There was love, and there was turmoil on Queen Sugar Season 2 Episode 10 and surprisingly little of it had to do with Charley’s mother, Lorna.

Not that Lorna was uninvolved. In her own way, Lorna was trying to be helpful, but her version of advice and support looked like it was making Charley miserable.

But Charley wasn’t the only one dealing with inner turmoil; Darla was equally crestfallen, even while shopping for her wedding gown.

There was so much information delivered in that one small but significant scene. First of which was that Charley was pregnant with Micah when she and Davis got married. I never saw that coming.

Charley always seems to have it so together, the fact that she had gotten pregnant before she’d planned to surprise me.

For her and Davis, it didn’t sound as though it changed things. They were already in love, so perhaps it only moved things along a little more quickly.

But Lorna was embarrassed, and since Lorna seems incapable of hiding her disappointment, I’m sure her reaction took away some of Charley’s joy over marrying the man she loved.

Honesty is in my blood. My mother is the queen of brutal honesty.
Charley

Permalink: Honesty is in my blood. My mother is the queen of brutal honesty.

No matter what went wrong in the marriage afterward, I’m sure both Davis and Charley would agree that Micah was the one thing they got right.

The circumstances involving Darla becoming pregnant with Blue sound as though they were completely different, and her family's disappointment has led to a rift that's lasted years.

After working so hard to get sober and get her life back, having her own mother ignore her even when she announced she was getting married had to be hurtful, but not nearly as damaging as having Ralph Angel turn on her the way that he did.

Ralph Angel: It ain't easy it being thrown in my face like that. I can't get that picture out of my head.
Darla: We've both done things that we're not proud of. We were just trying to get by back then.
Ralph Angel: You were trying to get by on drugs.
Darla: What?
Ralph Angel: You was whoring to make money so you could get high. Ain't that what happened?
Darla: And you were stealing credit cards and robbing convenience stores.
Ralph Angel: The two don't compare. I did that so I could take care of Blue. You was only thinking of yourself, as always.
Darla: Is this what our marriage is going to look like?
Ralph Angel: I don't know.
Darla: Us having the same argument over and over again. You cannot keep punishing me for my mistakes, Ralph Angel.
Ralph Angel: I ain't punishing you, but it is what it is, Darla.
Darla: I'm not that person any more and I am so tired of trying to convince you that I'm not.

Permalink: I'm not that person any more and I am so tired of trying to convince you that I'm not.

It's not as though Darla's past as a junkie and a prostitute has been some sort of a secret. Hollywood relayed the story of how he found Darla and Blue in gory detail on Queen Sugar Season 1 Episode 7. It's clear that Ralph Angel knows all about that.

The most disturbing moment was when Ralph Angel said, "You was only thinking of yourself, as always."

He's obviously kidding himself if he thinks he's over it. There's a lot of anger still there, and it didn't take much for it to boil over at Darla, despite how much she's proven that she's changed.

That Ralph Angel can somehow consider himself better than Darla even after all he’s done, speaks to his arrogance and his inability to understand the horror and complexity of addiction.

I dare say that Darla has taken more responsibility for her past than Ralph Angel has for his.

If any couple needs counseling, it’s these two. The problem is that where Darla is open to putting in the work, Ralph Angel, despite Aunt Vi's prodding, doesn’t feel that there’s anything a priest or counselor can teach him. Hopefully, for Blue’s sake if nothing else, he will change his mind.

Back to Charley, I did love how she handled herself when Sam Landry made sure she was late for the St. Josephine Sugar Cane Society meeting in this Queen Sugar quote...

Strange, I was on all the other emails in the chain. Maybe just hit Reply All next time, or I can show you how if the technology is too confusing for you
Charley

Permalink: Strange, I was on all the other emails in the chain. Maybe just hit Reply All next time, or I...

How Charley deals with her business rivals using intelligence and wit is one of my favorite things about her, but this group would have made anyone want to run for the door and never look back.

I completely understood why Charley didn't want to make waves during her first meeting. Now that she owns a sugar mill, she was hoping to fit in, but it's clear that that will never happen here.

Charley: I just had to sit there and take it because I don't want to be the angry black woman at my first meeting. And my Mom is telling me that I should bring white farmers in to the mill and on the one hand it's good advice. It would actually expand my business but, you understand, I don't feel like doing that right now. I just, I can't please anyone.
Vi: Charley, you are grown, and you have a son who looks to you every day for who he's going to be. You ain't got time to be playing by anybody's rules but your own, and I ain't never known you to be someone who needs permission.

Permalink: Charley, you are grown, and you have a son who looks to you every day for who he's going to...

Charley took the best of both Lorna and Vi's advice and decided to have the Queen Sugar Mill's own Harvest Festival for the black community. I have no doubt that will be one heck of a party...and Keke will finally become Sugar Queen.

Speaking of KeKe, I couldn't have been more proud of her than when she stood up for herself with Micah when he not so subtly brought her to his father's empty apartment in the hopes of having sex.

I don't know what kind of girls you dated in Los Angeles but I don't roll like that.
Keke

Permalink: I don't know what kind of girls you dated in Los Angeles but I don't roll like that.

It was kind of adorable seeing how smitten Micah was with this strong, smart, beautiful girl. Who wouldn't fall for Keke?

Back in the 9th ward, Nova and Robert were working hard and falling for one another even harder.

We already knew these two were a well-matched couple but the fact that neither of them wants to have children because they feel so strongly about their work being their higher calling only solidified that.

And was it just me, or did Nova look terrified after Robert gave her the key to his place? I just hope she doesn't get scared and back out of this relationship because that would be tragic.