Queen Sugar - S2E6 - Line of Our Elders
Previously on Queen Sugar, “Caroling Dusk”
“I really am opening this mill to honor him. That’s the story.” - Charley Bordelon-West
Well, turns out there’s a bit more to the story than that. Charley’s drive for the mill to not only be successful, but to be perfect, lies it a bit deeper than her perfectionist ways. She remembers the last conversation she had with Ernest, and how he’d asked for her help, but she put him off to deal with Davis’ deal and, later, rape allegations. It also led to her not having a proper goodbye with her father.
A reporter doing a piece on the mill opening picks at the scabs of these wounds as he suspects there’s more to Charley’s commitment than she’s selling. The mill’s dedication and opening goes well, but at the first sign of a hiccup, Charley loses the control she fights so hard to project. This all leads to some of the most powerful scenes of the series, and certainly the most heart wrenching since Ernest passed away in the series premiere.
Charley tearfully admits to Nova the guilt she has carried for not being there when their father needed her. Nova, who lived just twenty miles away, couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken to her father. Ralph Angel, fueled by a sudden desire to be a more honest man, chooses to tell his family about the letter he found after they have a memorial service at Ernest’s new headstone installation.
The news goes over about as well as we all knew it would. Old grievances are launched like weapons as Charley accuses Ralph Angel of using her for her money, Nova (newly aware of Ernest’s moonlighting as a janitor) takes issue with Ralph Angel being left the farm when their father worked himself to death to support Ra and Blue, and neither are happy that Vi, Hollywood, and Darla knew about the new will before them.
It’s hard to watch because everyone’s pain is so raw and authentic. It’s doubtful this will be resolved in a single episode, but we won’t have to wait weeks for the Bordelon siblings to hash it out either. When Nova tries to storm off, Aunt Vi insists that everyone stay and figure out a way through the mess. Next week can’t get here soon enough.
More Tea
It appears Ralph Angel will not be paying for #Churrogate. His run in with the clerk he robbed prompts him to be honest with Blue about Kenya and to reveal Ernest’s other will. It did not, however, prompt him to admit his crime.
We gonna talk about how sharp everyone was in this episode or nah? The costuming was so on point. Hollywood and Aunt Vi were color coordinated at the mill opening and I was here for it.
Ralph Angel telling Darla how good she looked in Charley’s dress would have been sweet if it hadn’t been preceded by him trying to make her feel bad for wearing Charley’s dress and working for her. Speaking of Darla, she seems to be making a real connection with the family, especially Charley. It would be a shame to have all of that lost because of this will.
Considering the recent loss of my grandmother, those scenes of Charley and Nova sharing their regrets hit me hard and unexpectedly. This show, man. This show.
Leave your thoughts on the episode below or on our Facebook post for this review, and we’ll read them on the podcast this weekend.
Queen Sugar S2E6
-
Plot - 9/109/10
-
Dialogue - 10/1010/10
-
Performances - 9/109/10
"Line of Our Elders"
Starring: Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Tina Lifford, Omar J. Dorsey, Dondre Whitfield, Timon Kyle Durrett, Nicholas L. Ashe, Greg Vaughan, Ethan Hutchison, Bianca Lawson
FOR THE PODCAST:
Intense episode! Darla made my heart flutter this whole episode. Charley and Darla’s connection, and bonding was great to see. Seeing Darla with the dress said so much about her character, even though we didn’t get any dialogue. You saw all through her face that she was reminiscing about what her life was, a few years ago. Darla and Micah’s scene was sweet as well. You could see that Darla really looks up and admires Charley. Darla at some point in her life was Charley, just a bit younger, in college, family has money, parents we’re very controlling and perfectionists.
Screw RA! I’m sorry but I am so over him and his stank ass attitude! I swear he has had the same attitude for the past 4 episodes, like what his problem. RA is acting like a little boy, and it ain’t cute. His ego and his pride will be his downfall. The whole family, all having a good day, then he wanna come and ruin it, not just during dinner either, but during prayer too. They ain’t even eat yet. 😠 Aunt Vi warned him about what would happen. Nova & Charley’s scenes were beautiful. Sisterly love, is great to see.
Lastly, I feel like Darla is still working through her issues, despite feeling a bit shameful with Charley and the wine, in the same scene we see her openly, and honestly talk to Charley about how she is 2 years sober, and how she is thankful to Charley for giving her a second chance, and a job. She could have totally just changed the subject, or even asked Charley to not bring up her recovery, but she doesn’t she talks to Charley, with accomplishment, asking Charley to come to her celebration for being two years sober, again shows that she is growing and she is starting to make peace with her past. I mean think about it, of all people you would think Darla would ask to come to her sobriety celebration, that it would be miss high class LA living Charley right?
LOVE the podcast!
Fir the podcast
What an exciting and emotional episode.
I’ll start w/the fireworks: the will revelation-
RA aka knucklehead; this wasn’t the time nor place for this especially the way it was presented.The clapback & finger pointing b/t the siblings illustrated the guilt they feel for not being there and/or unaware of what was going on w/for Ernest. I so wanted Aunt Vi to go into mad momma mode, stand up tell them to sit their collective wandering (nova), siddity (Charley), & simple (RA) asses down & settle this-cause we family! Shout out 2 Hollywood for telling Darla, who added her .02 opinion, 2 stay out of family business.
Charley can have it 2gether but she went 0-60 breakdown mode when the mill had that hiccup. Remys like calm down stuff happens but wondering wtf??!! Good thing the other farmers didn’t see her implode. tBut I’ll give it to Charley-tshe jumped up, biz suit & all, ran up those steps quickly,in heels, in an attempt to fix the problem. She got it back 2gether cause Charley going to Charley either way 😄
The reporter-was he an investigative reporter? He wasn’t into what Charley was pushing-he wanted “the real deal” w/her, the family, etc.
Churrogate reared its head again-when the clerk recognized RA & the way he ran from the store I thought she pushed the alarm.
Can’t say it enough about Hollywood but he is the wise sage, a voice of reason & compassion -called out Vi to be there for her brother & the family at the memorial service/btw both looked very nice in their respective outfits. 🙂
There were some wonderful & emotional moments throughout the episode:
Nova/Charley bonding @ the mill
Nova embracing her fathers spirit as she sat at his desk
Nova/Aunt Vi at cemetery
RA/Blue
The memorial for Ernest -so beautiful & touching
The family in prayer
That’s all I have-sorry for the length
FOR THE PODCAST
1. NOVA SKIPPED RIGHT OVER THAT DAMN YELLOW ASS PAPER. I SWEATERGAWD the color purple “Celie shaves” music started playing. I was so worried that thinner would find it but the real question is why the fuck did Count Chocoula leave that paper in that desk in the first place?
2.Um, pretty blue eyes, who interviewed Charley can get it. He’s a piece of shit and I want to whoop his ass and um…yeah. This white man is trying to catch her up and probably related to confederate cousin fuckers, the landrys. If he ain’t a cousin fucker, then I am okay with him showing up as a in between boo. I’m projecting but so what he is fine and he can get it.
3.Ms. “I saw your face” remembered Chalky Black and I felt so bad for Blue. That pure baby shouldn’t have to be subjected to this hoodrat shit. I feel like Blue has been tainted by this experience and I won’t stand for it. Also, black gums need to quit picking on Jack Skellington. Darla is trying to do right.
5.All Ralph Angel needed to do is shut his black ass up! This nigga thought that by saying he wanted to be a better man that he just had to say something. I was talking about the lack drama last week and I fucking got it. The writers called my bluff and told me “oh you want drama, bitch just wait.” My lord, I wasn’t ready. Next week I better see some fits flying but not in mixed company, we can’t have clear people or Uncle Ruckus’s posting the shit on innanet.
RA: What did you think would happen after dropping a bomb like that? A congrats? Those are the kinds of reveals where you may not see or speak to that relative again until you die, and even that’s not a guarantee. Then play victim the second anyone lays into him. He loves to throw in his sisters faces that they weren’t there but like Nova said neither was his jail bird ass. Let’s say they did come around more what would that have changed they still wouldn’t have known anything their father still would have lied to them. Their daddy had so much pride he wouldn’t even ask Charley for help until it was too late. Scrubbing fucking toilets like he ain’t got a daughter with hella money he even turned down Charley’s money ep.1 talking bout he just wanted a little time and advice. An RA you lived at home with yo daddy for 6 months after getting out of jail and still didn’t even know yo daddy was a janitor. RA Ima need for that to be the last time you say that helping every brother but yo own shit Nova is out there fighting the for injustices like the corrupt prison system putting black CHILDREN in adult prison for years for minor crimes, not grown men like yourself who go to jail for crimes they commit what was she supposed to do for your guilty ass. Question Has he ever actually told Charley he was happy/proud of her for being the 1st African American mill owner and successful manger/business woman in a male dominated arena. Has he ever told Nova that he was proud of the activist work she does in the community. Tell Darla he proud of her for her strength and commitment to her sobriety.He wants all this praise and support that he does not give to others. Lastly since he all about truth and becoming the man his daddy wanted him to be is he going to tell his family he left Blue in a park while robbing a store ,that he stole phones from his job, stored them on the farm and would be back in jail if Aunt Vi hadn’t saved his ass or is it only time to tell the truth when it benefits him.
Vi: love her and Hollywood but she getting on my nerves can’t nobody leave until they make up when they fighting with RA’s babied ass but when Nova & Charley fighting with each other ( repass fight & storm fight) she ain’t worried bout nobody working it out then. She always sticking up for him even when he is wrong. Telling Charley who was rightfully lighting his ass up about not being able to keep his job and wanting be paid she don’t know the whole story, but Vi you do you know he was stealing from his job and would have been arrested had you not saved him. Instead of just letting him figure it out on his own like the man he claims he is you tell Charley “They were running a crime ring out of that warehouse.If he had stayed, they would have dragged him back to jail.” making her feel like shit for going off on her brother and leads to her paying him to work on the farm.She stay coming to his defense like he not a habitual fuck up she need let him fall and pick up the pieces himself. He decided to write that check you told him about now let his cash it.
Remy: He getting a little too back and forth
for me he went from kissing and asking Charley out on dates while she was still married to then want to put her in the friend zone once she almost done divorcing Davis because she hadn’t publicly acknowledged that her an Davis aren’t still together and used her connection to Davis to her advantage business wise. To then tell Charley she needs to mourn her marriage and that he was sorry for rushing her ,to again turn around and question her about not telling the public she getting a divorce . Not to mention he acting like he don’t still seclude himself on the day his wife passed or have a whole shrine up for his wife at his house hell he probably still got her clothes hanging in the closet.
FOR THE PODCAST:
Who was cutting onions during this episode? My eyes were sweating. But I wasn’t getting crying. Dammit Ava got me in my feelings heavy! This episode was so black! From dealing with grief, depression, and mental health and family communication. I seen so much of the issues in this episode in my own family. But loved it ! Love the podcast
In the words of Fred Sanford, “You big dummy.”
It was so satisfying to see RA get told off, finally. There’s been moments where the ladies will kind of nicely/pointedly put him in his place, but I can’t really remember any time where any of them were as harsh or straight forward or passive aggressive as he has been to them, especially to Charley. So it was so nice to see his ass get yelled at .Though even during the argument , when Charley called him out on using her for her money, he had the audacity to be all “Oh, here she goes” about it. It would’ve been hilarious if Charley had a Clair Huxtable rant moment similar to Clair yelling at Sondra over how much money she spent putting her through college and demand her money back.Ugh. And the way he tried to turn it around on them for being in LA or away from home. Like they’re obligated to bum around the house once they’re grown women. Just because RA had to lean on his father so much because he was doing dumb shit, doesn’t make them worse children because they were able to be out on their own and living their own lives. I don’t like how he acts like the wronged sibling who was forced to stay home and take care of they daddy while his sisters just went own living their lives. An he need to stop acting like they left him and they daddy to fend for themselves in a crime riddled hood fighting to stay alive boy you was on a damn farm. An you clearly didn’t use that time to learn the family business how you was on that farm all your life (minus the 4 years in jail) and still not know that you had to register for sugar cane or to inspect the cane that you about to purchase before paying 15k for it. An he always want to act like they treat him the way they do because he a ex con no it because you make horrible decisions i.e pulling a gun on the repo men, being in possession of multiple guns violating your parole, buying seed cane from some creole dude you just met cousin and that’s just what they know about. Nova and Charley don’t know you was storing stolen merchandise on the farm and nobody knows you robbed a store while you left Blue in the park with some damn churros.
This was a really good episode. I especially liked the scene with Charley/Nova after her meltdown and then Charley/Darla after the party was over. And of course the big blow up at dinner. it was also nice to see Blue handle the truth about Kenya well, I was dreading a freak out.
FOR THE PODCAST
HEY Nina, you you’re my favorite!!! But I’m still salty!! I’d also like to put this podcast under protest and say Jamelle is a unfaithful blyke woman!!
Anyways my thots this week
1. Who’s in charge of Hollywoods wardrobe….?!?! This nigga wore a skittles bag polo, then a damn linen suit…?!?? His clothes were so loud I couldn’t hear RA tell Charley and Nova they ain’t 💩!!
Speaking of.. I’m full team RA!! Charley was too busy being content having missionary sex to even worry about her family, then she had a nervous breakdown to fake care but I peeped game!! Light skint women are conniving like that amirite…?
Lastly I really need Darla go full cracky and steal all Charley’s clothes, I could finally pay attention when she covered up those toothpicks she calls shoulders!!
That’s all I got can’t wait to hear the podcast!! And jamelle tell everyone I’m a feminist ✌🏾!!