S02.E02: To Usward

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Ralph Angel has an idea for the farm; Charley is blindsided during her final divorce mediation with Davis; Nova holds a community fundraiser; and Aunt Violet learns that Hollywood might have been involved in a life-threatening accident.

[Arcadiasw]

Same old Ralph Angel: whine, whine, whine and annoying sense of entitlement. It’s not like he’s had to go to his sister for years for money on the farm. It’s only been a few months.  If Ralph Angel wants to be angry over not getting the money out of the account by himself he can thank Nova for that and while it’s good he got the account, he still should talk to Charley on what he wants to do with the farm. It’s as much his as it is hers. I hope because of the loan and his father’s letter he doesn’t get an ego and think he can take Charley on over the farm because his loan is pocket change compared to Charley’s money and business sense.

I know Blue is a child but I still cringe at his table manners in public. I agree with Darla.

Though the cynic in me thinks Remy should have thought of this before getting involved with Charley, Remy gave Charley good advice that she need to mourn her marriage before she begins another relationship. Still, it’s TV and mourning is short in TV time.

Charley needs to give a little and work with Davis. Micah is their kid and even though Davis was crappy to her, he is trying to be a father to his son. Whether she likes it not, she needs to keep it civil with Davis especially if he finds out she forged his signature.

After the incident with the cop, Charley could give Micah space but there’s nothing wrong with her wanting to know where he is and Micah wondering around in a city where he knows little about it down to the point of not knowing how to ride a bus is another bad decision by him. Maybe I missed it but how did he get out there if it wasn’t by bus? I didn’t think his private school was walking distance to the city.

[peridot]

3 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Same old Ralph Angel: whine, whine, whine and annoying sense of entitlement. It’s not like he’s had to go to his sister for years for money on the farm. It’s only been a few months. 

Exactly. He should focus on raising Blue (and making sure he's not growing up into a brat) until they have a standard routine.  Then he should start making changes to the farm and coming up with innovative ideas.  I mean, just a few weeks (months?) ago, he was hoarding stolen property at his aunt's house and she had to bail him out.  What a child!

I'm not sure why Charley is balking so much on the joint custody thing?  Is it because Davis was involved in the coverup of the rape?  I can't really remember what happened last season. 
I think it's pretty sad that Charley doesn't seem to have any friends except for Remy.  That may be why she's trying to control everything. 

Davis was an ass for springing the request on her last minute though.  He could have gave her a heads-up.

[Mozelle]

Man, I heart Nova in all her fuckedupness, but that spoken word thing she was doing at the rally was making me roll my eyes. Now, don't get me wrong: her message was 100% on point, but did she really have to deliver it as though she were at an open mic night lol? 

Each episode illustrates just how young and immature Ralph Angel is. He wants what he wants when he wants it, and he sulks when it doesn't happen on his time frame. Although, I suppose this drives home the fact that he and Charley share some of the same DNA because she's quite similar in that regard. I guess this is why I can sort of see Ralph Angel's side--Charley says "No" far more often than she says "Yes," despite the fact that she's screwed up some when it comes to this farm. She's unopen to Ralph Angel's risks while taking some pretty big ones her own.

Lastly, I'm really surprised how Vi and Wood's reunion made me feel all kinds of sentimental. I think that's largely due to how much I enjoy Tina Lifford and Omar Dorsey.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Mozelle

[Arcadiasw]

I forgot Charley called her mother. I hope this means she will appear this season. 

[jhlipton]

16 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Charley needs to give a little and work with Davis. Micah is their kid and even though Davis was crappy to her, he is trying to be a father to his son. Whether she likes it not, she needs to keep it civil with Davis especially if he finds out she forged his signature.

As I said in the previous episode, Charley and Davis can work together on the business side, and she and Davis, together, raised a pretty awesome kid (Davis ay have been on the road a lot during the season, but I got the impression that even then, he was heavily involved in raising Micah.) 

BTW, who else thought that when Davis asked to speak to Charley privately, it was going to be about the forgery?

 

13 hours ago, peridot said:

Exactly. He should focus on raising Blue (and making sure he's not growing up into a brat) until they have a standard routine. 

Yep.  Darla was right.   The couple may have been putting up with Blue, but he need to let them be.  How would Ralph Angel feel if he was on a no-Blue, romantic date with Darla and some kid started pestering them.

And Darla was right about the tip.  The waiter made an ill-informed comment, but it wasn't like he indicated that Blue shouldn't play with Kenya.  (I didn't think it was that terrible to ask if Blue liked Transformers -- he does have.other toys; Kenya's just his favorite.).  And in many states, wait-staff aren't paid minimum wage -- they're supposed to live off the tip, so Ralph Angel was kicking the server's livelihood for a dumb-ass remark.  Although I do like the way RA ensures that Blue feels there's nothing wrong with playing with Kenya -- that's pretty cool.

[Artsda]

I get Micah growing up in LA privilege and not expecting to know how to deal with driving while black situation with the cops. However, really he's that dumb to think the bus would take a black credit card? He's never seen a movie or doesn't even have that common sense to know the bus may need cash or change? That just made him look stupid. 

It's good Charley locked that account down to make sure she has to approve of all transactions after what Nova did. Ralph Angel and Nova both don't get that's not their money to do as they choose, that's Charley's money she got for the farm. I'm still angry at Nova for her taking the money for the bail of that kid.

I'm not sure if RA going for that loan won't bite him later, technically they don't need a loan. They have the funds for their farm, so is that money really for "people like me" like he said. I don't think so. It's for farmers with no funds. 

I didn't see why Charley reacted the way she did to the joint custody situation. Davis did move to New Orleans, Micah has been driving back and forth between them while he's lived in New Orleans. That's pretty much joint custody as is.  Plus Charley should know more than anyone that Davis's NBA schedule has him on the road most of the time, Micah would still be living her probably full time practically. Seems like her need for control so strong, she's not sure how to share. 

Loved Vi and Hollywood's reunion. 

[jhlipton]

56 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Loved Vi and Hollywood's reunion. 

I'm not crying -- you're crying.

[tennisgurl]

Vi and Hollywood are back together! And all was right with the world.

Well, not really. Charlie and Davis are still having issues (and he really just sprung that joint custody on her didn't he?) trying to get divorced, poor Micah is understandably shaken by the incident with the cop, Ralph Angel is being Ralph Angel (lets not get too high on yourself yet dude. Like two months ago you weren't hiding stolen property at your aunts house), and Nova continues to throw herself into her activism instead of dealing with her own issues. So, business as usual more or less.

I'm certainly no fan of Davis, but I don't really blame him for wanting joint custody. The guy was a shitty husband, but he does seem to really love Micah, and he is his dad after all. I can totally understand Charlie having reservations, but it would be nice if they could keep it civil, especially now that Micah is so clearly struggling.

I know the actor had other commitments, but I do hope we get to see more of Nova/Calvin soon. Its such an interesting relationship with so much potential for drama that I haven't really seen explored before, it seems like a shame to abandon it. And I really want Nova to spend some time working on herself and her own clear problems. She really seems like a person who gets super into various Causes both because of genuine care, and also because she uses them as a reason not to work on herself. Plus, on a shallow note, Calvin is super hot and he and Nova have great chemistry.

You know, Darla could have been nicer about it, but she was right about Blue playing super loudly at their dinner. There's nothing wrong with teaching your kid how to be polite and respectful in a public place. Blue is the cutest kid, but its not doing him any favors if RA is too easy on him.

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I know the actor had other commitments, but I do hope we get to see more of Nova/Calvin soon. Its such an interesting relationship with so much potential for drama that I haven't really seen explored before, it seems like a shame to abandon it.

It would be nice to see at least one cop, at least on TV, say that #BlackLivesMatter is helping cops -- getting them in touch with their neighborhoods, flushing out the "bad apples" that can poison an entire department, and reduce the number of overall officer shootings, not just of black people.  I'd love to have Calvin read over the proposals from Campaign Zero and say what his problem with any of them are.

[Arcadiasw]

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

You know, Darla could have been nicer about it, but she was right about Blue playing super loudly at their dinner. There's nothing wrong with teaching your kid how to be polite and respectful in a public place. Blue is the cutest kid, but its not doing him any favors if RA is too easy on him.

I wonder if RA is treating Blue the same way his father treated him as a child. If true, we all know how that worked out for RA. 

[tennisgurl]

That's a really good point @Arcadiasw and I wonder if they will draw some parallels between for RA was raised and how that turned out...not so well, and it will allow him to finally grow up and show some self awareness, especially if he doesn't want Blue to make the same mistakes he did. From everything we have heard, RA was clearly the pampered prince of the family, and that lead to him being far less mature than his sisters, so I hope if he keeps letting Blue get away with everything the way he was allowed to, enough people will call him out.

[colorbars]

I was admittedly not a fan of Calvin or his relationship with Nova at all last season, and I'm glad to see him gone, but... I can't help but think they're really missing out here. With the Micah storyline and the continued focus on Black Lives Matter and mass incarceration of black people, his involvement with Nova would definitely add some interesting drama and layers to the storyline. Especially considering his reaction the first time the topic was brought up around him early last season, when he went all #NotAllPolice on her. Though they kinda just totally brushed over that argument when they got back together.

 

On 6/22/2017 at 10:54 AM, Arcadiasw said:

I forgot Charley called her mother. I hope this means she will appear this season. 

I was really excited to see that scene and really hope it leads somewhere. I was just thinking we don't know much about Charley's mother and how I'd like to explore it more, so I do hope it wasn't just a one off thing to lead to her having nobody to talk to but Remy.

 

On 6/22/2017 at 8:50 AM, peridot said:

I'm not sure why Charley is balking so much on the joint custody thing?  Is it because Davis was involved in the coverup of the rape?  I can't really remember what happened last season.

Yeah, I thought the react was a bit much, but I guess I can kinda understand since it was sprung on her last minute. And I guess co-parenting to that degree means more interaction with Davis than she wants? Either way, you'd think he was talking about wanting full custody.

Edited June 24, 2017 by colorbars

[mrsbagnet]

1 hour ago, colorbars said:

I was admittedly not a fan of Calvin or his relationship with Nova at all last season, and I'm glad to see him gone, but... I can't help but think they're really missing out here. With the Micah storyline and the continued focus on Black Lives Matter and mass incarceration of black people, his involvement with Nova would definitely add some interesting drama and layers to the storyline.

That would be an interesting storyline, but I'm hoping not to see Calvin anymore. With Nova doing so much speaking out against the police, I don't see how their relationship could possibly work. I was also put off by the fact that he was spending the night at Nova's house when he had children at home. I get that his marriage wasn't working and perhaps things were tense with his wife, but his first responsibility is to be a father and be present to protect his family, if he's still sharing a home with them. It's not like he had to work or was obligated to be somewhere. He was asleep in bed with his girlfriend. What if something bad happened at his house the middle of the night? What excuse would he have given for why he wasn't there?

Props to Darla's parenting skills. She's definitely redeeming herself. Blue's a good kid, but he definitely needs disciple to balance out the constant adoration he gets for being the baby in the family.

On 6/22/2017 at 9:41 AM, Mozelle said:

Man, I heart Nova in all her fuckedupness, but that spoken word thing she was doing at the rally was making me roll my eyes. Now, don't get me wrong: her message was 100% on point, but did she really have to deliver it as though she were at an open mic night lol?

Thank you! I was trying to figure out what it was about her delivery that bothered me so much. It was the spoken word cadence.

Edited June 24, 2017 by mrsbagnet

[colorbars]

32 minutes ago, mrsbagnet said:

That would be an interesting storyline, but I'm hoping not to see Calvin anymore. With Nova doing so much speaking out against the police, I don't see how their relationship could possibly work. I was also put off by the fact that he was spending the night at Nova's house when he had children at home. I get that his marriage wasn't working and perhaps things were tense with his wife, but his first responsibility is to be a father and be present to protect his family, if he's still sharing a home with them. It's not like he had to work or was obligated to be somewhere. He was asleep in bed with his girlfriend. What if something bad happened at his house the middle of the night? What excuse would he have given for why he wasn't there?

Props to Darla's parenting skills. She's definitely redeeming herself. Blue's a good kid, but he definitely needs disciple to balance out the constant adoration he gets for being the baby in the family.

Yeah, I would definitely assume that whatever hypothetically part Calvin would play in the storyline would turn out negative. I just thought it presented a good way to really point out everything that was wrong there and why it would never work, and wrap it up for good. Not that their relationship really had that much of a presence on the show last season that him being gone is really that jarring, but it just seems like such an obvious way to write him out organically and onscreen. But if there was scheduling conflicts, I get it. Seems like they're kind of keeping what went down with them a mystery and we might get the blanks filled in later. Unless the whole spitting thing with the other cop was really all that happened. I'm not entirely sure how much time is supposed to have past between the end of S1 and the beginning of S2.

And I liked seeing Darla try to discipline Blue too, thought the tone of the scene made me question if we were supposed to think she was in the wrong or too harsh, which would be ridiculousness. I do appreciate how good Ralph Angel is with Blue, but he could use some discipline sometimes. Though thankfully Blue isn't out of control bratty like a lot of TV kids can be. At least not yet.

[Dee]

I love how much the Bordelons rely on Nova's energy.

Whenever Micah is emotionally distressed he seeks out Auntie Nova, just like his Mom. It was Nova who convinced Vi to prioritize self care over worrying about everyone else; and even Ralph Angel's surly self craves her approval and support. He was all smiles when Nova promised to pitch in with the family the farm more.

Nova Bordelon is truly a witch.

[rozen]

I dunno, I can see where Charley is coming from. It was firmly established in E1 that Charley was actively trying to give Micah a dose of reality, but Davis was on his 'pssh, we're so rich we're not black' train and wouldn't allow it. Confirmed by his buying his son such a flashy car when they no longer live on his 'home turf' where everyone knew who he and his family was and adored them. Also, he waited to spring it on her when she was most vulnerable and not expecting it, because he's trash. You don't just show up to mediation and say 'hey, jk, I want half our son, and we already talked about it behind your back, swish! 3 pointer! In your face!' And when things spiral, Charley immediately wants to lock everything down and exert more control, and Davis knows this as still took this opportunity to destroy what little balance she had built for herself. I'm impressed she actually backed off Micah and let him have his space. He seems very similar to her in that he hates to show weakness and wants to go hide somewhere to lick his wounds and save face. 

Ok, Vi and Hollywood. You two better stop playing with my emotions and stay together now! I like how he looked at the crowd like he wanted Vi to be there, but was already turning away because he didn't expect it. No hesitation to go run to her arms. You two are maaaaaaaade for each other (hearts and sprinkles!). Hoberta better not push up on him again if he comes back home *wags finger*.

Ugh, RA is so annoying. He was ready to flip the farm for cash not but 2s ago, and now he's sanctimoniously complaining about having to check in with a woman, who is providing money to run the farm, to spend money. 1s ago he wasted thousands of dollars are fungus-infected cane and is grouchy that Charley will not immediately check off his newest schemes? Oh hell go here come, dude. I give him points for the ferocity with which he defends Blue's ownership of that doll, but he also needs to learn how to balance that with discipline. I am not 100% Team Darla because I somehow suspect she would totally send that doll to a nice farm in upstate NY if it were up to her. 

Nova apparently stays blowing dude's minds. She was almost doing the MJ 90-degree lean to get away from that barber shop dude. Her face had 'dude, it was not that great' written all over it. She didn't even say it was fun, like for White Dude Calvin Substitute #47, she said it was cool. You've been friendzoned, man, sorry not sorry. Looks like she's stopped dealing weed, so I'm glad we've retired that bit of hypocrisy. 

Glad Remy apologized for his tantrum. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Charley will be able to shake Davis anytime soon, so I don't know what that means for their relationship. 

Also, he has a strangely huge house for a professor at a small local college. Does he even teach? He's always seems to be at the farm, or leaning seductively against a post somewhere.

Edited June 24, 2017 by rozen

[mrsbagnet]

rozen, I love everything about your post.

10 hours ago, rozen said:

Also, he has a strangely huge house for a professor at a small local college. Does he even teach? He's always seems to be at the farm, or leaning seductively against a post somewhere.

I forgot all about him being a professor, lol. He said the house was inherited from his wife's grandmother.

I don't know why, but I like Hoberta. Seems like she's enjoying life.

I think that Charley should let Micah decide if he wants to shared custody. He's old enough to have a say.

[jhlipton]

19 hours ago, rozen said:

He's always seems to be ...  leaning seductively against a post somewhere.

I think some women (and men) would pay just for that!

[Dee]

I did like the subtle touch of Nova and Charley finding Micah's abandoned car next to a cemetery.

[Clanstarling]

On 6/22/2017 at 2:25 AM, Arcadiasw said:

Same old Ralph Angel: whine, whine, whine and annoying sense of entitlement. It’s not like he’s had to go to his sister for years for money on the farm. It’s only been a few months.  If Ralph Angel wants to be angry over not getting the money out of the account by himself he can thank Nova for that and while it’s good he got the account, he still should talk to Charley on what he wants to do with the farm. It’s as much his as it is hers. I hope because of the loan and his father’s letter he doesn’t get an ego and think he can take Charley on over the farm because his loan is pocket change compared to Charley’s money and business sense.

I know, right? There wasn't one mention of that - guess they trust us viewers to remember and figure out why there's a change to how they get money out of the account. 

On 6/22/2017 at 7:52 PM, Artsda said:

I get Micah growing up in LA privilege and not expecting to know how to deal with driving while black situation with the cops. However, really he's that dumb to think the bus would take a black credit card? He's never seen a movie or doesn't even have that common sense to know the bus may need cash or change? That just made him look stupid. 

There are transit systems that allow you to use credit cards in the bus stations, and I believe there are a few that have them on the actual buses as well (though I'm not sure about that one). I don't know how many movies with buses a kid his age would see. From what I've seen over the years, what is called common sense varies broadly depending on the shared community experiences.

Davis springing joint custody on Charley like that is wrong, but he's not wrong to want it. 

I was getting pretty annoyed with Remy, but he won me back in that last scene with Charley. His back and forth made sense then, and I thought his advice to Charley was good.

I haven't been a big fan of Darla, but I liked her setting limits on Blue. I've tolerated kids doing that kind of thing, but never allowed my own to do it.