‘Queen Sugar’ Recap: Nova & Remy Go There + Charley Crosses the Line

Darla is starting to feel the pressure.

After visiting the aquarium, Darla and Blue discuss their favorite sea creatures as they walk off the school bus.

When they get to the car, Blue asks Darla when she’s moving back into the house. He specifically asks if she will move back in when she marries Ralph Angel.

Darla changes the subject and tells Blue to put his seatbelt on.

Back on the farm, Ralph wraps up a successful day with his crew, including Remy.

Remy tells Ralph Angel that it’s good for felons to see him handling business. He feels it’s inspiring.

RA ends the conversation after he gets a text message from Darla informing them that it’s time for them to tell Blue they aren’t getting married anymore.

After speaking with Ralph, Remy has a word with Nova. She tells him she just wrapped up her book proposal and just turned it in. She hands a copy to Remy. While the book is still untitled, she is so passionate about writing about her life and getting inspiration from the farm.

He tells her he will be the “first in line at the bookstore, expecting greatness.”

Ralph speaks to Nova on the way back into the house. He jokingly tells her she’s been there too much writing and eating up all the food. Once Ralph enters the house, Remy says he thinks he can give Nova some more inspiration.

“Really, what you got?” – Nova

He picks up a fishing rod.

Aunt Vi is still icy towards Darla.

Outside, Aunt Vi and Hollywood examine the truck he plans to fix up for her business. The plan is to use it as a delivery truck.

After he tells her he will need to buy some more parts, Darla pulls up to drop Blue back off.

Blue excitedly greets Aunt Vi and Hollywood but both completely ignore Darla.

“Miss Violet?” – Darla

Despite Darla calling her name, Vi refuses to turn around and engage her. Hollywood pretends he doesn’t see her and continues to examine the van. Disappointed to be ignored by both, Darla remains cool and tells Blue to enjoy himself before heading back to her car.

Davis tells Charley they need to talk.

Micah has his new friends over from public school.

They discuss what their next move should be. They feel the school’s black student union doesn’t do anything more than write letters. They want to continue to take action.

The group decides they should plan a black brunch in New Orleans in one of the fancy hotels or a fancy country club.  Then they decide that the actual best spot to have it all actually be at Sweet Bay, a well known former slave plantation.

KJ, Ant, Asha and Malik speak to Charley when she walks in the house. She notices Ant making himself a bowl of cereal, while complaining about there only being almond milk in the fridge.

After Ant tries to converse with Charley about her lack of interest in “regular milk,” Charley pulls Micah to the side to talk about the uninvited house guests she knew nothing about. He tells her that they are the kids who protested the anthem at the basketball game.

Davis interrupts the conversation and calls Charley asking to talk as soon as possible. They agree to talk in person the next day.

Ralph bonds with Trinh.

Ralph Angel stops by his boss’ Mrs. Phan’s house for dinner. The family welcomes him to his very first Vietnamese Crawfish Boil.  He finally took her up on her invitation. He hands her some flowers.   

Her niece Trinh comes out and makes small talk as Ralph struggles to make a spring roll. Ralph admits he’s never used rice paper before. Once she demonstrates how to use it, Ralph catches on fast once she tells him the trick is to roll it up like a burrito.

“Blue would like this.” – Ralph

As they continue to enjoy the rice paper, she explains how her family ended up in New Orleans. She says her grandfather was killed before he the family left Vietnam.

RA makes more small talk and asks her if she’s enjoying her new job – working for her family.

They get interrupted by the rest of the family and who seat themselves at the dinner table.

Back at the farm, Blue doesn’t show much interest in his meatless dinner which was prepared by Aunt Vi. But Hollywood is more concerned about the fact that Aunt Vi has another spell and is lightheaded. She tells him she’s just on a new dosage of her Lupus medication. It’s making her light headed at times but she just has to get used to it.

Hollywood samples the food and quickly understands why Blue isn’t eating it. They share a laugh.

Benny needs another favor.

One of Ralph’s employees and felon workers, Benny, comes by the farm at night, looking for somewhere to sleep.

Ralph says he can’t agree to this because he has a son to look after.

He says he’s not in any trouble but he fears he will be if he doesn’t find somewhere else to stay. His old neighborhood is a magnet to cops, and he doesn’t want to risk getting in any trouble. Ralph tells him he can spend just one night on the farm and they have to find him a new residence for him immediately.

The next morning, Remy and Nova meet up to go fishing.

He hands her a vest and tells her she can only take notes with the journal he gifted her. He doesn’t want her to bring her laptop.

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right. Let’s do it.” – Remy

Back on the farm, Benny makes a phone call to see if he can find another place to stay for the night. He comes up short.

Ralph hands him some breakfast and asks why his grandmother threw him out. Benny says he was thrown out because his grandmother thought he was back in trouble again.

He’s thankful his grandmother threw him out because he doesn’t really mesh with the environment/neighborhood anymore.

When he asks if Ralph ever went through that feeling of not belonging anymore, Ralph says he has and his father helped him overcome it.

Blue and Hollywood grab a bite to eat. Of course, it’s a meal that includes lots of meat. As Blue enjoys his chicken nuggets, he asks if Vi and Hollywood are going to have kids.

Hollywood says that he and Vi will not have kids after they marry.

“That’s okay if you don’t have a baby.” – Blue

Hollywood laughs at having Blue’s approval to not have kids but gets serious when Blue says he hopes Ralph and Darla have a baby after they get married.

When Blue notices Hollywood’s change in demeanor, Hollywood plays it off with a little horseplay.

Charley finds out the truth from Davis.

Davis comes by the house to speak to Charley. Micah immediately storms off when he sees his father. Charley is confused by this and asks Davis what’s going on between him and Micah.

“What was that about?” – Charley

She doesn’t get an answer.

Not too long after, Davis tells her about his affair from 13 years ago.

“Charley, I have a daughter. A month ago, her mother passed away. And I decided I’m moving back to LA to take care of her.” – Davis

“You had a daughter in our city. When do you hit bottom?” – Charley

Charley learns the daughter’s name is Tia and she worries that the press will be a problem when they find out Davis has another child.

After Charley becomes upset, Davis tells her he’s going to continue to be a great father. But Charley snaps when she finds out that Davis told Micah about his daughter before he told her.

“You just left him to try to deal with it on his own?” – Charley

“I’ve been trying to call.” – Davis

“Tried to call?” – Charley

An emotional Charley screams and pushes Davis away.

“Get out!” – Charley

She sits on the ground and cries hysterically after he leaves.

Ralph Angel has some more small talk with Trinh at work. He asks her if they can hang out the upcoming weekend. She says she can’t because she has to help her aunt out with the family business.

But she tells him she can hang out on her off day – Monday.

This makes Ralph smile.

Charley spends some more time with Jacob.

Micah hangs out with his friends at Sweet Bay. A white couple is getting married there. The kids are disgusted as they see white people dressed in attire that their ancestors worn during slavery, walking around the former slave plantation. Micah silently takes pictures. He gets a phone call from Charley. He ignores the call. Seconds later, he texts her immediately saying he’s out with friends, will be back soon, and loves her.

Frustrated with no one to talk to, Charley calls Nova, Ralph and Vi. When neither answers, she breaks down.

She gets a text message from Jacob, asking if she’s free to talk weekly reports.

Charley responds to Jacob and later goes out for drinks with him.

While sitting at the bar, Jacob talks about his time in a fraternity. Charley gets plenty of laughs from his story. He starts telling her about his brother Paul.

After a couple of shots, Jacob’s associate Trent walks up to them and awkwardly speaks. After Jacob quickly dismisses him and says he’ll send some shots to his table, Trent then walks away.

“They’re just doing some work on another one of our mills.” – Jacob

Charley tells Jacob she wants to know more about his brother Paul.

Nova and Remy go there.

While fishing, Remy tells Nova she did a great job backing the kids that protested the anthem at Micah’s school.

“Nova, you’re their guide.” – Nova

Nova catches a fish and both are excited. Especially since Nova declared as a child that she would never go fishing again.

Later, Remy tells Nova the story of how her parents fell in love. Nova then says she sometimes wondered how life for her mother would have been if she never got married.

Although Remy said Nova’s mother lived a good life, Nova says her mother lived the life she was talked into.

“I never want to be talked into anything, never again.” – Nova

Back at Sweet Bay, Micah and his friends cause a scene when they sit in chairs that guests are not allowed to sit in.

“Say guys, you can’t be sitting on those. They’re 250 years old.” – Sweet Bay employee

“Well, my ancestors fought for the right to sit in this chair, so I’m gonna sit in it.”- Ant

When the others back up Ant and question why it’s okay to the employee that people are taking pictures in shackles and being tacky in the slave quarters, and even pretending to be slaves…he has no answer.

He instead tells the group to leave.

The tension is thick, but the group decides to leave to avoid any problems.

Back at the farm, Benny says goodbye to Ralph Angel for the weekend. He tells him he found a place to stay and he will spend the night with a friend who lives on Crane Street.

Knowing the Crane Street is a hot spot for trouble, Ralph tells Benny he can’t stay there.

“You can crash here until you find something better.” – Ralph Angel

Ralph reminds him that the farm is not a motel and Blue lives there. So Benny will have to follow the rules why he lives there. Benny agrees to this.

After they finish fishing, Remy asks what Nova meant when she said she doesn’t want to be talked into anything again. She explains a former lover tried to change her.

“You deserve someone who wants to be with you…not Nova the activist, not Nova the journalist…just you…Nova.” – Remy

Nova then initates a kiss, and Remy leans in partake. After they kiss, Nova seems confused about what just occurred between them.

Back at the bar, Jacob asks Charley for a dance. She turns him down, especially since it’s a slow country song playing.

She eventually gives in and they dance alone to the song. She cries discreetly on his chest as the song plays.

Charley goes too far with Jacob.

While throwing some rocks and doing some horseplay after leaving Sweet Bay, Ant tells Micah that his brother is locked up in a nearby prison.

Vi tell Hollywood that she has to take a different dosage of her medication and write down all her symptoms.

Hollywood tells Vi he can’t stand Nova’s meat lacking diet and they share a laugh.

Darla and Ralph Angel have that important talk with Blue.

They explain that Darla won’t be living at the farm anymore and Blue now has a second bedroom at her new place.

“Your dad and I are not getting married.” – Darla

After Ralph says they will remain friends, this is hurtful news to Blue.

“I thought you said forever?” – Blue

Blue starts to cry and his parents console him. But this does nothing to make him feel better. He then goes to his bedroom to continue crying alone.

After dancing and drinking together, Jacob walks Charley outside of the bar. He tells her he had a good time and they share a kiss.

Caught off guard with what just transpired, Charley decides it’s time for her to call it a night.

“I have to get home to my son.” – Charley

Charley assures Jacob she’s not too drunk to get home safely.

When Charley gets home, she strips down and gets in the bathtub.

Filled with confusion and sorrow, she holds herself silently.

What are your thoughts on the episode?

2 of 2Next

24 comments

  1. Yeah I don’t like the direction the writers are taking this season. This episode was horrible. It reminded me so much of a Tyler Perry production. Nova and Remy together is just gross and wrong. And I’m disgusted they have Charley kissing Jacob like there isn’t a handsome and single doctor still out there waiting to take her out on a date.

  2. I’m not at all surprised that Nova is doing what she’s doing with Remy. She’s the same one who was sleeping with a married cop in the beginning. She’s a walking contradiction just like Remy. Match made in heaven with those two hypocrites.

  3. Nova is a true, selfish thot. I’m done with her. And I never liked Remy. He’s always been judgmental, corny know it all. All they have ever done is try to make Charley feel awful about herself when they ain’t all that either.

  4. I loved this episode because the most holier thou people were exposed. Nova and Remy are my least favorite characters.

  5. So while Vi and Hollywood act like they are to good to speak to Darla, Nova is out here about t f-ck her sister’s ex boyfriend. Man if they don’t get the f-ck out of here. None of them are flawless.

  6. This episode was just…weird. I don’t like how they made it seem like Charley had nobody to turn to and ran into Jacob’s arms because people didn’t answer her phone call. So now Jacob is like some white knight or whatever when he’s really sh-tty like the rest of his family. And for Nova to be all BLM and kiss Remy, man that’s just terrible writing. How can you be all about morals and do that to your sister? None of this makes sense. And I can’t even accept that Hollywood would ignore Violet too. You can tell they have a new showrunner again because none of the characters have been true to themselves all season long.

  7. Charley has met her match. Jacob is playing her like a fiddle. She doesn’t realize that he’s the white and male version of her. And I knew Nova and Remy would end up messing around. Nova is in a one sided competition with Charley and always has been. Now that she already has Micah preferring her over Charley, it’s only makes sense that Remy would be next on her list.

  8. No shade but the new show runner is a white woman. That’s where all this swirling stuff is coming from.

    1. LMBO! To be fair, we still gotta get Ava together for putting the foundation down for this Remy and Nova nonsense last season. I think that storyline is the worst thing about this season.

  9. Am I the only one who is annoyed by Micah’s friends? They are so high and mighty and it’s like they are looking for trouble, not actually protesting or trying to change things. I think Micah is going to get into some real trouble running behind them.

    1. Micah’s friends annoy me to no end. I can see why Keke is barely around now. And Micah is going to get caught up next week yanking that confederate flag off that man’s car.

  10. It’s the third season right? Shows go through this. I won’t stop watching unless the season finale is trash. All of these plots may come together perfectly by the end of the season. And I doubt Nova will actually be in an actual relationship with Remy. She’s going to do the right thing and cut him off.

  11. I’m disappointed like all the other commenters by Nova and Remy crossing the boundaries they have. It is totally unacceptable imo for anyone to be in a relationship with some that a family member used to date or marry. I also agree that one of the boys that Micah is hanging with is a rebel rouser. He is disrespectful, combative and will end up in prison if he doesn’t change.

  12. I have so many mixed feelings about this episode. The first thing is I really don’t get why everyone hates Darla. You can’t love Blue but hate his mother. If Blue is going to remain in their lives, they need to forgive Darla and move forward. It’s not like he won’t figure out that they hate his momma sooner or later. And when he does, he’s not going to want to deal with any of them anymore. He loves his mother a lot. That needs to be respected. Also, they need to remember she’s a recovering addict, the harder they are on her, the likely she could relapse. The fact that none of them care, including Vi and Hollywood, is just weird to me. They both have better morals than that. So I question the writing here.

    Also, I don’t know how to feel about Ralph dating Trinh just yet. He was really a selfish jerk at times towards Darla. If Trinh somehow gets a better version of Ralph than Darla did, I don’t see that sitting well with black viewers.

    I’m worried about Micah. His friends aren’t mature in their activism. It will not end well.

    Charley is forgetting her goal with the Landrys. She doesn’t need to be developing feelings for Jacob. He’s still a snake, no matter how friendly he seems. I think he’s going to really make a fool out of her sooner than later.

    I honestly have realized that I don’t like Remy. He spent the majority of his time in his relationship with Charley judging her. So how did he figure it would be okay to kiss her sister? Maybe he should be the last person to talk about morals from now on.

    And as for Nova, she’s always getting in her own way. That’s not going to stop anytime soon. I just wish she would stop acting like she has a better moral grounding than Charley. That has always been false.

  13. I guess I’m the only one who thinks Remy and Nova getting together is organic. Think about it. They are both very woke, self righteous and driven by a moral code (although Nova has done some very moral less things like sleeping with a married man). So the attraction makes sense. The problem is why did it take Remy years to start feeling Nova? He’s known her longer than Charley. Once he got with Charley, his chances with Nova should have been eliminated. You can’t be out here dating sisters back to back. I just don’t see this working and it’s just going to push Charley and Nova further apart.

  14. Is Ralph Angel not into dark skinned women or something because I’m noticing his character only has flings with darker skinned women and saves the relationships for lighter skin/non black women. What are these writers doing this season?

  15. Im trying to figure out why no one suspected that blue may not have been Ralph Angels from the jump, considering Darla was a drug addict found high and on top of some strange man. I mean it’s common sense that it should have been consider when Blue was a baby.

  16. Nova and Remy just should not be happening…. at all. Sister don’t have to like one another, But there should be some type of loyalty. Charley needs to snap out of it, that white boy up to no good. See how he redirected the workers convo about the mill so Charley would know whats up.

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