by Nichole Perkins | via Vulture
If anyone misses the therapeutic cry sessions that Parenthood used to deliver, they should tune in to Queen Sugar. All the main characters have had their own emotional collapses, and in “In No Uncertain Terms,” Remy and Hollywood get their turn to be overwhelmed. You may not need a box of tissues, but it’s hard to not be moved by the heartache that circles the Bordelon family.
Charley is still reeling from the revelations about Davis and refuses to tell anyone what happened. Violet pushes her to tell Micah. He’s not a little boy anymore and deserves to know what’s going on with his father. When Charley tells him that Davis has been paying for prostitutes for three years, Micah declares he never wants to see his father again. It gets worse: Micah learns that they’ll be staying in St. Josephine Parish for at least another six months until the harvest, gets upset, and storms off.
When Charley first arrived in Louisiana, she wanted to throw money at everything, but now she feels like everyone treats her like an ATM. Nova had transferred $10,000 from the corporate account to post bail for Too Sweet and didn’t tell anyone. Charley discovers the missing money when she tries to pay for some farm equipment. Her confrontation with Nova is ugly, but more on that in a second. Ralph Angel still needs a pay stub to show his parole officer, so he asks Charley to sign the necessary paperwork. She thinks he’s being greedy and snarks about his inability to keep a job. Violet tells her that Ralph Angel quit the warehouse to avoid being caught up in the theft ring, reminding her that she needs to give Ralph Angel a break. If family can’t help him, no one else will.
When Charley confronts Nova about the missing money, Chantal is there, and it’s obvious they’re seeing each other now. Nova apologizes for taking the money without permission, then tries to shame Charley for paying off Davis’s accuser. She even calls Davis trifling. Charley tells Nova not to count her money and fires back that Nova can’t calling anyone trifling, with a scathing glance at Chantal. That bit of judgment is surprising since Charley seemed fine with acknowledging that Nova is queer. Charley is hurting and lashing out at everyone, but sneering at her sister for being involved with a woman seems a bit much. You would think Charley would be more progressive than that, having grown up in a place like Los Angeles, but throughout the season, it’s the people in small-town Louisiana who have to school her on being a more accepting person.
In the meantime, Hollywood is back and Violet is planning a crawfish boil to welcome him home. Micah overhears Hollywood on the phone with LeeAnne, telling her to stop calling. LeeAnne is having a bad episode and demands to see him, so he agrees. Micah is learning the hard way that everyone has secrets, even the people he most admires.
While tonight’s episode remains as visually stunning as usual, there is some meandering as everything moves into place for the eventual drama at the crawfish boil. Nova takes Micah to a museum exhibit to see the works of Brandan “B-Mike” Odums, where Chantal encourages the teenager to figure out who he is, separate from his father. Violet refuses to sign over custody of Blue back to Ralph Angel because she can’t trust he won’t go back to jail. Remy offers some comforting words to Charley, telling her she’s an incredible woman. He encourages her to acknowledge the grief she’s feeling over the loss of her marriage and shares how he struggled when his wife died. He gets choked up and walks away, yet another example of how Queen Sugar allows black men to be emotionally vulnerable and open.
To read the rest of the recap, “In No Uncertain Terms,” click HERE!!!
As Promised (S1 E6) | Where With All (S1 E8)
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