Melvin’s convinced to stay.
The episode begins with Iyanla persuading Melvin to stay in the house.
Her seemingly calming voice calmed Melvin down and got him ready to handle facing his truth. And that truth facing began with a one on one. During this conversation, Iyanla faces his hurt and anger head-on, reiterating Melvin is the “problem-solver” of the Mitchell Family.
They address Marvin asking Melvin to not bring up Marvin’s homos*xuality. This conversation brings Melvin to tears as he agrees with Iyanla that the request broke his heart. Melvin was hurt by Marvin’s denial of their orientation as Melvin was open with his s*xuality.
Melvin also blames himself for Marvin dealing with abuse from others while they were in group homes and considers himself a lynchpin for Marvin not harming himself.
“I feel guilty that I couldn’t protect him.” – Melvin
Iyanla tells him it’s okay to bring his guard down and he doesn’t have to protect Marvin. Lastly, Iyanla wishes that Melvin and Marvin can sit down and have a revealing conversation.
So she’s going to “push” Melvin into having this conversation and Melvin is open to it.
Marvin and Melvin have a breakthrough.
Next, Marvin and Melvin have one more sit down. Iyanla flips the script on Marvin, asking him how he would feel if Melvin asked him to keep his orientation quiet. Marvin says he would feel some type of way but it was his defense mechanism. So, Marvin doesn’t feel that much remorse asking this.
During the conversation, Marvin revealed that they had an altercation where Melvin drew blood and Marvin pulled a knife on him. The fight occurred as the two dealt with the gay community separately. The altercation occurred as their community shamed Melvin’s flamboyant attire while Marvin was more conservative.
Melvin was even labeled as the ugly one. This was hurtful to him.
After that altercation, the two never were able to talk without one or the other getting defensive. Iyanla said Melvin didn’t feel safe around Marvin because of the shame he felt from keeping his orientation secret and protecting him from the abuse.
Eventually, Melvin apologized to Marvin for the aggression and feeling shamed for not protecting him. Afterward, Melvin gave Marvin an ultimatum to change how he treats him. Before Marvin answers, Iyanla has them hold hands and breathe together.
Next, Marvin seems to accept, apologizing for asking Melvin to deny his orientation. They both seem open to accepting each other’s experiences and becoming vulnerable towards one another.
Kizzy and Laronda finally understand one another.
After this breakthrough, Iyanla sits with Kizzy and LaRonda. Kizzy arrives first with her homework assignment. Kizzy wants LaRonda to be there for her now and still wants a relationship with her.
She also wants to know why LaRonda is angry and hurt, and senses something that happened between her and her grandmother. Iyanla asks why she doesn’t have her children and Kizzy doesn’t answer.
Finally, LaRonda joins Iyanla and Kizzy. LaRonda tells Kizzy about her real father and how her mom abused her because of him. She included the story of being whipped while tied to a chair. The story brings Kizzy to tears.
Iyanla then brings up the story of how Kizzy got to stay with her grandmother. Kizzy says LaRonda abandoned her. However, LaRonda says her mom demanded to take Kizzy, telling her that she’d have a heart attack if she couldn’t have Kizzy. Iyanla asked if she was on drugs when Kizzy was born, and she said no. In fact, LaRonda said she didn’t get on drugs until Melvin was born.
Kizzy cries as she hears this story and revealed she was also abused by the same woman. Despite the abuse, Iyanla says that Kizzy’s heart was broken because LaRonda wasn’t there.
Finally, Kizzy says she abandoned her children.
“History repeating history.” – LaRonda
At the end of the sit-down, Kizzy apologizes for her behavior towards LaRonda and LaRonda asks for forgiveness from Kizzy.
After this sit-down, all of the siblings and LaRonda are brought together one last time. In the center of the table, everyone sits is a box full of mouse traps. Iyanla triggers them, signaling all of the siblings’ triggers. She has them list all of the things they need to work on and Iyanla points out what she feels needs work within them.
Iyanla also asks them one thing they want to unburden their mom with. To end everything, Iyanla leads everyone in prayer
What are your thoughts on the episode?
