Queen Sugar: Season 1/ Episode 13 "Give Us This Day" [Season Finale] – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Overview

Charley’s various manipulations are tested, as Nova learns of the complications which will come dating Calvin again and Ralph Angel looks for some respect from Charley.

Review (with Spoilers)

Topic 1: Relationships are Complicated – Sibling, Platonic, or (Nova, Ralph Angel, and Aunt Vi)

With the article Nova wrote, Calvin leaving his wife but not the force, and him pursuing really dating her, there comes problems for if his brothers see them together. As for Ralph Angel, while things couldn’t be any better between him and Darla, his relationship with Charley remains strained as she continues to treat him as a farm hand rather than a co-owner. Then with Aunt Vi, Ralph Angel reveals why Hollywood didn’t see her as he gives her Hollywood’s divorce papers. Leading her to call him and learn he will be gone for 6 months.

Commentary

When it comes to Nova and Calvin, why must they be together? I’m glad she isn’t a mistress anymore, but something about their weird Romeo and Juliet vibe rubs me the wrong way. It seems inauthentic in a way. For while I understand the heart wants what it wants, this seems like a relationship setup purely for conflicts and using the show as a bully pulpit more than anything else. Which, if Nova getting spat on is a taste of what we should expect when it comes to the complications of her dating Calvin, I do hope they end things and just be friends. I would hate for this to become like Scandal, or pretty much any damn soap opera/ drama show where these two polar opposites both repel and attract each other and, ad nausea, we watch them go back and forth to the point of indifference.

Switching to Aunt Vi, I find it so interesting how Aunt Vi can be of a certain age, know what needs to be said when others are in situations, knows the tools she needs to use in her own relationships, but waits till ill feelings can fester and rot. But it kind of reminds you that, no matter the person’s age, every relationship is something new to experience and handle. So while you may know what to do, it doesn’t mean you are sure if you should do it or if it worth using the time and energy required. For, lest we forget, Aunt Vi hasn’t had the best men in her life. Her brother was a cheater, she has been cheated on, abused, and etc., so at this point in her life she probably wants love just as much as anyone else. However, she is too old for drama. She has been there, done that, and reruns aren’t her thing. She likes experiencing something new which maybe a bit complex and exciting at times, but isn’t going to stress her out to the point of high blood pressure.

Leaving Ralph Angel. While Nova and Charley seem to go back and forth between being at each other’s throats, being petty, and reconciling, arguably that cycle is non-existent between Charley and Ralph Angel. He, like her, is in the constant pursuit to prove himself but, unlike her, his ambitions aren’t limitless. He wants to just survive while she wants to thrive. Their different mentalities seem to be part of why they clash. However, the other issues is she can’t let go of his past. Which I find strange and unfortunate but let’s be real. Charley may have grew up around or with Ralph Angel and Nova, but she internally sees herself as different. With that, she may always look down on Ralph Angel and Nova. And while Nova may accept this is just Charley and perhaps adapts to her, waiting for the moments for when she comes off her high horse, Ralph Angel doesn’t have that type of patience. Plus, being that they don’t have any sort of relationship to recover from, since they have no reason to hang out or anything, there isn’t, so it seems, a place to return to. Even their mutual love of their father isn’t strong enough for they see two different people when it comes to him. Essentially making their relationship forged through how they are connected through third parties, their family members or the farm, more so than connected to each other.

Topic 2: You Can’t Have It All, Or Can You? (Charley)

Blackmail, emotional manipulation, using Micah, it is perhaps, as Ralph Angel says, all a game for Charley. But, it is a game she knows how to play and be it getting Davis onto the Stingers and securing that money, possibly getting Felix onto the Stingers as well, and even the situation with the Mill, Charley is doing well. There might have been a speed bump with Remy, but love is… well, different.

Commentary

Out of all the characters, Ralph Angel remained consistent, Nova was off and on, but Charley’s storyline skyrocketed. She went from seeming like just Davis’ wife to being shown as a competent business woman. From there we learned she is a shark. Someone who would manipulate friends and family to build her empire, prove herself to the world, and damn if it wasn’t interesting to watch. All the while, outside of the Davis thing, you couldn’t really guess what would happen next for it was hard to be sure where her line is. Heck, even 13 episodes later, I still can’t fathom how far is she willing to go to get what she wants. Which, in many ways, is what I like about her character. For while maybe not dealt the type of hand she would like or thinks she deserves, she gambles and stashes the right cards, and wins. She wins in the type of way you don’t wait for her to fall and humble herself, but rather wins in ways you wonder what she may do next and am glad for the ride.

Things to Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Too Sweet now has a job thanks to Nova and seems to be on his way.
2. How come Marycarmen Lopez’s name is in the show’s intro, but she was rarely ever seen? Was she planned to be a bigger part of the show at one time but then Darla eventually stole her thunder?