The Chi: Season 5/ Episode 3 “This Christmas” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

It’s Christmas in Chicago, and it is the perfect time for new couples to form, solidify, or question if they should stay together as the new year approaches.

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Aired (Showtime)	7/8/2022
Director(s)	Katrelle N. Kindred
Writer(s)	Resheida Brady

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Before You Know It, A Lie Can Become The Truth – Tierra, Otis, Tracy, Victor, Peaches, Shaad, Jake, Deja

With Otis pressuring Victor to make a decision, and Tracy’s organization relying on Otis and the absent Quentin’s money, Victor gets annoyed. But, with Peaches still on the wagon and saying she is proud of Victor and happy to see him with a Black woman like Tierra, that seals it. Victor signs the NDA and agrees to everything Otis requires of him.

After that, he begins the process of building an online relationship by taking pictures with Tierra, and once that work is over, he focuses on his family. Specifically, Peaches trying to give her children and Shaad the type of Christmas she has wanted for them, and herself, for years. This includes Deja, who stops by to give Shaad a gift.

Good Deeds Do Lead To Punishment – Bakari, Maisha, Papa, Kevin, Lynae, Victor, Simone

Papa is still facing backlash from his comments earlier in the school year, so he is trying to publicly do things to heal his image with Maisha’s help. However, he keeps flailing because he cares more about how things look than the act. Bakari sees all this and decides to rap with Papa outside and try to get it through his head to stop caring so much. In return, Papa pushes Bakari to care more, and it seems a friendship is born through recognizing that both could learn from one another.

Switching to Kevin, it is a bit of a struggle for him to be with Simone since she is quiet and different from girls like Jemma and Maisha. But, while it requires more effort, he likes her. Yes, she is more introverted, but that means he doesn’t have to feel on edge for saying the wrong thing or anything like that. He just has to learn how to be comfortable with silence.

But, Kevin’s focus isn’t solely on Simone. With Victor, the hope was that Lynae could hear or see her brother Jamal. However, Jamal has unfortunately been caught by the cops and is in jail. So the only positive news is knowing where Jamal is at, but him being in jail means a lot of drama is on the horizon.

Blended Families Can Be Messy – Emmett, Kiesha, Tiff, Rob, Darnell, Suede, Jada

While Emmett is trying to be celibate and maybe use that to get his mind off Tiff, it doesn’t help all else going on in his home. He is trying to give his three sons a nice holiday, and doing that on his own is tough. Luckily, Keisha comes over, and that helps ease things. However, she isn’t there for Christmas Day when Emmett could have used a friendly face.

Mind you, when Emmett meets Rob on Christmas Day, Emmett cuts out all that nonsense as Rob hands him some wine and shows he just wants a chill night in a blended family environment. However, with Darnell kissing Jada as he does, Emmett feels put on notice. Though, when you consider Jada rejected Suede’s proposal, since she thinks they aren’t ready yet, and he walked away like he did, maybe she sees herself as a single woman? It’s hard to tell. The only thing we know for sure is that Emmett’s old feelings for Kiesha are starting to bubble up, and with Tiff and Kiesha being close, you can only hope that doesn’t cause drama.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. What’s happening at City Hall while Victor contemplates running for office?
2. Where was Quentin during all of this?

What Could Happen Next

1. Kiesha and Emmett sneaking around and testing if Tiff is really beyond Emmett
2. Suede exiting his relationship with Jada, if he hasn’t based on her rejecting his proposal
3. Papa still struggling with redemption but also helping to push Bakari towards seeking his
4. Something bad happening

Collected Quote(s)

[…] don’t start acting like a couple before you really are a couple because you will be acting like a couple for the rest of your life.
— Nina

Review

Highlights

The Mother’s Group

The check-in sessions between Dre, Nina, Jada, and Tracy are quickly moving toward being the season’s highlight. It’s the kind of conversations we wish were established in season 1, when the women just talked about themselves and life. Yes, sometimes about indecision, family issues, and stuff like that, but also just having moments of drinking, maybe dabbling in some drugs, and laughing their asses off.

It’s the kind of situations that may not pass the Bechdel Test, but it does make it seem there are more to the women on “The Chi” than we have traditionally gotten.

Rob and Tiff

The beauty of Rob and Tiff is that both are growing because of the relationship. Tiff is learning to trust a man to the point of letting him lead, be vulnerable enough to not take any push back as a challenge, and just know peace. In return, Rob is learning about different facets of being with someone he seemingly hasn’t tapped into.

For example, with being the black sheep of the family and seemingly seeking love and affection from outside of blood relations, it appears that a lot of sentimental things, like thoughtful gifts and decorating for the holidays together, he doesn’t understand. He has the house decorated while on a date with Tiff and buys her designer bags, which doesn’t impress or make her happy. The bonding which occurs while decorating makes her happy. Thoughtful gifts, like her buying him a stuffed black sheep, are what she likes.

And with seeing that, it becomes clear both are going to benefit from this relationship, and it makes you want to invest in it all the more.

Bakari and Papa’s Potential Friendship

Papa needs new friends. Yes, Kevin is still there for him and Jake he’ll eventually mend things with, but Kevin has a whole life outside Papa, and honestly, it isn’t fair to Maisha to be expected to shoulder the entire burden of Papa’s screw-ups. He needs to grow up a bit.

Which is why Bakari is perfect. Bakari can push Papa to evolve and understand that it’s not about being liked but about being respected. Which, in turn, Papa can push that being respected shouldn’t be about violence or money, but the value you bring to other people’s lives, beyond what you’re selling them. For you can see, as Papa taps into the kind of love that Kevin likes about Papa, that throws Bakari off. And considering Victor and Shaad have to take the OG approach, which Bakari isn’t listening to too tough, maybe Papa can be the one to break through?

Low Points

How Sidelined Maisha Has Been

Didn’t Maisha have a lot going on last season with her rhymes and raps? Wasn’t she doing photoshoots and establishing herself outside Papa’s orbit? What happened?

On The Fence

Darnell and Jada

It’s not clear if Suede has officially ended things with Jada, but it does seem that Jada is entering that place that, with someone loving you so deeply, it makes you feel confident and good about yourself, to the point of it either showing you at your worse or best. For Jada, she goes back and forth between the two. Looks-wise, she is killing it. However, her and Darnell doing another round and being messy? It seems like she is going back to the familiar because of the fear of what can be with Suede.

Take note, Suede is who Jada needed when she and Darnell were Suede’s age. Also, let’s not forget, there could be some issues remaining about Jada being older and not wanting kids. So maybe, while she decided to stop mentioning her insecurities while in the trough of cancer, now that she has gotten past that, it seems she is ready to revisit old issues and maybe end things as she wasn’t willing or able to do then.

Kevin and Simone

Kevin and Simone are too new to know how to feel about them. Simone is very different from the girls we’ve seen Kevin show an interest in. She isn’t as extroverted, passionate, and willing to take the initiative. Simone is quieter and willing to keep to herself, and while that is different, that might be more of Kevin’s speed. For when it came to his exes and crushes, it often seemed like there was a push to keep up with them like it was a race. If not, at times with Maisha, him liking her because she liked him.

Simone, from what we see, seems like Nina. Simone will speak up when she needs to or wants something, but she is just as cool with just having some quiet, quality time. But, whether this is a case of Kevin dating someone like his mom, we’ll hopefully discover more as the season goes on. But, as of now, there is a need to see them work the kinks of their relationship out before it can be said these two can be added to the cute relationships of “The Chi.”

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