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David goes to his first dance, and it seems a lot of people are heavily invested in his potential love life – including his date!
| Network | ||
| OWN | ||
| Director(s) | Daina Reid | |
| Writer(s) | Jaquén Castellanos | |
| Air Date | 9/11/2019 | |
| Introduced This Episode | ||
| Tare | Teshi Thomas | |
Recap/ Review (with Commentary & Spoilers)
Vulnerability & Promises | Dr. Bree, David, Gloria, Tare, Raynan
David, during his second session with Dr. Bree, opens up and is talking about all that goes down in The Vil gleefully. We don’t see Sky, his alter egos, no one. David is his complete self until Dr. Bree brings up Sky’s death, and then David goes back in his hole. Leading to him being glad his mandated sessions are over but scared when he sees Dr. Bree talking to the principal.
However, the bigger issue might be an upcoming school dance and Gloria finding out about it. If only because Gloria is extra and pushes David not to go alone. That leads to many awkward moments, including one in front of Raynan who learns of David’s intentions to ask Tare, a local girl. Someone who speaks well of David and makes him out to not be this shy, almost skittish, dude we’ve come to know.
Commentary
One of the thoughts pushed with Dr. Bree is this idea of who is David his complete self around? Who he is at The Vil, at the magnet school, and then with his mom, does anyone see the complete person? Should we see his performance as code-switching, or is he living a fragmented life? Also, was it fragmented like this before Sky’s death or did that just make things worse?
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Don’t Embarrass Yourself | Mx Elijah, Gloria, Tare, Marissa, Seren, Ray, Jessica, David
Gloria is dead set on David getting a date, and he struggles horribly. First there is Marissa, but between her mom and her banter with David, she rejects him and asks Seren – who says he will. Thus, this leads to David running through the name of every girl he knows and Seren and Marissa telling him the reason it wouldn’t work. Be it the girl has a date or, simply put, she is out of David’s league or gay.
Luckily for him, however, Mx. Elijah has his back. Especially after Gloria sends him out into the world in a suit which has pants damn near up to his knees. But, with Mx. Elijah being David’s unofficial godparent, they make sure David can talk to a good and look sharp while doing so. Hence how he gets Tare to go with him and, at first, they have a good time.
That is until David starts to get insecure as his life at The Vil collides with his life at the magnet school. Thus, Tare feels like David is ashamed of her, The Vil, or maybe even himself, and with her starting to feel insecure, she decides to leave David looking like a fool.
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Commentary
I just love how this show, unlike many which feature and focus on Black men, has it where the girls and women don’t revolve around him. Tare went off on David in ways I couldn’t believe, and while they talk and makeup later, I believed she was done! I’m talking about no patience, no trying to help him get or be better, just done and not for his BS.
The same goes for Marissa. David is consistently rude to her and wouldn’t even kindly tell her she got so much dust on her that it looks like she bathes in talcum powder. Instead, they just keep up their usual back and forth which, don’t get it twisted, is cute, but doesn’t seem to me to be Marissa or David laying the foundation for something more.
Which brings us to Ray and Jessica – I need them to go to jail. Ray for so boldly laying his claim on Seren and Jessica for talking to a 12 (?) year old like she has any intention of sleeping with Seren. Just because Jessica might have been fast as a child doesn’t mean, by any means, Marissa’s mother plays that. That women is clearly Caribbean and has Marissa low-key scared for her life.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Is Marissa’s home life basically David’s if his mom had money?
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All Good Days Come To An End | Tare, David, Sky
After a disastrous date at the party, Sky steps in to push David to say the words he needs to say. Which is sorry and how he messes things up. Leading to Tare forgiving David, to a point, and revealing some things she observed. The first that Seren is gay, in her eyes, and Marissa likes David. Two things David denies and Tare doesn’t push.
Leaving David in the position to fully rebound the night and possibly get his first kiss! However, Tare’s mom calls her inside. Then, to really get knocked on his behind, when he gets home, he sees a rent due notice which, some of us know, is a prelude to an eviction notice.
Commentary
This idea that Marissa and Seren like David is troubling. Not to imply David doesn’t have attractive features, but it brings this show in line with so many which makes the male lead seem like God’s gift and I don’t know how to feel about that. Particularly since it seems a bit too widespread. Take note how many local girls give David the eye, Raynan looked strange when David noted an interest in Tare, then there was Starry eyeing David, and now the possibility of Seren and Marissa?
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Here is hoping Tare was just seeing things, as am I, rather than she and/or I being right. The last thing we need is to see mad people pining for David and inflating his ego. Let’s, for now, just keep things to Tare and make it so her world doesn’t revolve around David.
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Characters Introduced This Episode
Tare (Teshi Thomas)
Character Introduction
Tare is one of the neighborhood girls in The Vil and someone who is heavily into dance, per her conversation with Dr. W-T. Also, she is someone who has had a crush on David, who she affectionately calls Daye, for quite some time. It all started with him stopping a guy who was going to lift her shirt and remained steady since then.
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TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
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