Ooohhh weeee. I love me some new beginnings. Moving to a new place, getting a new car, a new job. But nothing says fresh start like getting with a new (wo)man.
I can see why it’s called the honeymoon phase, though. Everything is beautiful and wonderful and perfect and cute and sweet…until they’re not. Those things that you once overlooked or thought were tolerable now get on all of your nerves. Not just one nerve but ALL!
I’m almost 98% sure that in my past life I was a detective of sorts. Maybe a private eye or something. I’ve always been so inquisitive. I am fascinated by human behavior, why people do the things they do. So when I meet new people, I’m all in. Not in an intrusive way but in a wanting to get to know the person better kind of way.
I always say, you can’t understand where a person is coming from if you don’t know where they come from. How was he raised? Who raised him? Where is she from? Does she have siblings? Stuff like that.
The first two episodes focused on Gently James (played by Xosha Roquemore) and her story which, sidebar, I was today years old when I found out that (in real life) she and LaKeith Stanfield have been in a whole relationship since 2015 😮 Clearly I don’t stalk him enough. She’s known for her roles in The Mindy Project and Lee Daniels movie Precious. Her most memorable line is when she said her favorite color is fluorescent beige. HAAAA😂
But tonight’s episode turned up the heat a teensy-weensy bit by giving us a soft introduction of Gently mother via recorded messages and a phone conversation. We can already tell that she’s a lot to handle and start to see how that has affected Gently, who is still looking for love, acceptance and validation from her.
In the first episode when we meet Gently and Evan (played by Alano Miller), it’s presented to us immediately that they’re from two different worlds. He is Ivy League educated with a career in tech, drives a Tesla and makes beaucoup money. She didn’t go to college, takes care of the feisty Cicely Tyson as a job, and has to borrow her dad’s car (played by the typecasted, philandering Michael Beach). I’m still mad at him for leaving Angela Bassett for that white woman in Waiting To Exhale and for sleeping with the cousin in Soul Food. 😂
We finally get to meet Evan’s peeps. It’s his parents 40th anniversary and he takes Gently with him. His daddy is Professor Oglevee from the 90s hit show The Parkers and his momma is none other than Anne-Marie Johnson, known for her roles in the 1988 movie I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and that old cop show In The Heat of the Night. She was aging gracefully but after meeting her son’s new tenderoni, she added a few wrinkles to her forehead LOL.
It’s bad enough Evan has to hear his friend talk junk about how Gently isn’t his type and not good enough for him because she’s just a ghetto chick from the hood. His mom didn’t make it any better. She went IN! Told him he needs to grow up, make mature decisions and not be concerned with some “low class piece of ass.” 😮 Repeat after me CLASS-IST.
His dad wasn’t fazed. The liquor had him feeling mighty nice.
So now we see that EVERY family has their own set of issues and money doesn’t fix that.
After Gently overhears the momma dogging her out, Evan is like, let’s get out of here, baby and go lie down outside on the ground by the highway until morning time. Hella romantic💜
Another sidebar, in real life, Alano is married to the equally hot and sexy DeWanda Wise, known for her role as Nola Darling in Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It. Like, who knew? Just fine’ness every where.
The episode ended with Evan telling Gently that he loved her, after dating for only three months. At first I was like, wayment. Slow down little red Corvette. Isn’t that a bit too fast? And then I asked my joyfriend if he remembered how soon into our relationship that he told me he loved me (because, like Evan, he said it first🙂🤗). Come to find out he told me in like two weeks. Soooo… I can’t be over here judging smh. Shame on me.
Lastly, the song that stood out for me is called Whoa by Snoh Aalegra. Check it out and let me know whatcha think.
Until next time…
Phette Hollins 