Queen Sugar Round Table: Rate the Bordelon's Shocking Family History
Christine Orlando
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Chantal broke up with Nova after learning her history with Calvin, Micah’s future in private school was in jeopardy, and the Bordelon siblings learned the shocking tragedies their family has suffered to save their farm on Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 10.
Our TV Fanatics Jasmine, Lee, and Christine O. have come together to debate the surprising Bordelon family history, what Chantal might do next, and who is their favorite character on Queen Sugar.
On a scale of 1 (not very) to 10 (holy *#!!), how shocking was the history of the Bordelon farm?
Jasmine: I'm going to go with a 5. I wasn't surprised that it was land that their ancestors were enslaved on and share cropped on, because I suspected as much anyway. Everything about a black family actually owning so many acres of land screamed legacy.
Actually hearing that story, however, holy *#!! indeed! I physically felt ill listening to Aunt Vi recount just how much it cost the Bordelon family to have that land! It was rough to watch during an already tense week.
Lee: I'll go with a 4 for the history of obtaining the land itself, but a big fat 10 for the story of how much the Bordelon family lost holding onto it. Members of their family were lynched and none of the kids knew? Not only was it a horrifying, sad story, I was shocked that somehow this had never come up at any other point in the Bordelon kids' lives.
I understand what Aunt Vi said about Ernest wanting them to come to the story on their own, but really? Other people in town know, and not them? I found that both surprising and a tad unbelievable.
Christine: To know that it was the Landrys who owned their family members as slaved…and then that they lynched Bordelons on that land in order to try and steal it back, that was a 10 for me. Now there’s little doubt that the Bordelon siblings will never stop fighting to make their farm a success.
Do you think that Chantal will out Nova and Calvin?
Jasmine: I don't think so. I think, I hope, she would view it as something that hurts the cause more than anything.
Lee: If she does, it would show she's in fact a perfect fit for Nova, that's for sure! I agree with Jasmine -- divulging this secret hurts the cause more than anything, so if she really values the cause about all else, she won't tell anyone.
Christine: Only if she feels like she has to discredit Nova for some reason, then I think it’s possible. As long as their fighting for the same goals, I think Nova is fine, but if that somehow changes, I don’t put anything past Chantal.
Should Charley fight to send Micah to private school or just send him to the public high school?
Jasmine: I'm torn on this. After all that they've been through, I don't see the harm in just letting this one go. Micah has been privileged all of his life, and the public school could give him a different experience. On the other hand, private schools afford students more opportunities. I can understand why Charley would want the absolute best for Micah.
Lee: I think sending Micah to the public high school would do him absolutely no harm and probably see a nice change for Micah. He's been dealing with the snobbery of private schools his whole life; why not give him a chance to start over and try and be a regular kid? However, I can totally understand why Charley would want to fight this, mostly because I want to see the people who framed Micah for the cell phone picture punished!
Christine: It’s a tough call. I think it would be great for Micah to get a different perspective and go to a good public school with other kids who aren’t rich and privileged. At the same time, I get what Charley’s saying. A high-end private school opens a lot of doors in his future. Who wouldn’t want to give those kind of options to their child if they could?
So far, who is your favorite character on Queen Sugar?
Jasmine: I love them all for different reasons, and they all frustrate me too. Just like with my own family. Haha! Probably Vi. I love her role as this nurturer and elder, but she still has her own life she's living too. I adore the love that she and Hollywood have for each other, and the fact that he's younger but still sees her for the young, vibrant woman that she is. She's so full of life, love, and wisdom.
Lee: Aunt Vi is probably my favorite, too. I was so happy for her when she became the restaurant manager. She deserves it after devoting so many years to serving those customers and taking other people's crap. As the ultimate nurturer, managing the establishment where everyone comes for their comfort food and conversation is the perfect purpose for her.
She's the kind of fantastic person you wish you could go spill your thoughts and feelings out to in real life. I also really appreciate how Queen Sugar shows an older woman like Aunt Vi being sexy and having a younger boyfriend like Hollywood without playing it for any pathetic cougar jokes. In fact, their relationship feels the most genuinely loving of all of them on the show, even with Hollywood's lies!
To be fair, I started out really liking Nova, mostly because she seemed pretty mysterious and complicated in comparison to the other siblings and I wanted to know more about her. Now that I know more about her, I just find her to be incredibly sanctimonious and, honestly, pretty selfish in all of her big acts of unselfishness.
Christine: I really do love them all but I’m going to go with Ralph Angel. As much as I want to throttle him at times, I just love his heart. He’s a great dad, he’s even willing to give Darla a second chance; he definitely deserves one of his own.
What was your favorite quote or scene from this episode?
Jasmine: When Nova said "this land's been paid for" and Charley said "we ain't going nowhere," it gave me chills. I'm just ecstatic that the Bordelon siblings are finally on the same page and sticking together.
Lee: I loved the final scene as well. It was wonderful to see all three Bordelon siblings come out to look upon the land together. It feels like the fight to hold onto the land that their family sacrificed so much for will be the thing that finally brings these three together.
Christine: Since you two took THE scene of this episode, I’ll go with something else. I really enjoyed Kiki and Micah. I love how strong and self confident Kiki is. The girl oozes self respect and that’s hard to find, especially in teenagers. I find her and Micah an intriguing pair.
Check back in on Wednesday for our Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 11 review and if you can’t wait to see it all again, you can watch Queen Sugar online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
