Queen Sugar: Season 1/ Episode 3 "Thy Will Be Done" – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview

Everyone grieves differently and the pain isn’t consistent. There are good days and bad days, but it is the things left behind which matter most. So when those things are being ravaged through or taken from you, naturally it can lead to you being left a bit messed up. Which with what everyone is grieving, be it Ernest or their marriage, it seems there is always but one straw before the camel’s back ends up broke.

Main Plot (with Commentary)

Topic 1: He Needs Our Support Too (Davis, Micah, and Charley)

Davis admits to having an affair and reveals he is being suspended. With this, as much as Micah wants to stay loyal to his mother, he wants to support his dad too. Plus, while this vacation away from L.A. was probably cool at first, he has a girlfriend back home, friends, and school. He can’t stay in hiding with his mom forever. No matter how much she may want him to.

{Commentary}

Picking topics is hard when a show is an hour long. But being that this show is so strongly about family, you do have to wonder if Davis has a support team of his own? For while, I don’t wish to downplay his crimes against his marriage and the possible rape, at the same time the way Mr. Durrett plays him makes Davis seem desperate. It is like he wants to do a Kerry Washington lip tremble every time he realizes neither his wife or son maybe in his corner. And honestly, Mr. Durrett is the silver lining of an otherwise generic storyline.

Topic 2: I Just Need Things To Get Better (Ralph Angel)

The youngest of the three Bordelon siblings honestly doesn’t have much at all. He lost his dad, his sisters are ravaging through moments they are going to take far from where he can visit, and now the possibility of them selling his father’s land comes up. Add on losing the tractor and then his parole officer warning he needs a full-time job, which gives a paystub, or he is going back to jail, and that leads you to understand why he pulls a gun on someone.

But then he goes to Darla. Not necessarily looking for love, but perhaps a means of dealing with his frustrations through sex. Maybe using her as a means of validating his manhood. But there could also be that need for someone in his corner, someone who, despite his faults, actually believes in him. Which, though we don’t see them talk, could be what Darla is. Plus, with her still having feelings for him, any opportunity to show he can be vulnerable with her is a chance to repair their relationship.

{Commentary}

At this point, I think it is safe to say the character with the most investment is Ralph Angel. For his path to redemption is honestly the most refreshing thing about this show. That and what Darla brings to the show, what those two having a kid like Blue brings to the show, and as much as what is going on with Charley and Nova being a pro-Black reporter who is the mistress of a white cop, it is like only Ralph Angel’s messy isn’t your usual network TV drama.

Topic 3: Daddy’s Things (Nova, Charley, and Ralph Angel)

800 acres of farming land. Land which Nova doesn’t plan to work, Charley sure as hell doesn’t want to work, but Ralph Angel does to continue his dad’s legacy. At first, he seems out voted for Ernest left some debt and this man named Sam Landry (David Jensen) seems willing to buy it. However, between a lowball offer, Nova not liking how his farm seems like a plantation, in which they swapped Black for Brown, and Remy (Dondre Whitfield) noting how he undercuts Black farmers, the possibility of that deal ends. Granted, it is noted that neither sister necessarily visited that farm or took note of it much, but between getting a better price, giving Ralph Angel a chance, and sticking it to Sam, it seems for one year an effort will be made.

{Commentary}

It was obvious Ernest’s land wasn’t going to be sold, but what is up in the air now is will Sam retaliate being denied? That and will Charley’s character get remixed to focus on handling Ernest’s debts and handling the business aspects of farming, which seem complicated? Also, being that Ralph Angel now has a job in a warehouse, making Darla seem like his lucky charm, how is he going to make time for the farm? Will he be able to just work it on weekends? Maybe get some hired help? Much less, what will Remy’s role be in all this? It would be nice if things between him and Charley stayed platonic, just to switch things up, but it seems like the writing is on the wall for them. The chemistry is too good and he is already flirting with her for more reasons than to stick it to Sam. So it is just a matter of if it will happen this season or not, and will there be regrets after.

Highlights

You have to adore Violet and Hollywood’s relationship. Especially how unfazed she is by some young girl who flirts with Hollywood. She may act insecure at times, but she knows he ain’t going nowhere. But while they are perhaps the most stable couple, it is hard not to root for the possibility of Ralph Angel and Darla. Yes, they got issues with addiction and crime, but be it for the sake of Blue or this love you know still exists, don’t you too want them to reconcile their differences?

Low Points

I’m worried about the state of Charley’s storyline and Nova’s. I hope Davis becomes less and less a part of her world as much as I hope Nova’s introduction as a Pro-Black reporter trying to do real news doesn’t devolve into her life as a white cop’s mistress. For eventually they will have to have Nova focus on more than her dad’s affairs, so when that happens I only hope they stop holding Wesley’s talent back and use that foundation they laid out for the character oh so well.