Queen Sugar: Season 7/ Episode 1 “And When Great Souls Die” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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“Queen Sugar” begins its final season with a moment of peace and hope before ole Sam Landry makes it clear that he has one last fight in him.

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

6 Months In, And Things Are Good – Micah, Keke, Billie, Nova, Dominic, Prosper, Sandy

It’s around 6 months since the 5^th season ended, and since then, Micah has re-dedicated himself to photography, and for one of his latest classes, he learns Keke, his ex, is the TA. This leads to them hanging out, and while it isn’t clear if they may pick up from where they left off, you can see some chemistry remains there. Maybe enough to spark something more than a blunt.

Outside of them, Dominic and Nova are going strong, and Nova is even told that her book, someone wishes to buy the rights to it, in the high six figures. Which is exciting but, as she makes clear to Billie, is also a bit complicated because of all the stuff she drudges up in the book. Never mind, all the relationships damaged have just gotten back to normal, so to go from being something read to visuals? It could unravel not only Nova’s relationships but the progress others have made.

But, while many are revisiting their past, Prosper is looking at his future with Sandy. His intentions are being mildly questioned by the other seniors, and with her asking him to fix one thing after another in her household, he finally gets the hint and asks her out.

Hard But Rewarding Work – Ralph Angel, Darla, Hollywood, Aunt Vi, Joaquin,  Mo, Trinh

With being unable to work his family’s land, Ralph Angel is now working for his ex, Trinh, on fish boats to make ends meet, especially since the co-op isn’t paying money yet. But, when the first check isn’t much, this causes quite a few issues. Luckily though, a woman named Mo showed up at the Co-Op meeting. She is someone with expertise in co-ops, and alongside calming some fears and anger, she invites the farmers to the Southern Louisiana Federation of Co-Ops. Which makes it look like things could turn around in the long term run. However, in the short term, even with Billie and Darla helping people with legal work and accounting, things are still rough.

But while the farmers struggle, Aunt Vi’s pie shop is still doing good. In fact, she has even hired and kept Joaquin, who broke into her shop, and while Hollywood doesn’t trust him farther than he can throw him, Joaquin is earning his keep. He even shows a penchant for baking that impresses Aunt Vi.

They Always Talk About Silver Linings, But What’s The Opposite? – Sam, Aunt Vi, Darla, Ralph Angel, Nova, Parker

Sam decides to roll up on the day of Tru, Darla, and Ralph Angel’s daughter getting baptized. He reveals that, thanks to Nova’s article, which was supposed to end Sam’s venture to turn the Bordelon land into an outlet mall, Parker now has a claim to the Bordelon land and whether it gets preserved. Naturally, she is against it, but considering all the people who are for it, while Sam still has the means to fight, Aunt Vi warns him of what he is facing by continuing this battle.

Now, what does she mean by that? Well, lest we forget, Sam’s family were slave owners so the amount of trauma that Parker’s ancestor might have gone through is currently buried. But, desperate for this deal, Sam is willing to air out his family’s past, yet again, to make some generational wealth. Damn Parker and whatever she might feel.

Things To Note

Content Rating

• Dialog: Nothing worth noting
• Violence: Nothing worth noting
• Sexual Content: Nothing worth noting
• Miscellaneous: Keke and Micah smoke a little weed

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. So are Keke and Micah end game?
2. Will Blue mostly be seen in video calls, maybe Charlie too?

What Could Happen Next

1. Sam using this last-ditch effort which is going to bring up all kinds of skeletons up, beyond the bones in the ground

Review

Highlights

One Last Battle With Sam Landry

Sam has been a consistent thorn in the Bordelon family since season 1, and while the luster of him butting heads with them has long worn off, even when they included other family members, there is something about the Bordelons getting their comeuppance. Even small victories, like Nova got, which kept them from building on Bordelon family land, were something, just because of the long-running history between the Landry and Bordelon family, if not Sam’s rivalry with Ralph Angel and perhaps Aunt Vi.

But it seems we’re at the final fight now, and while I can’t imagine everything the Bordelons have worked for not being enough, you never know. Most stories have happy endings, but happy endings aren’t guaranteed.

Darla Being Firm With Aunt Vi

Darla has come a long way. Because of her addiction, because she struggled to re-write her story and weather the storm when it comes to Blue’s parentage and Nova’s book, getting to where she is now is notable. She chastised Aunt Vi firmly about giving Tru a bone for her teething and pushed her desire to parent, knowing how sharp Aunt Vi’s tongue is.

To me, this means she is not afraid of Aunt Vi anymore, she isn’t worried about losing Aunt Vi’s support over a minor issue, and that she is in a position where, married to Ralph Angel or not, there is a mutual respect there. Now, does Aunt Vi fully understand Darla’s decision to have Tru’s early years be vegan? Not at all. Aunt Vi is firmly a southern woman. However, while she raised many children or was involved in their rearing, she backs off, and that is more than a victory for Darla; but a sign things have truly changed.

Love In The Air

What has been a consistent silver lining or salve for “Queen Sugar” is the relationships. Whether it is Aunt Vi and Hollywood, Keke and Micah, Ralph Angel and Darla at times, or whoever Nova and Charlie were dating, that was their and our escape from the drama. Now, with things ending, it isn’t clear if Keke may end up Micah’s wife, if Dominic could be Nova’s husband, or if any of these relationships may last. However, it is nice to see the best of many of the characters come out when they are with their significant other.

Plus, there is always the hope for an epilogue at the end of the series that makes it clear, that if things ended well and Sam was defeated, it was a true win and not a temporary one like we’ve seen so many times before.

The Potential Of The Co-Op Storyline

While the Bordelon family has long been a draw for viewers of “Queen Sugar,” it also highlighted the rarely seen lives outside of cities. “Queen Sugar” takes place in rural areas and farms and focuses on Black farmers’ lives who rarely, if ever, get to be seen in scripted television. This led to learning about their plight through statistics and understanding the history and current events. Add in the struggle to get the Queen Sugar Mill running and getting people on board, and “Queen Sugar” also opened the doors to you understanding of how difficult changing the supply chain to something Black owned could be.

For a lot of us, we mainly hear about the struggles of Black business owners focused on the retail or restaurant industry. If not, as seen in various shows, a salacious version of what it is like to have a law practice or be a fixer. So to hear about co-ops and learn about the history of the Bordelon family, which surely mirrors some folks in the south, you’re given so many new points of view that have been ignored for southern California or Tri-State stories.

Ultimately making it so you get entertained by the drama but educated about the lives of Black people who may not be the most educated like Charley, or be a social activist like Nova, never mind, aren’t young and have limitless potential like Micah. Instead, you get salt of the Earth, everyday people who aren’t performing for tourists but just living life and making do with what they know the best they can.

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