. So she wants to stay a Bordelon.
It’s Hollywood’s mother who tells him to let it go. She understands completely and she’s on Violet’s side. So, thankfully trouble in paradise has been averted. Hollywood won’t insist on Violet taking his name, and on her side, she’ll concede to the big wedding he wants. We like it when things are OK with Vi and Hollywood.
Charley (Dawn Lyen Gardner) is still struggling with Davis’ (Timon Kyle Durrett) latest betrayal. But again, the wisdom of the elders comes to someone’s rescue. Prosper sees her and tells her that his beloved wife wasn’t his first one! What? He tells her not to get distracted by the past but to look forward to the future. So, when she comes across Romero’s (Walter Perez) number – the doctor she met a few episodes ago – she finally goes out with him. Fingers crossed for Charley.
But first, there’s the shady Landrys. While Jacob Boudreux (Lea Coca) is trying to get on Charley’s soft side, her investigator has found out something sobering. The Landrys needed that Bordelon land as their parcel surrounds it. The feds want to build a jail in St. Josephine and the Landrys are ready to sell out. What this means for the Bordelons is unclear, but its likely not good. Let’s hope Charley, by selling the mill to the Landrys, hasn’t put the family’s land in jeopardy.
After next week, the show will likely be on its midseason hiatus until fall, so expect some things to move forward. This week, the show righted what was looking like a listing ship. Let’s hope it continues to be as strong as this week’s episode was. Kudos to the writers, the director and the level of acting this week.
Bianca, you’ve got the people’s Emmy for real. Seeing the hurt in her eyes when she asked who Trinh was, was seeing her realize not just what damage she’s done, but how it might look if Ralph Angel moves on without her. I know it’s a long shot, but I still have hope for them.
Until next week, Sugar babies…what did you think of this week’s episode?
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