The Chi: Season 5/ Episode 4 “On Me” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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As Victor’s campaign announcement comes, changes are made at ROCK, Jemma and Maisha become closer, and so much more.

Aired (Showtime)	7/15/2022
Director(s)	Deondray Gossfield, Quincy LeNear Gossfield
Writer(s)	Kristiana Rae Colon
Introduced This Episode
Fatima	L’erreét Jazelle

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Girls Doing It For Themselves – Marcus, Maisha, Jemma

For most of the time we’ve known Jemma, between Kevin and Jake, she has usually been around a boy, or man, like her father, Marcus. Which, in a way, you can see wasn’t always what she needed. As wonderful as he is, Marcus is so goal-oriented and fixated on the respectability of it all, he doesn’t give room for Jemma to grow, experiment, and know herself.

Hence, she decided to blow off her SAT exam, which she was taking in the same room as Maisha. Now, the two girls know each other, but we haven’t really seen them hang out before. Things change in “On Me,” and Jemma invests in Maisha’s artistry, especially after she gets her to freestyle at the ROCK’s teen night event.

With that, she fancies herself potentially becoming Maisha’s manager but considering she finds out Jake got her pregnant? Jemma has to handle her own business before worrying about Maisha’s.

Who Says We Can’t Have It All? – Otis, Tracy, Roselyn, Lynae, Kevin, Nina, Dre, Kiesha, Emmett, Tiff, Jada, Darnell

Lynae’s brother being in prison leads to the question of whether Nina and Dre will take her in. Kevin and Dre are all for it, but Nina? With her and Dre’s relationship just getting to a better place, she isn’t sure about altering the house’s dynamic. But their family isn’t the only one with a shift on the horizon. Emmett and Kiesha are on the brink of revisiting their old relationship as he becomes her rock to finish her coursework. Also, after some criticism, Darnell is stepping up as a partner for Jada to prove further she made the right decision by dumping Suede.

But for some, things aren’t going to be an easy and smooth transition, which just requires a little more effort. Tracy learns that her ROCK will be further enveloped in Otis’ bubble since Roselyn wishes to become co-director. As you can imagine, Tracy isn’t happy about Otis’ wife being involved in a highly personal business. However, as shown through Victor’s campaign, Tracy and her organization have no leverage. Either they do what is expected, or people will get fired, and businesses potentially closed down.

So, with that in mind, Tracy gives in. Roselyn is caught up, and Tracy grits through having to work with a woman she knows hates her.

Having My Cake And Eating It Too – Victor, Fatima, Tierra, Shaad, Roselyn

Tierra and Victor might be a good look, but both have wondering eyes. Roselyn is sleeping with Tierra and Victor? A woman named Fatima, who checks him during a town hall about Imani’s role in finding the Trinity House, gets his attention.

Now, as of this moment, only Shaad seems to peep what is going on, but Victor doesn’t seem to care much about who knows what. He pursues Fatima, gets her number, and while it seems everyone knows what’s up, and who is involved, they also plan to do what makes them happy in private while presenting the front people need in public.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. So does Victor just have a thing for trans women, women in general, or are we thinking about this too deep?

What Could Happen Next

1. Jemma dealing with family planning issues
2. Maisha, hopefully, continuing her rap career vs going from being absorbed in Papa’s drama to Jemma’s
3. Further exploring Nina and Dre’s relationship and how the potential of an empty nest is influencing it
4. People learning Tierra is Roselyn’s sidepiece
5. Fatima and Victor being spotted, and Otis noting that’s a problem
6. Tiff learning about Emmett and Kiesha

Review

Highlights

Maisha and Jemma Having An Episode Without The Boys

With the moms of “The Chi” getting alone time, it is a wonderful development for the OG girls to get the same and even have conversations that would pass the Bechdel tests. They talked about their futures, Maisha’s career, and pregnancy together. Which, when you consider we’ve rarely seen these two without the lead teen boys in the same scene, never mind part of the conversation? This feels long overdue.

Victor’s Love For Trans Women

With Imani’s exit and bringing on Tierra, there was the need to question if that meant “The Chi” was going to exclude trans women from its narrative over how things ended with Imani’s actress. Thankfully, that isn’t the case because Imani’s name is not blacklisted but said nearly every other episode.

But, with us not watching Trig but Victor, it seems some of those old issues Victor has with public perception may come back. For lest we forget, Imani and Victor didn’t step out too often outside of their bubble, and when Imani tried to bring Victor into her world, he rejected it quickly. So with Fatima, there is a need to question if Victor’s feelings about the community at large might be revisited. Especially regarding him trying to focus just on the person he is with and negating all that comes with that.

On The Fence

Potential Tiff Drama

Tiff, through her relationship with Rob, is evolving. However, whether she is evolving in all aspects of her life or just romantically or solely with Rob? That’s harder to say. Girl code would have it where Kiesha getting with Emmett could be problematic. But you can’t discount that Kiesha and Emmett used to mess around either.

It’s sort of messy and complicated, and all we can hope is there will be nuance, all things considered.

The Various Romantic Adult Relationships

Unfortunately for “The Chi,” Jerricka and Brandon still cast a long shadow over the series. They set a precedent that, for a while, Imani and Victor matched, but we haven’t really seen a couple like them in a long time. Heck, even the kids, Kevin’s few relationships, Emmett’s if you want to include when he was less mature, didn’t have the same oomph, butterflies, or even chemistry.

And sadly, it doesn’t seem like that is going to change. “The Chi” doesn’t give us couples you can just be comfortable watching and happy for. Almost everyone is going through something. Tiff and Rob might become the new golden couple, but who knows once the Kiesha and Emmett situation is discovered. And as for the full-grown adults? Jada and Darnell, Nina and Dre, the various people in the web of Roselyn and Otis’ marionette strings? Is there anyone to give you hope or believe in? At this point, the only one who truly benefits from the relationship they are in as an individual is Tiff. Everyone else seems to be in one for the sake of keeping another character relevant or to keep their actor around.

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