‘Queen Sugar’ Recap: Charley and Nova Confront Ralph Angel + Darla Checks Ralph Angel

Tension mounts as Charley and Nova deal with Ernest’s revised will.

Tension is high in Aunt Vi’s living room. Aunt Vi brought Charley and Nova back into the dining room with Ralph Angel. The scene opens with everyone silent, holding back anger. Charley begins pacing, breaking the silence by saying her father wouldn’t “do this.” She implies that Ernest would not just leave the farm to Ralph Angel.

“He wouldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t have just given you the farm. Not like this!” – Charley

Ralph Angel replies, “Yeah, he would.” Nova then tells RA to, “Get off his high horse,” which only causes more strife during the argument. Ralph openly questions their anger at their father leaving him the farm. Aunt Vi tries and fails to calm RA down. Charley then questions if he really didn’t know Ernest became a janitor. Ralph Angel is adamant he didn’t know.

“I would have done it for him if I could.” – Ralph Angel

Ralph Angel then tells Charley that she clearly could’ve been more helpful in Ernest’s time of need.

“You’re the one he was calling. Maybe had you done what he asked, he’d never had to do that.” – Ralph Angel

Ralph Angel turns to Nova and tells her she wasn’t any better, but Nova wasn’t having any of that. She yells out, “How would you know,” as RA tells her that she never came around either. She then asks why he never told them until now. RA tells them that he was looking for the best time to do it.

Charley and Nova get angry at Ralph Angel again when he tells them his Parole Officer informed him it’s a real, enforceable will.

Aunt Vi is trying to calm down the situation but Nova isn’t having it, demanding to see the letter.

Outside, Blue is playing cards with Darla, Hollywood and Micah. As this goes on, Ralph Angel storms out of the house, letting them know that he’s going to get the letter to show Charley and Nova. He then heads to his truck and drives off, leaving Blue in the care of Hollywood and Darla.

Back inside, Nova calls Robert and he invites her to Atlanta. However, Nova declines the invitation, for now. Aunt Vi confronts Nova about why she really feels how she fells about the will. Nova expresses her frustrations with her father to Aunt Vi. She says Ernest wasn’t satisfied with her choices as an adult and feels she is being punished for not having grandchildren. She thought he accepted her but these new developments have her questioning her relationship with her father.

“I thought he accepted me for who I am. But, cutting me out of the farm, feels like he’s judging me.” – Nova

Aunt Vi consoles Nova and tells her that isn’t the case.

Ralph Angel returns with the will, but Charley and Nova still aren’t convinced. 

Charley receives a call from Ben and he tells her that his photographer is in St. Joe’s and will be joining him for the rest of the interview. Ben wants them to take photos for the article starting at the family farm. But, with the tension that is in the air surrounding the farm, Charley suggests they start out at the mill.

Aunt Vi receives the lock box and letter from RA. She reads the letter out loud to everyone in the room. Emotions slowly overwhelm Ernest’s children as the letter is read. Once Aunt Vi finishes, Charley and Nova question if their father was in the best state of mind. This angers RA, who refutes their claims. Charley mentions that the fact Ernest never took the letter to his lawyer.

When Ralph Angel tells them that taking it to his lawyer doesn’t matter, Nova jumps into the fray, saying, “Doesn’t it?”

Nova then says that Ernest wrote the revised will after Ralph Angel got out of prison.

“Maybe it was a fantasy he was toying with. He didn’t tell anyone about it. Including you [Ralph Angel].” – Nova

This turns on a light bulb in Charley’s head. Charley then tells Ralph Angel and everyone else, that he is not ready to run the farm by himself.

“Wanting to be capable of doing this, and actually doing it, are two completely different things.” – Charley

RA stands up at the table in anger and passionately disagrees with his sisters. However, Aunt Vi interjects and says that Charley is right.

She tells RA he needs his sisters. This hurts RA.

An Unexpected Event at the Mill causes a rift between Darla and Ralph Angel. 

At the end of this exchange, Charley storms out of the house. At this time, Remy calls her and lets her know farmer Jack Duvall stopped by the mill. Jack randomly brought his sugar cane to Queen Sugar to mill. Remy vouches for him with Charley, saying that he really wants to work with them instead of  the Landry Mill. Charley says it’s cool but he needs to sign a contract and drop off a deposit. Remy once again points out that he can vouch for Jack and a contract and deposit isn’t necessary. Charley sticks to her guns and ends the conversation.

Charley goes back in and asks Darla to head to the mill and prep a contract for the farmer. She says okay but RA stops her, telling her she needs to stay by his side. Charley and Ralph Angel go back and forth about this. Nova jumps in and says Darla should go, “This is a family thing anyway.” This angers RA who reminds Nova that Darla is family. Darla sits quiet through all of this.

When Darla makes it outside, Ralph Angel is not far behind. When she stops, she turns to Ralph Angel and calls him out on his behavior.

“I would never do this to you.” – Darla

Darla reminds RA that she lost her last job because she made a choice to leave early to be there for him and the farm. As a recovering addict, she tells him it’s not fair for him to once again expect her to give up another job for him.

Charley is saddened by Ernest’s change in the will.

In another room, Nova is going through the lockbox. She pulls out various birthday cards sent to him and jewelry. She then pulls out a photo of her and her mom, followed by a red jewelry box with a wedding band. She puts on the band and gets emotional.

Later on, Hollywood puts Blue to bed and Micah tells Charley he is heading to Davis’ to give them space. Once they leave, Charley confronts Aunt Vi and tells her that she knows RA told Vi about the revised will before everyone else.

Charley is disappointed in everything. She reveals that Aunt Vi made her feel like she was part of the family when she would visit.

It was hard for her to feel like she belonged growing up since she has a different mother from RA and Nova. Despite this, she feels like RA was the child that got the most affection and attention from Ernest.

It pains her to still be expected to take a backseat to him now, even as adults.

“I want someone to fight for me.” – Charley

Aunt Vi consoles Charley, apologizing for keeping RA’s secret.

Charley questions Ralph Angel’s strategy of running the farm. 

Charley sees RA sitting in a rocking chair and walks up to him. Moments later, RA gets up, telling Charley, “Come on,” as he walks back to the house.

Charley and Ralph Angel sit at a table across from each other. Charley beings their conversation questioning how RA can run the farm without her help, specifically her money. Ralph Angel tells her he will figure it out any way he can. He also mentions that he won’t ask for her anything.

Back at the mill, Remy is waiting with Jack by Jack’s truck. Jack is getting anxious, feeling like Charley is wasting his time. However, Remy assures her that Charley’s way of doing things may be the best way to do it.

“What is it Ernest used to say? The only thing more frustrating about always having to do things Charley’s way, is usually having to admit that she’s right.” – Remy

Moments later, Darla comes out of the office to present Jack the contract. She also apologizes to Jack for having him wait as long as he had to drop his cane at the mill. Darla, still dealing with the events at farm, continues to fight back tears in front of Jack and Remy. Remy asks if anything is wrong but Darla tells him everything is fine.

Charley and Nova agree that Ralph Angel isn’t able to run the farm on his own. 

At the farm, the debate between Charley and Ralph Angel rages on. Charley tells Ralph Angel that she is really concerned that the farm is a really big burden for him. However, RA strongly disagrees. Nova walks in and escalates things further, saying that Ralph Angel can’t be trusted. Nova feels that Ernest passed to the farm to just RA because of his legal issues and issues with Darla.

“RA wants us to trust him when he’s the one who’s proven over and over again that he can’t be trusted.” – Nova

This angers RA and a shouting match ensues between them. RA expresses frustration with Nova for not being there for him when their mother passed away.

“He said I got the next best thing, a big sister. But you left as soon as you could. Took your a** to New Orleans and never looked back.” – Ralph Angel

Charley ends the conversation by telling Ralph Angel that Ernest never filled the letter with his lawyer because he knew Ralph Angel wasn’t ready. Aunt Vi steps in and says that Charley may be right.

Charley tells Davis about the upcoming article about their divorce.

Charley leaves the farm and heads to her apartment at the mill. Later on, Davis and Micah walk in with a housewarming gift. She unwraps the gift and sees it’s an ice cream maker. Davis says he got her that because he feels guilty for having her remove an ice cream maker from their wedding registry.

The mood changes when she tells Davis about the article that will be written about their divorce. Davis calls her out for always changing up plans without talking to him first. He leaves angry after this.

Nova learns more about Ernest and Aunt Vi’s past. 

Nova is at her home, looking up records on the farm and makes a discovery. She confronts Aunt Vi about her selling off her part of the farm to Ernest. Vi tells Nova that she gave up her share when she married her first husband Jimmy. This drove a wedge between her and Ernest.

She sold her portion to Ernest to pay for her divorce from Jimmy, who was physically abusive.

“I lost land, but I got my freedom back… and I got my brother back, so I got the better part of the deal.”

Remy tries to check Charley about how she is handling the mill. 

Remy and Charley have a meeting at the mill. After Charley tells Remy that she’s giving Ben an exclusive on her divorce from Davis so she could “control the narrative,” Remy decides it’s time to tell her about herself.

“You know, I’d heard so much about you before we met. Every time the farmers got together, your dad had at least one story about your last success. Folks would say, ‘Of course, because she’s so smart.’ Ernest said smart was the wrong word. No he insisted on thoughtful. So when you decided to buy this place and stand up for farmers, it made sense to me. Cause it was both smart and considerate of your community. It was thoughtful, right? But now I wonder if I misunderstood your father. Yeah, maybe thoughtful meant calculating.” – Remy

Things still aren’t well between Darla and Ralph Angel. 

Darla arrives at the farm and knocks at the farmhouse front door. Ralph Angel answers and Darla tells him she can deal with him being mad about going to the mill when he wanted her to stay. He tells her, “You can deal with it,” as he doesn’t let her in. She snaps back saying he’s not going to use this to keep her from seeing her son. So he calls for Blue to get his swim trunks so Darla can take him swimming.

Meanwhile, Nova is packing getting ready to head to Atlanta. She called Robert and told him she is ready to take him up on his offer to travel eastward and spend time with him. This trip puts her in good spirits as she is smiling packing for the trip.

Next, we see Ralph Angel cleaning out a shed and takes a brief moment to take a break, grabbing a chair. Hollywood stops by with a couple of beers and gives one to RA. RA asks if he was asked by Vi to stop by, and he says he wanted to. RA tells him that everyone is against him and his father’s wishes of raising his children on his land. However he doesn’t feel anyone, including Darla is in her corner.

Hollywood replies he will continue to work the land and that “this too shall past.”

Lastly, the episode ends with Ben and his photographer with Charley at the mill. As his crew sets up, Ben continues the interview Charley. When she is asked how Ernest would feel about her reinventing herself, she replies, “I don’t know what my father would feel.”

 

What are your thoughts on the episode?