S02.E04: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

[AnimeMania]

Still reeling from the disastrous photoshoot, the band are adrift, on a break, leaving each of them to explore their own personal crossroads.

Reeling from the disastrous photo shoot, each of the girls find themselves at difficult personal crossroads, while Saira considers Clarice’s major label offer and an unthinkable choice about the future of the band.

Premiere Date: May 30, 2024    Peacock     

[RachelKM]

Wow. Faith Omole's version of Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood was really good.  I love that song and am often suspect of covers of songs so thoroughly owned by a singer like Nina Simone, at least within her genre. But that was really good. 

I'm also enjoying seeing a little more of Bisma and Ayesha.  Season one was very Amina and Saira focused.  And, while I love them, spending a little more time with the other women has been nice. 

Noor's women's/pregnancy group is aces.  I loved everything about that scene, from Noor's admission to the screaming at the end. 

[krankydoodle]

I loved seeing everyone on their own. Momtaz breaking down at the end after encouraging the band so sincerely had me tearing up. Amina's scene with Ahsan was also tough to watch, but at least he finally told her how feels even though he botched it.

I'm not how I feel about Bisma using a remote control to put people on pause, but it was used to great effect in this episode.

I'm glad we're seeing Amina's relationship with Noor develop, especially considering how Noor treated her in season one.

[angora]

I thought Bisma's plot was really good, and that cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was gorgeous. Although, yikes to her husband's "Believe Black Women" T-shirt while he was asking if she just wanted to remove her headscarf to be "sexier."

The thing about Ahsan's insecurities/jealousy about Amina and Billy is that he feels like it's Amina choosing Billy *over* him, when in truth she's very clearly buried any hopes she had of getting with Ahsan. She doesn't know she's been in a love triangle this whole time, because after everything that went down with Ahsan last season, she's internalized that he wasn't/isn't/will never be into her. She has no idea that Ahsan inviting her to the folk night was supposed to be him making an overture, so of course it's going to feel to her like Ahsan "suddenly" wants her after she went out with Billy.

Oh, Momtaz broke my heart at the end! She let Lady Parts go so they could fly, but it hurt her so much! If this Clarice thing doesn't blow up in the band's face, I hope there's some way that Clarice could mentor Taz or something, make some introductions for her.

[ProudMary]

I've said this in another thread, but the writing on this show is astonishingly good. There are a lot of characters here and yet in under 30 minutes per episode, the writers are fleshing out each character so well. I thought Season 1 was great, but this second season is just blowing me away.

The scene between Ayesha and Laura after the supermarket scene was heart wrenching. This world makes it so hard for human beings to just be themselves. 😢

That carries right over to Bisma's arc, where she's trying to walk a very difficult line between her religious beliefs that carry such meaning to her and the public persona she'd like to connect to the music that means just as much to her, because she doesn't like the way she's being pigeon-holed by outsiders.

Both Ayesha and Bisma are so emotionally isolated right now because the people they love just aren't comprehending what they're going through. 

Faith Omole's rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was SO good. It was an excellent musical and lyrical choice, delivered perfectly. 👏

Amina continues to grow with each episode. I'm glad that Noor seems to be growing, too. It's good for her friendship with Amina, but so important for herself, too. Admitting to herself, and to the women's group, that Amina was really her only friend was pretty heartbreaking, but important for her to realize. 

Amina's scene with Ahsan was fantastic. He needs to work on sincerity! If he had just admitted his feelings for Amina right at the beginning of their conversation, instead of once again, deceptively trying to sabotage Amina's potential relationship with Billy, he'd be in a much better place with her. Good for Amina for standing her ground.

Taz, self-sacrificing by telling the women that they have to sign with the new manager and then falling apart when she got back home to her grandmother was another great piece of writing and acting. I hope the writers give us a good, hopeful resolution for Taz, who has worked so hard for Lady Parts to get them to this point. 

Lastly, I loved Grandma's inspirational, "The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately."

This show had better get some Emmy nominations next month!