There is a timelessness in the career and legacy of Bianca Lawson. At age 42, the effervescent artist has been praised for her ageless appearance. But to center her beauty without recognizing her talent would do the Queen Sugar actress a significant disservice. Lawson began her career in the early ’90s as a teen with roles in My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, and the Black slayer Kendra on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
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After the blowup in last week's episode with Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe) telling his mother Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) that he will be attending Xavier University instead of Harvard University, things are tense in their home. Micah apologizes for telling her the news the way that he did and Charley apologizes for her reaction, citing the stress of the city council election. She also tells Micah that she needs more time to process his choice. As she watches her only child exit the room, someone bangs loudly on the front door.
As Charley opens the door, several St. Josephine deputies burst inside with a warrant for her arrest. Charley is being arrested for arson and intent to defraud. This is connected to the fire at Queen Sugar Mill. Whew, these people get bolder every single day.
The entire Bordelon family has gathered at the police station to await news on Charley. Micah is on the phone with his mother's lawyer while Aunt Vi (Tina Lifford) and Nova (Rutina Wesley) sit anxiously in the waiting room. Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) isn't anxious, he's pissed. He's ready to pick a fight with anyone who tries him, including the police officers or Nova. Before things descend into total chaos, Charley is released and mostly unruffled. Charley's lawyer is able to get her released on a fixed bail. As the Bordelons go to exit the police station, Nova warns Charley that reporters are waiting outside.
After using Aunt Vi's compact to get her face together, Charley holds her head high and confronts the reporters. She labels her arrest a shame while also calling out the corrupt sheriff by name and warns everyone who will listen that if they are going to come for her and her people, they should be certain they aren't going to miss.
At Vi's Prized Pies & Diner, Vi is waiting as Sam Landry (David Jensen) enters the establishment. If you recall, several episodes ago she told him she was calling in a decades-long favor he owes her. It looks like Sam is FINALLY coming through. He has a stack of papers that prove his sister Frances Boudreaux (Annalee Jefferies) has been up to no good. It turns out Sam's secret is that he has a Black daughter. Back in the day when his father found out he'd fallen for a Black woman, he tried to kill Sam. Vi stepped in and helped the woman and child escape St. Josephine unscathed. Though Vi hasn't spoken to the mother of Sam's child for 15 years, she does inform Sam that his daughter is a Spelman College and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania graduate.
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The episode opens with Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) and Blue (Ethan Hutchison) at home attempting to do some spring cleaning. While cleaning RA finds a large wrapped gift in the back of one of the closets. It's a gift addressed to Blue from RA's late father, Ernest. Unable to deal with it right that second he pushes the box back inside the closet.
Just as he's stuffing his memories and the gift out of sight, Nova's (Rutina Wesley) car rolls up to the house. Blue is delighted by the prospect of seeing his auntie, but RA isn't having it. He informs Blue that Nova is sick and won't be coming inside and instructs him to continue cleaning up. Ralph Angel meets Nova outside before she can make it to the door. She tries to apologize for laying all of RA's business bare in her book Blessing & Blood, but Ralph Angel is still pissed. He informs Nova that Blue is in therapy because he knows RA isn't his biological father. Ralph Angel also tells her that Darla (Bianca Lawson) has experienced a relapse. He informs her that he will never have to worry about enemies with a sister like her. Cold-blooded, but true. Nova is stunned and heartbroken, but she also understands Ralph Angel's anguish.
Elsewhere, Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) is decked out in her Harvard gear while she decorates for Micah's (Nicholas L. Ashe) college acceptance party. This is the most gleeful Charley has been in weeks, but Miach seems reluctant. Something is obviously bothering him.
Back in New Orleans, Nova is relaxing and researching at home. She stumbles on a name in her reading that's connected to the Old World Energy company that seems determined to build a highway through St. Joesphine. She calls in a favor to the New Orleans Daily News to get it looked into. Just as Nova hangs up the phone, there's a knock at her door. It's Violet (Tina Lifford).
Nova is shocked to see her auntie. After being invited in, Vi demands that Nova give her Jimmy Dale's (David Alan Grier) address. Nova, being nosy, wants to know why. Violet tells her to mind her business. In the end, Nova agrees to give Vi the address if she drives her and IF they can talk. Vi agrees to the driving but not the talking.
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It's prom night for Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe) and KeKe (Tanyell Waivers). Everyone except for Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) has gathered at Charley's (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) to send them off--Nova (Rutina Wesley) is even there. (I guess we've forgiven her?) Charley is delighted. She's taking pictures of the young couple with Micah's camera. Nova toasts her nephew who is headed to Harvard in the fall and his lady love who will be going to Tulane. Everything seems lovely and carefree until Charley receives an unwanted phone call from Jacob Boudreaux--the rival for her City Council seat and a member of her family's longtime rival family. Though she doesn't answer the phone, the levity of the moment for Charley has sank. After Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) tells Micah to be responsible, he and Aunt Vi (Tina Lifford) head home leaving Charley and Nova alone.
Charley begins to fret about the forthcoming town hall against Jacob that is set to be held at Vi's Prized Pies & Diner. She's very worried about her position in the polls. Nova, who frankly owes her sister, has a bit of leverage that Charley can use against Jacob. Several episodes ago, Nova went on the Finding Your Roots-type show, Lineages. At the time, one of the show's producers revealed a hidden secret about the Bordelon family tree. Nova shares that secret with Charley.
Elsewhere, Ralph Angel has dropped his son Blue (Ethan Hutchinson) off at his girlfriend Deesha's for Blue's playdate with her daughter, Joi. This is the first time RA has seen Deesha since he stood her up for their date in last week's episode. Ralph Angel doesn't offer any explanation except for saying that things are "complicated." Deesha is understandably frosty with RA. However, she tells him that she will happily look after the kiddos for the day before dismissing him from her presence.
At Vi's diner, Nova and Charley are prepping for the town hall. Nova is trying to make sure that Charley can control the narrative and not be easily thrown off of her game. Though Charley seems uncertain--Nova urges her to use the secret leverage from Lineages to her advantage. In the midst of their prep work, Nova gets a text from her formerly-married, now-single boo Calvin (Greg Vaughan) and her face lights up. He's headed her way from Baton Rogue for a belated birthday celebration. Nova and Charley giggle about it together before Nova heads home to prepare for her date. (Okay, so we're REALLY forgiving her?!) Charley continues practicing for the town hall.
At Nova's house, she's just finished freshening up when Calvin knocks on her door. He comes bearing gifts (smart man) which include balloons, a fruit basket and a necklace. Nova is absolutely giddy about it. They even have reservations at her favorite restaurant but then thunder roars and the sky opens up. The two decide to stay in with Calvin cooking dinner instead.
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Episode 10, titled "Oh Mamere", opens with Violet (Tina Lifford) doing her thing at her restaurant. Unfortunately, she has an unwelcomed guest. Nova (Rutina Wesley) has commandeered one of the booths for herself and she has no plans on leaving until she and Aunt Vi hash some things out. When Vi confronts her, Nova refuses to cower. She knows that after bringing Vi's violent ex-husband Jimmy Dale (David Allen Grier) to her doorstep and writing about all of Vi's personal business in her book, she needs to beg for forgiveness. Vi tells Nova that past memories are haunting her spirit and her marriage and it's all because of Blessing & Blood. Nova FINALLY gives Aunt Vi a true apology, before her Auntie hits her with some food for thought. Nova then realizes that she would have published her memoir even if Vi had asked her not to.
We see Darla (Bianca Lawson) at home getting Blue (Ethan Hutchinson) ready for a day out with Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe). Darla ties her son's shoe and makes sure his overnight bag is packed. When Micah arrives to pick up his baby cousin, the two boys look excited about a day at the fair. Darla seems better than the last episode when we saw her clutching on to a bottle of liquor and her sobriety teetering on the edge. But she still has an uneasiness about her. Almost as soon as Blue and Miach leave Darla gets a call from her mother. She informs Darla that her former best friend Jordan is in New Orleans from D.C. and though Darla seems uneasy about this information she still takes Jordan's contact information.
Back at Vi's Prized Pies & Diner Nova is still reeling from her conversation with Vi when Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) drops by. She has an early birthday gift for her big sister and gives thanks for Nova taking care of her when she had nearly fallen apart after the burning of the Mill, her lover Romero's (Walter Perez) rejection and the attacks against herself and her family from St. Joesphine's most elite families. Nova is visibly touched by the gesture, to the point of tears. The ladies have a strained conversation until Charley invites Nova on a women's retreat with her. It will be the last opportunity Charley has to relax before the City Council campaign kicks into high gear.
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As "Stare at the Same Fires" opens we find a wilted Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) sitting at some bar in New Orleans drinking away her sorrows. She begins venting to the bartender in a very un-Charley-like fashion and though he tries to suggest that she slow down or call someone to help her Charley simply puts on her sunglasses and keeps on drinking. Charley has given up. After the fire at the Mill, Romero's (Walter Perez) rejection, Blessing & Blood and everything in between, she has nothing left to give.
Somewhere else in Lousiana, Nova (Rutina Wesley) finds herself on the doorstep of her mama's cousin, who lives in a large white house in a rural area. As Nova approaches the house, the two women gleefully greet one another. Ms. Martha is a regal woman who works as a healer. She tells Nova that she is the spitting image of her late mother, Trudy. Nova seems grateful to have a family member to grasp on to. She also tells Ms. Martha that the place feels familiar to her. It turns out that Trudy used to bring Nova to visit her cousin. Those visits stopped once Nova turned three.
The women have a long sit down where they discuss family, healing, and Ms. Martha's past. Nova also reveals to Martha that her mama has been visiting her in her dreams. Martha, in turn, reveals some things that shake Nova to her core. She learns that she was never a burden to her mother. She also learns that her father buried her mother's body on their land. For years, Nova was under the impression that her mama was cremated.
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As "All the Borders" opens, it's clear that Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) has faded into herself. She, along with Ralph Angel (Kofi Sirobie), Romero (Walter Perez) and Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe), sit helplessly as the fire department finally gets the fire at Queen Sugar mill under control. Keke (Tanyell Waivers) even comes running up desperate to see if Micha is OK. The fire has devastated the building. The structure is unstable, and to add insult to injury, it took the firemen 30 mins to get to the scene. The Fire Chief claims they never received the alarm. He also informs Charley that the fire was an arson--and that she should key herself up for a criminal investigation.
In the midst of this Nova (Rutina Wesley) runs up on her family out of nowhere asking about the mill and their wellbeing. Unfortunately, she can't help but make the moment about her. Amid the destruction, she begs her siblings to meet her halfway. Ralph Angel simply looks at her uninterested while Charley reads her for filth. Charley and RA leave Nova standing there with the burnt mill in the background as they get into RA's truck.
At Vi's Prized Pies & Diner, Vi (Tina Lifford) has much of her fire back. As she eats her breakfast, Sam Landry walks through the doors like he owns the place. The two trade a few barbs back and forth and Vi tells Sam that he's crossed the line with the mill fire. Sam insists that it wasn't him but Vi has had enough--these two have a history. She tells him that she's calling in the favor he owes her and that he must end this war with her family. Sam looks shook.
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As is the theme with this season of Queen Sugar, "Of Several Centuries" opens with Nova (Rutina Wesley). This time the eldest Bordelon sibling is in Philadelphia to discuss her book and to be a guest on a Finding Your Roots-type television program called Legacies. Caught up in the whirlwind of pseudo-celebrity, a revelation completely jolts Nova. Legaciesproducers have uncovered something so shocking in the Bordelon family tree that Nova refuses to let it be publicly disclosed. However, she does discover rather happily, that her late mother has a living first cousin.
In St. Josephine, Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) is chatting with a St. Thomas councilwoman named Joyce. Joyce is the only woman on the city council and she 's not too keen on trusting or throwing her support behind Charley after reading Blessing & Blood. With plans for the highway still firmly in St.Josephine, Joyce knows that St. Thomas is bound to become a ghost town and tasks Charley with figuring out why the highway plans were moved from St. Thomas to St. Joesphine in the first place.
As for Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), the Boudreauxes and Landrys are doing everything in their power to shutter RA's re-entry program. After planting drugs in RA's friend Benny's car, a police officer tampers with the cameras on the farm and threatens Ralph Angel's freedom. Later, RA calls his lawyer friend to try and help Benny.
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After a week-long hiatus, Queen Sugar has returned and things are only becoming more complicated for the Bordelons.
"By The Spit" opens with Nova (Rutina Wesley) in Atlanta for her book tour. Octavia Laurent (Cree Summer), her old professor, is by her side for emotional support and schmoozing. Nova seems to revel in Octavia's attention. She is finally allowing herself to be taken care of and she has no qualms about her luxe amenities, room service and champagne. However, things begin to shift for the women when Nova receives word that she's been shortlisted for the National Book Award for Blessing & Blood. Immediately, Octavia tries to downplay the prestige, which jilts Nova. She thinks the award may help her reconnect with her estranged family.
Later, during an interview with a publication about her novel, Nova is shaken when the journalist reveals that Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) is running for city council. As Nova sits and tries to process her thoughts Octavia highjacks the interview. It is becoming increasingly clear that she has ulterior motives.
Back in St, Josephine's parish, Blue (Ethan Hutchison) is still coming to terms about his parentage, as much as any kid can. Darla (Bianca Lawson) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) are being supportive by allowing him to take the day off from school. However, Darla wants to be proactive about Blue's emotional wellbeing and urges RA to call in a counselor for Blue. Though Ralph Angel seems reluctant, he puts Blue's happiness over everything.
Later, a therapist sits with Blue and his parents to discuss his emotional state following the revelation that Ralph Angel is not his biological father. After speaking with all three of them, the therapist determines that Blue is handling everything well. She urges RA and Darla to write down some dreams they have for their son's future.
The next day, Blue seems to be in brighter spirits following his therapy appointment. Both Ralph Angel and Darla can take a deep breath for now but with this show, who knows what the future will hold.
Meanwhile, Charley was very serious about running for city council. With the support of Councilwoman Barrera, she's found a space for her headquarters. Romero (Walter Perez), Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe) and Mr. Prosper (Henry G. Sanders) have all gathered around her to help. With very little time before she announces her intent to run, Charley will be working overtime to get a real foothold in the community. Meanwhile, Romero, ever the gentlemen, wants to be sure Charley knows what she's up against. This might be a moot point as a woman named Genevieve from St. Thomas parish arrives to help Charley as her community also has a vested interest in making sure the highway does not get routed into St. Josephine. Genevieve's presence puts a pep in Mr. Prosper's step.
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"Face Speckled" opens with Nova (Rutina Wesley) in New York for her book tour. As she has spilled everyone else's tea except her own, she is still being haunted by her past. She's been dreaming of her mama, her teenage self and the regal white outfit she wore to her father's funeral. Since her family has iced her out, Nova is going to be forced to deal with herself--one way or another. Startled awake by her dreams--Nova makes a record of what she remembers on her bedside tape recorder. It appears that the eldest Bordelon sibling is also working on another project.
Back in St. Joseph parish--Darla (Bianca Lawson) is stricken by the horrors that Nova revealed in Blessing & Blood. She's barely functioning, ignoring her new bae, and allowing Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) to do the heavy lifting when it comes to parenting Blue (Ethan Hutchison). At the last hour, Darla begins to pray feverishly for a way forward.
At Vi's Prized Pies & Diner--Violet (Tina Lifford) seems to be getting a handle on things again. Though she's not quite back to her old self--her euphoric spirit is slowly seeping through. She's further delighted when Remy (Dondré T. Whitfield) comes sliding through her new place of business. (High-key we almost forgot he existed.) After his less than gentlemanly behavior with Nova and Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) last season, Remy has had to do some real soul searching. He tells Vi and Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) that his time in St. Joesph has run its course. With a packed lunch from Vi Remy looks like he's ready to embark on a new path.
Meanwhile, Charley is at home working when Davis (Timon Kyle Durrett) brings his BS to her front door. Blessing & Blood has brought up his past behaviors and the assault allegations that he and Charley buried in Season 1. Students are boycotting at the university where he's just been hired to coach, and Davis is panicked--begging the woman who used to "fix" his life to help him again. Because Micah's (Nicholas L. Ashe) world is also entangled with his father's legacy, Charley agrees to meet Davis and hear him out. Amid Davis' begging and pleading, Romero (Walter Perez) drops by offering lunch and romance. As much as we want this for Charley we just don't see it working out. Life isn't a fairytale.
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"Face Speckled" opens with Nova (Rutina Wesley) in New York for her book tour. As she has spilled everyone else's tea except her own, she is still being haunted by her past. She's been dreaming of her mama, her teenage self and the regal white outfit she wore to her father's funeral. Since her family has iced her out, Nova is going to be forced to deal with herself--one way or another. Startled awake by her dreams--Nova makes a record of what she remembers on her bedside tape recorder. It appears that the eldest Bordelon sibling is also working on another project.
Back in St. Joseph parish--Darla (Bianca Lawson) is stricken by the horrors that Nova revealed in Blessing & Blood. She's barely functioning, ignoring her new bae, and allowing Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) to do the heavy lifting when it comes to parenting Blue (Ethan Hutchison). At the last hour, Darla begins to pray feverishly for a way forward.
At Vi's Prized Pies & Diner--Violet (Tina Lifford) seems to be getting a handle on things again. Though she's not quite back to her old self--her euphoric spirit is slowly seeping through. She's further delighted when Remy (Dondré T. Whitfield) comes sliding through her new place of business. (High-key we almost forgot he existed.) After his less than gentlemanly behavior with Nova and Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) last season, Remy has had to do some real soul searching. He tells Vi and Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) that his time in St. Joesph has run its course. With a packed lunch from Vi Remy looks like he's ready to embark on a new path.
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Photo by Skip Bolen © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. / Courtesy of OWN
Deep pain is festering for the Bordelons in Season 4, episode 4 of Queen Sugar, "Skin Transparent." Directed by Jezebel director Numa Perrier in her TV debut, "Skin Transparent" shows Nova (Rutina Wesley) about to embark on her book tour for Blessing & Blood--which is already garnering critical acclaim. As she gears up to leave, she enlists Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe) to house sit for her. Having read her book, Micah is proud of his aunt and doesn't seem to understand the hurt and anguish that it's causing the rest of his family. However, Nova is finally getting how badly she's screwed up--though she hasn't yet admitted it. Aunt Violet (Tina Lifford), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) are freezing her out, and it's killing her. With her upcoming book launch, Nova is desperate to see some familiar faces in the audience, but her siblings and her aunt won't even return her phone calls.
Still shaken by Jimmy Dale (David Alan Grier) crashing through her world, Violet is utterly traumatized. She's barely functioning, and Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) can tell that Jimmy Dale's short reemergence into Violet's life has left her off-kilter. Vi can't even bring herself to leave the Vi's Prized Pies & Diner's kitchen. She snaps at her favorite employee and has Hollywood and Rhonda run interference to keep Nova away from her place of business. Despite Hollywood's urging to talk things out, Violet can't bring herself to face her past or her present feelings.
Meanwhile, Charley and Romero's (Walter Perez) clinic for undocumented workers is already up and running in the barracks behind Queen Sugar mill. Romero seems thrilled by the operation, but Charley's still spiraling from Nova's book and from her secret about the men who died on her land. As a result, she isn't able to be authentically joyful. At the clinic, Micah meets Romero by chance, and after so much buildup, it's clear that it's not exactly the encounter Charley had been hoping for.
There is some good news in the midst of this. Charley's investigator has found the man who's been sending death threats to Micah, and he's been arrested. Also, Ralph Angel has started the Ernest Bordelon Re-Entry Program for formerly incarcerated people. It's something his old friends have been urging him to do for some time. However, amid the positive things happening in his life, RA has also begun getting questions about Blue's paternity.
Of course, the Landrys and the Beaudreaux are up to their old bullshit. Charley's investigator has discovered that the prominent families have come together to help fund a federal highway that will cut right through St. Joseph's county and the lands of many of its farmer. The plan is so massive and well thought out that they've already begun infiltrating the city council. There's a lot at stake here, and even Charley with all of her tenacity, brilliance, and risk-taking might not be able to stop it.
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Season 4 episode 3 of Queen Sugar, "Where My Body Stops or Begins," chronicles the continued of the fallout over Nova's (Rutina Wesley) forthcoming memoir, Blessing & Blood, which drags up all of her family's secrets without permission. Her sister Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and brother Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) were devastated by Nova sharing their lowest moments with the world in last week's episode, and this week, it's Aunt Violet's (Tina Lifford) turn to feel destroyed and betrayed by Nova's words. Without considering her aunt's feelings, Nova has drudged up Vi's past as a domestic violence survivor at the hands of Vi's ex-husband, Jimmy Dale (David Alan Grier). Vi buried that past some 30 years ago--and that's not Nova's dug up for her aunt, but we'll get to that later.
After spending the entire night reading Blessing & Blood cover to cover, despite Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) urging her not to, Vi is unsettled and exhausted. Not to mention, Nova hasn't returned any of her phone calls. Though Aunt Vi heads to Vi's Prized Pies & Diner, determined to press onward, her day is quickly cut short when she encounters the one person she wants to see least in the world, Jimmy Dale. He's come to town for who knows what and Vi is so terrified, she faints in his arms.
In the West/Bordelon household, Micah (Nicholas L. Ashe) and Charley are at odds. Micah has immersed himself into his aunt's book, and with the attitude that he's brought home with him from Paris, he and Charley can't seem to find any middle ground. All of Charley's worst fears about her son, especially his turning to Nova for guidance instead of her, are coming to fruition.
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Image: Skip Bolen © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. / Courtesy of OWN
"I No Longer Imagine," the second episode of the fourth season of Queen Sugar, opens right where the premiere left off.
After reading preview copies of Nova Bordelon's (Rutina Wesley) memoir, both of her siblings, Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), are absolutely gutted that their sister has willingly and eagerly spilled their personal pain and secrets onto the page for the world to see. Though she's shaken, Charley goes into fixer mode, something she has mastered well following the implosion of her marriage to her NBA baller ex-husband Davis (Timon Kyle Durrett). As she frantically tries to gather the forces she needs to prevent the memoir from going to print, she's also avoiding a confrontation with her big sis.
Ralph Angel, on the other hand, has turned to rage. Nova, the sibling he was closest to, has put his darkest humiliation on display for the world to see, exposing not just him, but also his son Blue (Ethan Hutchison) and his ex, Darla (Bianca Lawson), who is recovering from addiction and just now finding her footing. Never one to back down from a fight, Ralph Angel confronts his eldest sister. But instead of the woman who has been there to embrace him and soothe his ailments as she has so many times before, what he finds his indignation and self-righteousness.
Aunt Vi's (Tina Lifford) focus is on her new business, Vi's Prized Pies & Diner. She is oblivious to the storms that are barreling right towards her. She is stable and content for the first time in her life, with a man so profoundly devoted to her that he tries to shield her from Blessing & Blood. However, Aunt Vi has never been a fool. After seeing the haunted looks on Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey), Charley and Ralph Angel's faces, she knows that whatever ugly secrets of her own that Nova has decided to serve up to the masses are going to be gut-wrenching.
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In the Season four premiere of Ava DuVernay's critically acclaimed, family drama Queen Sugar, under the ruse of revealing her truths—Nova Bordelon (Rutina Wesley) betrays her loved ones, shattering the safe, familial space that she’s been building with her brother Ralph-Angel (Kofi Siriboe), half-sister Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Aunt Vi (Tina Lifford) for the past several years, in the wake of her father’s sudden death.
Titled, "Pleasure Is Black," the premiere shows the Bordelons all in very different spaces than we've seen them previously. No longer weighed down by the pain of loss, struggle, or suffering, they are a thriving family with a sugar cane farm and mill, on the cusp of harvest season. Charley in particular, who has carried the weight of the world on her shoulders since season one seems lighter. Back at the helm of the Queen Sugar Mill, Charley is glowing from her summer romance with Romero (Walter Perez). Dewy and carefree, Romero and Charley have returned to St. Josephine from summer vacation, and they are teetering on the cusp of a full-blown love affair.
Aunt Violet and Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey) have also returned home from their Thailand honeymoon. With an expanded palette and a slew of ideas running through her head, Vi is eager to open Vi’s Prized Pies & Diner. Her new business is a culmination of everything she’s worked so tirelessly for her entire life. Like his middle sister and aunt, Ralph Angel is also in a space of hope and anticipation, celebrating the end of his lengthy parole and the return of his freedom. RA and Darla (Bianca Lawson) have also found their rhythm when it comes to co-parenting their son, Blue (Ethan Hutchison).
Unfortunately, Nova brings a reckoning to them all. Having stayed quiet about the imminent release of her memoir, Blessing & Blood and the contents of it—Nova looks increasingly sick to her stomach as the book release date approaches, and her press tour begins. Though she sees her memoir as triumphant, she knows that her family won’t feel the same. Instead of offering her siblings and her aunt the opportunity to read her words prior to releasing the manuscript, Nova cowers, allowing the people she claims to love most in the world to be taken by surprise and thrust into a humiliating firestorm. For Charley, Ralph Angel, and Aunt Vi—Nova’s truth looks a lot like betrayal.
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Images: Skip Bolen © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. / Courtesy of OWN.
Family can be the source of our salvation and our pain. In Season 4 of Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed series Queen Sugar, the Bordelon siblings return. Though we’ve watched, Nova (Rutina Wesley), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) grapple with their present issues in previously, this season, we’re going to take a journey into the past. Nova’s memoir, Blessings & Blood is garnering traction and attention, but her desire to speak her truth has unforeseen ramifications for her family. Long-buried family secrets get dragged into the light–with unforeseen circumstances.
The siblings have grown accustomed to fighting the outside world. They’ve taken on the Landrys who have continued to harass them for their 800-acre sugarcane farm, and the law enforcement officers who keep their feet on the necks of the Black people in the county. However, this season, the Bordelons are going to have to take a hard look at themselves examining their own fault, failures, and past traumas.
Ahead of the Season 4 premiere, STYLECASTER chatted with Wesley, Gardner, and Siriboe about how their characters have shifted and changed since the series premiere, and how Nova’s novel and the “truths” revealed in it will crack the foundation of their family.
“I’ve always thought that the truth can sometimes be healing for people,” Wesley explained. “Whether or not they’re ready to face the truth–or be healed is the question. It’s a fine line in telling someone’s truth and forcing them into that process at a time when they’re not ready for it. For Nova, I think in her heart, her intentions are good. She really thinks her book will reach the community and help others. But, I don’t know if she totally thinks through the reactions that her family may have. It’s a lesson for her because your truth is not somebody else’s truth, especially without permission. It gets really interesting, but the beauty of it is that I hope people will also see how complicated it is.”
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n the canon of Black American television, Black fathers have been a staple – particularly on some of our most beloved sitcoms. From James Evans on Good Times to Phillip Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, these men have been the ultimate father figures for those of us who are deeply connected to our own fathers and for others who felt a paternal void. Despite varying economic statuses and levels of education, these men were pillars when it came to representing idyllic versions of Black nuclear families. They were was respectable, whole, and constant. After all, according to the CDC, Black dads who live with their children are actually the most involved fathers of any race. And yet, as much as we admire these characters, reciting classic lines, words of wisdom and reminiscing on our favorite scenes, these TV dads don’t look like the young Black fathers that we see on a daily basis. These are the young men pushing strollers down 116th street in Harlem or even styling their daughter’s hair on Instagram. Since networks and creators were so concerned about putting out a specific kind of Black image, they failed to pave the way for certain types of Black fathers to be seen on screen. These men look like our brothers, friends, or even the towering figures that have raised us. Though we’ve observed single Black fathers on TV before like Flex Washington on One on One, and even very involved fathers like on Kenny Chadway on Showtime’s Soul Food, Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar is the first time we've seen a single millennial Black father in a TV drama. Kofi Siriboe’s Ralph Angel is an anomaly on television. Stoic but loving, Ralph Angel is struggling to parent while trying to unravel his own identity as a Black man, father, ex-con, and landowner. His presence is very refreshing.
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Bianca Lawson radiates on screen. Becoming Darla on the stunning OWN series Queen Sugar has been an exceptional gift for the actress. A veteran in the television and film industry, Lawson has been delivering stellar performances in everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the ever-popular Pretty Little Liars. On Queen Sugar – where she plays a young recovering addict, Darla who is trying to rebuild a life with her son Blue (Ethan Hutchison) and his father Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) — Lawson has had to expose herself in ways that she hasn’t ever had to previously. Infectiously effervescent, Lawson’s personality is very different from the quiet and anxious Darla. We spoke earlier this week, just a few days before the premiere of Darla’s much-anticipated reunion with her estranged parents. “There is something about this particular character, she's completely unlike anything else I've ever played — you have a really visceral experience with her," Lawson explained to me. “It's analytical for me. I think when I started acting it's something about feeling the security of hiding behind a character — and for her, I've had to actually reveal more of my true self. With Darla, there's something very interesting about her where the things that she's gone through even though I haven't gone through the exact same situations, I've had to process things about myself or confront things about myself or at least expose certain aspects of myself to do her justice. This has probably been the most personal character for me, and definitely, I'd say the most complex and intricately layered. I feel like she's made me a better actress. I feel like she's made me a more empathetic human.”
Accustomed to creating her own back-stories for her characters, Lawson was not aware of the complicated layers that shaped Darla’s past when she first read for the role. Embodying this young woman has brought forth an arresting fierceness not often seen on television – especially in a role that has historically been portrayed stereotypically. “Ava and I had a long call before I officially came on,” Lawson recalled. “She told me a little bit about her thoughts about the character, and why she wanted to write this character. She really wanted to tell the story of a young Black woman getting sober in a way that hadn't been done before — in a way that was more real and true to life. There’s a real loneliness in that journey.”
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Though we seem to be in what has been termed a new renaissance in Black film and television, some narratives stand above the others. One such series is Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar.” Based on the 2014 novel by Natalie Baszile, “Queen Sugar” follows the previously estranged Bordelon siblings still reeling from their father’s death. Stubborn but ambitious Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), Black Lives Matter activist and journalist Nova (Rutina Wesley), and single father and recent parolee Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), must now contend with the immense responsibility of the sugar cane farm that they have inherited. Last season, the Oprah Winfrey-produced series, introduced us to these beloved characters and their home in Saint Josephine, Louisiana. We watched them try to deal with the pressures of their lives while learning to lean on one another. Ahead of the season two premiere, I flew to Los Angeles to chat with the cast and Ms. Winfrey about what’s to come when the Bordelons open their lives to us once again.
There has been nothing on television like “Queen Sugar” in recent years, which is why the audience response has been so astounding. Gardner explained the hunger for a series depicting the richness of Black life. She said, "I’ll never forget being in college at Julliard and one of my friends who was white; we were watching 'The Cosby Show' and I was like, 'God, isn’t 'The Cosby Show' so amazing?' He’s like 'Yeah it is, but I always just felt like aren’t they just tryna be white?' I remember just hearing that and being like, 'What did you just say?!' It was a realization that you don't know what happens in Black families, you don’t know what Black culture includes. And why would you know? Nothing is showing you. So it became this deep feeling of wanting there to be something that shares those truths and shares what is happening."
"Queen Sugar" has done an exemplary job when it comes to showcasing the many facets of Black life. For Ms. Winfrey, there is a lot to be proud of. She stated, “Everything makes me proud about it. First of all to be able to do it, to have a show that reflects so deeply who we are as a race and as a culture. To represent what I call the Southern values from which nearly all of us have come. Even if you are were born in the North or raised in the West, you have some kind of root there. From the moment Ava said, 'I think I found Vi’s house.' The fact that this cast came together the way that it did, it feels like it is of divine design for me. As Ava has said many times, she doesn’t cast just for character; she casts for spirit. So there is a spiritual vibe that is showing up on the screen. I could cry right now just thinking about it, I really could. the second season we go further and deeper; the connection to family and what you see happening with all of them, it’s a beautiful thing to see, it’s just a beautiful thing to accomplish, and I feel grateful for everything. It’s the little things. We are individual and unique and expressive. What the show represents is that we are also whole. We may be flawed, but there is also a depth of wholeness there that keeps us connected and together. It’s everything!"
Still, those intricacies that Ms. Winfrey is so moved by aren’t by accident. Since her breakout film, "Middle of Nowhere," Ava DuVernay has enraptured us with her stories about Black life, and all of the small nuances that composite who we are as human beings. I asked the cast what DuVernay brings to "Queen Sugar" that makes it so unique, and they were all thrilled to sing her praises. Gardner discussed DuVernay's ability to hone into the truth. She explained, “I think that one of Ava’s genius abilities is her absolute ownership of her authenticities. It is really the primary quality that she walks in the world with, and I feel like 'Queen Sugar' is an expression of that. It’s an expression of that primary vein of a culture, or what happens in a backyard, or what happens around a dinner table in a living room. That carries an intention behind that. I know people who have come to me and said that they feel healed by the show. I think that is Ava. That is an intention that she has for every single project that she spearheads. It’s not just for entertainment or fun. It’s absolutely socially driven. It’s absolutely tapping into what the need is and trying to meet it."
Siriboe, the 23-year old breakout star who embodies Ralph Angel explained DuVernay’s storytelling as a kind of call and response. He stated, “I just think Ava is 'Queen Sugar' personified. I feel like just her leadership and her deliberateness, she knows exactly what she wants to say and how she wants to say it. She’s not afraid to be like Nova where she explores, and she receives, and I think that’s what “Queen Sugar” does. It’s a give and take. We talk to the audience, they talk to us back. I meet so many people on the streets who tell me how the show affects them and that’s what I take and think about when I’m working on set. I feel like that’s Ava. She’s talking to the world, and they are talking back, and she’s doing that with 'Queen Sugar.'"
Wesley who portrays the fearless but often conflicted Nova suggested, “Ava knows how to get people talking. And listening too, because she will give you a slightly different perspective or a slightly different reality than something that you thought you knew. Then, you see it a different way, and that's our hope, to spark a dialogue and to speak truth to power, and I feel like Ava really does it in a way that one wants to listen and engage and not feel put upon. Sometimes you can watch a show or even the news and just feel beat over the head. I feel like with 'Queen Sugar' you just go, 'Here you go.' It’s warm, and it’s heartfelt, but it’s also messy and raw. It's in a way that you can really engage and listen, and I think that’s important and that starts with how she is as a person. She’s detailed, and she cares, and she comes from her heart with everything that she does, and that’s why you see heart on the screen. That’s because that’s her. She’s so open and warm, and that’s contagious.”
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The first time I can recall seeing Kofi Siriboe’s face was when he starred as the menacing Flaco in Justin Tipping’s debut film, "Kicks.” In a narrative about inner city masculinity and the feelings of isolation and loneliness that often plague us during adolescence, Siriboe's Flaco radiated pain and rage. Amongst an entire cast of fresh-faced newcomers, he had clearly announced himself. Just a few months later, his face would be everywhere. Last summer, I was sent preview screeners for Ava DuVernay’s then highly-anticipated “Queen Sugar.” With a stoic gaze encapsulating grief and determination, Siriboe embodied author Natalie Baszile's, Ralph Angel Bordelon. He was transformed into a young father desperate to carve out a future for himself and his young son Blue, amidst the shackles that have choked formerly incarcerated Black men into submission. From the moment OWN began promoting the critically-acclaimed series with images of Siriboe dressed in all- white, seated next to Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner who play his sisters, Nova and Charley respectively, it was clear that Siriboe had arrived in Hollywood. It’s been a whirlwind year, to say the least.
The second season of “Queen Sugar” is currently filming in New Orleans, Louisiana, but in the midst of a hectic shooting schedule, Kofi Siriboe and I took some time out to chat. For those of us looking from the outside in, it may appear that Siriboe was catapulted into the spotlight out of nowhere, but that's just not the case. The 23-year old chuckled when I referred to him as Oprah’s darling. He told me, “It didn't happen all at once. I didn't meet Oprah and Ava all at once. I met Ava first. A phone call came from Ava, and I got the job. Then I met Oprah at the table read, and we had an instant connection. But she's Oprah; I feel like she has that with everybody."
Still, it’s obvious that Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey saw something magnetic in Siriboe. His Ralph Angel is an even more robust and fleshed out character than the one you’ll find in Baszile’s novel. With the Black Lives Matter Movement and our eroding judicial system in the background, Ralph Angel is trying to manage different facets of himself, while raising a little Black boy in the present-day South. When analyzing his character's struggles Siriboe said, “Ralph Angel in being formerly incarcerated, and him being from New Orleans, him being a father; those are things that don’t actually pertain to me in real life. But wants to be his best self and is dealing with the duality of who he wants to be, and who he feels he has to be, through the eyes of the world and his choices, and through lack of identity. I feel like that's a universal challenge for any human being."
For Siriboe the "Queen Sugar" family has become much more than a workplace, and he speaks warmly of his appreciation for Ms. DuVernay and Ms. Winfrey who have nurtured his talent and taken him under their wings while treating him as a peer and respecting his artistry. “Queen Sugar" is set to return for its sophomore season towards to end of next month and there is bound to be a ton of change within the Bordelon family.
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