The Ms. Pat Show: Season 4 Review
“The Ms. Pat Show” continues to blur the lines between being a sitcom and drama as it gives its live and at-home audience what feels like a top-notch play.
Plot Summary
In season 4, generational trauma and the question of whether or not people can earn redemption are the strongest themes. For nearly everyone ends up having issues with their parents they are trying to resolve, whether it is Denise and Pat regarding Mildred, Terry with his mother Jewell, Ashley, and Brandon regarding Lloyd, and even Janelle regarding Pat, after an incident that leaves her cursed out and slapped in the face.
Everyone is going through something, even Junebug, as he is forced to experience the same kind of abandonment his parents went through, as he tries to live up to his dad’s example. Thus showing, you can remove yourself from an environment, even certain people, but all that does is make it easier to heal; it may not start the process.
Characters and Cast
| Character’s Name | Actor’s Name |
| Denise | Tami Roman |
| Pat | Patricia Williams |
| Mildred | Ebony Marshall-Oliver |
| Terry | J. Bernard Calloway |
| Jewell | Janet Hubert |
| Ashley | Brittany Inge |
| Brandon | Vince Swann |
| Janelle | Briyana Guadalupe |
| Junebug | Theodore Barnes |
| Allison | Sarah Borne |
| Tanya | Golden Brooks |
| Trina | Inayah Shahid |
| Pastor Jenkins | Flex Alexander |
| Veronica | Debra Wilson |
| Lisa | Kellie Williams |
| Kareem | Khalil Kain |
Review
Our Rating: Positive (Watch This) – Recommended
Good If You Like
- Plays that lean between being comedies and dramas
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Highlights
How Things Are Passed Down From Generation To Generation
It’s made clear, especially by Mildred, that people can only teach what they know and thus act based on their examples. Ms. Pat was raised to beat, yell, and traumatize her kids, and while she has done her best never to go as far as her mom did, she still does yell and sometimes cause trauma. Her storyline with Janelle shows how, with the voice of your tormentor in your head, you can easily give new life to your inner demons and even cast a curse on your offspring.
But, it isn’t just about examples and what was taught, but patterns. Junebug, for example, wanted to be like Terry when it came to Allison’s baby. He may not have been the biological father, but he loved the mother and wanted to make it work. So, with the early season abandonment, while it closed a chapter for him, it also broke a bit of his heart. And you can imagine, considering how Lloyd treated Pat and what Denise went through, as much as the younger generation thinks they broke or escaped the cycle, this isn’t true. It evolves and appears in new ways since it has been avoided and unresolved.
Whether Or Not Someone Deserves Grace or Redemption
Alongside generational trauma, patterns, and things of that nature, there is the question of grace and redemption. Some of it is more straightforward like could Lloyd, who got Ms. Pat pregnant at 13, abused her, and tried to kill her, be redeemable decades later? However, then there is Trina’s mom, Tanya.
Tanya has been in and out of prison multiple times. She formerly ran the streets with Ms. Pat when she was Rabbit and is still dealing. In many ways, you can see this is hard for Ms. Pat since she wanted them both to get out, yet she did it alone. She saved Denise, but Tanya and Trina are still in Atlanta, with no disruption to the path fate set them on.
And while the question of grace and redemption is often about someone doing something to Ms. Pat, things get flipped here. Does Ms. Pat deserve grace and redemption? She set this woman on this path that led Trina to partly not grow up with her mother – to be born in prison. Does Ms. Pat giving her momma’s house redeem her?
What about Denise’s ex, Kareem? Does it make him a better man since he isn’t doing drugs and being the person who put Denise through hell? For a lot of characters, time is supposed to mean something, growth specifically, but if your personal growth isn’t recognized and validated by others, especially of your past, does it lose meaning? Are you truly redeemed if the people who knew you at your worst don’t see how you bettered yourself?
As said many times over the run of “The Ms. Pat Show,” it might be billed as a comedy but is rooted in laughing to keep from crying, and as much as the one-liners hit consistently, when things get serious, there is no denying how multi-faceted the characters and writing are.
Episode 2’s Highlight of Addiction Transfer
While it is a small part of the episode, we appreciate Terry pushing the idea that Denise’s interest in Pastor Jenkins and being absorbed into the church could be just her transferring her addiction from drugs to him and his ministry. Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve ever highlighted addiction transfer, we recently did with the movie “Parachute.” However, being that “The Ms. Pat Show” is a Black culture program, I must admit, I found myself pushed to question how many addicts are there in church?
What I mean by that is, a lot of people proclaim being saved and find themselves developing habits that include having to go to church, read the bible, and whether they did drugs or not, I wonder if that should be seen as an addiction? It gives people a high, sense of community, can alter their mind in good or bad ways, and just as much as it can bring them salvation, it can place them in ruin.
Which again, the episode doesn’t push the idea of, but like so many of the little things that are just for an episode, you can be pushed to wish a topic was taken deeper.
Ashley’s Battles With Her Siblings
As the eldest child of Ms. Pat, Ashley has seen it all. You want to talk about growth, grace, and redemption? Ashley has seen that from her mom but had to bear the weight of being the witness. So, when it comes to her interactions with her siblings, you can see a lot of her mom’s unprocessed trauma and her own. Hence, she is quick to try to shut down people and is easily triggered. Also, why, when it comes to Lloyd, there is no gray, forgiveness, or any of that. Damn him to hell is all she can think of, for she knows what happened; there was no third-party story told to her.
Then, considering she is a therapist, you can see a connection between how Terry preaches forgiveness as a Christian and how Ashley talks about therapy and mental health. Both characters push you to remember that mental health and faith are ideals, things you must constantly pursue and require work. The type that, unfortunately, you can’t stop doing for once you do, slowly but surely, the progress you’ve made can slip away, and if a major event happens, you can potentially find yourself right back at square one.
Heck, to be fair, throw Denise’s sobriety into that.
Healing Is A Slow Process
As noted in the season’s summary, removing yourself from people or an environment is but the first step. It’s like removing a bullet, having a tumor removed, or anything that can be considered foreign in the body. However, to truly heal, you have to address why something happened and work on prevention if not maintenance.
Ms. Pat’s trauma was rooted in being in a bad part of Atlanta, where memories and people pushed her to do the things she did. She is far away from that now but hasn’t healed. While Veronica, in episode 3, may have presented the type of spiritualism Ms. Pat isn’t into; there is no denying that while Ms. Pat left Atlanta, she brought all Atlanta embedded into her to Indiana. Denise did, too, and while talking about it helps, it also spreads it about.
Take note of Brandon, Janelle, and Junebug. Brandon is often talked about and to like he is dumb and can’t make his own decisions, and while he knows his family loves him, he can’t heal from what they say when they keep stabbing at him.
The same goes for Junebug. The whole Allison storyline exposed his need to have someone in his corner and say things that empower him, and with the way that relationship ended, it’s easy to foresee in season 5 and beyond (we haven’t seen news of a renewal as of posting) Junebug struggling with romantic relationships. Will they cheat on him, abandon him even when he is by their side when no one else is? It’s already been shown in past seasons that Junebug sometimes doesn’t even choose the best people to be friends with, so will he potentially follow in Denise and Ashley’s footsteps and continually choose bad partners? If not mess things up when he has a good one?
Then, with Janelle, as gone into later for the last highlight, the healing is far more complicated for her. She has been fighting to be the opposite of her mom for so long that she feels she can’t be human. Janelle isn’t able to forgive herself for her faults or failures, and while she can laugh about it, as most of her family does, it doesn’t make it better since she is forced to bury and often hide her mistakes. Which started off light this season, with a rejection from a school, but imagine what she may hide in the future, especially when she is off in college and trying to still live up to the idea that she needs less than her siblings.
Getting To See Parts Of Denise’s Past Vs. Just Hearing It
Speaking of Denise, for most of the show, we were told what Denise went through, usually with some sort of joke attached, rather than get to see anything from her past. So, in terms of Kareem, while he is on the path of redemption, it was nice to have a face-to-face encounter with someone who strictly belonged to Denise and wasn’t shared with Ms. Pat.
To me, it acted as a reminder that, despite how close the sisters are, Denise did have her own life, relationships, and struggles. Some of which she has grown from and some she has not.
What Was Delivered In The Season Finale
The season finale was tear-inducing. From Janelle confessing how difficult it is to be treated like the one who doesn’t need help and attention and who has got it together to Brandon and Ashley’s battle over Lloyd, while “The Ms. Pat Show” has moments throughout that can touch your heart, like when Ms. Pat has a scene with her younger self in episode 5, episode 8 blew me away. I’d even say, if there was ever an advertisement as to why you should try to be part of that live audience, it wouldn’t just be to see episodes before they air but to experience these performances firsthand.
Heck, as much as people talk about theater as a communal experience, I feel like one of these streaming platforms needs to figure a way to, similar to how some YouTubers set up premieres, to have it where you can share an experience beyond looking up hashtags on social media. Some moments and the feelings they cause should be shared.
What I Hope To See Next
- After the Allison thing and the past relationships we’ve seen characters go through, I would like to see romantic pursuits outside of Pat and Terry. Whether reoccurring roles or guest stars, I feel like most characters have developed a bad track record, and it would be nice to see them with someone who could be long-term or at least allow them to see that relationships could be fruitful. For with even Terry’s successful sister, Lisa, having four marriages in 20 years and being a lawyer, it seems a healthy relationship is rare in both sides of the family.
- A continued balance between heartfelt, tear-inducing moments and jokes that make you gasp for air and laugh to the point of coughing.
- Follow up on Denise’s storyline, specifically what was revealed in episode 6.
- Seeing what happens to Ms. Pat’s career after Sadiq’s movie featuring her opens. I’d even love, considering Lee Daniels is an executive producer on this show, something inspired by Mo’Nique and watching Sadiq and Ms. Pat play out the rise and fall of their relationship – and the reconciliation. Mo’Nique even getting a part would be something, considering this show seems right up her alley.
- Terry potentially meeting his birth father.
- How Janelle handles college
- Junebug prepping for life post-high school since it isn’t 100% clear what he may do after he graduates.
- More guest stars who got their major break in the ’80s to early 00s.
- Another trip to Atlanta, considering how the season ends and what it sets up.
Background Information
| Network | BET+ |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Drama, Young Adult, LGBT+ |
| Renewal Status | To Be Determined |
| Series Page | The Ms. Pat Show |
| Character Guide | The Ms. Pat Show Cast & Character Guide |
| Content Information | |
| Dialog | Discriminatory Language, Cursing, Conversations About Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse |
| Violence | Family Violence |
| Sexual Content | Sexual Situations (Implied) |
| Miscellaneous | Drinking |
