Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.
Darla’s parents come about and like when Lorna came to Louisiana, we are led to believe everything we were told is not true.
Previous Recap: Episode 12 “Live in the All Along”
| Director(s) | Liesl Tommy |
| Writer(s) | Monica Macer & Davita Scarlett |
| Notable Guest Stars | |
| Darlene | Michael Michele |
| Quincy | Roger Guenveur Smith |
Lupus: Aunt Vi
Lupus is the reason Aunt Vi has been sick. Something which is a bit devastating for her, as you can imagine. Also, it is something she tells no one this episode.
Let’s Take It Slow: Nova, Calvin, Charley, Remy
Calvin returns and is talking sweet nothings to Nova. Yet, if there is one thing she has learned from the people she damn near makes sound like rebounds, it is that what she needs is her freedom right now. Not sleeping with a bunch of random people or boo’d up. She needs to be with her community and falling back in love with that. For be it Robert, Calvin or the girl whose name escapes me, she is just not ready for them and what they want for her to be. In a way, she is just starting to discover who she is and what her place is. A task all of them, sort of desire to help with, but only as long as she ends up who they want her to be for them.
As for Charley? Well, she is experiencing something similar in a way. Remy, being that he has long since lost his wife, has had a few things on his mind. One being marriage and the other children. Two things which make it so Charley realizes they can’t be all cutesy and adorable anymore. Remy is bringing adult conversation. Long-term relationship conversations. Of which, despite saying Remy is important, Charley wasn’t necessarily thinking of.
From what it seems, she saw him as a kind of friend with benefits. One who gave her the support of a boyfriend, maybe even husband, but didn’t ask for much besides her respect. But with it now being clear he wants marriage, a family, and that not necessarily being a deal breaker but something he seriously wants her to think about, so comes a crossroad. Will Charley adapt to what Remy wants or stick with the path she is on? After all, Micah is damn near grown and while being married wouldn’t be horrible, she just got out of a marriage.
So, for now, it seems, like Micah and Keke, the two of them are going to take things slow. Now, as for how they mutually define that? Well, only time will tell.
Family Reunion: Darla, Ralph Angel, Darlene, Quincy, Blue, Aunt Vi
The Suttons come to Ralph Angel’s farm and they seem like nice enough folk. Darlene, Darla’s mom, is warm and welcoming. She even asks for little Blue to hug her – which of course he obliges. As for Quincy, Darla’s dad? Well, he is a bit awkward and cautious. However, as he reveals he did his research on Nova and Charley, it seems he is warming up a bit. Heck, even when Darla asks if they can make amends, he doesn’t give her a hard time.
Then again, it could be because Aunt Vi has been keeping in contact with them. You see, Aunt Vi reveals Darlene, during the time when Aunt Vi had custody of Blue, was sending monthly checks. Of which, you know Darlene wasn’t just sending money and not asking for updates. Heck, her rapport with Aunt Vi is so friendly that I wouldn’t be surprised if all Quincy knew came from Darlene and Aunt Vi’s conversations.
I mean, considering how dirty Darlene implies Darla did her and Quincy, maybe to the point of rocking their marriage, I’d believe Aunt Vi telling them the truth, noting Darla’s progress, might be why they came around. For while Darla claims it has been 6 years of silence, this came after who knows how long of back and forth moments. Calls when she was high and wanting money, was in pain, wanted to come home, or was threatening to hurt herself. The kind of calls which are calls to action but when they showed up, no Darla.
As you can imagine, that puts a toll on a person, a marriage, and the relationship between a daughter and her parent. Yet, again likely due to Aunt Vi’s secret communications, it seems like a time to heal. Of which, Quincy reveals it isn’t just with them that Darla has to make amends with. She also does with Ralph Angel. Someone she reveals may not be Blue’s father.
Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments
- Ralph Angel made 20% more on the soybeans than expected.
- Nova and Calvin mutually say they never got over each other. However, while Calvin makes Nova seem like the first decision he was never pressured into making, Nova thinks of Calvin as a prison. Something which would require constant explanation so she decides against reforming their bond.
- It seems Darla’s drug problem started in high school – per her talking about seeing some high school friends and doing harder drugs than ever before.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- I speculated a lot but, how much did Aunt Vi tell Darlene? Much less, how did those monthly payments start?
- Did Charley really think Remy wouldn’t, at least, want to get married?
- Has Nova accepted she needs to be single and perhaps not mingle for a while?
- How is this going to affect Blue in learning the people he has known his whole life may not even be blood relatives? Likely he will still see them as family, but with that family tree project, will he have a tantrum and rip it up? Maybe even get mad at Darla? It isn’t clear if he remembers any of the bad times, he likely doesn’t, but may he bring that up?
- Where is Darla from because Darlene makes it seem they are not locals.
Collected Quote(s)
I believe in forever and I want you in mine.
Highlights
Darla’s Parents Threw Me For A Loop
Weekly, Sarah and I go back and forth and the topic we usually square in on is Darla and Ralph Angel. One of the things which has been seriously dug into is how Darla’s parents were going to be. One of the ideas which came about is that they’d be the opposite of Lorna. That is, someone who was touted as menacing in a way but ended up being mostly a sweetheart. However, with Darla’s parents, it was figured, at least by me, they would live up to their legend.
Yet, again that wasn’t true. In fact, the way Darlene puts it, and probably knows, Darla has outright lied on them. Not to imply they might not have been strict and had expectations, much less didn’t cut Darla off. But, it seems what Darla has said which has likely made masses of viewers think of her as an angel, while forgiving her past, was mostly a lie. The kind which, I don’t want to say was about garnering sympathy. However, that is what it kind of looks like. Hell, maybe even manipulation to a point.
Though, one could also see it as weakness. She burnt her bridges and poisoned the water with her folks. Seemingly to the point where it could have destroyed their marriage. She manipulated them while high and through their emotions about like some wild carnival ride. All of which was who the old Darla was. But does that mean we can, or should, easily forgive her lying on these people? These people she made seem abandoned her outright, didn’t know who Ralph Angel was, and barely knew Blue?
It is something which I find hard to say because, as noted in the comment section of a past episode, Darla has been allowed to be angelic on the show. Yes, she had her past but outside of with Kenya, she hasn’t had the same amount of bumps as Charley, Nova, or even Ralph Angel. She has remained this consistently likable and sympathetic character. Which now is brought into question.
Could it be, because of how weak and frail she was, she made it seem she was abandoned because she needed that sympathy to finally get better? Was seeming weak how she dealt with her guilt and as she built up her person, it was a crutch? Heck, could it be, when she hit rock bottom, the tough love of Aunt Vi was what she needed vs. her parents either flying across the country or just leaving her to the wolves? It is all so hard to pin down an exact emotion.
Aunt Vi & Her Secrets
Going all the way back to the Landry family formerly owning her family, Aunt Vi sure knows how to keep secrets doesn’t she? The problem is, damn near all of her secrets she only lets out after the damage is done. That Landry secret only came about because Charley was really seeming to put her foot down about selling her piece of the land. When it came to Lorna, until confronted, she didn’t say anything and that secret messed up Nova royally. So between her having Lupus and whatever deal she made with Darlene, you gotta wonder which will come out first?
The Cool Points Out The Window And You Got Him All Twisted Up In The Game
Excuse me for quoting Bringing Down The House [External] but I couldn’t help it. At this point, it seems Nova, Charley, and Ralph Angel are no longer in any sort of honeymoon period with any of their romantic relationships. For Nova, she keeps hitting these difficult conversations and increasingly seems unwilling to approach the idea of compromise. Before she could blame what happened with her mom but there comes a point you can’t use your parents as an excuse. You got to own up to the issues you allow to remain consistent in your life.
Leading to the question of: Will she finally take real time to heal? Be it sex or jumping into semi-serious relationships, Nova seems to have never really pursued being alone. Finding peace and joy in herself. It always seemed to be about one distraction or another. Anything to keep herself from being alone for more than one or two nights. You ever notice that? I’d even argue her investment in the community partly stems from her trying to avoid being alone when it isn’t on her own terms.
Then with Charley, I still can’t fathom how such an intelligent woman who I thought got to know Remy, would really think he wouldn’t want marriage. Also, didn’t he note he tried to have kids with his ex-wife until life got in the way? I mean, if they met now, after she got divorced, I could see her being taken back by what he said. However, these two have been talking for at least a year now. All of which have been flirty conversations. So don’t tell me she never thought of this man in a long-term fashion.
After all, considering how much Remy has done for the family and her, aren’t they damn near like a married couple anyway? If she didn’t see them as long-term, why note how important he is? Why so publicly kiss him in front of the entire community? I hope that wasn’t to get back at Davis over Tamar. Surely she can’t be that petty right? But, connecting Charley with Nova, who is to say Remy wasn’t a rebound like Robert and the other girl was? Just with Remy being someone who was much more of a beneficial partner.
Leaving Ralph Angel. I don’t think anyone could argue that Blue has been the driving force behind his rehabilitation. Raising Blue, seeing that smile, and protecting him has been what kept Ralph Angel either on the straight and narrow or what helped people push him back on that road. So with the possibility he is not the father, so comes the question of if he even cares. He is more than 6 years in and signed the birth certificate. Though Darla’s parents may know, who else really needs or deserves to know really? Why mess something up which works?
But, lest we forget, Ralph Angel is a bit emotional. So while things may not change between him and Blue, the same can’t be said about him and Darla. For one of the reasons Ralph Angel went to jail was to help take care of that kid. So imagine, as you reflect, this kid being a few years old and you are robbing stores, risking yourself getting shot, to raise someone else’s seed. You lost years of your life, got a record now, because your lady relapsed and had some fun in DC with some high school friends.
Usually, when Ralph Angel has his moments it makes me roll my eyes but if he decides to go off, I can’t blame him on this one. Though, at the same time, I do wonder if his pride may lead him to keep this secret to himself like his name is Violet.
TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
Images used for editorial and commentary purposes. All rights remain with their respective copyright holders.
