Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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As Carlotta has a breakdown, revealing her dark past, Miss Bruce FINALLY get some development.
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| Network | |
| Fox | |
| Director(s) | Janice Cooke |
| Writer(s) | Leo Richardson, Jordan E. Cooper |
| Air Date | 10/31/2018 |
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Powerplay: Megan, Noah, Maurice, Cassie
With Megan finding things in the contract necessary to play Maurice, so comes the question of who is using who? Is Noah using Megan so that he can get back at Maurice for trying to make him an indentured servant at Karma or is this Megan getting more digs at Maurice? It’s hard to say but what is clear is that Megan and Noah have grown close over these investigations and now have a thing going on. Making Maurice’s attempts to recover his former life seem more and more distant.
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Yet, with no ability to take out the anger he has on Noah, he decides to try to direct it at revenge against Carlotta. Problem is, with Cassie seeing what Carlotta is going for as an opening for their relationship to heal, she doesn’t want Maurice standing in the way of that. She even pulls a gun on him. Unfortunately for her though, Maurice calls her bluff and keeps it stepping. Be it because he knows she won’t shoot him in the middle of a club or because he has no time for her mess.
Commentary
All I’m saying is, he could just go back to Megan Goode’s character. Yeah, she skims and is a bit shady but clearly his ex-wife doesn’t want anything from him. They don’t have kids together, just a past which she has no real desire in revisiting. Which you can’t blame her for. In talking with Noah, she talks about how she uprooted her life, started over, and worked her way into a prominent position. So why would she go back to the man who was the catalyst for this? Maybe, because of how they ended things, Megan did more than get a new haircut but started a whole new life. Even got this young thing interested and feeling like everything is coming up Megan.
But, will the same be said for Cassie? With her ex still married and now her pulling a gun on Maurice, will she get to solidify her new start? Because I’m sure Maurice isn’t going to take a gun being pulled on him as just another day working with Cassie. He may start working on a plan to use her past against her so that she no longer has a part of Karma. Which, really, can you blame him?
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I Was A Fool To Trust You: Olivia, Alex, Derek, Nina, Simone, Mateo, Star
Olivia goes full crazy, even seems like she wanted to reenact the movie Misery by bringing Alex to her home, a trailer somewhere, and maybe keep her trapped. However, between Star not liking this girl, and her threatening her child, she works with Derek to take her down. Leading to, of course, that sex tape leaking in retaliation.
Speaking of leaking information, Simone speaks to Nina, in confidence, about Carlotta’s situation and she tells Mateo. Pushing the idea, despite their past, Simone is simply her artist – not her friend. Which, of course, makes Simone feel a certain kind of way since Simone doesn’t get close to that many people. Most of the time she doesn’t show that sweet side of a girl who is barely 18, she shows that rough neck who Star partially raised. So, she keeps in mind what Nina did to her.
Yet, what choice did Nina have? Mateo is gambling with company money and seemingly has a long established gambling problem. So with Carlotta away, it means she needed Mateo to step his game up because she can’t do everything on her own. She may handle the money but he is the face and she isn’t trying to pick up that task.
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Commentary
Alex deserves such a side eye. Your parents are famous, alongside rich, you are famous, and are building your own wealth, so did it never come to mind to do a background check? Was there never a fear, when growing up, of being used because of your fame, kidnapped, none of that? Granted, I wouldn’t see someone like Olivia as someone who is crazy and to be worried about but that’s only because there is a certain, crackhead, look that is the sole type Black people double take on. It usually isn’t an Olivia type. But, there were so many red flags there.
Then again, let’s not forget her parents were dysfunctional, she has been riding with Star and Simone who are just as dysfunctional, just without money, so maybe Olivia seemed normal to Alex? Just another nutcase entering her life who she just has to learn how to adapt to their unique brand of crazy? Hence why she was making excuses for her when the cops came. Rather than flipping out as Star was.
Bringing us to this Nina and Simone situation. I was expecting an affair but I guess Nina keeps her belt tighter than Mateo. Heck, taking note they just partied together and may have slept together in a non-sexual way, maybe she’d be Simone’s next maternal figure. If not like an older sister. But I guess that isn’t going to happen since Simone isn’t quick to forgive. She mid-key petty and even with Star, their relationship healing came from Star pushing it and this pending baby. If Star didn’t put that effort in, they’d still be beefing. Well, Star pushing it and Ms. Carlotta too.
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You’ve Been Strong On Your Own Too Long: Carlotta, Cassie, Miss Bruce, Bobby, Cotton
To put it simply, Carlotta may have had a nervous breakdown and based on what Cassie has said, this might not have been the first time. As Cassie has spoken on before, while their mom was hustling, Carlotta took care of the house in her stead. She was running things and raising Cassie! But, one thing Cassie didn’t know is that this idea their parents loved Carlotta more was false. For one, Christine was just able to rely on Carlotta, so that made her useful. As for their father, well, he seemingly was raping Carlotta and making her take on all of what was expected of her mother.
Something Carlotta notes she took just to protect Cassie. Adding a multitude of layers to her story from why she is so hurt Cassie is messing with her like this to why she took to Simone the way she did – beyond Mary and skin color. Heck, even why she puts up with Star. It’s because, at one time, she either identified with both or saw them as she saw herself and Cassie. But, to throw some more fire into the mix, Carlotta reveals to Cotton what Cassie did.
And while Carlotta works through her past, so does Miss Bruce. It’s just for them, they have Bobby by their side rather than them being like Carlotta and just struggling on their own. For trying to help out Carlotta, as usual, while she is struggling, isn’t an easy job. Carlotta wears many hats and always got a hustle going and why she got certain ways about her, she can’t be denied. However, Miss Bruce? As seen by how one promoter treats them, as professional as they try to be, they still get undermined, underestimated, and there is some attempt to other them.
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Leading them to go back to when they first got a taste of that treatment – the church. Specifically, their father’s church and Bobby comes along for the ride. Leading to Miss Bruce having a Shug Avery moment, just without a daddy to embrace them despite their past. But, as a stand-in maybe, they do get to have a moment with Bobby. One person who is just strictly their friend, and hopefully can become something more.
Commentary
One thing that has kept Star as something I’ve stuck with, over three seasons, is that as annoying as it can get with this Olivia thing, even Cassie early on, the show knows how to clean itself up. Also, I’d like to believe when it sees something isn’t working, it decides it is time to kill off some characters. Hunter and his momma? Took a while, but now they are out and shouldn’t be seen again. Same thing with the Muslim girl. It would have been cool to have her but she was a legit threat to Alex and Derek since she was everything he was looking for. Even gave him one of his first accident boners. So, she disappeared. Wasn’t much left for Angel so he was written off, and the same might be done with Olivia now.
And while the show sometimes replaces those characters with ones which make you roll your eyes, you have to admire the show’s efforts to stay fresh. It takes note of who is the core, who fans love, like Miss Bruce and Ms. Ruby, and decide to, as they introduce characters like Bobby, raise those people up. Maybe even integrate the new folk in their lives or make them a source of conflict.
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Now, speaking to the topic at hand, what more can be said really? The writers have crafter with Carlotta a means for you to understand why Cassie killing who she loves hurts so deeply. For she sacrificed so much for that woman that for her to take the one thing that brought her happiness. The person who loved her as hard as she loved them, it’s devastating.
Also, it adds layers to the connection Carlotta has to Mary’s kids since their story is so close to hers. Star, in many ways, can be seen as an unrefined Carlotta. Simone, in other ways, can be seen as Carlotta at her weakest or maybe Cassie, in terms of someone she has to protect. Hence her going overtime for not just redemption but to try to save them from the mistakes she and Cassie made.
Though, the biggest thing I’m happy about this episode is Miss Bruce FINALLY being more than a quip here and Carlotta’s sidekick. We finally got to learn their past, which was long overdue after Derek’s offhand comment in season 2. Plus, Miss Bruce may get a man? Not to forget, they are finally out of the salon, out in the world, and bossing up? Legally at that?
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Now, this doesn’t come with some caveats of course, since it seems Cotton has passed the “What LGBT people go through” baton. Thus making her feel kind of secondary. But, this isn’t Pose so I guess we should appreciate what we get. Especially on network TV. With that said, her and Bobby better end up together and have a sex scene. I’m tired of it just being 25 and under who are the only gay folk who seemingly got a sex life. We got diversity in skin tone, now even sexuality. So let’s work on age, body types, and things like that now.
Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs
Can’t get rid of no storm with thunder on your back.
— Miss Bruce
Sober don’t mean selfish.
—Miss Bruce
Highlights
- Miss Bruce getting some long needed development.
- Carlotta’s connection to Star and Simone deepening
- The possibility of never seeing Olivia again.
- Us learning Mateo has a gambling problem.
On The Fence
- Carlotta talking about heading to Jamaica to relax, get some therapy, and process some things. Um, I’m cool with Miss Bruce taking up your screen time but what’s going on here?
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