Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
If last week’s episode of ‘P-Valley‘ was any indication, the show is transitioning from much more than just a “stripper show” to a heavily layered show that addresses real life issues that are prevalent in our community.This week’s episode entitled “Savage” continues to illustrate that. Before we hop into the deep stuff though, we have to catch up with some of the other show’s characters and what they’re up to in this episode.
First, there is Hailey (Elarica Johnson), who is still trying to get the perfect deal to sell the Pynk although it is currently where she lays her head at night. She crashes Andre (Parker Sawyers) and Corbin’s (Dan Johnson) campaign event wearing a noticeable red sequin dress. Andre tells all those in attendance that he wants to start a “Chucalissa Renaissance.” His plan is to redistribute all of the money from the casino to all the residents of the city. Hailey interrupts his speech and is quickly forced out by Corbin. She makes her way back inside by being friendly with the new owner of Promise Land. When she makes into the cigar room where the important discussions are being had, she expresses that she thinks the original offer that was made to her was a insult. She demands that the Pynk be offered what it’s worth ($10 million). Hailey then follows Andre home, where they argue before eventually having sex for the first time. Throughout the whole interaction, she reassures Andre that he’s in control although she ends up on top of him showing that she actually is the one who is running things.
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
While Hailey was flexing her power, Mercedes (Brandee Evans) was left feeling powerless. Coach calls her and requests that she return to the house so she can redo the Mercedes Experience that was interrupted the time before. Farrah (Shamika Cotton) can’t help but to show how much she enjoys being involved with Mercedes. Coach notices the chemistry the two share and immediately realizes that they have been intimate before. He claims that Farrah is cheating on him and claims that the ladies broke his heart. In the midst of Coach and Farrah arguing over their relationship or lack thereof, Coach kicks Mercedes out without giving her the rest of her $40,000. As if this wasn’t enough, Mercedes is trying to support Shelle (Helen Goldsby) as she battles alcoholism and unemployment. She is hit with a bombshell at the end of the episode when Jerrica shows up to her house with a positive pregnancy test.
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Keyshawn (Shannon Thornton) is back home from the Dirty Dozen Tour but that’s literally the only place she’s been. With Derrick (Jordan Cox) watching her every move, she is basically imprisoned in her own home. The biggest showing of this is when she tries to flee with her kids but then realizes that Derrick has messed with the car so that it won’t start. After Derrick returns home from helping a buddy with some landscaping work, we almost got a moment we’ve all been waiting for. Keyshawn pulls out a gun that’s obviously been stashed and contemplates shooting him as soon as he walks in. Although she decides against it at the moment, it’s safe to assume that we’ll see that gun again.
Although Keyshawn is struggling with life back home from tour, she didn’t have it the toughest this episode. Every since his character was introduced, we have seen the stresses of recently being released from incarceration effect Big Teak (John Clarence Stewart). He went from being imprisoned to partying in nightclubs, the pandemic and police brutality before he could even go home and take a shower. The trouble he was having reentering the real world was obvious to every one around him. In this episode, it came to a crazy head.
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Lil Murda (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and the Hurt Village Hustlers welcome Teak home the proper way (they weren’t able to before because he went on tour as soon as he was picked up from jail). Murda gifts Teak with a Charger painted in the colors of their gang. The two go out to eat and begin to reminisce on the old days and the origins of their relationship. Before they could go too far down memory lane, Teak changes the topic. He asks Murda about Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) and what makes her so special to Murda. The answer that he’s given shows that Lil Murda has a much deeper love for Uncle Clifford than he has for him.
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The next time we see the two, they’re at a gas station where they surprisingly hear Lil Murda on the radio. The two enjoy the moment for a second before Teak shows yet again that the trauma he is facing can easily be triggered. Another person wants to use the pump and starts to yell at them. Lil Murda luckily stops Teak from attacking the man. Their next destination was seemingly a trap house. Lil Murda believed that Teak was going inside to grab some weed but in actuality, it was his old childhood home. Teak has a flashback in which he hears a woman yelling at children then those same children screaming in terror. The flashback ended with Teak seeing his younger version of himself, scared and covered in blood. Still sitting in the car on the phone with Woody (Bertram Williams Jr.), Lil Murda notices that Teak forgot his gun in the glove compartment. He goes inside and gives him his weapon which gets Teak out of the flashback. He then explains the history of the house to Lil Murda.
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Teak and Lil Murda end their night by getting high by the river. Teak continues to spill stories about his life including how he witnessed his mother murder his three younger siblings with a knife and how his first time he went to solitary wasn’t when he defended Lil Murda in jail. Lil Murda tries to explain to Teak that the darkness surrounding him isn’t necessarily inside of him but more so a part of his environment. He gives him more words of comfort by letting him know that once they’re back on the road, everything will be all good. To help him avoid the dark thoughts he constantly deals with, Lil Murda refuses to let Teak drop him off at home. It didn’t end up going the way Murda planned though. Teak pulls out a gun and puts it to his own head. Despite Murda’s effort to stop him, Teak admits that he feels like the darkness will never go away and he doesn’t see a future. In one of the saddest scenes we’ve seen on the show, Teak pulls the trigger and takes his own life with Murda sitting in the passenger seat. His final words were “HVH for life.”
Distressed after what he just witnessed, Lil Murda rushes to Uncle Clifford’s house and falls into her arms. He tells her that he’s not okay and of course, Uncle Clifford lets him inside. Lil Murda’s emotional state is just another thing added to the list of issues Uncle Clifford is facing. Earlier in the episode, her and Big L (Morocco Omari) seen a flier that Roulette (Gail Bean) and Whisper (Psalms Salazar) posted claiming they were bringing the Pynk back to the people with a spades tournament they would be dancing at. They still owe the Health Department $11,000. Speaking of health, Clifford’s biggest issue might be the fact that Toy didn’t just have allergies, she actually did have COVID. The virus is spreading around the club and it has seemingly hit her grandmother Ernestine (Loretta Devine).
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Source: Courtesy STARZ / Starz
Another week, another episode that left us on the edge of our seats. What is Hailey’s real plan? Is she looking out for the Pynk after all? How will Mercedes handle her daughter’s pregnancy? Does Big Bone (Miracle Watts) have ulterior motives with Diamond (Tyler Lepley) Will she make amends with Farrah and/or Coach to get the rest of her money? How will the suicide of Big Teak alter Lil Murda’s life? When will the pink be back open? Is Grandma’s Ernestine’s time running out? We have so many questions that need to be answered so next will surely be another roller coaster.
Hop in the comments and let us know what you thought about this episode and what you expect to happen next week!
