The newlyweds head out for their honeymoon.
Darla and Ralph Angel just got married and Ralph Angel is carrying Darla out of the house. Their pickup is decorated in sunflowers with a “Just Married” sign as they head off for their Honeymoon. Meanwhile, Micah gets a disturbing notification. He turns on the TV to CBS Morning News and learns about the death of George Floyd. This instantly brings back flashbacks of his own run-in with the police. Charley watches too and hugs her son.
George Floyd’s death shakes everyone.
Aunt Vi and Prosper are listening to the news story also and Aunt Vi is furious.
Meanwhile, Nova’s listening to the news and praying for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. She then records a video honoring all recent victims of police brutality calling out their names one by one. During the recording, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
Charley and Micah are glued to the TV and watch while dejected. Eventually, Charley cuts it off to console her son. Micah’s clearly broken down by this and his own trauma. Charley tells him she’ll fight for justice as Micah begins to cry out. She then consoles him and begins to cry herself.
As this happens, Calvin brings Nova a hot drink and checks on her. Nova wants to make sure George Floyd’s life means something. Things are rather tense between her and Calvin as he is a cop himself. She openly questions how police stood around as the officer had his knee on George’s neck.
Darla and Ralph Angel enjoy their honeymoon.
Oblivious to all of the news, Darla and Ralph Angel are in their hotel room with the sunset beaming into the room. Both are dressed in their silk pajamas and negligee respectively. They are enjoying each other rose petals are thrown all over the room.
Later on, Calvin’s watching a violent movie as Nova’s typing. Nova hears this and walks in. She asks Calvin if he feels ashamed for what happened to George. He isn’t ashamed because it was something he didn’t have anything to do with. However, he felt disgusted. Nova says she would have felt ashamed if it was a black cop that did it. Courtney asks why and Nova responds it’s because every black person’s actions are seen as a collective. Courtney seemingly emphasizes Nova’s feelings about this.
Charley and Micah have a tense conversation.
Later on, Micah is on the phone working out, letting his friend know about a protest. He then learns of a riot in Minneapolis and yells out in excitement. Charley hears and watches. She tells Micah that what they’re doing in response is too much. Clearly, Micah disagrees and they have a tense conversation because of it. Micah’s inspired to fight in any way necessary but Charley believes strongly there are other ways to enact the change needed.
She tells Micah about a protest at city hall the next day that could turn violent. Charley learns Micah helped plan the protest.
Ralph Angel cries when he learns the news.
Darla and Ralph Angel are enjoying their honeymoon, returning from the pool when Ralph Angel gets a call from Hollywood. Hollywood tells Ralph Angel about the death and is angry about it. He has Ralph Angel turn on the TV to hear the stories. This angers Ralph Angel to tears. At the diner, Aunt Vi, Hollywood, and Prosper are securing the diner, in case the protest turns violent there.
Aunt Vi finds a disturbing item in Hollywood’s belongings.
Things get tense when Aunt Vi discovers a gun in Hollywood’s toolbox. When Prosper leaves, the two have a tense conversation about the gun. Aunt Vi says he’s been lying to her every day she kept that gun in their home. Hollywood feels if George Floyd could die on camera, he needs to whatever he can to protect her and their family. Even if it means taking a bullet in the process.
Despite this, Aunt Vi doesn’t divert from her stance.
Nova confronts Calvin about a past incident.
Nova’s getting ready to leave but first, Courtney cooked dinner. She’s keeping her eye on the news as they cover the uprising in Minneapolis. This dinner turns tense when Nova asks Calvin about the time he watched his partners beat up a black kid. He says it was 20 years ago and the kid was accosted by them for stealing a chocolate bar. He asked his partner why it happened and his partner called it a “down payment.” This meant to teach a black kid a lesson on what to expect from the police when they got older.
Micah is wearing a “Justice For All or Else” shirt ready for the protest. Charley surprises him by asking for an extra shirt as she wants to join him at the protest.
Ralph Angel and Darla end their honeymoon early.
In the morning, the mood between Darla and Ralph Angel has changed. They talk about if Blue knows about the incident and Darla’s worried about the changing world. Ralph Angel consoles Darla and says he doesn’t want them to rush back home. He wants them to not take in the negativity of the world. Darla doesn’t want to ignore reality but, Ralph Angel isn’t ready to leave. Darla begins to cry when she says she wants to hold Blue.
This changes Ralph Angel’s mind and they leave their Honeymoon early. On the way home, they stopped at the gas station to fill up when they encounter a belligerent white man. He openly questions Darla who’s wearing a Black Moms Matter shirt. Ralph Angela defends his wife but fortunately, no violence occurs.
Back in St. Joe’s, Micah sees his mom protesting. Calvin and Nova are also out at the protest with Courtney. Later that night, Hollywood and Aunt Vi are in the bed, and Aunt Vi consoles Hollywood. He’s telling her how it felt to have his mom pass away amongst all of the strife in the world.
Darla and Ralph Angel have “the talk” with Blue.
When Darla and Ralph Angel return home, Blue wonders why his parents returned home early. He heard people saying “Black Lives Matter” on TV and that a Black man died. He learns how George Floyd died. Blue asks questions as he’s learned some things at school that have him believing all people are good people. However, Darla and Ralph Angel tell Blue some hard truths about how Black people are treated in the country.
This conversation causes Blue and Darla to cry as Ralph Angel tells Blue not to run if the police confront him for anything. The episode ends as they all hug.
What are your thoughts about the episode?
