Caught Up: Season 1/ Episode 1 “Don’t Judge Me” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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General Information

This section Includes information about the Director, Writer, and Cast.

Release Date (BET Plus)	August 24, 2023
Director(s)	Mark E. Swinton
Writer(s)	Tyler Perry, Jasmin Brown
Newly Noted Characters and Cast
Jazzy	Jasmin Brown
Fayard	E. Lloyd Napier
Louise	Avis-Marie Barnes
Toya	Jasmin Brown
Wayne	Duby Maduegunam
Ashley	Jazmine Robinson
Brenda	Brittney Clemons
Christina	Alexis Santiago

Plot Recap

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I Was Just A Regular Degular Girl From Miami – Jazzy, Ashley, Brenda, Christina, Wayne

Jazzy is from Miami, lives with her parents, and works nights as a bottle service girl. She does this with Ashley, who solely works at the club to hook up with Black men; Brenda, who is an around-the-way girl who grew up with brothers and low-key likes to fight; and Christina, who we learn nothing about beyond her being Hispanic. Together, they sort of enjoy their job, but being that the real money is in tips and, like so many night spots, the club attracts influencers who are given things for free, it’s established that it’s a job, but not one that really allows for a significant living.

However, then men like Wayne Thompson, a famous football player, come to the club and drop $3,000 tips. Those nights are the ones that change your life, and for Jazzy, she doesn’t just get tipped in money but later on finds herself going beyond the tip.

Living At Home With My Parents – Jazzy, Louise, Fayard

Life outside the club for Jazzy isn’t great. Her parents, Louise and Fayard, often can be found in front of the television listening to a preacher, with Louise pushing the idea that Jazzy needs more church in her life. Mind you, she is her father’s daughter, so like him, she puts up with it but doesn’t necessarily enjoy it.

In fact, while living with her parents is all she can afford, in some ways, she hates it. Aside from an inability to curse and push to focus on religious studies, she also can’t get off privately. The walls are too thin, or Louise’s hearing too good, for Jazzy to take the edge off, which can be very necessary after seeing men like Wayne.

Who Suddenly Was Someone’s Mistress – Jazzy, Wayne

While it would have been nice for Wayne to be this good guy, good father, and philanthropist who still knew how to have fun and was the best boyfriend a girl could have – that isn’t the case. Unfortunately, Wayne had a complicated relationship status when he met Jazzy. He was and still is in a relationship with the mother of his child, but it seems differences of opinion regarding raising him have put a strain on their relationship.

Enter Jazzy, a mistress, side piece, pick your phrase, who is easier to be with, appreciative, and seemingly doesn’t press Wayne much. Hence him, outright, buying her a house and Jazzy having to question if she should accept it, despite growing tired and perhaps too old to be living with her parents for any longer.

New Character Description(s)

Jazzy

Raised in a religious, conservative, two-parent household, Jazzy is definitely a girl brought up right. However, opportunities to make money are few, so despite having all that most think you need to thrive, she works at a club doing bottle service, making nowhere near enough to move out her parents’ apartment eventually.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Always A Bridesmaid” and “Double Cross.”

Fayard

Jazzy’s father, who is less strict than her mom, Fayard, is a bit dissatisfied with his life. Not with his kid or marriage, but the work he has done for nearly 25 years which hasn’t pushed him to a position of being financially well-off but still scraping by.

Louise

Louise is the one who sets the tone in her household via her strict rules and making sure God and religion have a constant presence within her household.

Toya

Toya is Jazzy’s cousin who is a hot mess and when introduced, is within days of being released from jail.

Wayne

Wayne is a PA native who plays for the Miami Blue Jays. He is an only child, raised by his mother and grandma, and because he lacked a father, he spent most of this time playing football and eventually became a D1 athlete and later one of the top receivers in football.

Ashley

Ashley is a trust fund baby who works at Jazzy’s job purely to meet guys to sleep with.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Rolling Into Christmas.”

Brenda

Thanks to having three brothers, Brenda is someone not at all against fighting and definitely has an edge to her.

Christina

Christina is Jazzy, Ashley, and Brenda’s co-worker at the club they all work at.

Review

Highlights

“Caught Up”  Is Comical

Between Jazzy’s narration, including how she describes characters, to the way some characters, like Toya, are over the top to the point of either making you laugh or roll your eyes? You’ll at least giggle.

Connecting With Jazzy

What we like about Jazzy is you can clearly see she exists as a complex character. Conservative parents raised her in a very liberal, potentially sexually liberated environment. She knows better, so she tries to do better, but sometimes the heart and libido wants what it wants. In existing within so many dualities, including dating a married man, Jasmin Brown finds a way to take on the challenge of someone flawed yet still likable.

For as much as you have to recognize she is morally grey, via her continued relationship with Wayne, a part of you wants to understand, forgive, or simply treat Jazzy as a human being rather than a character who should be stuck in the villain or hero dichotomy. Simply put, Jazzy is just as messy as any of us, with certain opportunities many would envy to have.

On The Fence

This Is Very Much A Tyler Perry Production

I want to make it clear that what “Caught Up” presents is the Tyler Perry we’ve come to enjoy. Yes, it is much more raunchy and vulgar than his early work that made him famous. However, what makes “Caught Up” so likable is that it could easily fit into the new Madea universe, in terms of giving us that sense of presenting people who are Black and imperfect. They aren’t the type who did everything right in their professional life, so they get messy with their personal life. No. What “Caught Up” gives you is the difference between “The Cosby Show” and programs like “The Chi” or “Queen Sugar.”

Yes, “The Cosby Show” is a comedy, but it’s used as an example as even the later seasons still aimed for some sort of respectability politics compared to “The Chi” and “Queen Sugar,” I will even throw in “David Makes Man” which wants to give you people who are hard-working, but aren’t upper middle class or upper class. Instead, it expands on the type of people who often are only seen on reality shows and filling in the gaps of what editors don’t keep unless they want you to feel sympathy for a person.

Case in point: Jazzy messing around with a married man, but it being shown Wayne is putting on pressure, and there is mutual accountability. This shows that, yes, Jazzy was raised in a religious, conservative, two-parent household, knows right from wrong, and is giving into temptation, but that makes her human. Just as much as her father being the type who will curse at the dinner table or Louise, despite her daughter being grown, smacking the mess out of her for cursing in front of her.

As Perry has shown again and again, there is a need to show people like Jazzy, Fayard, Louise, and even Jazzy’s friends at the club because no one else is doing it like this. Yeah, there is “P-Valley,” but that, like most depictions of people who live in urban areas, leans towards being a drama and only, occasionally, through an episode, do they show there can be joy and moments when people aren’t laughing to keep from crying.

Which is all to say, yes, “Caught Up” features uncouth characters who can seem over the top, lacking polish, and maybe lacking the type of complexity some may like, but damn, is it wonderful to see characters like this who may have bills to pay, but aren’t facing extensive struggles including the potential of death.

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