Bryce and Cedric party with their line brothers.
Cedric is receiving some backlash from the rest of the line for pledging at the last minute. He tells Bryce he’s not worried because he doesn’t plan on sticking around long anyway.
They are still getting hazed by their big brothers because they weren’t officially pinned, which means they are still on line.
Cedric has a hard time doing what they tell him to do, so they threaten to axe Bryce if he doesn’t go along with the harsh treatment.
Eva has a meeting with the chancellor of Atlanta State. Sydney thinks this is a waste of time since the university isn’t merging. But Eva feels this will be good for her to get some advice from a black woman who has been in her shoes much longer.
Tiesha and BoJohn are still not in a good place.
BoJohn is still experiencing pain from being jumped. Everyone is hoping he will be able to play the Spring game.
Junior asks if he’s been taking his pain pills but he says he doesn’t need them.
Tiesha comes by their dorm room to check in. She’s still cold towards BoJohn for snapping at her at the party.
The GAMU students protest at Atlanta State.
Sydney catches Miles and Madison talking on campus. They are trying to think of the best way to recruit students for the upcoming rally against the merger.
They say they didn’t tell her about it because they thought she would support the merger because of Eva.
She tells them to not assume anything and Eva is leaving campus to head to Atlanta State for a meeting.
Madison asks if Miles will cancel the rally on campus but he says he has another plan. He decides to move the rally to Atlanta State.
As Cedric and Bryce get on the bus to head to the rally, they bicker a bit more over pledging.
Cedric doesn’t want to be called by his line name, Heavy Flow. So he reminds Bryce that he doesn’t want to be called by his since it’s more embarrassing.
He sits down by a female student he knows and Noni points this out to Ebony. Ebony says it’s cool because Cedric was just a fling. He then gets hounded by one of his big brothers for not sitting with them. He reluctantly leaves to sit with them.
Sydney comes on the bus to record video footage of some of the students as they explain what the rally means to them.
They have the rally and chant “GAMU strong! HBCUs Matter!”
Cedric plays Kendrick Lamar’s hit “Alright” on his phone and gets everyone hype. Miles is impressed.
Eva has her meeting with the president of Atlanta State, Helen.
They both give each other compliments on their accomplishments.
Eva explains that she doesn’t understand how a merger would help GAMU in the long run.
She talks about how bad the school’s finances have gotten and making cuts that the students hate.
Helen tells her that the school would be able to move forward if the merger happened since debt will no longer be a factor.
As Madison speaks with a white student from Atlanta State, he asks what she has to do with a rally where “HBCUs Matter” and “Black Power” signs are prevalent.
She gets angry and says she cares about everyone because she isn’t an “a*shole.” She then storms off.
Sydney gets into a shouting match with a couple of racist white female students.
Someone then throws a bottle at Madison’s head, hitting her.
The protest gets violent with Eva and Helen calming things down.
Things get physical, and Noni, BoJohn, Cedric, Tiesha and Sydney begin to fight with the racist students. The rest of the GAMU protestors join in.
Cops come and start trying to handcuff students.
Eva comes out with the president of Atlanta State and says that she can calm everyone down. She is handed a megaphone.
She tells them they have made their point and it’s no reason for anyone to get hurt.
A student says they can’t trust that they will come first in her meeting.
They began chanting “GAMU strong.”
Helen then takes the megaphone and tells the protestors that Eva really is putting them first.
She tells the young black people they need to put their safety first while in the presence of police.
Eva then asks Cedric to calm the students down. He gives a speech and says Eva will ride back with them on the bus so they can all talk.
“Please, I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I will meet you back on the bus.” – Eva
The students begin getting back on the bus and Eva asks Sydney what she’s doing there.
Sydney makes it clear that she’s in the mood to talk about it.
When they get back on the bus, Madison thanks Sydney for having her back. She apologizes for the racism that black people have to deal with at the hands of racist white people.
They hug and Sydney treats the gash on Madison’s head.
Miles gives Cedric props on the speech and this annoys Bryce.
Eva gets on the bus and tells the students she’s trying to prevent the merger from happening. She lets them know her office door will remain open to talk when they need to.
The students clap.
Junior puts Tiesha and BoJohn on blast.
Tiesha gets on the bus and rolls her eyes at BoJohn.
Junior says they need to make up and Tyesha says BoJohn is mad she flirted with Dwight. Junior puts two and two together.
“Wait, y’all smashing?” – Junior
He says loud enough for everyone on the bus to hear.
Tyesha is speechless and embarrassed.
Cedric runs into Noni and asks if his ex girlfriend/her roommate is doing alright. She goes off on him for sleeping with Ebony while he was with her roommate.
He hasn’t been speaking to Ebony since they slept together and he defends this by telling Noni they agreed no strings would be attached.
Noni scoffs and walks off.
Tiesha comes by and gets the cold shoulder from Junior. He’s upset that they didn’t tell him they were sleeping together.
Once he storms off, she tells BoJohn that Junior had a crush on her in the past.
BoJohn then explains that he feels Tiesha kept him a secret because she’s ashamed to like a white guy.
She explains that she didn’t want people to think she gets around with the football players.
He doesn’t buy this and says he will always be white and on the football team.
She storms out of the room.
Cedric comes by to talk to Ebony.
They discuss how intense the rally was.
Both agree it’s perfect inspiration for a track.
“I was just coming by to make sure you were alright.” – Cedric
He says Noni told him off about him not speaking to Ebony. She says it’s not a big deal to her.
Ebony admits that she has feelings but didn’t know how to tell him.
“Alright, I’m feeling you. You happy now?” – Ebony
They start making out.
Before they can sleep together again, Bryce bangs on the door. He says they have to leave ASAP.
Cedric leaves and this frustrates Ebony.
Eva gets a call from Helen.
She wants to have another meeting and tells Eva to let her know when she’s free again. Eva is also told that investors from Piedmont want to give her funds for the Spring Festival.
This angers Eva who explains they have turned her down for money for causes that were more important to the university in the past.
Helen apologizes for upsetting Eva.
Sydney shares her footage from the protest.
Later, Eva confronts Sydney about going to the rally. She feels like Sydney betrayed her by going to a rally and making it look as if she doesn’t support the merger.
Sydney says she didn’t go to the rally for that. She went to witness students be passionate and protest.
She tells Eva to do what she has to do to save the school.
Sydney understands that the school will change in the GSU system, and she doesn’t like the idea of those changes. But she understands the school needs to survive.
Her rape showed her that GSU is a great place for her to be since she got so much support from so many other students.
“You really have found your voice.” – Eva
“I’m becoming more comfortable with it.” – Sydney
They watch the footage from the protest, starting with Eva’s speech.
Dwight does a press conference and says he will be going to GAMU in the fall.
BoJohn watches this on his laptop in frustration.
Back at their dorm, Sydney shows Madison the video she edited from the rally.
Later that night, Cedric and his line brothers are in the woods getting hazed by their big brothers.
First, they are forced to drink a mixture which includes the “jockstrap” juice from the football players and tomato juice.
Then Miles has their faces covered by bandanas as they are left to fend for themselves.
Finally, they watch their big brothers drive off and dread the walk back to campus barefoot, only wearing their underwear.
What are your thoughts on the episode?
I’m glad Sydney and Madison made up.
Yeah their beef was petty anyway.
I’m here for Cedric and Ebony.
This season has been so good. Much better than last season.
I don’t think the merger is going to happen. I think Eva will figure something out.
BoJohn and Tiesha slept together? Did that happen onscreen? I missed that.