Queen Sugar’s fourth season has not disappointed one bit. Not that I expected it to, but the writers continuously find new ways to hit us with shit we absolutely did not see coming. This week’s episode was no different. I had enough moments that elicited a physical reaction in episode 4, “Skin Transparent,” that I decided that 1) I had to write about it; 2) the only way I could write about it was to recap it in GIFs. Buckle up, Buttercup: Nova Bordelon has leveled up the trash game to new heights.
We open up with Nova outchea sad that nobody is returning her calls and apparently the only person who wants anything to do with her is Young Protegé, Micah West, who apparently is also on the outs with his boo because he’s going full light-skinned and you never go full light-skinned.
Aunt Vi you ask? She’s busy pretending like her own personal demon didn’t just show up at her front door last week.
Charley and her new boo Romero (I’m not sure he’s really a new boo anymore) legit got up a whole-ass clinic in like a week. They’re efficient as hell.
And because Charley is a mix between Olivia Pope and apparently Clarence Avant, she both managed to find out who sent Micah those threatening letters AND the person is now in police custody.
It turns out Nova has basically been banned from Aunt Vi’s Prized Pies and Diner but keeps showing up anyway because she really doesn’t understand what she’s done wrong here. By the way, she’s done everything wrong here.
Luckily, we’re not too far away from Nova showing us exactly why nobody in her family wants to talk to her because this chile don’ leveluplevelupleveluuuuuped her fuckery.
Ralph Angel started up a convict re-entry program named after his father, Ernest Bordelon. You go, boy!
Charley finds out the Landrys are basically finna run a highway through St. Joe’s. But, of course, the black farmers land and even the Bordelon land are in the path of the highway. They just activated Terminator Charley. They got her feeling like Ice Cube in 1990.
While Nova has taken a blowtorch to her family relationships, illustrated both sadly and sorta-kinda-humorously by the number of unanswered phone calls Nova is making, the folks who have read her book love it and she’s now going on a nationwide book tour!
Charley goes to meet with Frances Boudreaux, who hits Charley with her best racism, telling her that 40 years ago she’d be lucky to clean the toilets at the place they met up. Peak racism.
But Charley is like, I’m coming for you. You will not destroy the lives of black folks in St. Joe’s!
Davis is like, “I have a surprise for Micah,” and shows up at Charley’s house while she’s there with his 13-year-old side baby without a heads up like, “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be home.” Charley handles it well but, maaaaaaaan, who does this!??! Davis West is traaaaaaaaash.
Not to be outdone, Nova says, “Hold my beer,” and at her book launch event informs the crowd that there was a last-minute addition to her book and she’d like to read it to them. This can’t be that bad, right?
Turns out, this motherfucker decided to add a section of the book that alleges that her father possibly murdered three white men who threatened Nova when she was a child.
Gotdammit. It’s great that Ernest did what he needed to do, but why IS YOU TELLING THE WORLD YOUR FATHER TURNED HIS FARM INTO A CRIME SCENE? I’m sure those missing folks are still on file in the police station!!!!
Nova’s old work shows up and is like, “You can still get this love,” but apparently Nova is lazy and only wants it on her terms and Old Work Chantal reads her for filth.
Darla also finds out that Nova wrote about her down-and-out times in life. She probably wants to fight Nova, but because Darla is so damn eloquent, she fights with her words.
Charley and Ralph Angel confront Aunt Vi to ask if their daddy killed some folks and Aunt Vi is like, “Why do you all need to know shit?!”
After she tells them what she knows, which is nothing definitive, she goes home and has a complete and total, expected breakdown. And Hollywood knows he can’t save her this time.
Nova is still trying to call people on her way out of town but NOBODY LIKES HER. I can’t imagine how this is gonna go next week.