It seemed as though this week’s game changer episode couldn’t arrive soon enough! Very much the way Mellie felt about her baby that she intentionally delivered prematurely. We were fed teasers and tweets throughout the week to keep us on edge, and that’s what happened during the entire show.
We start out seeing Huck do what he does best. Fix problems. Huck assures that Hollis’ safety is preserved by making certain he doesn’t accept any deals from David Rosen. Mellie is now holding America’s Baby in her arms while taking pictures with her potential-future-ex-husband, by her side. We are convinced that she’s more concerned with using the baby to keep Fitz, especially when she throws her head back and yells “Nurse!” so that the nurse can come take the baby from her arms to relieve her.
As Fitz says he wants to see his kids after their divorce…she reminds him, “There will be no divorce, honey.” Fitz slowly and assertively says to Mellie “DO NOT PUSH ME.” With his dramatic pauses in between each word. Ok, we believe you Fitz!
We are reminded why we hate to love the relationship we see between Fitz and Olivia just by the way he holds her face as he kisses her and asks her to wait for him. Their passion is so intense and deep that we can feel it. However, we know it’s wrong, but we believe their love is true.
Fitz says to Olivia again, using the exact same slow and commanding demeanor that he used with his wife, but this time he said it in a sensual way to his Mistress as he kisses her in between his words this time: “SAY YOU’LL WAIT FOR ME.” Dang Fitz, I said we believe you!
Olivia pays a visit to Verna only to learn that in diming Verna out, she will dime herself out. Olivia sends the Gladiators on a mission to stop David Rosen. Meanwhile Mellie puts Cyrus on notice that if Fitz does indeed file for divorce, that she will go public regarding his affair with
Olivia and that she will bury him and dance on his grave. Ouch.
And as James is being questioned by David Rosen, the Gladiators swoop down and retrieve the one piece of game changing evidence, the memory card that confirms that the election was rigged. The episode is all over the place, but we can’t get enough!
Another key turning point in the episode is Cyrus and James having a powerfully truthful and painful conversation, in the nude, just to make sure neither of them is wearing a wiretap! James asks Cyrus if he stole the election and thought that no one would notice. Cyrus comes clean and admits to James that he indeed stole the election, simply because he wanted to be in a position of power, since his chances of becoming President himself, was limited because he’s short, not-so- handsome and gay.
They end their intense exchange with Cyrus saying, “I love you” and James replied “Is that enough?” This was by far one of the most intense scenes of the show, as ‘Love Isn’t Enough’ resonates with many characters & moments in the series.
While the Gladiators listen to audio footage of David & Abby, she reflects back to their private intimate moments, and listens to David tell her that he loves her. In that moment, she is wondering and questioning if his love for her is real. And if it is, Is It Enough to survive the ordeal that they are faced with?
David on the other hand is steadfast in badgering James on the stand, and he clearly chose to withhold information. After Abby reveals that she hid the memory card in her bra, a sense of calm comes over Olivia and she begins to envision a life with Fitz, assuming of course that he does indeed leave his wife for her. Which as we all know, rarely ever happens.
Olivia returns the engagement ring to Edison and tells him “I don’t want normal and easy and simple….I want painful, difficult, devastating, life-changing extraordinary love.” Spoken exactly as a Mistress thinks. That is the only type of love they know. Painful love. “Love isn’t supposed to hurt,” Edison reminds her. But that’s all Olivia knows from Fitz.
Olivia runs back to Fitz and lets him know that she will wait for him for as long as he wants….but to her surprise, and ours…HE CHANGED HIS MIND! They always do. They never leave their wives for their mistresses.
What Olivia doesn’t know is that Verna dimed her and the whole crew out to Fitz, right before he took her oxygen away. Now Olivia’s love is NOT ENOUGH for him! GASP. She needs some oxygen because the wind just got knocked out of her.
I can bet in upcoming episodes, we will learn that Mellie’s love is not enough for Fitz either. But we will have to wait and see!
This entire episode kept me on the edge of my seat, searching for my own oxygen. And even after the episode ended, I found myself stuck in the same place on my couch, trying to figure out what just happened. One message that rings loudly to me, continues to be Is Love Enough? Is love enough to keep Fitz faithful, to keep Mellie honest, to keep Olivia loyal and to keep Cyrus committed. Is Love Enough to keep a mistress waiting for you? If it’s painful, devastating and extraordinary enough, quite possibly.
Jamilah B. Creekmur is a Mother, Entrepreneur and Author of the popular memoir: ‘Raised By The Mistress’. She’s the former Acting-COO of AllHipHop.com. She’s been featured in Black Enterprise, Essence, VIBE, Heart & Soul, The Baltimore City Paper, BET.com, GlobalGrind.com and also noted as a ‘Top 40 Emerging Leader Under 40’ by Diversity Magazine and countless other media outlets. She’s also a tenacious believer in love. Twitter: @JamilahCreekmur or visit her website www.JBCNYC.com.
