by Rebecca Farley | via Refinery29
Coco Conners is pregnant. So, yes, things at Winchester are only getting more complicated. She’s also decided to take the AP integration as an opportunity to become a Black tutor of sorts. She advises the white students on their various problematic activities. For instance, when Abigail (Sheridan Pierce, a.k.a. Syd from One Day At A Time) is confused about her Black roommate’s relationship to Beyonce’s Lemonade, Coco is there to advise. Coco has the unenviable task of fielding any and all questions related to race in AP.
“When did I become the white whisperer?” she mutters to Muffy (Caitlin Carver). On top of that duty, Coco is grappling with CORE, also known as the Coalition for Racial Equality, and, oh yeah, she’s pregnant. This episode gives us some background on CORE: It’s a group established in the ‘70s by a student named Jeannette Daniels who wasn’t pleased with the work of the Black Students Union. These days, Sam is the leader of the BSU, and CORE is the more powerful group. Which, of course, means Coco wants to lead it.
None of this is ultimately important to the episode, which devolves into a study on ambition and motherhood. Coco, for a minute, wants to keep the baby. The baby humanizes the cool-blooded Coco. She is suddenly less narcissistic, focussing on her roommate long enough to discover that Kelsey (Nia Jerver) is a lesbian. (“I’ve been out since Queen Janet’s wardrobe malfunction,” Kelsey says, rolling her eyes.) Kelsey becomes Coco’s caretaker, offering massages and home-brewed teas to ease her pregnancy gas. She also takes Coco to the doctor, where Coco makes the decision to get an abortion. . .
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