S01:E04 Ain’t No Sunshine

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Brianna faces some unexpected emotions and circumstances in her home life, but she finds support amongst her Queens. Meanwhile, Jill continues to struggle with her romantic relationships, and Naomi grapples with the truth behind the identity of JoJo's father.

Original Air Date: November 9, 2021

[njbchlover]

Another fabulous episode - why are more people not watching this show?  

Finally, a fun, sometimes sad, oftentimes soap-y dramedy with amazing music to boot!  ABC needs to push this show more!  

[memememe76]

This show is just so solid. The women are mature and adult even if their lives are colourful. The breakup of Jill and her girlfriend was well done.

[JAYJAY1979]

A nighttime soap for the 2020s...about time.

[GaT]

Yep, I called it, baby on the way.

[milkyaqua]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

Yep, I called it, baby on the way.

Ha, you did.  And all the phone calls, it seemed obvious and not just Alexis being stalkery.

Good epi from Brianna's grief and anger and wanting to protect her kids as long as possible to her breakdown and being able to accept her husband and all his faults and even dealing with Alexis; to Jill coming clean to Tina and not having some dramatic blow-up but going their separate ways and not necessarily shutting the door on a relationship.  Then you had Naomi finally telling her daughter about Jojo because she seeemed so determined to not tell her daughter.  Even Valeria got her moment and I liked her talk with Alexis even if some might have found her inserting herself into that situation none of her business but it was obvious Brianna was not willing to do it.

Enjoyed the music as well and even though I knew it was coming I laughed when Brianna went full OG Dynasty and tackled Alexis.

 

[Meedis]

1 hour ago, milkyaqua said:

Enjoyed the music as well and even though I knew it was coming I laughed when Brianna went full OG Dynasty and tackled Alexis.

 

Even the outfit Brianna wore seemed like something Alexis (Dynasty's not Queens) would've rocked.

I'm definitely continuing to enjoy this show.   Bummed about Eve but hopefully she'll return (if the show returns).

[RunningMarket]

I am really enjoying this show. The music is fantastic and it's a delicious mix of night time soap and comedy. Eve sets a master class in rapping.

I too liked that the breakup was handled respectfully and with maturity. And I was not surprised by what Valeria wore to a funeral.

[milkyaqua]

4 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

I too liked that the breakup was handled respectfully and with maturity. And I was not surprised by what Valeria wore to a funeral.

Ha!  That was a lot of cleavage from three of the four ladies, lol.

[njbchlover]

3 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

Ha!  That was a lot of cleavage from three of the four ladies, lol.

I thought the same thing, especially for a Catholic Church funeral.  

But, then I thought, we get cleavage from three ladies and killer cheek bones and facial structure from another, and I'm okay.  Brandy's facial structure captivates me every single time I see her.  God blessed her with that!!  

Edited November 10, 2021 by njbchlover

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

Enjoyed the music as well

I used to LOVE me some PM Dawn. 

I always knew this but Eve is really beautiful. The whole opening scene with her dealing with her husband's death, she looked gorgeous.

5 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

Ha!  That was a lot of cleavage from three of the four ladies, lol.

They looked tacky as hell, I'll say it.

[milkyaqua]

7 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I used to LOVE me some PM Dawn. 

Thank you!  I couldn't figure out the name.  I knew who it was and I was like, I liked this group back in the day.

[emma675]

I just love this show. I laughed, I cried, it brings it all.

I loved all of the girls coming together to support Brianna while still bringing their own drama and quirks with them. 

I'm glad Naomi told Jojo that Eric is her father, it's about time. And damn, does Brandy have the best skin in the world or what? She is flawless.

Look at that, a mature breakup where adults act like adults. Tina deserves better, but Jill is just figuring out who she really is and is probably needing to sow her new gay oats, so to speak. 

Brianna tackling the mistress laid me out. I was expecting her to slap the girl or maybe punch her. When she full on tackled her to the ground, I lost it. I hope this little mistress doesn't think just because she's pregnant with dead Jeff's baby she deserves something from Brianna. 

Valeria stepping into things was really not her business but when does she ever keep her nose out of things? I know many don't like her or see her as a weak link, but I'm fond of her. Her backstory is interesting and she always seems to claw her way back up when she's knocked down. And I like her higher pitched voice next to Naomi's smokier tone.

This show is so good!

[Scarlett45]

I liked what Jojo wore to the funeral. The actress is so pretty (all the women are beautiful). 

I understand why Valeria told her- no need for Brianna to be burdened with that task under the best of circumstances.

Naomi is kind of getting on my nerves. She acts like Jojo’s paternity is HER private business and not about 1. Jojo, 2. The man who had no knowledge that the child even existed and missed out on parenting her; and I’m even more annoyed because Naomi didn’t raise Jojo and acts so possessive. 
 

It has been my experience that at ADOS (American descents of slavery) funerals, mistresses, people sleeping with married people on the side (of either sex) are welcome at the funeral, but you sit in the BACK after you view the body and sign the book. The tackling was funny. 🤣

[AnimeMania]

Again with the Catholic Church?, I guess I can forgive it since it was probably Jill who selected the church and made most of the arrangements.

Not many people attended the funeral, you would think a professor would have lots of faculty and students wanting to attend.

That was a really nice song that Jill sang.

Why would anybody have a basement door that locks by itself when you have a house full of little kids.

[DearEvette]

Brandy's cover of 'Ain't no Sunshine' was simply gorgeous.

Co-sign o everyone saying how good the music on this show is.  It was nicely soft as befitting an episode about death -- From PM Dawn to Lil Nas X -- just good music curation all over. And then at the end we get back to rap with Jay-Z and Hard Knock life to give us the outro to let us know we back in business.  LOL.

I am a Brandy stan so I can't help but also be a Naomi stan and given what was going on at the time, I can see why she dipped and never told.  But JoJo has been asking and she clearly wants to know.  And Eric now knows and he clearly wants her to know.  So keeping it a secret a this juncture doesn't do anyone any favors.  I liked his scene with JoJo in the basement. They were so charming together. So I am glad the truth came out.

Still on my Naomi stan train... her entire face/head styling at the funeral was gorgeous.  And her earrings were fire.  Also I liked that filmy striped top she was wearing when they first went to Brianna's house after finding out Jeff was dead.

I didn't like Reporter chick side-piece.  She was too flippant and dismissive of Jill's concerns.  Yes, Jill is out and proud now, but that doesn't mean she is necessarily down for a going into a complete hotation phase.  I like Tina, though, and I love how much of a grown ass woman she is.

Valeria didn't annoy me.  And...dare I say it.... I kinda liked her this episode.

Favorite lines:

"White privilege is an epidemic" - Brandy's line delivery is what made this.

"He chewed juicy fruit like a grandma."

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by DearEvette

[AgentRXS]

I am so glad I took a chance on this show--it is such an awesome little soap.

I can understand why Naomi did what she did when she was pregnant. But if she wasn't interested in raising her at some point, why not let Eric know so he could provide for her at least financially? Why place all that burden on her mother?

I also appreciated the non-dramatic breakup between Jill and Tina. I also think they have great chemistry and will get back together eventually.

Jeff's mistress being pregnant is really none of Brianna's concern. I mean, she can go after his estate to get a Social Security check for her child, but that barely has anything to do with Brianna.

I also thought it was odd that the funeral was so empty for a professor---I was surprised not to see many extras playing academic colleagues.

6 hours ago, DearEvette said:

And then at the end we get back to rap with Jay-Z and Hard Knock life to give us the outro to let us know we back in business.  LOL.

I haven't heard this song in forever, and was watching this with my 11 month old. As soon as that "Annie" chorus hit, he started bopping up and down like he was a regular hip hop head LOL.

[Raja]

On 11/10/2021 at 8:01 PM, AnimeMania said:

Again with the Catholic Church?, I guess I can forgive it since it was probably Jill who selected the church and made most of the arrangements.

Not many people attended the funeral, you would think a professor would have lots of faculty and students wanting to attend.

That was a really nice song that Jill sang.

Why would anybody have a basement door that locks by itself when you have a house full of little kids.

I think it falls under all Christians look Catholic on TV trope. I think in reality the local Bishop would have to sign off on using the Church with the justification that a non Catholic Christian had no where else to go

[Scarlett45]

On 11/11/2021 at 10:52 PM, AgentRXS said:

But if she wasn't interested in raising her at some point, why not let Eric know so he could provide for her at least financially? Why place all that burden on her mother?

EXACTLY. That’s what gets me about Naomi. I could maybe understand her possessive ways if she has raised Jojo alone as a single mom and it was always “she and Jojo against the world”(although I wouldn’t agree).
 

But no- Naomi dropped her off at her mom’s to be raised for her entire life, showing up every now and again. Maybe Eric would’ve wanted to raise his child and not have that burden be on her mom (who was older) if Naomi wasn’t interested in being a full time parent. It’s not as if Eric was violent or had an addiction problem or something which meant he was incapable of parenting. 
 

Now Jojo is 20- she is fully capable of deciding if she wants to get to know Eric or not. 

 

On 11/11/2021 at 10:52 PM, AgentRXS said:

Jeff's mistress being pregnant is really none of Brianna's concern. I mean, she can go after his estate to get a Social Security check for her child, but that barely has anything to do with Brianna.

If the young lady wants to have the baby- that child would be sibling to Brianna’s kids. I could see Brianna wanting to make sure her children knew their sibling on some level. Also Jeff’s extended family would want to know the child too (likely). 

[ShellsandCheese]

On 11/10/2021 at 7:30 PM, emma675 said:

Valeria stepping into things was really not her business but when does she ever keep her nose out of things? I know many don't like her or see her as a weak link, but I'm fond of her. Her backstory is interesting and she always seems to claw her way back up when she's knocked down. And I like her higher pitched voice next to Naomi's smokier tone.

 

To me it feels like the Valeria character was shoe-horned to provide “diversity”. Like god-forbid there’s a show with four black female leads. The Valeria character just feels out of place for me. There seems to be a level of chemistry with Nat, Eve, and Brandy that comes across on screen that is missing with the actress that plays Valeria. Also, I look at her and she reminds me of Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend; bad plastic surgery. 

[Ailianna]

I think the chemistry is deliberate though. The other three women, if I followed all the backstory, knew each other for years growing up. They didn't get together to be a band; they were friends who formed a band. Val we know specifically joined them after they already had friendship and quite a bit of dues paying behind them. So I think the feeling that she doesn't totally quite fit is intentional and matches the relationship history we've seen.