Previously on "Queen Sugar"...
We opened our old home
as a clinic for migrant workers.
- "We"? - It it true what I'm hearin'
about you and Blue?
Man, what'd you hear?
Could you please tell aunt Vi or Hollywood
- that I... - it's no use.
She ain't ready to hear from you.
That new highway will cut right through Saint Jo.
This route guts most of the black farmers' land.
Did you even consider my son
hearing these things about his mother?
I really took pains to protect him.
Do not come near me or Blue again.
Nova! Come on. It's time to eat.
Okay, mama. I just need to finish this page.
Food's gettin' cold, baby. You okay?
Yes, mama. I'm okay.
Are you okay, Nova?
Mama came to me again
in my dreams.
Third time.
This time, on the land.
Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com
Hey.
Why you answering the door?
Mom said I could, if it was you.
Lower your voice.
Mom is still sleeping.
She said she was really tired.
But I got ready all by myself.
Make sure you get all your stuff.
I will.
I'm ready, pops. Let's go.
Alright, let me text your mama something real quick.
Ooh, put the smiley face on it.
She really likes those.
Can I see?
What's that weird smell, pops?
I don't smell nothin'.
It's you!
You smell like stinky flowers.
It's called cologne.
I think it smells good.
I think it smells funny.
Maybe you put too much on.
No, I didn't, actually.
I just got an important meeting, that's all.
Like a really, really important meeting?
Oh, yeah. Best kind of meeting.
Kind where I gotta
Smell really, really, really, really good.
Let's get outta here.
Alright, let's go.
- Thank you. - Alright.
Hey, prosper.
You headin' over to, uh,
pay your respects to the Durants?
Yeah, I am.
Yeah, Leon's passin' hit 'em pretty hard.
Y'all used to jam back in the day, didn't you?
Yeah, we did.
Man played a mean saxophone.
I'm gonna miss him.
We'll be over there.
Handlin' the repast.
Look forward to seein' Genevieve.
Genevieve, Leon's baby sister?
She's in Saint Thomas.
You know, I haven't seen her...
I guess it's been 40 years?
We all used to play around together
back in the day.
Hmm. Hmm!
Alright.
Whoa-oa!
Remy Newell!
Oh, man!
Oh! Mmm-mmm-mmm.
I haven't seen you in a spell.
- How you been? - I'm good, man.
Still standin', prosper. Still standin'.
Yeah? Well, that's a good thing.
Yeah, you can't take these precious days standin'
- for granted. - That's right.
- Not a one. - Not a one.
Mm mm mm.
- Alright. - Good to see you.
Hey, Vi.
Wow!
This place looks incredible!
Wow!
Is that Remy Newell?
- Hey, boy! - Hey!
- Bruh-bruh! - Bruh-bruh!
- Oh, man, it's been too long. - I know.
Unh.
Unh!
- Good to see you, man. - Yeah, man.
Both of you.
I was just tellin' Violet,
man, place just looks so good.
I'm proud of y'all.
Well, sit down.
Uh, I'll get you somethin'.
I know your favorites.
Yes.
So,
you gonna tell me where you disappeared to?
Why you can't return a phone call
or a text from me, Vi, or Ra, nobody?
- Yeah. - Hey, Charley.
I am in trouble and I need your help.
That sister of yours is causin' me
major problems here.
I haven't even started my new job, yet,
and I'm already deep in it.
Whoa, Davis, slow down.
I-I have no idea what you're talking about.
Turn on the news. Nova's book is kicking up
that Melina mess all over again.
Where several students have come out...
Look, could you, um...
Can you meet me for lunch or something,
help me find the best way to deal with this?
'Cause I'm trying to start new
- and... and this whole... - Davis, this just isn't
my problem anymore. Call your lawyer.
Charley, hey, wait a second. Charley, look.
I-I get that, okay? I get it.
But I need you right now.
For Micah's sake.
We need to figure out how to deal with this thing head-on,
because it's gonna affect all of us, all over again.
Charley, please.
I don't wanna be seen in public with you.
Uh, just come to the mill at noon
and we'll talk it through, okay?
Hey, handsome.
How are you?
I'm good. I'm good.
Came by to see if you'd like to have lunch later.
But it sounds like you might be busy.
Yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, I, um...
I need to help Davis with... All of this.
I've gotta find some good in it and...
- yeah. - I just... I don't want Micah affected.
The way that you always
think about your son, it's beautiful.
My mother, um, taught me
to believe in what's good,
that, when people say it's too good to be true,
that they're wrong.
Believe in the good.
Don't mistrust it.
Don't second-guess it. Don't fight it.
Just believe it.
You're good.
You are, too.
- dear God,
help me make the best use of what is in my power.
Please give me the insight
to understand that some things are up to us
and some are not.
Our thoughts are up to us,
our impulses, our desires, our actions.
And, for our next question...
Let's go to the woman in the third row.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored
to be joined today by the esteemed
Dr. Octavia Laurent,
professor of cultural studies
at the new school.
Dr. Laurent, what's your question?
Miss Bordelon, in "Blessing and Blood,"
you situate your family as a microcosm of America.
- I do. - I enjoyed the book, but,
I didn't know how to receive it.
I mean, what research did you use
to support such a lofty conclusion?
My book isn't a research project.
It's a memoir, where I take experiences
from my persona life and set them against
a greater contextual backdrop.
Yes, I know what a memoir is. Thank you.
But your anecdotes.
- Experiences. - Sure.
Whatever you wanna call them,
they're somewhat self-aggrandizing
and your claims about the
African American community are not backed up
by any kind of empirical analysis.
You're saying my family's story doesn't deserve to be told
because of a lack of data?
That's not what I said, exactly.
Black life in America is the data.
No, that's not what I said.
Go into any library, stacks and stacks of books,
yet only a handful of them
document the lives of everyday black families
and their struggles as Americans.
You're hardly representative
of the everyday black American.
I'm a proud, everyday black American
and will fight, to the death, anyone who says otherwise.
For centuries, we have been denied
the tools, and platforms,
to tell our stories using our voices.
My memoir's conclusions are rooted
in firsthand experience and knowledge.
I don't fetishize theory and research,
as your institutions define them,
because to do so is to commit an act of cultural violence
against my own people.
That's right.
- Well said. - Yes, yes,
that is all very well and good.
But I've found, in my experience,
that the dismissal of research and theory
is the tell-tale Mark of an amateur.
You sure about this?
Got a whole community out here,
got roots here.
Yeah, but they're not my roots.
They're my wife's roots.
When shauna passed, I tried
to make this place home and...
It was, for a long time.
I mean, you know, wood, I...
I love Saint Jo's.
But everything with Charley and Nova
showed me who I really am.
And I don't like what I see.
You're a good man, Remy.
Don't do this to yourself.
I just have this lack inside of me
that I always have to fill because...
Life didn't happen the way I planned for myself.
You know, a wife, kids, happily ever after.
And that affected me
and I gotta admit it.
I hear ya.
I really wanted Charley to be the one.
But, when we broke up, it devastated me,
'cause I didn't think I was ever gonna find love again.
And then, feelings started to develop
between me and Nova and...
Suddenly, I felt hope again.
Funny thing is,
think the two of you woulda made a good couple.
I ain't gonna never tell Vi or nobody else that,
but, y'all match.
Both of y'all smart as hell.
You love your community.
I think it coulda worked out.
Yeah, well,
nothing worked.
Nothing's working here.
I gotta go stand on my own
and find myself again.
Alright!
Goodies for the road.
Thank you.
You take care of yourself, Remy.
And don't be a stranger.
Ernest loved you.
You're a part of us.
So, don't forget us, 'cause we not about to forget you.
Thanks, Vi.
God bless you, my brother.
bless you, too, man.
Aye, uh...
Tell 'em both I said
goodbye and thank you.
You got 10 minutes.
What's up?
Like the hair.
- Thanks. - It's cool.
I see I'm not the only one with a new look.
Yeah, asha gave it to me over the summer,
right before I reported here.
Got the idea from Maya angelou's poem.
That's really dope.
Helps me keep my head up.
You know, when I'm down.
How you holding up in here?
I'm a'ight, I guess.
Reading a lot, drawing.
It's cool, though.
Yeah?
I'm your friend, man. You could...
Tell me how things really are in here.
Yeah, look, the only thing that matters is
that I keep my head down
and do my time
and do whatever I can to never come back.
We were trying to do something good...
Wake folk up around here, but...
I don't know, man, just...
I don't feel like it was worth it.
Don't do that, bruh.
I'm glad to see you,
but you can't just come tell me
the reason I'm in here wasn't worth it.
It had to be.
Look, I can't get through this thinking like that, man.
I didn't mean it like that.
I'm sorry, ant.
I am.
I was movin' on.
New city, new career.
Nova's book comes out.
Your problems aren't about Nova.
You took a job at a university,
where employees are held to a higher standard than...
NBA after-parties.
Yeah, well,
whatever it is, I don't like it.
It's called equal treatment, Davis.
It feels like oppression to you because you're used to privilege.
Look,
I know that I've been privileged
and coddled and protected and all of that, okay?
And you, Charley, you gave me the world.
And I blew it. I know that.
But what I took for granted then,
I'm beggin' you for now.
So, Charley, please, do somethin'.
Look, yesterday, there were only 10 protesters outside the gym.
Today, 200.
And, if this gets any worse,
then Bayou State'll have no choice but to get rid of me.
I need this.
Then be honest.
Do some interviews
and take responsibility for your mistakes.
The public might give you
- a second shot. - Might?
If you're looking for guarantees, Davis,
then you shoulda kept it in your pants, in the first place.
Do you even understand what you did?
Not to me.
To her.
Own your mistakes.
Then, maybe, there might be a small chance
the story will die out in a few days.
I believe you, Charley.
I believe in you.
Always have.
Even when I don't like what you're sayin'.
Hello.
Octavia.
Nova. What a nice surprise.
But then, you always did have great timing.
Let's see if you feel that way after I blast you
for that stunt you pulled at my Q&A.
Hold that thought.
We were just about to discuss your book
for this week's seminar.
The students really loved your talk.
Would you like to join is?
My book?
Oh, I get it now.
I've been Octavia'd.
You goad me at my event, knowing I'd respond
and here you are, waiting for me.
It's cute.
But I want no part of your games, Octavia.
The Nova Bordelon I remember
never backed down from a challenge,
especially if it came from me.
Never had someone pack me a picnic basket before.
And I don't think
I've been on a picnic since I was a kid.
Yeah.
It's been a minute for me, too.
It's my first time without the kids.
I wanted to, uh, mark the occasion.
Got these for you.
Didn't know you were such a romantic.
I didn't know, either.
Folks without kids don't even know.
The struggle is real.
Ugh! Oh.
Here you go, Blue.
Congratulations on winning the spelling bee.
Thanks, Marcus.
I studied really hard with my Daddy.
Oh. But,
my mom says you ain't got a Daddy.
What?
What, my pops is my Daddy.
But she says he ain't your real one.
I heard her tell my auntie
you ain't got no real Daddy, while they was on the phone.
Wanna go play on the swings?
Your aunt is legit
a full-on chef and miracle worker.
And you grew up with this kind of food daily?
All day.
My Daddy couldn't cook, so aunt Vi kept us fed.
Kept us fed good, too.
She sure did.
Yeah.
She teach you how?
What, to cook?
Yeah, I could burn.
- Wha-a-t?! - Yeah.
Oh, wait.
There's some real boastin' and bragging goin' on,
but do you have the chops to back it up,
is what I'm trying to know.
I mean, you could find out.
Find out a lotta things, really.
The sooner you answer it,
the sooner we can start our second kiss.
Hello.
Nah, I understand.
Everything alright?
A'ight.
I gotta go.
It's Blue.
Thanks for taking the time out to help me.
You know, it felt a little like old times.
You and me against the world,
solvin' problems.
Yeah, I guess it did.
Well.
Biggest regret I have is that,
when things went bad between us,
I didn't fight hard enough for you.
There was a time
when I really needed to hear those words...
...more than anything.
That time is gone.
Davis, you're still lying.
I just found out a few months ago
that you have a whole other family.
Look, we're finally at a place where we can sit at a table
and not tear each other apart.
Let's just
let that be enough.
Because, for me, there's no more.
Well, that's our first funeral we've catered.
I know, and I hate it.
Me, too.
But I'm glad they called us.
Girl, you gonna get every repast and birthday
and everything in between for a long as you want.
Well, I'll take it,
long as you with me.
What's wrong, baby?
I'm scared all over again.
Took so many years to
get over this feeling and, now, it's back.
Baby, you know I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to you.
But it ain't like that.
I can't explain it.
Try.
It's in me.
The way he treated me,
how I used to live,
how I used to be, the fear.
It's still in me.
And you can't protect me from that.
You right.
I can't protect you from what you feeling inside.
But what I can do is be right here with you
while you're goin' through it.
You ain't gotta go through this alone.
Hell, you shouldn't have to go through it at all.
Well, that's Nova's doing.
I mean, after all I done for her
since she was a girl, since Trudy passed.
I was there every day.
Showed up for those kids, did the right thing.
She spit in my face.
I'm never gonna forgive her
for bringin' all this back on me.
Your prose is sharp and observant.
Thank you.
But I found your methodology
irrelevant and outdated.
Are you familiar with the works
of Brittney Cooper, Dr. Keisha Blain,
Rebecca Traister?
You know, Britt and I were just talking about
how long it's been since we hung out
with Keisha and Rebecca.
Next time we get together for lunch,
I'll make sure to ask them
if they think my methods are outdated.
While this exchange has been very stimulating,
Miss Bordelon and I have some catching up to do.
I will see you all in seminar on Monday.
That'll be all, Jasmine.
I see you still have a type.
Jasmine?
She's a very bright
and talented young woman.
I bet she is.
Are you still a fan of Italian negronis?
Blue!
Blue, come back here!
Please, talk to me.
Darla.
Came as soon as I could.
- Where he at? - He's in the bedroom.
- What happened? - I don't know.
Uh, the only thing that he would say to me
the entire way here is that his friend Marcus
isn't being very nice to him.
And the school said he's been crying.
- Crying? - A lot.
- About what? - I don't know. They're kids.
It could be anything.
Most kids. Not Blue.
Somebody said somethin'.
God, I hate this.
We got through it all.
Why this, now?!
I cannot believe that she would do this.
La medicina Va a ayudar con la infección del oído
en unos días.
Asegúrase que tome bastante agua
y que duerma ocho horas.
Dante, I know that shot scared you, but,
you were very brave.
Sí, yo sé.
- Gracias. - Ignacio.
Thank you so much for this clinic.
So many need this.
But...
They're just scared to get help.
Well, we're here.
Thank you.
Eres un ángel guardián.
Vamos.
Guardian angel.
Okay.
High praise.
- I like it. - But do you agree with it?
Immigration! Get out your papers, now!
- Immigration - wait a minute!
Idocumentación!
- Wait a minute no. - Wait.
- No, wait. - Move it, move it!
You can't... you can't do this here!
- Move over! - This isn't allowed.
Just wait a minute.
- Back off! - Stop! Just...
- calm down. - Hold on!
This makes no sense. What are you doing?
Really?! really?!
They're getting medical attention.
Ma'am, you need to back off and let us do our jobs.
Clinics are protected spaces. You don't have
the authority to come in here and...
you wanna be arrested for obstruction?
- Wait a... wait a minute. - Excuse me?
Under the current administration,
ice has all the authority it needs.
How did you hear about this clinic?
Anonymous tip about illegal aliens.
"Aliens"?
They're people.
They live here, they... they have jobs!
And they're undocumented.
- This is such bullshit. - I...
I need to see your papers, as well.
No, wait. He's a physician assistant at a hospital!
Charley, it's fine.
This is not the first time.
- Señora. - Ignacio?
Ignacio, I will find you an attorney, un abogado.
Whatever you need. I'll... I'll be on it.
Just hold on!
Uh, detain the father and the oldest boy.
Youngest two are American citizens.
No. No!
- All right, let's go! - No, just...
- no. - no nos dejes solo.
- Cálmate, Joaquin. - Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey.
Take care of your little brother.
Please, call my wife.
Let her know I'm being detained.
She needs to come get Joaquin and Dante.
I love you, mi'Jo! It's gonna be okay.
I love you!
I don't know how people like you live with yourselves.
Well, I'm doin' just fine.
'Sides, it's out of my hands.
As soon as those undocs are processed,
they're gonna be put on that bus
and transported to a detention facility.
And you oughta be happy I'm not shuttin' down your mill
for runnin' an unsanctioned clinic.
We're working with the farmworker health network.
Every volunteer, doctor, and nurse was licensed
and our healthcare was legal, so don't try me.
Those people don't belong in Saint Jo.
According to whom?!
The Landrys?
I know they called in the tip.
Are you saying they called ice on themselves?
Sam Landry lost three of his best farmhands on that raid.
Well, if it wasn't the Landrys,
then who did this?
It's hard to say.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS:
When you closed down our prison,
you made more enemies in a day
than I made in a lifetime.
Gal, you ain't popular.
Hey, props, bruh, for gettin' inked up
in honor of ant.
Yeah, man. I just...
I want him to know that we didn't forget about him.
Well, what you need to do is slow down on the drinkin'.
That alcohol was for numbin' the pain, not gettin' drunk.
Yeah, I could barely feel it.
- Aw, man, he's messed up. - Mnh-mnh.
Aye, you gonna throw up, man?
- Mm. Mnh-mnh. - Okay, you know what?
Let's just get him to the bathroom
before we all regret it.
No-o.
I'm fine.
Sure you are. Come on.
You know, I love you guys.
- One step at a time, bruh. - Right.
He say something yet?
Nothing.
Just cried himself to sleep.
I'll be back in the morning to check on him, first thing.
He could wake up in the night and start asking questions.
And, honestly, Ralph Angel, I don't have
the kind and gentle things to say to him.
I know.
You're not... Furious.
If it's what I think it is, then, yeah.
I'm mad.
Feel betrayed.
Like I can't shake my past.
Farm don't matter.
Parole ending don't matter.
Person that matter most to me
got a stain on him, 'cause of my choices.
No.
The choices I made.
Yeah, well, a lot happened.
We both played our part.
All that matter right now is Blue.
Why did you stop writing?
Oh, I still write.
As I get older, it becomes increasingly more important for me
to mentor the next generation.
Hmm.
You know, there was a time
I thought you would be my greatest legacy.
Academia wasn't for me.
It's not for any of us. You know, we
do what the work demands. We adapt.
Or not.
I chose to write about people, not theories.
I set you up for intellectual greatness,
not mediocrity in the form of a tell-all book.
It's just us now.
No audiences to perform for.
You can admit my book was more than that.
And you are capable of so much more!
Coming here was a big mistake.
One line.
That's all you included in your book.
Some vague reference
about a professor back at tulane
who helped you understand patriarchy?
So, humiliating me on stage,
that was about me not acknowledging you in my book?
One line
Is worse than no mention at all,
because it means that you thought about including me
and then you made a conscious decision not to.
Why is that?
Is it because you never think of me?
'Cause I don't believe that.
What about all the time that we spent together?
What about the summer
in Italy...
When I could make you say my name?
And I could make you scream mine?
I remember those days.
Fondly.
Mmm, as beautiful
and as strong as I remember.
Mmm.
I can't believe I'm here.
Well, is it really that surprising?
I think, in the back of both of our minds,
we always knew we'd meet up again.
Mm.
How long are you in New York?
Tomorrow's my last day.
Then I move on to Boston, Chicago, Atlanta,
and Baton Rouge.
That's a shame.
I was hoping that we could catch up.
Hm.
You know, I could come with you
on your next stop.
Don't you have classes?
My graduate students can cover them.
It'd be fun to spend more time with you.
Just like the old days.
Thanks for coming by.
Uh, can I get you a glass of wine or...?
Oh, no. I'm good.
Thank you. But I'm sure you could use a glass.
I heard about the ice raid at your mill.
They just tore a family apart.
Ignacio's been part of our business
for years, now, and I-I...
I couldn't help him.
I know.
It's disgusting.
But, I also heard that you had
your P.I. Friend Vicky
going through old land records.
Now, if that information got to me,
it got to others, as well.
So, the raid's a message.
Someone's trying to stop me
from asking questions about the new highway.
Does Saint Thomas know the Landrys are trying
to move the highway to Saint Jo?
They know someone's trying to take
the highway from them
and they're not happy about it.
I mean, without it, they lose the tourists
and turn into a ghost town.
How long until they plan to break ground?
- Oh, Charley, I... - how long?
Five months, maybe six.
It's being fast-tracked.
Six months?
That can't happen.
We have to stop it or... or find a way to slow it down.
You could team up with the people
of Saint Thomas,
gather enough signatures to put the highway
on the ballot in both parishes
and let the people decide.
It's a long shot, but, if you can expose
the Landrys' lobbying effort,
might have a chance.
- You could also... - run for council
against Jacob Boudreaux.
The highway is coming, but it's the city council
who decides exactly where it goes.
If you can get council to move the highway
just five miles west...
then most of the farmers' land would be spared,
including my Daddy's land.
But you need to be careful, Charley.
If you decide to run,
you'll discover the Landrys are just the tip of the spear.
Whatever the Landrys and their friends throw at me,
I'll be ready.
If you do this, you better be.
Filing deadline to run for council is in two days.
You think I'd have a shot?
Hey. I didn't know that you were...
oh, my God. What happened? Are you hurt?!
No, I just...
it's... it's just a little tattoo.
Have you been drinking?
I didn't mean to get drunk. I was just...
I just took a few sips to numb the pain.
You're 17.
Too young for a tattoo and definitely
too young to be drinking.
- Ma. Come on. - Micah!
You're starting to make choices
that you'll have to live with for the rest of your life.
Are you... are you even thinking about that?
It's a tattoo!
Everybody does it now.
Okay.
I get it.
You're a young man now.
The road ahead is complicated for all of us,
but, for you, it's...
if you won't listen to me anymore,
just let me know who you will listen to.
Ma, I do listen to you.
Ready to tell us what happened, buddy?
My friend Marcus said
you're not my real Daddy.
Yeah, well, Marcus wrong.
'Cause I am your Daddy,
in all the ways that matter, just...
Just not in the biological way.
What's "biological" mean?
Just mean that
part of a mommy, part of a Daddy
come together to
make a baby,
that's all.
I thought you were a part of me, pops.
Is that why I look different than you?
It don't matter what we look like.
Half of my soul inside you.
That mean our heartbeat the same.
Look.
Feel that?
Yeah?
Alright.
Feel that?
Yeah?
Yeah.
That's the kind of father and son we are,
heart to heart.
I chose you.
I chose to be your Daddy.
I choose to take care of you,
help you with your homework...
...tuck you into bed.
What if you choose someone else, one day,
another boy, or girl?
That'll never happen.
Long as my heart is beatin', Blue,
imma be your Daddy, 'cause I chose you.
You chose me, too, right?
Yeah.
It's alright.
Alright.
Is there a part of you in me?
There is.
'Cause you're my biological mommy?
I am.
But even if I wasn't,
I would still choose you,
a hundred times over.
Just like your Daddy.
Love you.
I love you.
Go, oui oui.