Queen Sugar Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Where My Body Stops or Begins
Christine Orlando
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Violet Bordelon's day went from bad to worse to downright frightening on Queen Sugar Season 4 Episode 3.
Nova claimed Aunt Vi was one of the strongest women she's ever known, but it looked like she was actively trying to test Vi's limits with this novel.
Nova: I never meant for things to come to this.
Hollywood: Yeah, you never do.
Thank goodness Vi has Hollywood there to stand by her through this.
Because it's clear that Jimmy Dale didn't drive all the way to St. Josephine to check out Violet's new diner, say hello, and make amends.
When Nova tracked down Jimmy Dale to get his side of the story, she poked the hornet's nest and unfortunately, it's Violet who is the one getting stung.
Jimmy was all smiles and charm until he realized he wasn't going to get his way, then, like the flip of a switch, he used his size and the implied threat of violence to intimidate.
I could understand Vi passing out when she saw him at the diner; between her lupus, no sleep, and the intense stress of just having read Nova's book, seeing this ghost from her past was one straw too many.
What did shock me was when she let him into her house. It felt like some part of Violet reverted to the woman that Jimmy Dale used to use as his personal punching bag.
It wasn't until she reminded him that this was her house and not his that the Violet we know started to emerge.
I'll admit that part of me wanted to see Hollywood beat the man to death so the world could be done with him, but the consequences to Hollywood would have been severe, and no one wants that.
That Nova thought that digging up Jimmy Dale out of Vi's past could end up as some sort of story of redemption was mind-boggling.
Nova: My intention wasn’t to hurt anyone.
Violet: You have done some things in your day, child, but this... Your Daddy would be ashamed and your Mama. Your Mama would do what I’m about to. You need to leave, right now.
Nova: I didn’t tell Jimmy…
Violet: Stop it! I don’t want to look at you. I don’t want to talk to you. Not right now, not tomorrow. The way I’m feeling even ten years can’t put enough distance between us.
Nova: Aunt Vi…
Violet: Don’t darken my doorstep. Don’t bring no flowers to my grave. I don’t need you disturbing any more of my peace. This is the last time I let you in this house, Nova Bordelon.
Nova put all of the Bordelon's secrets out there for some idealistic dream of helping others and changing the world. She might very well do that but will be at the cost of her family.
On some level, Nova had to know what she was doing was wrong, and that's why she didn't tell any family members about what she was writing.
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Nova is a smart woman. She knew there would be fallout, but I think this was a case of it being easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Regrettably, for Nova, forgiveness may be out of her reach.
But Violet wasn't the only one dealing with the ripple effects of the book.
Knowing that the entire world was about to know that Blue isn't his biological son, Ralph Angel had to tell Darla.
Darla: How could she do this?
Ralph Angel: You know Nova. She’s gonna do what she want, how she want, and it’s always right for Nova.
Darla: Does she even consider other people’s feelings? This hurts you and it’s going to hurt Blue.
Ralph Angel handled it well, saying that when the time came, he and Darla would decide what to tell Blue together.
What Darla doesn't know yet, is how much of her history is laid bare in that novel. Those are stories she may never have wanted her son to hear, and now they'll be in black and white for all the world to read.
Nova's intention may have been to give other addicts hope that they could recover and reconnect with their families the way Darla has, but I fear that in doing so she's made Darla's daily fight to stay sober even more difficult.
Ralph Angel also shared his worries with one of the few people he knows he can trust, Prosper, who shared something with Ralph Angel that he never expected to hear.
Prosper: Life is full of surprises plus, I’ve seen this kind of thing before. My father wasn’t my father either, I mean if you mean in the Biblical way.
Ralph Angel: For real?
Prosper: Didn’t find out until I was in high school and by then I didn’t care. Now he was good to me, that’s thicker than blood.
Ralph Angel: Sounds like a good man.
Prosper: He wasn’t my father but he was my Daddy. So the way I look at it, I won and Blue did too. A book don’t change that.
Let's hope that Blue adjusts to this news much the way Prosper did.
Charley had her own set of issues to deal with, some of them having to do with the book and some not.
Charley's always known that the Landrys don't play by the rules so it should be no surprise that Sam Landry had the by-laws changed so that his family members could attend board meetings when Charley couldn't.
What's unclear is how long Jacob can straddle the line between family loyalty and secretly helping Charley.
Jacob: You know how much I like you, Charley, but I need to let you know, I think it’s best if you don’t ruffle any more feathers.
Charley: I don’t respond to threats.
Jacob: You know what my family’s capable of. They’re like a freight train, they stop at nothing in their way and you shutting down the prison, didn’t exactly slow things down. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.
At some point, I expect Jacob's soft spot for Charley to harden because I don't believe he'll ever really cut ties with his family, no matter how much he whines about them.
What new horror is Francis unearthing for her company while in D.C.? More private prisons? Detention camps for migrants? It could be almost anything because the Landry moral compass only points in whichever direction will make them the most money.
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Charley was battling her own moral dilemma as her past sins came back to haunt her.
For a moment, it looked as though Charley considered admitting to being the farm owner who forced her workers to continue on during a storm, resulting in two deaths, but she chickened out.
Funding Romero's dream of a pop-up medical clinic is, in part, her way of making amends.
At some point, I think she will tell him, at least I hope she does before he finds out some other way. Romero seems like a really good guy with an open heart, and if Charley takes responsibility for her role in that tragedy, he might even try to understand.
But Charley also had to deal with Micah who was reading the copy of Blessings and Blood Nova had given him.
Micah: I’m not judging you, Mom, I just don’t understand you sometimes.
Charley: So you believe everything you read?
Micah: No, but this book was written by somebody I trust. So…
Charley: Trust. So you don’t trust me.
I'm hoping that this book might eventually bring Micah and Charley closer together, but if it does, getting there is going to be a painful process.
I know that Micah felt like a big man after beating up that bigot, but Keke wasn't about to play his cheerleader.
Keke: Why you acting all new on me? Fighting that guy like you some new age thug, you think that’s cute?
Micah: You know he had it coming. If it wasn’t me it was going to be someone else.
Keke: I’m not with someone else.
I love Keke. She's smart, follows her own moral code, and doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. Micah needs to think before he acts, or he may lose her.
Micah's shock at the death threat was understandable.
Seeing that kind of hate focused on him from a completely anonymous source was frightening in a different way than being directly confronted. There's no way to know where or how to hit back.
[Reading the letter sent to him.] Micah West, close your big, loud mouth or we will fill it with your blood and our bullets. Keep stirring up trouble in St. Jo and we will put you down like the filthy mutt you are.
Micah
Micah was even more stunned by his mother's calmness upon seeing the letter.
But Charley's composure was due to this not being the first hate-filled letter she's encountered. Far from it.
Charley's been intercepting these letters for months. Charley remains calm because she knows she can't handle this smartly if she loses her cool. She needs to stay in control and not let fear take over.
That's why she sent Micah to Paris with his father, with a security detail in tow that Micah never even noticed.
If we see the world differently it’s because I am committed to doing whatever I had to do to keep you safe.
Charley
Micah's had a lot to process about himself, his family, and the world around him in a short period of time. It's made it difficult to figure out what's going on in Micah's head.
So what do you think, TV Fanatics?
How will Blue react to hearing that Ralph Angel isn't his biological father?
Can Charley continue to protect Micah from the vicious hate being thrown his way?
What are the Landry's up to now?
Will Jimmy Dale be back?
Take our poll and tell us if you think was Violet right to kick Nova out of her home and her family?
Let us know what you think of Queen Sugar and check back next week for my review of Queen Sugar Season 4 Episode 4.
Until then, you can watch Queen Sugar online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
