Black Cake: Season 1/ Episode 7 “Birth Mother” – Episode Recap/ Review

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Mia Isaac returns as the year between Covey leaving Scotland and reuniting with Gilbert is filled, and answers what led Mabel to be snatched away.

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General Information

Network	Hulu
Release Date	November 29, 2023
Director(s)	Zetna Fuentes
Writer(s)	Marissa Jo Cerar, Hayley Tyler
Newly Noted Characters and Cast
Sister Madeline	Sutara Gayle
Irene	Elly Roberts
Previously Noted Characters and Cast
Covey	Mia Isaac
Eleanor	Chipo Chung
Mathilda	Jade Eshete

Plot Recap

The Year We Skipped Over – Covey, Sister Madeline, Irene

Despite it seeming that as soon as Covey got off the train, she ran into Gilbert, and the bad times were over, clearly, that wasn’t the case. There is a missing year, and in that year, Mabel, originally named Mathilda, after Covey’s mom, was born. However, getting to the point of Mabel’s birth was traumatic.

As you can imagine, Covey was in a terrible state financially. She just left a job abruptly and had no family or friends to support her. While there was a Caribbean community that could have helped her, being that she was in hiding, she couldn’t go there and lick her wounds. Add in a pregnancy after being assaulted, and Covey could only go to God for some sort of direction.

Enter Sister Madeline, who offered Covey help. While abortion was legal, maybe even paid for by the State, those like Sister Madeline would prefer young ladies having their children, who likely would be healthy due to their mother’s age, to be born and have proper adults raise and care for the child.

Now, some, like Irene, who becomes Covey’s best friend as she waits for her child to be born, didn’t really want to give up their kid but had no choice. After all, while abortion may have been legal, there remains a social stigma regarding unwed mothers no matter what decade or generation you’re in.

Mother Left Her Mark – Mathilda, Covey, Sister Madeline

As time passed, Covey longed to rid herself of this baby inside her. It was a mark of trauma, a tragedy, and it seems part of her means of punishing herself, if not the child, was not finding something she could keep down. But, after having a moment when she feared the child might be dead, she turned things around.

The problem, though, with now having a better perception, is that Covey already signed away her rights as a parent. So, no matter how much giving birth to this child has brought her closer to her long-gone mother, even to the point of naming her after her mom, Covey had no choice.

Mind you, this doesn’t mean she didn’t try to snatch her daughter and run away with her. Hence, the once benevolent Sister Madeline made sure young Mathilda, now named Mabel, was sent off as soon as possible. Though the kicker is, Mabel’s parents, being who they were, cared not about a young Black girl screaming and wailing for her child, for they finally could claim a baby of their own.

Oh Yeah, About My Wedding – Eleanor

Eleanor’s final mystery that needs to be unraveled is what happened at her wedding. Who killed Clarence? A question that, considering the litany of better mysteries and questions, likely wasn’t at the forefront of anyone’s mind.

New Character Description(s)

Sister Madeline

Sister Madeline is a woman from the Islands who took up the rosary and is now a nun at a home for unwed mothers who wish to give up their babies once they give birth.

Irene

Irene was one of the girls at the home for unwed mothers who befriended Covey and made it seem that she and her boyfriend would figure out a way to raise their kid. But, hopes came crashing down once reality hit.

Review

Notable Performances or Moments

Mia Isaac’s Return

All I’m going to say is, if “Euphoria” made Zendaya’s career and “Wednesday” made Jenna Ortega’s (and technically the “Scream” reboot as well), then “Black Cake” should launch Mia Isaac’s. At the very least, she should be part of the same level of awards consideration, getting moved about for press, and the fact that if I look her up on YouTube and the only press I see her doing for this is all indie, it feels like a crime.

If not a sign that, when it comes to the producers of this show, while they may have enough weight in the industry to get a show to market, as for getting it marketed, getting their cast on the talk show circuit? They have the weight of a feather. Which I say with disappointment more than as a desire to insult the people behind this since a lot of the producers have credits on shows I love, ranging from “The Fosters,” “P-Valley,” “Greenleaf,” and “Queen Sugar.”

Though, considering all four shows named never got the attention they deserved, maybe I should learn to accept that the ceiling is often made of steel, not glass.

Negative feelings aside, can you believe Mia Isaac is only 19?

On The Fence

Are We Still Going On About The Wedding?

Did anyone else think that whole issue was settled? To be honest, if they were going to solve any mystery left in the dust, I’d rather learn what happened to Mathilda, Bunny, or reveal if Gilbert had any secrets between leaving Jamaica and Covey reentering his life. Clearly, he dated and compared each girl to Covey, but did he get someone pregnant? Maybe he had his own reason for quickly leaving England?

To be frank, the wedding is the least interesting mystery of the whole show right now. It’s basically a footnote at this point.

Discussion Items

Let us know your thoughts in the comments:

1. What’s your favorite mystery hinted at or that has gone unresolved?

Episode Directory

Previous Episode: Season 1/ Episode 6 (Series Page | Character Guide)

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