There’s no other way to run a farm than to go all in, and none of the Bordelons were willing or able to do that on Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 4.

Every member of the Bordelon family is fierce, but if they want to hold onto that farm, they’re all going to have to focus their tenacity on that task. Right now, each one of them has their own life to lead and the farm is already suffering.

Let’s start with Charley…

Expecting that Ralph Angel was going to be able to work a full time job, raise his kid, and get a broken down farm up and running – while having it all go smoothly – was ridiculous. Ralph Angel may be idealistic but Charley and Nova should be smarter than that.

And Charley is smart. Thank goodness she had the sense to go get herself tested for sexually transmitted diseases after finding out her husband has been sleeping with hookers. Even if by some miracle Davis is telling the truth and “Goldie” is the only prostitute he’s ever had sex with (And who believes that?), he, and now Charley, have effectively slept with every man that she has. I’m guessing that’s one heck of a list.

I applaud that scene in the doctor’s office for taking those consequences seriously. I only hope we get some follow up on the tests results, no matter what they are.

Charley was struggling to keep Davis’ product endorsement deals, but I’d say that’s a lost cause. Is the press demonizing Davis because he’s a black man? I think it’s more that the one thing the media loves more than building a celebrity up, is being able to knock them back down.

“Goldie” choosing not to take the $500K payoff was definitely a twist. The big question is why? Is she looking for more money? Does she really want justice? Will we ever know what really happened in that hotel room?

And when the attorney mentioned she sometimes uses back channels to “take care of” things like this, did anyone else think she was offering to make “Goldie” permanently disappear or have I just been watching too many crime shows?

It’s interesting how Davis was willing to let Charley take the lead in this, but I’m guessing that she’s been in charge of his career for so long that he probably wouldn’t know how to manage it himself.

I'll do my job as your manager, but don't expect me to play the dutiful wife holding your hand.
Charley

Permalink: I'll do my job as your manager, but don't expect me to play the dutiful wife holding your hand.

But why is Charley still managing this crisis? Is it her own financial survival? Is it that she’s just so used to managing Davis that it’s almost a force of habit? Or is it as simple as they are still family and that’s what family does?

Poor Micah was officially caught in the crossfire of his Daddy’s mess. Am I the only one who wanted Charley to storm back into that school and tell Stella’s mother that the picture wasn’t Micah’s but some other boy’s?

Perhaps that’s mean. Maybe Stella didn’t actually cheat on Micah. We don’t know that she asked for that picture or if it was simply sent to her. Of course, her silence in that meeting while she let Micah take the fall infers she’s hiding something.

While watching Charley talk to Remy over the phone, it struck me that it was the only time in the entire hour that she truly smiled.

Back in Louisiana, Nova finally broke her story, and what a story it was. The increase in minors being arrested and coerced into plea deals that involved prison time was linked back to skimming from the for-profit prison system.

As Nova’s editor said, this is what we should expect from journalism, not gossip and reality entertainment. But I have no doubt there will be backlash – for Nova, the paper and for Calvin.

Watch Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 4 Online

With his sisters getting back to their own lives, Ralph Angel was left struggling. Apparently, he didn’t know quite as much as he thought about running a farm; but should it have really been left all on him, given his circumstances?

This time, instead of losing control, he told Nova exactly how he felt in this Queen Sugar quote…

There's always some kid, some story, some hood crisis. You know what's messed up? You care more about those brothers locked up than your own brother. You came to visit me, what, twice while I was inside? How many times you seen this kid?
Ralph Angel

Permalink: There's always some kid, some story, some hood crisis. You know what's messed up? You care...

It’s going to take all three of them to make this farm work, but with everything else going on in their lives, is that even possible?

Check back on Monday to see what our Queen Sugar round table team has to say about “The Darker Sooner” and then look for my review next week for Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 5.

If you need to catch up, you can watch Queen Sugar online here at TV Fanatic.