In my last round of
writing about Queen Sugar (it's only
going to be one post this time, I am pretty sure), I wrote about fears for
Blue. He is so well-loved and so sweet that the vulnerability was hard to
ignore. Something happened, but not at all expected.
Blue's mother Darla had
been out of his life due to drug addiction. Two years clean meant that she was
not only in Blue's life again, but that she was working a good job, and engaged
to Ralph Angel. The engagement led to a reunion with her long-estranged
parents. Then she told Ralph Angel that Blue might not be his.
I have noticed that Darla
really uses the steps and processes that she has learned in recovery to keep
herself functioning. I think that telling Ralph Angel was not done well, and it
was because she wasn't thinking about steps.
I blame that on the
pressure from her father, telling her that she had to tell. A part of me
wonders if it was somewhat deliberate, knowing it would lay waste to the life
she had built. I can't be completely against them either. Her mother said some
things about how difficult it was having an addict as a daughter, with the
disappearances and the broken promises, and I don't doubt there. There was
nonetheless a certain rigidity to them that I don't think did their daughter
any favors.
(And if they were hoping
it would give them Blue, they were mistaken.)
I saw a lot of comments
about the storyline that this is the kind of thing that you take to your grave.
I'm not necessarily in favor of that either, but this confession that wouldn't
just blow up Darla's life (though it really did), but also Ralph Angel's. If
you have wronged someone, and need to confess it, then I think you need to
think about reducing harm.
What really drove that
home for me is that even though Darla told him that Blue might not be his,
Ralph Angel told his family that Blue wasn't his. He only took in the worst
information. I have seen that happen before. If you tell someone something
horrible enough, it blots out the surroundings. It was also pretty horrible
that she told him right at harvest time.
If Darla had felt less
pushed by her father - and by guilt - could she have thought about that? She
could have done a paternity test first, and eliminated the unknowns. She could
have waited until after harvest, both to help Ralph Angel be able to
concentrate and to not take a staffer away from the mill at a time when they
really needed someone on the phones. She could have put some support for Ralph
Angel in place. You can't take away all the pain, but can mitigate.
That is my cerebral
response. Emotionally, I hate that it happened at all. They love each other so
much, and have been through so much, and it's hard to believe that they can
really be happy apart. There was a grace in their final parting that was
beautiful, but also tragic.
She has grown stronger,
and so has he -- they have shown the most growth out of any of the characters
-- but this shattering of trust may be irreparable. It hurts and it should
hurt, but maybe it could have hurt less.
Anyway, that was the
thing I had thought about most. Otherwise, I think the interest that all the
younger Landry's are showing in Charley is really creepy, especially given the
family history. I believe in her ability to destroy them, but I question
whether it will be worth the cost.
And I can see that in
many ways Nova and Remy could make sense. They have a shared commitment to
service and community that they fill in a lot of different ways, but, I did not
see that coming.
That would blow up some
things too.
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