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Through focusing on Marcus’ personal life, while touching upon his dalliances with women, Love Life finally gets some heart this season.
| Aired | 11/4/2021 |
| Network | HBO Max |
| Directed By | Stacey Muhammad |
| Written By | Ali Kinney |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Becca | Leslie Bibb |
| Gigi | Briana Marin |
Recap
So You Back On That? – Mia, Becca, Marcus
After a trip to Hong Kong for work, Mia is back in New York, and it seems she and Marcus are back to hanging out and being friends again. Mind you, Marcus still definitely has lingering feelings, but Mia isn’t trying to give him the time of day. She has someone new and whether or not she’d accept Marcus asking her out remains a question he hasn’t properly pursued the answer of.
But, at the very least, Mia is happy to see Marcus dating Black women. Yes, Ola didn’t last, but look at him back with the delegation. Or rather, Ola was a pit stop right before he ended up with Becca and was knocking the boots with her.
My Relationship With My Father – Kirby, Ida, Marcus, Donna
Setting aside Marcus’ romantic or sexual pursuits, one of Marcus’ most challenging relationships aren’t with any woman he has known but his father. Donna, Marcus’ mom? He is close to her, and she is the first to know when he gets a promotion without a raise. However, Kirby? That’s Ida’s favorite, and Marcus is at this impasse with his dad in which both sides seem to want the other to make an effort and neither wish to budge.
So, when Marcus notes he has tickets to something honoring Nikki Giovanni, Donna forces his hand. But, Marcus is not trying to have his dad, critical of him not getting a raise, in writing, when he took a promotion, now getting to criticize his home and his comings and goings. Hence he damn near begs Ida to take in Kirby, which she does, and though she hems and haws it, she seems to like it since they smoke and drink together and have a good relationship.
But, unlike Marcus, Kirby and Ida have a good relationship. She calls him weekly, and they love and adore one another beyond the obligations of parent and child. And mind you, it isn’t like Kirby doesn’t like Marcus, think he is stupid, or anything like that. More so, Marcus has always been a sensitive child, and while Kirby has that side to him, it isn’t his default. So Marcus would often get defensive when his dad would say something and see it as an attack – like when Emily was brought up when we met Kirby.
Yet, during this trip, it seems, even though Marcus didn’t invite his dad, Donna did, the two came to some kind of agreement, understanding, or new place in their relationship. One in which Kirby may have finally learned how to talk to Marcus and Marcus began to understand his dad beyond the perception he has long held onto.
So I Don’t Get a Choice? – Marcus, Gigi, Becca
Getting back to Becca, she and Marcus keep having good times, and it even escalates to her setting up a threesome with her vocal coach, Gigi. But that is when things turn south. Because of an internet fantasy being lived out in real life, Marcus cums quickly but seems to keep it stiff enough to get the ladies off.
However, he gets Becca pregnant in the process, and she wants to keep the baby, which Marcus isn’t jazzed about. Especially since the way she talks about mixed children makes them sound more like an accessory than a human being, and so on top of worrying him, it is upsetting and leads to Marcus’ usual fight that seems meant to blow things up, while he gets to make himself feel misunderstood.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- How is Emily doing?
- Where does Mia usually meet her boyfriends?
- Recognizing Kirby is a bit more critical of Marcus compared to Donna, did they have good moments growing up or were they far and few between?
What Could Happen Next
- Likely, Marcus is going to be thrust into fatherhood, not because he wants to but due to fears of how Beeca would raise a mixed child (my bet is on it being a girl)
- I’m still waiting for Marcus and Mia to possibly get together, and it not working out or it being just what both needed
- I could imagine Marcus dating Gigi for some reason
- Maybe the point might be that the love of Marcus’ life will be his kid with Becca, and not a woman his age?
Review
Highlights
Kirby and Marcus’ Relationship
I think I get it now. Marcus’ relationships end when they get difficult because he didn’t get built up, like Ida perhaps, from Kirby’s comments or critiques. It just fractured him. So anytime he was with a woman, and things went wrong, I think the anxiety of criticism made it so he found ways to prep that were unhealthy – mainly through self-sabotage.
With Emily, he purposely decided to pursue Mia and not just verbalize but write out the problems in his relationship, knowing he could get caught. Then with Ola, he mentally created an issue so that he could create the conflict and know it would happen. Heck, even with Becca, I’m sure Marcus knows how a condom works. So him still stroking after cumming was him looking to have something to blow up their relationship.
But, one of the challenges with family is, you can have a blow-up, but because you share so many relationships, you’re bound to get back together. This is why Mia seems special to me since that is one of the first women we saw Marcus have a blow-up with and reconcile. However, that’s a different topic.
The focus here is Kirby and Marcus’ relationship and them seeing eye to eye, perhaps for the first time. Now, you can’t give the full blame to either party, as Kirby could have long explained why he talks to Marcus as he does, and Marcus could have invoked the conversation or even asked his mom to maybe initiate or moderate such. However, neither seemed to take that step and while Ida and Donna may not have liked it, it was what it was for their own unique reasons.
Yet, I think in seeing his father stunned by Nikki Giovanni, having conversations with him that allowed him to see they don’t just share blood relations but opinions, that helped take down that wall each wanted the other to climb. I’d even say Marcus bringing a spliff for him, and his dad to smoke showed the kind of effort Kirby has longed for and the conversations that night are all Marcus wanted in their relationship. Thus leading to both getting what they wanted in the end.
Reasons Why Black Men Are Warned About White Women
I already know the heading is troublesome but, whatever. This is a highlight because the show took it there, and I was surprised by it. Now, did they go into certain elements talked about within Black families? No. However, between Mia, Kirby, and Donna, you could see the show skirting around the conversations that could be had, with Mia maybe being the most direct about Marcus possibly having a fetish for white women.
However, it was Becca talking about mixed babies and how cute they better be which took me. Especially since she was talking about Marcus being in that child’s life as optional and her not thinking at all about race. While she has that privilege, that child would not, and GOD HELP THE CHILD if they were born a girl who didn’t want to be bald-headed. Can you imagine?
Though, there is also just the fear of a child being born a Black person, who can trace back where their white relative is and not know who their people are. For while, yes, Becca seems to have two other kids who will likely love and welcome their younger sibling and share some features, there is still going to be that lack of privilege. The kind where, in certain spaces, depending on Becca’s lifestyle and community, that child will be an other.
Now, this isn’t to say if things were flipped, the child may not have feelings of being an other if raised with Marcus, or if he moved back home and raised them with his parents. There can still be this otherness even if around people who share the same kind of hair and skin tone. However, you can find many conversations online about being multi-racial and the tightrope that can come from feeling between two worlds. However, the kind of perspective Becca has? That is likely where the issues start – all because you didn’t factor in how this child would be seen as different since that feeling is foreign to you.
The Time Jumps
It’s weird. We jump months ahead between episodes and even jump a month forward in this one, and it isn’t jarring. Yes, I do wonder what happened with Trae’s book, how things are going with Ida’s new girlfriend, and what got her back in therapy, but knowing the basics doesn’t ruin the big picture. That’s strange to me since usually, time jumps lead to plot holes.
But, I guess since I know Love Life doesn’t seek to get stuck in the details, just tell an overarching story, I’m fine with it.
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