Season 04

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The Chi, season 4, episode1, "Soul Food" airs on 2021.05.23.  Let's hope we get back to the quality of season 1.  Maybe it will start with Keisha in the shower and we'll learn that last year's abduction storyline was all a dream.

 

[Marley]

I’m surprised it’s back already. J will watch it but I’m not totally excited. I’m not going to quit watching yet but I hope it’s better this year. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4 promo:

Another S4 promo:

It takes a village:

Black love litany (performed and written by Dr. Joshua Bennett):

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Behind the scenes: the cast shares coming of age stories

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E1: Soul Food

Quote

Emmett's past threatens his new marriage. Kiesha wrestles with a decision that will affect the life of her unborn child. A run in with law enforcement leaves Kevin, Jake and Papa reeling. Douda tries to walk the line between gangster and mayor. Tiff and Dom go into business together. Marcus petitions to bring the Olympics to Chicago.

Original air date: 5/23/21

Can y'all take that outside?

 

[Brooklynista]

On 5/19/2021 at 11:28 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

S4.E1: Soul Food

Original air date: 5/23/21

Can y'all take that outside?

 

Did Lala have her ass done? It's looking pretty...voluminous. And I mean that in a cheap body work kind of way.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Showtime has posted the season premiere on YouTube!

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know Kevin was totally freaking out, but dude, your friend just got hauled away by the cops and at no point in the ensuing hours did you think to call his brother to let him know? Thank goodness Maisha had the presence of mind to take out her phone and start recording. It looks like this is going to cause a huge rift between Jake and Kevin. Loved Papa coming to the hospital with his usual cheerfulness.

I know that Otis is not a good guy, but I loved that as soon as he found out about Jake, he left the restaurant and went straight to the hospital. I get why Jake's brother wanted immediate revenge but that is not going to end well. Imani proving once again that she is totally ride or die.

I can't blame Tiff for wanting to find the best home for her baby. It was clear from the beginning that the husband in that couple was very argumentative. I guess it was nice of him to show up to help his soon to be ex-wife try to adopt a kid, but man, you can't keep your cool for five whole minutes? No wonder you're getting a divorce.

It's hard for me to feel bad about Emmett's extended freak out every time he saw Tiff and Dom interacting. Not only did he cheat, but he cheated with his business partner who Tiff knows and then he lied about it. That was just one bad decision after another.

I was cracking up at Jemma's dad watching Kevin climb out of her window on his security cameras. I wonder how long he's going to hold onto that information before dropping it on Kevin and/or Jemma.

[aghst]

I liked the montage, especially Otis being killed.

But they're not getting rid of that character until the end of the season probably.

So they're doubling down on the soap opera elements, including Kiesha keeping the baby conceived when she was abducted as a sex slave.  She interviews potential adoptive parents, sees that the couple doesn't like each other and vetoes letting them adopt.  I was thinking that the people who want to adopt will find out the baby was conceived as a result of a rape and back out.  But no, it's Kiesha who's going to be picky.

So she's given up her track scholarship?  If she ends up keeping the baby, it's kind of typical of stories about the hood, very young single mother, doesn't have much education or job prospects.  The first couple of seasons the show was uplifting.  Then again, she was a minor character, mainly noticed for Emmitt sneaking in and out of her bedroom.

The other big part of the episode was Jake getting beaten up.  So they decide to insert the topic of police brutality in what appears for now like a pretty ham handed way.  Just so obvious to make it happen on the show and then Trig probably makes things a lot worse and Kevin and Jake falling out over it.

Otis sniffing around Tracey as well as Imani while the people in the hood knows he's a thug, apparently nobody else knows about the new mayor's past.  Oh, someone said they suspected Otis had that food truck guy (Brandon) killed but the other one doesn't believe he's really dead.  Are they trying to open the door?

Emmitt still dealing with his player past, now worried about his new bride finding out that he hooked up with what's her name, while his restaurant seems to be starting out well.  Guess they wanted to make sure to have enough drama?

 

I searched for reviews of season 4 but didn't find any.  However, a Google user said The Chi is what you get if the writers are inspired by The Wired but end up creating a combo of Degrassi High and As the World Turns.

Nail on head.

Lena wrote this episode and I think she also wrote or at least had a lot of input on the new Master of None season, since it's mainly about her character on that show.

Should be interesting to see which show is better written and executed.

 

 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

I'm not sure how to feel about this first episode.

One minute, there's 2 feet of snow outside but then we see Jada slip on a flimsy leather jacket over a sundress to go out with her masseuse?  Huh?  And don't get me started on that first wack hairstyle of hers. That horn of braids was crazy looking.

I still can't stand Lala's character.  She's a messy bitch and I feel like it's just a matter of time before she tells Tiff about her tryst with Emmitt.  She enjoyed dropping that bomb on Emmitt's dad just a little too much.  But I swear, he is the best part of the Chi for me now.  Buying that VCR?  Priceless.

So Traci is all suspicious about Douda but he leans in and flirts a lil IN FRONT OF HIS WIFE and all of a sudden, she's hooked?  Got Kandi's stupid character talking about sharing?  Whatev.  But Douda was looking kinda good in that tank top there at the end.

Lena has my sweet Kevin smoking, drinking AND screwing?  I wasn't ready. 

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

23 hours ago, aghst said:

So they're doubling down on the soap opera elements, including Kiesha keeping the baby conceived when she was abducted as a sex slave.  She interviews potential adoptive parents, sees that the couple doesn't like each other and vetoes letting them adopt.  I was thinking that the people who want to adopt will find out the baby was conceived as a result of a rape and back out.  But no, it's Kiesha who's going to be picky.

So she's given up her track scholarship?  If she ends up keeping the baby, it's kind of typical of stories about the hood, very young single mother, doesn't have much education or job prospects.  The first couple of seasons the show was uplifting.  Then again, she was a minor character, mainly noticed for Emmitt sneaking in and out of her bedroom.

The Keisha storyline is driving me batty.  She decides to have the baby and gives up her scholarship (no talk of deferring a year instead).  Now she doesn't want the baby to grow up in a broken home.  Ugh.  There is a difference between having two parents who get divorced while you are a child and being adopted by a single person.  The baby would not be in a broken home.  They were never in the home that "broke."  If she ends up keeping the baby because she cannot find someone she likes I will be so disappointed.  She has better options and should not have to lose all of her dreams over that ridiculous abduction story.  

[tennisgurl]

We return again, and I don't know why I always expect more from this show. I guess I still like a lot of the ideas they have and the issues they try to bring up, but they can only talk about these real issues in the most over the top weird ways possible, and the good ideas they have are never followed through well. There are always a million stories that are only tangentially connected and often struggle with trying to balance being serious and being soapy. The Keisha story continues to really frustrate me, they actually listened to all of my ranting last season about why no one talks about Keisha giving her child up for adaption even if she didn't want to have an abortion but they had to handle it in the most ridiculous way imaginable. Of course Keisha is going to be super picky about what couple adopts the baby and her family will be all snarky about it, its just so weird that no one will have some real talk with her. I have no idea why she gave up her scholarship either, I would think that she could get a deferment if they knew the circumstances. I did like her scene with Kevin. 

They will definitely hold off on actually killing Otis for as long as possible. I don't like him but the show has really dug in with him. 

[Enigma X]

In the real world, Keisha could have gotten her scholarship deferred.

I promised myself not to come in this forum and be overly critical, even if I am in my head. I just want to say when Tiff and whatever Lala's character's name is were in the kitchen, I realize they were trying to pull off real-life laughter/banter so the viewer can see Emmett's paranoia. It just seemed very rehearsed to me.

I know that of all the things that I could have pointed out that bothered me with the episode that this was minor. Still.

And I like Jada's hairstyle, but it does not fit Jada at all.

[aghst]

IF Keisha takes about a year to have the baby how long would it take to get back into shape for high-level track competitions?

Meanwhile there are other athletes graduating and probably attracting scholarships.

I don't know how cutthroat woman's track at the collegiate level is but maybe they won't wait for her indefinitely.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E2: Cooley High

Quote

Emmett comes clean to Tiff. A college tour forces Kevin and Jake to consider their futures. Douda makes a decision that will change the face of Chicago. Jada gets some unexpected news. Papa starts a podcast. Trig reunites with an old friend.

Promo:

Clip 1:

Clip 2:

Original air date: 5/30/21

Edited June 3, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ironically, this is the most I've ever liked Douda.

I know Kevin is a teenager so making bad decisions is inevitable, but accepting drugs from a guy you just met right after you just took everyone's money is a terrible idea.

Jemma's complete 180 about going to college annoyed me. It's not like she just learned during the tour that colleges make money. I also hated that she was discouraging Kevin from going to college. It's one thing for her to decide that she doesn't want to go because she still has her dad's money to fall back on. This might be Kevin's only opportunity. And not all colleges are expensive. He can go to a state school, qualify for financial aid, get scholarships, etc. Or he could go to community college for two years to keep the cost down and then transfer. But Jemma completely dismissing it and expecting Kevin to jump right on that train with her really annoyed me.

I usually love Papa's neverending positivity, but interpreting a generic DM response as confirmation that Van Jones is going to show up at your house to be on your podcast is a step too far.

Poor Jada. Not only did she show up to her reunion in costume because her ex is an idiot but her frenemy slept with the massage guy too! I wonder if she's going to try to keep her cancer a secret from Emmett.

Loved that Keisha told Emmett to just tell man up and tell Tiff the truth. But what I hate is that he would have kept it a secret forever if Dom hadn't told his dad. He claimed he didn't want to hurt Tiff but the truth is that he didn't want to deal with the consequences.

 

[aghst]

Emmitt was a player.  He doesn't seem like the type who'd be racked with guilt that he'd finally crumble and tell Tiff, unless he has reasons to distrust his father.

Now that Tiffany has gotten the revenge hookup, guess they're headed for a lot of drama.  Maybe that guy was right, Tiffany didn't sound too excited about being married to Emmitt.

OK, I don't know about Chicago but is the black community generally tolerant of LGBQT? Kevin and Keisha's mother and her wife are one thing but it's kind of surprising that Shaad who got out of prison after apparently a long stint didn't remark on Imani -- maybe that's to come.

I thought that many black people were socially conservative and black male gangsters tend to be homophobic?

The young cast members have really grown out of the cute phase from just a season or two ago.  But still jarring that they have Kevin and Jake be so sexually active this season. Yet makes sense since they're already looking at colleges so they're at least juniors in high school.

Douda is kind of going authoritarian.  Not sure that the Chicago mayor has all these powers.  For one thing, the Aldermen in the city seem to have some power.  But unilaterally firing a cop, instantly, is possible?  You'd think the police union would combat it.  Also questionable if he can make a big budgetary decision like defunding the police on his own.

Seems like the writers want to hit on all the greatest hits on the progressive activists wishlists.  Again are these politics reflective of the South Side or whichever neighborhood or part of the city which this show is representing?

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Didn't Jake's brother get out of prison recently? I thought a blanket condition of probation was not hanging out with other convicts, which means his friend shouldn't be living with them.

I suspect that when this new friend finds out the truth about Imani, the shit is going to hit the fan.

[tennisgurl]

Oh Kevin. He is clearly struggling and needs to open up to someone about everything that has happened, its like terrible things are always happening to everyone surrounding him and he has no clue how to deal with that. Plus he has to deal with Jemma's condescension and judgement while he is trying to figure out what to do with his life, which just seems exhausting. I thought her telling Kevin that he couldn't be on her video because he doesn't have his whole life figured out and wouldn't look "like her equal" was an especially crappy thing to say, they're only in their teens, they don't need to know everything that they ever want to accomplish yet. I also admit to some eye rolling at her going on about how college is a business and was suddenly all against college, and trying to get Kevin to possibly say no to higher ed. Her points are certainly valid, especially about students drowning in debt and needing more and more degrees to get a good job, but its still important to get an education, whether its at a big fancy school or a community college or a trade school or whatever, not many people can be Steve Jobs. Plus, she just realized that college costs money now? With all of her facts and her researching and such? 

I really felt for Keisha when she was saying how she should be at college while Kevin can go to college but is blowing his chance. Of course I have no idea why college isn't still on the table for Keisha, you would think that she could get that deferment or some other financial aid, but I guess she is giving up on college now for whatever reason. Is she also giving up on giving the baby up for adoption? Just because one couple couldn't didn't work out doesn't mean that no couple will work out, this story is just so freaking frustrating. No one seems capable of having an actual conversation about Keisha's options, everyone is just acting like her life is over and that she needs to dedicate herself to her child by rape. Is that good for her OR the baby? Why wont anyone just have a damn talk? 

Can a mayor just have a cop fired or totally change the funding of the police department on his own like this with just a press conference? A mayor certainly has power and I am not an expert, but doesn't he still have to work with other governing bodies and unions? This isn't his own fiefdom where he can make his own rules, he still has rules to follow even as the mayor right?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E3: Native Son

Quote

Tiff discovers a possible solution to her relationship woes with Emmett. Douda, Tracy, and Trig take community protection into their own hands

Promo:

Clip:

Original air date: 6/6/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Was it just me or was the sound mix terrible this week? The music was SO intrusive for most of the episode and it was really annoying. I watched another tv show right afterward and the sound for that was fine so it seems like it was just this show/episode.

I guess this episode was a good reminder of how far Emmett has come because wow, did he regress a lot this week. He has become a lot more mature and responsible in the past three years but this week was a throwback to what an immature baby he can be. I was just shaking my head every time he was on the screen.

When he got mad at Dom for not asking how he was feeling in the wake of confessing that he cheated to Tiff, I was like bro, come on. You're asking your sidepiece to comfort you and be concerned about your feelings because your wife found out that you fucked around on her? PLEASE. Obviously Dom is involved since she was the other half of the fucking and she knew that Emmett was with Tiff at the time, but Dom is not responsible for any of that. As far as I'm concerned, that's all on Emmett. He was the one living with his girlfriend and he was the one who chose to cheat.

The whole situation with his mom was ridiculous too. First of all, you don't live there anymore so the least you can do is call or knock instead of just letting yourself in. Secondly, it is none of your business who your mom wants to have sex with. Third of all, accusing her of choosing Suede over him was laughable. She wasn't choosing Suede. She was having sex with him when you barged in. That's not even close to choosing Suede over Emmett. Fourth of all, fine, it's weird for your mom to be sleeping with someone who's two years older than you, but how old is Dom? In real life, La La is about to turn 38. Wasn't Jada relatively young when she had Emmett? I know that Dom and Jada aren't the exact same age, but the point is that he thought it was fine to fuck Dom who is much older than he is but for some reason he thinks it isn't okay for his mom to have sex with someone who's younger. And does he tell Darnell who he can't sleep with or set an acceptable age range for the women that Darnell hooks up with? UGH.

Speaking of Darnell, I loved when he felt the need to interrupt the party for his very important announcement: "I don't want to be high anymore!"

A+ to Kiesha for telling Emmett like it is. He's been fucking around on his various girlfriends for years and now that the shoe's on the other foot (and all of one time, I might add), it's all WOE IS ME.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

I don't know, y'all.  I think I am just about done with The Chi.  This is the second week in a row where I feel like the plot is all over the place and just plain stupid.  I see this going the way of Empire.

So Tracy goes from focused, grieving community-activist mom to a Douda Freak down with 3-somes?  Really, Lena?

I hate that they had Keisha carry a rapist's baby and now have her looking like she's having second thoughts about the adoption.

Emmitt comes clean but doesn't bother to explain that his indiscretion  occurred BEFORE he and Tiff were married???

Oh, and I'm sick of Kevin's girlfriend.  Jake will be doing him a favor.

That's all I can rant about right now---this show feels nothing like the first 2 seasons.

[Enigma X]

2 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I don't know, y'all.  I think I am just about done with The Chi.  This is the second week in a row where I feel like the plot is all over the place and just plain stupid. 

I was done after the first episode this season.

[tennisgurl]

On 6/6/2021 at 2:55 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Was it just me or was the sound mix terrible this week? The music was SO intrusive for most of the episode and it was really annoying.

It was definitely not just you, I noticed it as well. Normally the sound mixing on this show is fine, but this week it felt really off. So much of the music really jarring, especially that huge sax of sadness that started when Kevin was watching Jake and his annoyed girlfriend on their schools station. It was ridiculously intrusive, like the episode wasn't totally done yet but they showed it anyway. 

Emmett really backslid hard into his old ways, I am really glad Keisha was there to talk some sense into his thick skull. Now if only someone would have some real talk with Keisha about her plans for the future and how she feels about the baby. 

This season is just a mess, possibly even more of a mess then last season was. So many ideas, characters and plots that are all just half baked because we cant focus enough on any of them, fumbling around looking for a point. I keep waiting for this show to get good again but I really doubt that's happening any time soon. It just doesn't feel real anymore. 

[Marley]

I haven’t even watched any of the episodes yet. They are just sitting on my DVR. Last season soured the show so much for me. I don’t even get what they are trying to do anymore with this. It’s been completely ruined. I used to love it.

[Empress1]

On 6/6/2021 at 3:55 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The whole situation with his mom was ridiculous too. First of all, you don't live there anymore so the least you can do is call or knock instead of just letting yourself in. Secondly, it is none of your business who your mom wants to have sex with. Third of all, accusing her of choosing Suede over him was laughable. She wasn't choosing Suede. She was having sex with him when you barged in. That's not even close to choosing Suede over Emmett. Fourth of all, fine, it's weird for your mom to be sleeping with someone who's two years older than you, but how old is Dom? In real life, La La is about to turn 38. Wasn't Jada relatively young when she had Emmett? I know that Dom and Jada aren't the exact same age, but the point is that he thought it was fine to fuck Dom who is much older than he is but for some reason he thinks it isn't okay for his mom to have sex with someone who's younger. And does he tell Darnell who he can't sleep with or set an acceptable age range for the women that Darnell hooks up with? UGH.

Also Dom is dating Emmett's dad and no one has mentioned an age difference there so I assume she's closer to his dad's age than his. Either Emmett slept with someone much older than he is, as you say, or his dad is sleeping with someone much younger than he is. It's that age-old double standard of how May-December relationships are only acceptable when it's the man who's older. 

This open marriage is going to be a disaster. Really, they shouldn't have gotten married in the first place.

[Goldfish77]

we could not find one entertaining aspect of last week's episode.  All of the sudden this season, Chicago has gotten much smaller

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E4: The Girl from Chicago

Quote

Jake, Jemma, and Kevin organize an on-campus protest. Emmett and Tiff set new boundaries for their relationship. Imani schemes to break a girl out of the 63rd St. Mob's trap house. Nina is suspicious of Dre. Jada gives Emmett some unexpected news.

Promo:

Too many rules:

Original air date: 6/13/21

[MBayGal]

Unexpected news--is Jada pregnant?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oh, Jake and Jemma. I know teenage relationships are all about the ~drama~ but would it kill you to break up with Kevin before making out?

The whole storyline where that woman couldn't leave Douda's fancy apartment building because of the protestors made no sense. He lives in a huge high rise. There was to be more than one entrance/exit. Maybe go out the service door or the loading dock? Have someone who has a car with tinted windows pick you up in the garage and drive you home so that no one will see who's inside the car?

I really felt for Drea who was forced to keep lying to her own wife because she was keeping Jada's secret. I really like Jada, but JFC. If you think your precious son can't handle hearing that you have cancer then I don't think he's going to be able to handle, I don't know, LIFE. Yes, it's awful and yes, he's going to be devastated but you still need to tell him. That's the truth on its own. But by asking Drea to keep it a secret, you're adding an extra burden to someone else just because you know that Emmett can't handle it.

I was SO glad when Jada finally told Emmett the truth because he has been acting like a petulant fucking child with her. He had a shitty attitude when he showed up at her place, threatened to never see her again if she and Suede were getting married, and generally acted like a spoiled brat AGAIN. Now that he finally knows, maybe he can stop acting like a toddler who expects his mother's entire life to revolve around him.

I'm glad that Kiesha finally picked a family for the baby. Now let's push that kid out and be done with this storyline.

17 hours ago, MBayGal said:

Unexpected news--is Jada pregnant?

Nope, she has cancer.

[Empress1]

19 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was SO glad when Jada finally told Emmett the truth because he has been acting like a petulant fucking child with her. He had a shitty attitude when he showed up at her place, threatened to never see her again if she and Suede were getting married, and generally acted like a spoiled brat AGAIN. Now that he finally knows, maybe he can stop acting like a toddler who expects his mother's entire life to revolve around him.

Emmett really needs to grow up. He's a married father of THREE (he has two other kids by two other women that the show mentions when it's convenient), he's trying to run a business. He's grown. He's been way too fucking coddled. HE needs to be there for JADA, not the other way around.

19 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Oh, Jake and Jemma. I know teenage relationships are all about the ~drama~ but would it kill you to break up with Kevin before making out?

And it looks like they're still doing it next episode. Break up with him, Jemma, damn. And Jake is trifling too.

I like that Tabitha Brown is going to be the adoptive mother. Cuz that's her business. (Look up her videos on IG or Tik Tok if you don't know.)

I am not fully following the rescue story - Imani was trying to save the girl from the trap house, and the girl was killed?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I am not fully following the rescue story - Imani was trying to save the girl from the trap house, and the girl was killed?

Yup, so now the only question is whether it was because Nug found out she was trying to leave or if it was something else.

[Meedis]

On 6/13/2021 at 12:16 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I really felt for Drea who was forced to keep lying to her own wife because she was keeping Jada's secret. I really like Jada, but JFC. If you think your precious son can't handle hearing that you have cancer then I don't think he's going to be able to handle, I don't know, LIFE. Yes, it's awful and yes, he's going to be devastated but you still need to tell him. That's the truth on its own. But by asking Drea to keep it a secret, you're adding an extra burden to someone else just because you know that Emmett can't handle it.

Gotta love the Chi for adding extra drama with Nina peeking at Drea's text message and seeing Jada's message saying "OUR SECRET" instead of "MY SECRET".   

Edited June 15, 2021 by Meedis
edited for grammar

[tennisgurl]

I was really concerned about Kesha keeping this baby because every couple she looks at for adoption is ridiculously obviously not right, but hopefully this means she found a winner. And that hopefully they wont pull the cliché last minute "I saw the baby so now I have to keep it" switch where she keeps the baby even if she shouldn't by any kind of logic. 

Emmett is being such a whiner, both to his mom and his wife, hopefully finding out about his moms cancer will get him to get his act together. He was doing pretty well maturing but now he has majorly gone back into trifling manchild territory. Now maybe he can get back on track and we can get all of this stories actually moving. 

This season has so many stories that its hard to get invested in any of them, so its like they have to make every story as needlessly melodramatic as possible. Especially Jada making Drea keep her cancer a secret just so that her wife can find her vague text to create some extra drama in an already dramatic situation. 

Oh that teenage drama. If you don't want to be with Kevin be honest, don't go behind his back.  

Edited June 15, 2021 by tennisgurl

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E5: The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Quote

Douda, Roselyn and Marcus prepare for the gala; Kiesha goes into labor; Kevin and Jemma's relationship reaches a breaking point.

Promo:

Clip:

Original air date: 6/20/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

First of all, thank you to the show for showing texts in a huge font on the screen. I hate when shows insist on using texting as a plot device but only show the phone screen with tiny font for half a second. I mean, I will rewind and then pause so I can read it but I get annoyed every time I have to do it.

Ugh, I knew this was how the whole Jemma/Jake/Kevin situation was going to play out. Again, JUST BREAK UP, especially when you aren't even trying to hide the fact that you are ignoring your boyfriend and making heart eyes at his best friend. I was rolling my eyes when she said speaking truth to power was different than dumping your boyfriend. No, not really. It just means have the guts to speak up and be honest. She didn't want to break up with Kevin because it would mean being honest about her feelings and being seen as the bad guy, and she didn't want to deal with that. I also hated that once Kevin found Jemma and Jake making out, they decided that it was okay for them to walk around the party holding hands like a couple. Just because you got caught doesn't make it okay.

The communal part of Keisha giving birth was lovely - she was surrounded by women who love her, which is always a beautiful thing. Hopefully she won't change her mind and decide to keep the baby. I was a little worried when she looked back at the adoptive mom holding the baby.

Emmett continues to be the worst. Even now that he knows his mom has cancer, it's still all about him and what will make HIM feel better instead of what will help her. Demanding that your mom come over for dinner when she's in the middle of treatment is selfish. If you really want to cook for her, why don't you offer to go to her house to make something? Or just drop something off in Tupperware so that she can eat it when she isn't puking her guts out. But noooooo, everything has to be on Emmett's terms. And he was still being salty about Suede, despite the fact that this man has been taking care of Jada. I couldn't believe he was being so fucking petty and jealous. But hey, I learned an important lesson from Emmett - apparently you're only allowed to eat pancakes if they're made by a woman!

[tennisgurl]

So is this is going to turn into a whole "Who Shot JR?" sort of murder mystery story now? Or at least an attempted murder story. 

Hopefully this is finally going to lead to Keisha finally moving forward with her life and those looks at the adopted mom and the baby were just a bittersweet goodbye and not her thinking about changing her mind to keep the baby. Its unfair to the adopted mom, the baby, and herself. 

Poor Kevin, that played out exactly the way I thought it would. So Jemma expects to be able to change the world but cant even properly break up with her boyfriend, instead sneaking around with his friend? Why is the "activists make for sucky girlfriends/boyfriends" trope such a thing on television? 

[aghst]

Half paying attention, how do high school kids go to some black tie event?

And Kevin got into some chauffeured car or just a fancy Uber?

seems like that family is doing well financially?  That alternative birth, is it covered by insurance or they pay out of pocket?

Is this suppose to take place in the Southside, supposedly underprivileged?  Forget if Kevin got scholarship to that private school.

 

Well you knew Trig was going to clash with his friend about Imani.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Half paying attention, how do high school kids go to some black tie event?

Douda invited them to be youth ambassadors at a gala to help win an Olympic bid in Chicago.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Kev, your broken heart won't let you know this yet but Jake has done you a favor.  That girl is exhausting.

23 hours ago, aghst said:

Well you knew Trig was going to clash with his friend about Imani.

During that scene, all I could think was that Reg would never stand for someone trying to punk him in his own home.  Trig is a joke.

[Goldfish77]

Wow, this show just keeps getting worse.  we really loved the earlier seasons.  What was up with that scene of Kevin running around sweating and moving quickly?  It looked like an early 80s Mtv video from one of the British one-hit wonders.

 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Goldfish77

[Marley]

Yea the writers have turned this show into complete trash.

[Empress1]

On 6/22/2021 at 4:37 PM, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Kev, your broken heart won't let you know this yet but Jake has done you a favor.  That girl is exhausting.

She really is. I feel sad for Kev because he's lost a friend over it, and now he's lost his school. But Gemma is ... not that nice, and pretty self-absorbed.

Ooops, Nina.

Can Keisha get her baby back? Like legally, does she have recourse?

[tennisgurl]

If you want to murder someone, don't just shoot them once in the gut then leave, go for the head! Come on!

So they are really going there with Keisha and the baby, the plot that I have been dreading since this whole pregnancy clusterfuck started, How have the writers managed to fuck this show up so badly? This is going to suck so much I almost don't want to bother. 

The music is just so intrusive this season, like a music video is about to break out at any second. The end of the press conference was especially embarrassing.  

[Sycophant4Lease]

23 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

If you want to murder someone, don't just shoot them once in the gut then leave, go for the head! Come on!

So they are really going there with Keisha and the baby, the plot that I have been dreading since this whole pregnancy clusterfuck started, How have the writers managed to fuck this show up so badly? This is going to suck so much I almost don't want to bother. 

The music is just so intrusive this season, like a music video is about to break out at any second. The end of the press conference was especially embarrassing.  

My GOODNESS!  I expressed each of these thoughts to my wife as we were watching on Sunday.

I have said in the past that the writing has now turned this show into utter CRAP.  Basically, it has become EMPIRE 2.0.  I checked out on that "cluster" early in the second season.

You try and give your people and their shows a chance.  They start off good and interesting.  Then, I don't know what happens. I'm teetering on punching the "check out" button on this as well.

[MBayGal]

When Nina went home with that woman from the bar, it looked like there was a camera in the ceiling. More soapy trouble ahead!

So Keisha wants her baby back.  WHO could have foreseen that?

I don't understand why some magazine wanted to do a big shoot on Myisha--because some little raps on Papa's barely heard show went viral?  That came out of nowhere!

[tennisgurl]

Oh, so now people want to ask Keisha the hard questions about the baby? After people walked on eggshells around her this whole time, everyone suddenly has thoughts? Even then everyone is still acting like none of this is that big of a deal and not having any real talk with Keisha about what being a teenage single mom is going to be like, let alone raising a child who was conceived in such terrible circumstances. I cant believe they had Keisha get her baby back from the adopted mom offscreen, what a cheap cop out for this story, I hate this plot so much. 

This whole show has just become a series of awkward encounters where everyone has weird stilted dialogue and talks about the same things over and over again. Its so sad to see what this show has become after such a promising start. 

Edited July 12, 2021 by tennisgurl

[aghst]

So now this show has a literal gangsta mayor, who is shot but survives.  He still has business out on the streets, going to literally defund the police.

And this show continues with the abduction/sex slave plot, except Keisha names her baby after the guy who rescued her from the rapist baby daddy.

And if open marriage wasn’t enough, Emmit and Tiff are hitting swinger parties.

Predictably more drama with infidelity in the Nina and Dre marriage.

So unrecognizable from the first two seasons, which were more grounded in reality.  Maybe fitting they feature those high tech aerial night shots of the skyline.

When did it jump the shark?  When Dre pulled out the big strap on?

 

[MBayGal]

When did this become a YA novel? 

[LoveIsJoy]

After watching this episode, I leaned over and told my husband that the writers must have gone on strike this week.  No real plot movement, nothing for the actors to do but pretend to dance around at various parties.  And why exactly is Poppa’s wannabe girlfriend suddenly so smug (Myisha?).  What shine-worthy enterprise is the source of all this newfound adoration and social media haters?

I find the young female characters so tiresome (starting with Keisha, then on to Gemma, Myisha, Kevin’s new gaming love interest, and Tiff).  I have no idea why I’m still watching this mess.  Probably because once I invest in a show, I want to see it through to the bitter end. And this has been one bitter pill.