Queen Sugar - S2E3 - What Do I Care For Morning?

Previously on Queen Sugar, “To Usward”

While Aunt Vi and Hollywood made up for lost time between the sheets, Charley and Ralph Angel came to an understanding — of sorts — after the Landry’s dirty dealings come to light.

Much like we saw in season one, the Borderlon siblings don’t always see eye-to-eye-to-eye, but when outsiders attack they squad up quick. This week, Ralph Angel once again gets resistance from Charley when he reveals his plan to leverage his portion of the land for a loan to plant his soybeans. Charley views this from the prospective of the farmers who agreed to work with their mill: how confident will they remain in the Borderlons if it appears Ralph Angel has a “side hustle”?

Unfortunately, it turns out some of the farmers who signed up to work with the new mill didn’t do so with the best intentions. The Landrys approached a few who were struggling financially and enlisted them to spy on the Borderlons, and that includes trying to steal a sample of Remy’s sugar cane while Ralph Angel slept. When Charley, Prosper, and Ralph Angel confront one of the thieves, Ra convinces Charley not to call the police. Instead, they confront the Landrys in their offices and tell them they’re aware of what they’ve been doing.

This is a surprising move considering Charley blasted Ralph Angel for approaching them alone after he found a drone the Landrys had been using to spy on their property. However, it falls in line with what Charley comes to realize by episode’s end: sometimes she needs to let people stand on their own and make calls that are best for them. In addition to signing the loan papers for Ralph Angel, she agrees to allow Davis to spend more time with Micah even after learning Davis lied about Micah agreeing to join custody and after he threatened to turn her in for forging his signature. Charley has needed to cut Ralph Angel some slack, but allowing the Landry’s illegal acts to go unpunished by the law and in public doesn’t really seem like the smartest play. And even though Davis later claims he would have never turned her in, why should anyone believe anything Davis has to say?

Micah’s still recovering from his arrest, and it still affects him, but he’s yet to give voice to what he’s feeling. Nova tells Charley that while he stayed with her, he didn’t eat or talk; he just slept. He’s not opening up to Charley or Davis. Only after a literal pat on the back and “keep your head up” from Ralph Davis does Micah appear to lighten a tad, but it surely won’t be that simple. Hopefully the character will be allowed to verbalize what he’s feeling soon because it’s not very compelling to watch him mope and stare.

More Tea

Nova spent the episode in Atlanta speaking at a symposium on mass incarceration. After a contentious debate with a fellow speaker, they later connect on a more personal level. This is great, but I still need to know what the hell happened to Calvin.

The theme this week was second chances. Ralph Angel understood how the farmer could betray them and do something stupid (and illegal) because he’s struggling to take care of his family. Hopefully this act of kindness won’t come back to bite them in the ass as I’m sure Ralph Angel’s past transgressions (left that baby in the park with some damn churros…) will.