Our Kind Of People: Season 1/ Episode 3 “Hot Links & Red Drinks” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
As Angela continues to be a disruptor, there is a need to question how much longer her father and sister will tolerate her presence?
As Angela continues to be a disruptor, there is a need to question how much longer her father and sister will tolerate her presence?
| Aired | 10/05/2021 |
| Network | Fox |
| Directed By | Jeff Byrd |
| Written By | Bryan M. Holdman |
Newly Noted
Characters
Leah – 9 Years Old (Sheridan Walker)
Leah, at the point her father took over her rearing and made her the woman she is today.
Teddy – Younger Years (CJ Williams)
The Teddy who cheated on his wife with “The Help” and tried to pay off Eve so that it wouldn’t bite him in the behind.
Rose – Younger Years (Alexa Rachelle Jennings)
A distraught woman whose best friend and husband had an affair, which caused what seems to be a mental break.
Locations & Items
- Edgartown: Where Tyrique lives and has made a name for himself
Recap
The Root Of The Issue – Nikki, Taylor, Angela
When Taylor gets out of the hospital, the person she hangs out with is Nikki, and while things start off fun and free, then Nikki catches wind of someone making colorist statements, specifically whether someone would be a house or field slave. With that, she goes swinging, and we learn part of the reason for this, and the trouble Nikki got in last year, deals with her grandmother.
You see, because Nikki had a close relationship with her grandmother, her death wasn’t just the loss of a grandparent but also her best friend. For while Nikki and Angela are cool, they aren’t really close in Nikki’s eyes. So when a kid talked about Grandma Eve’s skin tone and called her a skillet, Nikki went off on them.
All of this, Angela didn’t know. She figured Nikki just fell in with the wrong crowd, was acting out, and that’s it. She didn’t know it ran deeper than that, but how would she? In the pursuit of getting her business going, she sacrificed time with Nikki, and it shows.
Leverage and Loyalties – Teddy, Patricia, Tyrique, Angela
Tyrique seems like a good dude, right? He is helping Angela set up shop, takes her on cute days, and seems like an ally. However, ultimately his loyalties lay with Teddy, and we learn he put cameras in Angela’s shop so Teddy could spy on Angela. This was done as a backup since Teddy hoped he could use Patricia to convince Angela to leave, but she is not playing ball.
Now, why did he think Patricia would be of help? Well, due to helping her bury the body of an ex, buying the land around where the body is, and keeping this secret for decades. But, despite threats to reveal all, it seems Patricia would rather remain loyal to her niece than a man who thinks he runs s***.
An Emancipation of Secrets – Lauren, Raymond, Teddy, Rose, Leah, Angela
What better day than Juneteenth to come out to your dad and for Leah to reveal Angela is her bastard sister, right? But, while Lauren coming out to Raymond goes well, Leah revealing Angela is her sister? Oh, that is a hot mess. Which, by the way, includes Lauren bringing Rose and Rose calling Angela her daughter and saying she doesn’t know Angela.
Luckily, Angela talks the Franklin family into just accepting what Leah said and rolling with it, but in the process of that, she also gets herself into the incubator program she so direly needed to get into. So, in the long run, because of Lauren bringing out her grandmother, Angela won.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
Things To Note
- Character Guide Update (Raymond): He is a Nupe
- Character Guide Update (Angela): Her debt comprises 4 credit cards, default on her student loan for Howard, and a balloon payment on a small business loan she took out
- Character Guide Update (Teddy): He has Parkinson’s
- Character Guide Update (Nikki): The reason Nikki had a hard time last year was due to her grandmother dying, paired with someone making a colorist statement about Grandma Eve, thus leading Nikki to fight for Eve was Nikki’s best friend.
- She becomes the new face of “Eve’s Crown” after Leah objects to Eve’s face being on the bottle
- Nikki was told her father and Angela had a one-night stand, hence why Nikki has never met him, and Angela claims she doesn’t know who he is. However, Nikki’s dad is in Steel Bay prison, which is why Nikki doesn’t know who her father is.
- Character Guide Update (Leah): Her mom was committed when she was 9 years old
- Character Guide Update (Patricia): In 1984, she killed her ex, Darius, and Teddy helped cover it up by buying all the land around the site and make it seem it was to protect a migrant species
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- What did Nikki’s dad do?
- Did Rose have a nervous breakdown, or was she bipolar without her meds when she was taken away?
- Also, where is Rose’s family? I feel like Teddy getting away with this for decades seems off.
- So, no follow-up on Raymond’s partner kissing Leah? Are we just going to let that go?
What Could Happen Next
- Lauren getting jealous that Taylor is spending so much time around Nikki
- Angela getting blackmailed by Teddy over something he overhears or sees go down I the shop, if Leah doesn’t see the camera first and she do something about it
- Teddy’s Parkinson’s advancing at an alarming rate
Review
Highlights
It Doesn’t Drag Out Storylines
We appreciate Our Kind of People because it doesn’t drag out any of its secrets. We’re three episodes in, and Angela’s secret is out, as is Lauren’s and so many others. The beauty of this is that it keeps you on your toes about what will happen next because so much is out in the open. Also, it shows that no character is defined by one issue or incident. Yes, it happened, it was awful or awkward, but life moves on.
Now, does this mean anyone forgets what happened? Hell no! However, Angela isn’t the only thing Leah has to deal with in life, so she isn’t going to put everything she has into ruining her life and running her out of town. Nikki isn’t defined by who her mother is or what she does. She is also Taylor’s friend, Eve’s greatest champion, and someone who is sensitive to colorist comments.
Everyone has a story, a life, and no one’s journey seems beholden on stretching it out for the purpose of a grand finale that is over the top. Does this mean the finale will be lackluster? No. What it means is that the finale is less likely to have last-minute reveals or situations because the show doesn’t feel like boring you or itself. If anything, we may get a finale that challenges expectations or the kind of cliffhanger that will make us clamor for more.
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