Did anyone miss the Macon plantation? I didn't think so. 

Underground Season 2 Episode 7 took us back to the Macon plantation as Noah and Rosalee went in search of Ernestine and James. Of course, the pair planned on rescuing Rosalee's family and heading back north. 

Unfortunately, the trip took a totally expected turn for the absolute worst.

First, we need to talk about Noahlee. What is happening with this glorious 'ship? As a Noahlee shipper, I feel like the weight on the pendulum that is their relationship.

There was friction between them – a tension that weighed heavily on the pair throughout the hour. They fought like hell to reunite, and now...I don't know.

They had sweet moments. He comforted and calmed her more than once, and she asked him to tell her about the house he planned to build for them. She also gave him a watch for Christmas.

Rosalee: Tell me about it.
Noah: About what?
Rosalee:The house you gon build for us.

• Permalink: The house you gon build for us.

The couple has barely had a moment to reconnect. Noah has noticed this. He also noticed how she fiddled with the ring he gave her and shrunk away from his touch.

Rosalee was behaving this way because she was still hiding her pregnancy. How hasn't Noah, the man who notices everything, not noticed that his fiancee is with child? There were a few moments where I thought she would go into premature labor or have Braxton Hicks contractions.

Rosalee comes across distant, and Noah has picked up on that. Noah, for all of his pledges to follow her lead, seems to question Rosalee's ability.

Was it just me who noticed his hesitancy? He trusts Rosalee, but it's evident that they have different methods of doing things.

He's smart enough not to say too much if it doesn't call for it, but Noah definitely has his own plans.

One of them included relying on the house gossip to find out where Ernestine was. It hadn't dawned on me that Rosalee would immediately assume her mother was dead.

Rosalee, look at me. We got to be patient. Listen, the plan has changed, but the end result is the same. We ain't gon leave this plantation without yo kin. Trust me.

Noah

• Permalink: Rosalee, look at me. We got to be patient. Listen, the plan has changed, but the end result...

Her expression crumbled right before our eyes when she realized that the woman running the kitchen was not her mother.

How did Rosalee expect to get help from others without doing something in return? Were the other slaves supposed to help her, keep their mouths shut, and carry on in bondage?

Also, how did Rosalee miss all the glaring signs in front of her?

Corra: Mistress sold her off after master hung himself.
Rosalee: And James?
Corra: He up in the big house now. With you, gone, mistress has taken him on like one of her own. He her favorite now.

• Permalink: He up in the big house now. With you, gone, mistress has taken him on like one of her own. He...

Suzanna has done *exactly* what she said she would do. She has taken James as one of her own. He has his own room in the Big House and has become her favorite.

Guys, she bought him a pony. By the time that tidbit came out, it confirmed what I already knew. James was not going to leave that plantation willingly.

Somehow all of this flew right on over Noahlee's heads. Remember how excited James would get over candy? James is still a young kid. He's impressionable and is at the age where immediate gratification is alluring.

From his perspective, his sister bailed on him, and for all we know, Suzanne has told him that his mother bailed on him, too. His brother is dead. Now, he's living the good life.

He has no incentive to leave with his sister. Would you if you were in his position?

I saw James crying out for help before it even happened. I hate that Rosalee didn't see it. It left her in the clutches of a drunken, vengeful Overseer Bill.

Rosalee being at the mercy of Bill is the worst thing that could have happened upon her return to Macon.

He is a nasty drunk. He's a miserable widower. He's still pissed off that Rosalee didn't go along with his sexual advances, attacked him, and left him for dead.

There is no way this will end well for her if she stays in that room with Bill any longer than she has to.

I hate that Noah had to find out about the baby this way. It appeared as if she shouted that out to keep him from firing that gun rather than to keep Bill from branding her.

If that is the case then why? 

Noah looked torn between genuine concern and betrayal. That split second of him being shocked was all Bill needed to burn Rosalee's face.

Bill:I'll tell you what. I never believed in God more than I do right now
Rosalee: Wait! Don't, please. I'm carrying a child!
Bill: That don't change nothing.

• Permalink: That don't change nothing.

Cato was experiencing his own form of torture. Patty upped her ruthless game a bit.

Patty shaving Cato's head and eyebrows felt like child's play. Patty waterboarding Cato, threatening to sell Devi into slavery, and threatening to have her raped was straight up vicious.

It turns out Patty's plans for Cato included using him to capture freemen. It was a tactic Patty Cannon was known for, so the narrative stayed true to reality.

The real torture was making Cato become exactly what he used to be. He has worked so hard to evolve as a character. He genuinely seemed to be improving on himself.

Just like that, he found himself right back to where he started; the man who betrays his people.

Patty will do anything for a quick buck. In her mind, black people are black people. She doesn't care if they are free or enslaved; they're all fair game to be sold.

Trader: $7 to sell free men into the space trade...
Patty: Well, it's nothing so harsh. It's just a case of misidentification. For example, there's a girl, real pretty East Indian number. She has no business being here in the States, but it doesn't matter that her shade of brown is a little different. I know a few men, deep down, who will pay a pretty penny to put those ruby lips to use.

• Permalink: Well, it's nothing so harsh. It's just a case of misidentification. For example, there's a...

Shades of brown didn't matter either. She had no problem offering up Devi. Patty is a rebel who doesn't abide by rules, so Devi being of Indian descent or from Britain didn't save her.

Patty not abiding by the rules is exactly why Cato's position is less than ideal. She is not a woman of her word, and she doesn't care about the law.

What makes him think she'll just let him go? If he's bad at the job (which he isn't), then he's stuck with her until he reaches the set amount of captured black people. If he's good at his job, she won't want to let him go.

Freeman: You can't do this. I got my papers! I'm a freeman. A freeman!
Cato: Ain't none of us free.

• Permalink: Ain't none of us free.

Cato is screwed either way.

I understood his impulse to protect Devi, so her response to him sucked.

He has genuinely been trying to be a good person. She dismissed that so quickly. Cato, ever the reactionary individual, chose to give her her wish and let her be sold off.

Now, he's down to 28 people he has to capture instead of 59.

Cato: What do you want from me?
Patty: Trust. It's how you get people to let their guard down, and people trust those who look like them more than they trust those who do not.

• Permalink: Trust. It's how you get people to let their guard down, and people trust those who look like...

I hate that he has gone from the man who used his money to free slaves, to the man being used to enslave free people.

I hope he is just biding time before he makes his next move on Patty. I can't stand having to watch him take two steps backward after so much growth. He should probably channel Ernestine if anyone knows how to persevere, that woman does.

Have I mentioned how much I love Ernestine? I probably have about half a dozen times.

I'm so glad we have O.G, Ernestine back. She is my favorite character of the series, and she reminded why throughout the hour.

We got another glimpse into what she looks like when she's at her very best. That's all thanks to Clara. Remember when Ernestine taught Clara how to seduce Matthew and it was both sweet and unsettling?

Clara is a quick learner, and Ernestine has created a monster.

Clara is milking her new position for all that it is worth. She is riding high and drunk on power. Clara is doing the absolute most right now.

Sweet Clara is nowhere to be found right now. I could not get over here gliding across the plantation in all white like she ran the place.

Having Matthew's love and affection has gone straight to Clara's head. She has forgotten her roots and seems to have forgotten that she's living in a bubble at the moment and it can all come crashing down.

She may play the role of lady of the house, but she will never be the lady of the house. It's going to be interesting when reality hits her.

You should be proud. Look at me, I'm doing better than even you did. I ain't serving Matthew, he's serving me.

Clara

• Permalink: You should be proud. Look at me, I'm doing better than even you did. I ain't serving Matthew,...

Clara believes that she has Matthew wrapped around her finger. She probably does, for now, but at the rate, she's going that can change in a heartbeat.

Matthew is in lust/love but he's not a complete idiot, and Clara is not the least bit careful. She rubs her newfound power in everyone's face and brags about having Matthew at her beck and call.

It won't be long before he realizes that she's manipulating him. She's not good at hiding it.

When the overseer tore through the plantation and punished Hicks for having drugs, I just knew that the Roe plantation was about to be cracked down on.

I have been enjoying the escape to the Roe plantation and seeing the Gullah culture come to life because it's so unique compared to the standard slave narratives.

It turns out Clara told Matthew about the drugs and also told him about Hicks so Hicks was punished accordingly. That wasn't enough for Clara though. She wanted him dead.

Clara: You want off this island you go make me that poison. We clear?
Ernestine: We clear.

• Permalink: We clear.

She also wanted Ernestine to be the one to do it and was outraged when Ernestine did everything to keep her in line, including talking to Matthew.

I knew Clara would turn on Ernestine, I just didn't anticipate she would attempt to poison her. Ha! The grasshopper thought she would surpass the master. I laughed.

Ernestine is a herbalist for crying out loud. She's also a great reader of people. How did Clara not expect Ernestine to be a few steps ahead? That's exactly what Ernestine taught her to be.

You owed blood but you can't have mine.

Ernestine

• Permalink: You owed blood but you can't have mine.

I wasn't the least bit worried about Clara taking Ernestine out. It's freaking Ernestine. Clara didn't stand a chance. I couldn't get over the gall of her though. How do you kill the woman who taught you what you knew just because she was looking out for you?

In typical fashion, after she failed to poison Ernestine she went and told Matthew all about Ernestine's plan to escape[e.too bad for her because Ernestine was already gone.

Ernestine is a badass goddess and no one will ever convince me otherwise. I was so excited that Ernestine got off of that plantation and saved herself. Then, she bumped into August.

She's sneaky, and a liar, and she planning to run. If you love me, you'll punish her for what she done to me.

Clara

• Permalink: She's sneaky, and a liar, and she planning to run. If you love me, you'll punish her for what...

I know I'm supposed to be up in arms and concerned for our girl because she ran into August. They have a history. August is working with Patty, and he has it out for Ernestine's daughter.

The thing is, Amirah Vann and Christopher Meloni kick ass when they are in scenes together. So, forgive me if I'm a bit thrilled at the prospect of them sharing the screen again.

My hope is that Stine extracts as much valuable information from him as she can, and then she somehow escapes. I want this to end well for her.

I don't know how this is going to play out, but I do know I will be glued to the screen the entire time.

Will Noah be able to rescue Rosalee and their baby Will he forgive Rosalee for keeping her pregnancy secret? What do you think will happen between Ernestine and August? Has Cato reverted back to his old ways? Hit up the comments below and let us know what you think.

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.