Randy tells Joey he solved one of their problems but may have gained another in the process. Ashley and Andre have an awkward encounter with Derek during their night out. Smitty and Jacob compare notes, and it unearths a startling memory for Jacob. Vanessa serves Joey an ultimatum. Kat sabotages Eva's new position at Ted's office. Nicole hits her boiling point with Leslie. Martin takes extreme measures to protect his family. The Articulettes are at odds, which could derail their reunion concert.
Episode 1.84
Randy is terrified of Joey. He should be after not following through with the order to kill Kenneth. Now, many lives will continue to be disrupted by his continuing presence. An entire cohort conspired to eliminate him. They lured him into a trap. Randy was given a specific job. He was expected to do it with no questions asked. Yet he always wants more from Joey. He has a conscience. He felt bad about feeding Doug's gambling addiction. He confides in his friend about his fears. But again, this story reverberates far beyond his presence. Martin returns home and sees Kenneth playing chess with Tyrell. His paranoia will only be amplified further. Pointedly, his family remains in the dark. Smitty discovers that Vernon testified in an investigation into Marcel. That helped Marcel avoid consequences for his actions. Elon grows impatient over all that Smitty has uncovered. He knows this won't end anytime soon. No one knows the true extent of the threat that still lurks. It's a lot of danger. Kenneth couldn't be removed without the narrative sharing the full story. Now, he will exist without any limitations.
Vanessa and Doug may be limited in the help they can offer Randy. Joey is already suspicious. Plus, Kenneth appears so that Martin knows his plan failed. Will Martin share that with Vernon? That would be the smart thing. It may be hard to trust his fellow co-conspirators because they failed in this endeavor. Randy will receive the blame. The stakes elsewhere seem minor in comparison. Dani needs office space for her modeling agency. Vanessa will get right on that. However, their conversation largely centers around Doug's gambling. Vanessa reassures the debt has been handled. Dani worries. She perceives that more is going on with both Vanessa and Martin. She has keen instincts. The situations don't necessarily involve her. They probably would't benefit that much from her presence either. Meanwhile, June is hospitalized once more. Naomi and Jacob want to help but remain limited in what they can do. And finally, Chelsea rejects Allison's offer for romance. She has evolved a lot since they last saw each other. Chelsea has that certainty while Allison is flailing around trying to make sense of a life filled with wrong choices.
Grade: B
Episode 1.85
A lot of people expected Kenneth to be handled. They are rather nonchalant when the action is suppose to be taken yet are being called by other members of their cohort. Bill doesn't answer Martin's calls. Marcel delays Joey. It all comes together eventually. Joey knows Randy stole money. Bill reports that Kenneth is still alive. Martin deals with the most immediate and threatening consequences. He stops himself from telling Tyrell the truth. He can't even come up with a convincing lie. Instead, his son once again believes his father freaks out for no good reason. Everyone has to be delicate around Martin. Any random moment could set him off. That's no way to live. Martin bottles so much up. That's why his anger is so volatile. That's the only time he gets to release what he's feeling. He's still expected to double the payment to Kenneth by the next morning. He doesn't care what others believe. They must act quickly. He can't expend one moment thinking about what Hayley thinks of his sudden visit. His children are in danger. He must protect them. Bill understands that impulse. Yet he too is trying to gaslight Dani into believing that their connection is gone for good.
That only makes Dani more explosive when she goes to Uptown. She stumbles upon Andre and Ashley's date. Yet another man is seemingly betraying her. She has every reason to feel that way given what Andre has said. He basically tells Ashley contradictory things to what he has expressed in the past. Before, he was completely invested in his relationship with Dani. He wanted to go public. He was ready to commit. Now, he professes that relationships may not be destined to last. They only serve a purpose for a certain amount of time. It takes someone truly special to change his perspective. Ashley fits that mold. He has a way of calming her and helping her focus. That's something she absolutely needs. They compliment each other. They talk about things they've never expressed before. But again, it's dramatic because Dani is involved. She doesn't shoulder the blame. She has the label of being dramatic. Yet the situations she finds herself in frequently force her to act that way. It's a story she doesn't enjoy. It's not convincing when she tries to present a peace offering either. In fact, everyone should remain suspicious of what information is being shared. They must verify it all for themselves. That's exhausting but will ultimately be beneficial and clarifying on a number of fronts.
Grade: B
Episode 1.86
Elon and Marcel tried to stop Jacob from talking with Smitty. They view the reporter as the greatest threat to their secret. Smitty states that he would drop the story if it meant protecting Martin. The investigation has produced personal consequences for both of families. Jacob models his professional career after his father. He has to live up to his bold example. He must be loyal to justice even when his loved ones are responsible for breaking it. He pleads with his father to tell him the truth. Instead, Elon belittles him as a conspiracy theorist. He tries even harder to push Jacob away from this story. Elon isn't the man Jacob believes him to be. Those doubts have entered his mind. Jacob stands up for what's right. That was already seen through his arrest of Dani. He followed the law despite the complications for his family. Smitty just wants his husband to talk to him. Martin is scaring his family. Paranoia and fear consumes every fiber of his being. Tyrell and Samantha think they are being punished. Martin refuses to share why they should be on high alert. He falls asleep holding a bat. He's ready to strike. Smitty wakes him up. He provides comfort. He still demands the truth. Martin hasn't been holding it together. Sharing the burden with Smitty may be the only way to preserve their family.
The truth hasn't come out yet. That remains frustrating. The audience can infer a lot of the details. Jacob and Smitty fear the scenarios they imagine of what happened two years ago. The actions from that one night have haunted many lives. They've prevented many from moving forward and accepting what happened. It's risky that Kenneth is still alive. It's risky that Joey lets Randy live. Vanessa and Doug stand united in support of Randy. They believe they are partners with Joey. Of course, Joey still has very segmented parts of his business. The couple exert their control. Even when Joey plans on coming down hard on Vanessa, she seduces him. She weaves her charm. She asks for a lot. She has a flair for the dramatic just like Dani does. The stakes in Vanessa's story are far more elevated than the pettiness of Dani interrupting Andre and Ashley's date. It's important for her to be there. Andre shouldn't have the luxury of forgetting her. He saw no future with Dani. Yet their relationship was making progress. The family knows about them. Right now, it's awkward for Ashley as Dani and Andre talk around the subject. Communication is vital. They've fought before about their expectations. It's more heated because Dani once again feels betrayed by a man she loves.
Grade: B+
Episode 1.87
Kat was right about Eva. No one believed her. She's constantly discounted. That makes her an underdog of sorts. She's personally motivated to act. That provides some serious tunnel vision as well. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She wants her family back together. They keep falling apart. She is partially to blame. She jeopardized her father's business to make Eva seem incompetent. She claims to care about her former co-workers. She threatened all of them with this stunt. She told Eva not to worry about the accreditation. Now, the paperwork has lapsed. Ted is furious. He wants to blame the chaos of the transition. It was a purposeful action. Kat believes her father will always listen to her. Ted has stepped up as a parent to Eva. He hasn't done everything right. In fact, he continues to fall into the same trap with Leslie. He isn't perfect. Eva is far from innocent too. She hid Leslie's helmet and gloves. Kat knows that. She has her sights set on Eva. Meanwhile, Eva simply wants to support Ted and his business. Her actions are genuine. It's impossible for her to gain any traction because Kat is a constant nuisance. Kat is in the wrong here. Her actions are destructive. Eva is privy to the truth. It's a battle between them where only one can emerge the victor.
Across town, Leslie thought she could befriend Hayley because they are both ostracized by this community. Leslie doesn't buy into Hayley's kind demeanor either. She sees the pain Hayley has inflicted on the Dupree family. If that wasn't intentional, then she could do some serious damage by putting her mind to it. Hayley schemes. She overshares with Ashley at the hospital. That could be an earnest attempt at restarting their friendship. It could also be overcompensating for lying about her pregnancy. Ashley has her suspicions. She's also distracted by Derek and Shanice. It isn't the most exciting storyline. In fact, the momentum of the week's prior episodes are stopped entirely here. The only consistency covers Ashley, Andre and Dani. The latter two land back in bed together. At least Pamela's convinced that Dani can successfully begin her modeling career again. That has always seemed like the obvious solution to her problems. Meanwhile, Nicole listens to Leslie despite knowing she's a liar. The family can't escape her. That prevents Nicole and Ted from honestly talking about their marriage. Leslie paints a vivid picture. She gets what she wants. Everyone knows she's guilty of attempted murder. No one can prove it. Nicole trying to strangle her represents a loss of control and the intensity of the emotions.
Grade: B
Episode 1.88
Anita knew there would be drama rehearsing with Tracy and Sharon in Chicago for the Articulettes reunion. She teased it briefly during her one day return home. She was more interested in her family though. This episode provides the first glimpse at the struggles for her and the group. It's territory they've covered before. Yet it's also the central issue behind all of the tension. Tracy and Sharon feel pressured into doing whatever Anita wants. Her actions come across as the only opinion that matters. Tracy and Sharon want to be heard and understood. It boils up to a fight where Anita believes her money and resources are the only things that matter. Every side has a valid point. They need to stay together and talk it out. They aren't capable of doing that right now. And so, Anita walks away. That may be another decision she comes to regret. This story is so vital. It's wonderful to have it back onscreen. It's more engaging than Kat once again being frustrated with how slow and tedious the investigation into Leslie is. She wants an arrest immediately. Jacob can't allow for any reasonable doubt. They make progress. It's mostly just the same update over and over again. It's more thrilling when Smitty walks into Orphey Gene's. Their conversation is familiar too. But it escalates in a significant way.
Martin asks Marcel for police protection. He doesn't want his family to know. The secret is never kept from Smitty though. That makes him immediately panic over the safety of his family. He has allowed Martin to deflect for far too long. Martin also believes his partners when they say Kenneth will no longer be a problem. He still stumbles upon Kenneth interacting with Samantha. He thought his kids learned their lesson about stranger danger. Instead, he receives the image that will only cement his greatest fears. Martin has so much to lose. He may push his family away altogether because of the secrecy. Smitty has been very generous in not pushing. He will now demand the truth. Meanwhile, Allison continuing to show up at Uptown when Chelsea and Madison are there raises some alarm bells. Is she stalking Chelsea? That's a possibility. Chelsea is aware of the parasocial relationship her fans have with her through social media. Madison sees how Chelsea inspires confidence in others. She remains in awe of her despite fearing they are moving too fast. That's a concern that may die down over time. The prospect of Allison creating drama though is more immediate and troubling.
Grade: B
