The Chi: Season 6 Episode 14 – Review/ Recap

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“Smoke & Mirrors” Plot Recap

Feigning Innocence – Damien, Darnell, Nuck, Kiesha, Emmett, Papa, Jake, Tatiana, Ezekiel, Keith,

Despite Damien’s appearance, the kid isn’t squeaky clean. A man named Keith went down for six years to keep Damien out of jail after a corner store robbery went wrong. Even six years ago, Darnell, being a better dad than expected, handled the situation monetarily, and now Keith wants him to help him get a job on top of what was already done. Darnell doesn’t like this dude continually coming back to him like he eternally will owe this favor, but Emmett has an opening for a janitor, and Keith takes it. This leaves Damien to be reminded of how he didn’t live up to his potential.

Speaking of potential, Ezekiel really loves what Papa is bringing to the church, especially money-wise. But as Papa peeps what’s going on between Tatiana and Jake, he starts to ask all the wrong questions. He isn’t asking whether he should be getting envelopes of money dedicated to a youth center the church is raising money for or questioning whether people are really giving so much he can or should get a cut. Instead, he is all up in Ezekiel’s marital business until a boundary is drawn.

Which is something Emmett is trying to work on with Nuck – boundaries and expectations. Nuck is so gung-ho about being a dad that he wants to spoil Ronnie, and Emmett doesn’t like that. He has a son in the same household as Ronnie and wants to make sure everyone is treated equally, and Nuck doesn’t pull some grandparent-type mess where he spoils his kid, hypes him up on sugar, and then sends him home for Emmett and Kiesha to deal with the ramifications of. Thankfully, Kiesha has a better relationship with Nuck than Emmett, so while the man-to-man talk fails, Kiesha may seemingly break through.

A New Hope, A New Direction – Serena, Roselyn, Douda, Bakari, Jemma, Maisha, Britney, Professor Gardner, LaPorsha, Nina, Kiesha, Marcus, Tierra

Starting light, Nina and LaPorsha are still dating, but LaPorsha is starting to wonder if she is a rebound. She isn’t trying to have sex but definitely wants a kiss, but Nina wants to take things slow. Mind you, when she talks about LaPorsha with Kiesha, she seems excited about her, but I guess that Dre breakup is too fresh.

Getting to the more gangster side of the show, Serena and Roselyn are going strong, and now Serena wants Douda to give her a gun to protect Roselyn. Mind you, Roselyn doesn’t seem to be on Alicia’s or anyone else’s radar to need that kind of protection, but Serena wants to protect her boo, and Douda does give her a gun. Now, whether or not Serena could be part of a setup is anyone’s guess, but she was just introduced so, time will tell.

Going beyond the romantic relationship stuff, Bakari finds himself in a notably odd spot. Professor Gardner goes to Douda, a classmate of his from high school, to try to get Bakari his freedom, but Bakari is pushed to be too valuable of a soldier, even if we haven’t seen Bakari do anything for Douda beyond getting on his nerves. Heck, and considering how much he paid Britney, also cause him to spend money!

Though Britney confesses to Jemma and Maisha during a moment of vulnerability that she is working for Douda, and all Jemma has is because of Douda’s money, that leads to new complications Douda may face down the road. After all, while Marcus might be more focused on his relationship with Tierra right now and the drama there, he likely hasn’t let go of what Douda did to him previously.

Get On The Winning Team – Victor, Douda, Alicia, Shaad, Judge Bradley, Devon, Deondray, Quincy

Relationship drama isn’t exclusive to Marcus and Tierra. Multiple members of Victor’s team are having issues, including Quincy and Deondray. Quincy wants less and less association with Douda, but Deondray feels he owes everything to Douda, so he refuses. Thus, Devon comes into the picture, and he and Quincy get intimate because “The Chi” loves messy relationships.

But to wrap this all up, using her influence, specifically on Judge Bradley, Alicia gets Victor’s case dismissed and even pays Douda a visit, with Shaad close behind, to put Douda on notice. Not to forget, Alicia also does the same for Victor so that he knows who got him out of prison.

Additional Information

1. Previous Episode: Season 6/ Episode 13
2. Series Page: The Chi
3. Character Guide: N/A

Cast and Characters

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Judge Bradley	Charmin Lee
Keith	Jackie Long
Devon	Jensen Atwood
Damien	Brett Gray
Darnell	Rolando Boyce
Nuck	Cortez Smith
Kiesha	Birgundi Baker
Emmett	Jacob Latimore
Papa	Shamon Brown Jr.
Jake	Michael Epps
Tatiana	Cereyna Jade Bougouneau
Ezekiel	Daniel J. Watts
Serena	Dre Hollingsworth
Roselyn	Kandi Burruss
Douda (Otis)	Curtiss Cook
Bakari	Ahmad Nicholas Ferguson
Jemma	Judae’a
Maisha	Genesis Denise Hale
Britney	Amari Noelle Ferguson
Professor Gardner	Kadeem Hardison
Victor	Luke James
Alicia	Lynn Whitfield
Shaad	Jason Weaver
Deondray	Jabari Redd
Quincy	Thomas Mackie
Nina	Tyla Abercrumbie
LaPorsha	Da Brat
Marcus	Joel Steingold
Tierra	Nia Jervier
Zay	Aaron Guy
Kenya	Kennedy Amaya

New Character Descriptions

Judge Bradley

Judge Bradley is an associate of Alicia’s, who just so happens to also be the judge for Victor’s case regarding the murder of Q.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Bigger: Season 2.”

Keith

Keith is a man who took the rap for Damien after a botched attempt to rob a corner store, which led him to go to jail for 6 years, with Darnell paying him to stay quiet.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Bodied.”

Devon

Devon is a special friend of Quincy who appears to be an ex.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Sisters.”

Review

Season Review Trajectory: Positive (Watch This)

While “The Chi” continues to add new characters, some to flesh out ones barely acquainted with, things still hold steady as Alicia’s threats to Douda’s power and empire hold, and a lot of the new storylines begin to pick up steam.

Highlights

Britney Having Girlfriends Who Aren’t Romantic Partners & What Their Association With Douda Could Do

Friendship in “The Chi” is a top resource, and while many people are together to pool resources, networks, or for protection, there remain a handful of relationships not built on what one hand can do for another. One person who might be on the brink of experiencing that is Britney.

As we’ve been told through her brother, she has hustled and done what she had to in order to get this far, and one rightfully could question if she made any friendships along the way? Now, is Maisha that gung-ho about being close to Britney? Maybe not in the beginning, since she was jealous of what Jemma was doing for her. But with Maisha switching from music to photography, she is no longer competition, and with Britney opening up to her and Jemma, maybe Britney may develop confidants?

Now, we won’t play down how Maisha has stayed out of all the gangster nonsense on the show and is perhaps one of the few long-term characters who has had the least amount of contact with someone slowly but surely getting close to the dark hole epicenter of Douda. But, everyone seemingly ends up feeling his pull sooner or later, and with Britney financing Jemma’s apartment and Maisha benefiting from the studio sessions, she has experienced Douda’s money, and who knows if she may end up, eventually, seduced by his power.

Nuck’s Excitement About Fatherhood

Nuck becoming a father has revitalized a character that has long been benched. He is now part of one of the core stories, showing a different, softer side to himself and even reminding us of a storyline that, honestly, may have been forgotten. And while the long-term potential of it is questionable, at the very least, as we slowly approach the end of Douda, if Nuck is one of the many poised to take his spot, the work is being put in to build him up now rather than later.

Alicia Making Herself Known

Alicia coming face to face with Douda and making sure Victor knew who did him a favor were the type of moves we needed her to make, and we love she made them before it became a point of begging her to do so. Slowly but surely, Alicia is becoming the type of character who moves all in good time, and while Douda has been around so long, we’re ready for a new top villain, you have to respect they want to honor him with someone worthy of taking that mantel and potentially sending him off in a way that respects his legacy.

On The Fence

Papa Asking All The Wrong Questions

Papa was supposed to be one of the smart ones, right? So why is he not asking about the money and instead all up in the Pastor’s marriage? I get the way Tatiana moves raises an eyebrow, never mind why would a woman, who has gold digger potential, decide to mess around with a dude barely out of high school? But, you’d think Papa, who often notes things his dad said, would know to stay out of grown folks business -especially if they married.

Meanwhile, knowing through Jake’s family and what Emmett is going through about what comes with envelopes full of money, you’d think he wouldn’t just gladly accept it and press on.

Nina and Roselyn’s Storyline

The issue with Nina and Roselyn is that they are long-term characters who, like Nuck, are regaining prominence. The difference is that neither Nina nor Roselyn are connected to ongoing storylines that have established themselves as hooks for “The Chi.” Instead, they have ones largely separate from everything else and while Roselyn will always have her marriage to Douda to rely on, Nina barely leaves the house. And outside of Kiesha and now LaPorsha, it seems no one wants to go over there so, with that in mind, what are we to expect to happen?

Zay and Kenya

As “The Chi” adds characters, it makes those who don’t have much going on a bit more challenging to get into. Despite all Kenya could be part of at her dad’s church, never mind her son being AWOL, that isn’t tapped into. Never mind even having scenes with Serena, Dom, or anyone else at Smokeys. Instead, she is with Zay who might be one of Douda’s notable soldiers, a potential boss in the making, but beyond threatening and occasionally killing people, he doesn’t pop.

There is minimal character development there. He is just an extension of Douda, which is what he is supposed to be, yet it is hard not to want more.

General Information

Release Date (Paramount Plus)	June 14, 2024
Director(s)	Deondray Gossfield, Quincy Lenear Gossfield
Writer(s)	Racquel Callahan