Charley heads to her first therapy session without Micah.
The episode opens with Charley calling Micah who isn’t showing up for their session with the psychologist. Micah is with Nova volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The doctor encourages Charley to stay. She feels it will help her work with Charley and Micah when he shows up for a future session.
Ralph Angel is up fixing breakfast when Darla arrives. He fixes her breakfast and encourages Darla to move in with him and their son.
“You don’t have to do this all by yourself.” – RA
However, Darla is still insistent on staying on her own, and getting another job. She feels she needs to still prove that she can handle her sobriety without assistance. This once again disappoints RA as he really wants his family under the same roof.
Aunt Vi is really nervous about her pie business.
Aunt Vi is having Hollywood testing out new pie recipes and Hollywood notices that Vi is disturbed. After pressing her, Aunt Vi tells Hollywood that her brother left all his land to RA, not his sisters. When she tells him the advice she gave RA, Hollywood says, “Good advice.”
When she brings up her nervousness starting her pie selling business, Hollywood encourages her to keep going forward and focus on her dreams.
“God did not mold you to be a peace keeper. You deserve to live the life you want to live.” – Hollywood
Back at the doctor’s office, Charley is talking about her parenting habits. The therapist asks Charley if she had trouble talking to her parents as a child. Charley mentions that her mom raised her by herself and instilled a drive for perfection that is still there today.
“She wanted me to be perfect.” – Charley
The therapist wonders if her relationship with her mom affects her relationship with Micah.
A new woman catches Davis’ eye and Darla struggles asking for help.
Nova and Micah are deep in their volunteering. As they are have a slow moment talking, Robert DuBois shows up, surprising Nova. Nova introduces Robert to Nova and they get back to helping out.
Darla surprises Charley at her office, asking for advice on her resume. Charley is rather impressed with parts of the resume and sees her parents helped her land some of those jobs. So, Charley encourages Darla to go back to talk to her parents for help with the job search. Darla, not feeling the advice, tells Charley that her parents broke things off with her a long time ago. Charley tries to encourage Darla to pursue it, saying, “Sometimes, things get lost in translation.”
However, Darla doesn’t like this advice and politely leaves quickly.
Later on, Darla meets with her sober coach at the restaurant. Darla tells her that Ralph Angel wants her to move in and she said no. Darla admits that she wants to get back on her feet without help, but her coach wants her to really look into it.
Vi is showing off her pies to a potential client, however, the woman doesn’t seem interested in buying. As Aunt Vi is explaining the kinds of pies she makes, the potential client tells her she isn’t interested in the pies. Vi is crushed.
Back at the job site, Dr. DuBois and Nova are with Micah at the volunteer site when Davis comes over. He’s there to pick up Micah and is introduced into Dr. DuBois. Robert says he played college ball against Davis. Nova seemed impressed by this new bit of information from Robert.
As Davis and Micah are leaving, they come across another celebrity named Tamar Judith. She is a well-known singer that Micah met previously at an awards function. Tamar is interviewing with a news source and they see Davis. The interviewer heads over to Davis and everyone is impressed with his answers.
This also catches the attention of Tamar, who makes extended eye contact with Davis.
When Nova and Robert leave the volunteer work site, they walk around the areas of New Orleans that are still damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Nova tells Robert that they do tours throughout the neighborhoods. These tourist stops are a distress to Nova and others who live by.
Robert expresses empathy to Nova about whats going on.
Darla arrives back at the farm with Blue as RA is busy planting the soybean crop. After Darla and RA exchange pleasantries, she takes Blue in for a bath. While in the bath, Darla asks Blue why he likes Kenya so much. She then asks if Blue is happy seeing her more, which he replies yes.
Sitting down for ice cream, Robert continues to smitten Nova. He shows that he’s been following her work by asking about Too Sweet. He tells her he likes her, but Nova doesn’t respond. She pauses their conversation after Charley calls angrily. She demands to know why Micah wasn’t at their session. Nova apologizes and tells Charley that Micah told her he needed help gaining service hours for school.
Charley apologizes for going off on Nova and they hang up.
Nova ends the ice cream date. Robert asks to take Nova to dinner, but she declines.
Nova helps Charley bless her new home.
Nova then heads over to Charley’s new place and Charley is happy to see her. Nova is helping Charley pray over her new place. They light candles around the table and then Nova begins to burn sage. Nova immediately noticed that Charley’s new place needs to “be lifted up.”
As they do this, Nova apologizes for helping Micah miss his first therapy session with Charley. Charley expresses frustration with not being able to get through to Micah after everything.
Charley tells a story of how she got really nervous at a recital and how it still affects her to this day. Nova tells her that Charley’s mom made her a “control freak.”
Davis and Micah ask each other hard questions.
Meanwhile, Davis takes Micah to an empty gym to play a game. Davis makes the rules so every 3 point shot made by Micah, he asks Davis a question and vice-versa.
When Micah makes the first shot, he asks his dad if he’s a s*x addict, to which Davis says no. However, he says “something is wrong with me.” He admits to being spoiled by the gifts he got playing basketball.
When Davis nails his shot, he asks Micah if the cops roughed him up. Micah says no but the experience was tough on him.
“I was scared. Real scared.” – Micah
Davis tells him that, “Fear is a right of passage for us.”
Things are in chaos when Darla arrives to RA’s house. Blue is distraught, searching all over the house looking for Kenya. Darla pulls RA to the side and tells him she threw the doll away. Ralph Angel is angered, demanding to know why she did this and where she threw it away. She tells him where she threw it out and RA storms out of the house to go get Kenya.
Hollywood is at Aunt Vi’s house with Aunt Vi in the bed, discouraged about the sales day. She did not sell any pies and feels hurt by it. She wants to lay in the bed and mourn over this. However, Hollywood encourages her to push through.
“I believe in you. I want you to have everything you want in this life. But, you got to keep working. You aren’t in this by yourself.” – Hollywood
Ralph Angel is helped by an old friend & Hollywood pulls strings for Aunt Vi.
Meanwhile, RA is digging through the dumpster looking for the doll when police pull up. Ralph Angel tells them that he lost something. He keeps his hands up and his spirits change when he realizes one of the officers is an old high school friend, ‘Twan.
‘Twan gets him out of trouble, and they hang out by the dumpster. RA wonders why Darla would throw out the doll and why Blue has the doll period. However, RA will support Blue no matter how he is. Twan, who is transgender, then thanks him for supporting him as he transitioned into a man.
Twan thought RA was going to out him when he saw RA in lockup getting processed, however he kept quiet. This built up trust in Twan’s eyes and he’s says he will always have RA’s back.
When RA gets back home, Darla tells him she’s leaving. Darla admits she felt Blue wanted Kenya for when she wasn’t “good.” She says she feels she is a really good mother to blue despite everything, but feels really bad about him being attached to his doll.
RA assures her that Blue’s attachment to Kenya has nothing to do with her and he’s aware that she’s his mother.
Aunt Vi and Hollywood take a few pies to a restaurant with a broken AC. The owner says he not interested, overwhelmed by the AC but Hollywood offers to take a look at it he listens to Aunt Vi’s pitch. Noticing the owner isn’t interested in the pitch still, she offers him bites of various pies and he is impressed.
Charley and Micah reconnect, Nova lets down her wall.
Micah arrives at home and sees Charley painting. He immediately jumps in without saying a word and Charley asks if he wants to see a movie in the city. Micah says yes and Charley smiles at the thought of their date.
Nova invites Robert for coffee and finally admits she likes him. Robert jokingly asks, “Was that hard for you?” Nova replies, “You don’t have to rub it in!”
They talk over coffee.
Darla gets a surprising job offer, which angers Ralph Angel.
Lastly, Darla and RA bought a new doll but Darla is having a hard time making it look like Kenya. As they are working on this, Charley calls Darla and offers her a job to work at the mill as her office assistant. Charley asks her if she can start tomorrow, and she says yes.
When Darla tells Ralph Angel she has a new job, RA smiles. However, he becomes angry when he learns Charley offered her the job.
What are your thoughts on the episode?
Ralph Angel is a real one.
Darla is going to regret working for Charley.
Why
RA…is somewhat of a selfish a-shole but still fine as hell
Hollywood, RA and Davis are examples of real black men. All are strong family men who have made mistakes. Every Family can relate to these dynamics.