MJ's is laid up with her white guy in her bed, who has grown tired of laying up in the house with her. He wants to take her on a proper date and will do all the planning. Yes, grown man!!
This would make most women happy, but not so much MJ. She's a public figure who blogs follow and she's worried about the perception others are going to have of her if they find out she's dating a white man.
Girl, they talked about Jesus. They will absolutely talk about you too. Just go on and live your life and be happy.
An uncomfy MJ creates a distraction to get out of the bed. She’s in the kitchen getting water when she sees David's mama getting out of a cab. She runs back to tell white boo to be quiet and not to come out the room while she meets with her.
This lady, Simone, has the huevos of life. She's there to convince MJ to give her son another chance. Her son, who had sex with MJ’s best friend, her son with a newborn baby with another woman. That son.
Simone says David still loves MJ and knows he messed up. Really, lady? She asks MJ to forgive her son. MJ ain't having it. "You just want what you want and to hell with anyone else's pain. Screw me, right?" MJ asks Simone. MJ doesn't give her the read she gave Lisa for wanting to be heard, but Simone absolutely deserves it. MJ does get in a (well deserved) parting shot: "If you really want to help David, beg him not to be like you.”
Welp.
Simone got the nerve to leave MJ's house mad. Girl, bye.
Despite CeCe trying to extort her, MJ still shows up at her bookstore for a talk. This relationship is bizarre. MJ says she's there because CeCe isn't the only one that cares about the Black community. Um, whatever.
MJ adds that she met with a publisher who wants her to write a memoir, and she wants to tell the story of how she and CeCe met. Huh? CeCe's down. 100 percent. I’m so confused.
At some point later, we see MJ on stage with her white boy doing karaoke. Damn he fine. Because it's 2015, their interaction is recorded, posted on blogs, and becomes the topic of a segment on The Real. Apparently some folks think MJ is a hypocrite for Dating Out. Really?
At the office, Greg tells MJ she's going to do a show on interracial relationships to launch Talk Back. MJ doesn't want to, but Greg insists MJ owes him a few favors and he's calling one of those in.
In the lunch room, Kara strolls in to find Marisol warming up her lunch. The tension, at least from Marisol, is obvious. Kara notices and tries to strike up a conversation, but Marisol cuts her short and bounces.
Post her convo with Greg, MJ fills in her "crusaders", i.e., the production team that their well-thought out ideas are being shelved for a show on interracial dating. They are not impressed. MJ schools the babies: "when someone gives you a paycheck, you figure out how to give them what they want by saying what you want. So what do you want to say?"
At the Patterson home, Niecy is playing hide-n-seek with her oldest son, who sucks at hiding. He runs into the living room and this leads to a family convo with dad and PJ about PJ buying her a car sooner than later, as promised. After Niecy goes to put the baby down for a nap, Dad thanks PJ for being an example of a man showing up for her. PJ says Patrick does to, but Dad can’t see it.
Back at the office, a pissed off Greg says he wants to meet with Kara in private. Marisol wants to go to HR about Kara dressing her down and accusing Marisol of boinking Greg. I knew that was going to come back to bite Kara in the ass. I love Kara. But she was dead ass wrong for that. Greg tells Kara, "you need to fix this. NOW!"
Later that night, at MJ's house, MJ and Kara discuss Marisol over wine. MJ tells Kara to talk to Marisol woman-to-woman and see if she can squash it. "Apologize and see if the whole thing goes away," MJ suggests.
Kara says she hates groveling and Marisol, "broke the code" by going to Greg. This leads to a convo about how kids these days have no boundaries, say whatever, no loyalty and no idea about paying dues.
Ehhh. I've been fortunate that my interns have never been this way. Maybe they're the exception to the rule? I dunno.
On Talk Back, MJ does her interracial segment, wondering how much attitudes about the subject have really shifted. And after, she goes home and proceeds to break up with her white boo, her best man option in years, which I guess in comparison to the married guy, the trifling ex, the guy who required a "fundamental shift" and the guy who laid pipe like a G, but never took her anywhere, that's not saying a lot.
"I can't date you anymore", she says. "I have a lot of struggles in my life that I did not ask for and I did not create. You and I is not a struggle that I'm gonna choose for myself, okay?"'
I think she's making a mistake letting him go because he's white or requires a different kind of work than she's used to. I mean, if you were willing to work with the married guy and the guy who had a pregnant GF, why not a white guy? But we all have our preferences and breaking points, so…
At the office again, Kara is headed to the lunch room, again, when she spots Marisol. Again. She tries to make sistah-girl chit chat with her about her shoes to warm her up, then cuts to the chase about Greg. She apologizes, sadly pulls her "fiery Latina" card, then just levels with Marisol: "I need this to go away. " Marisol tells Kara to offer her the anchor spot on her new show. Kara realizes she's just been played. And well.
After work, MJ and Kara are in some place in ATL that I can't ID getting BBQ. MJ is at the counter when she spots David carrying his new baby and walking with his GF. MJ handles this surprisingly well, just turning away and carrying on with life. That's how you're supposed to do it. "There's nothing that can break me after the year I've had," MJ says.
She and Kara take a seat and discuss Lisa. MJ admits she misses Lisa and still has a lot of guilt. She also thinks her car accident may have been a blessing. "I was on a path, and I just got off". She also thinks getting extorted may have "opened me up." Hold up. Kara knew about the extortion and didn't tell MJ she was crazy for going along with it?
MJ says CeCe reminded her of what her purpose was as a journalist. "Maybe Marisol is your car accident," she tells Kara. "Maybe this in the universe's way of forcing you to do what you want to do, not what's easiest." Maybe.
So Kara gives Marisol the role. She's good and she's pretty. And she's petty. She still reports Kara to SNC's HR for sexual and racial harassment. That little heffa. Kara is baffled, but has no choice but to deal.
MJ and CeCe meet up at MJ's potential publisher and two book editors to tell the story of their friendship. CeCe's all too eager to tell the entire, detailed story of how she and MJ met and how she used the extortion money for her business. CeCe says passionately that she's waiting for people to realize they're hungry so she can "feed them their freedom". By any means necessary, she'll do what she has to do, she says.
The assistants have enough. They reveal they aren't assistants, but Feds. CeCe flips like DC Mayor Marion Barry yelling about how MJ “set me up” after all she's done for MJ. Um, what?
I liked CeCe's positive role in MJ's life. I wish they could have met on less nefarious terms because MJ really does need someone with CeCe's perspective around. But if you can't be friends with someone who wants to be you, you certainly can't be friends with someone who extorted you. It was past time for CeCe to go. And I'm glad MJ finally smartend up. "I'm sick of people taking it too far with me." MJ says.
Me too.
Later, MJ's at home putting on her face, having flashbacks of all she's been through while the theme song for this episode, MJB's "No More Drama", plays. There's the first time she saw her face after the accident, and the last time she saw Lisa where she told her off, Lisa's body at the funeral, practicing her into for Prime Time when she was trying to get her show back, the ugly Black woman confrontation that made her famous, her boss telling her to tone down the "all Black agenda", the previous anchor telling her she doesn't know what she's in for , her argument with Niecy about MJ taking care of her kids, Patrick accusing her of kicking him, taking care of her sick mother, breaking up with Omari, and Sheldon and David. She's been through a lot, and this is a great TV device to remind us of it and show us how MJ has grown.
MJ's flashback is interrupted by a text from Niecy announcing that PJ bought her a car.
Somewhere in Atlanta, Niecy gets pulled over for driving with her music too loud. Aww, hell. She's annoyed on a good day, but she's rightfully "irritated" for being pulled over for a stupid "reason".
Niecy isn't wrong, but I'm begging the screen for her to STFU. Yes, boo. You are right. And yes, boo, you have every right to be mad. But I want you to live to tell the story about it. You being right with not save your life!
Ok. The officer was wrong. Niecy was right to be annoyed and in every other interaction in the world, rolling up the car windows and essentially throwing deuces is a totally acceptable reaction. But to a cop? Niecy, baby, what are you doing?
The cop tazes Niecy as her oldest child looks on. Jesus! I'm glad he didn't shoot her.
Some thoughts, not directly about the show:
I still think old school about police interactions. And maybe it's some "yes, Massa sh--" to STFU, to comply with directions, and keep my hands on the 10 and 2, and ask before I reach for my purse for ID, and answer "yes, sir/ no, sir" to someone who clearly doesn't respect my humanity. But I've had several police run-ins, and maybe some of that docile sh-- helped keep things from escalating into melee. Or maybe I was just lucky those nights.
By no means am I saying the kick and shuffle is guaranteed to save anyone. I'm not pulling some respectability politics card. I'm thinking more of survival. Maybe STFU is a way to increase the odds of going home that night instead of to the hospital, or into a body bag. Maybe you live to file a complaint the next day. Or maybe not.
I completely get why people get buck with cops. I mean, enough is enough. And the police are supposed to be present to protect and serve, not terrorize. I understand it. I'm just terrified to do it. And I'm terrified for people who do it. I want Black people to stop being harassed and killed. And I also want Black people to live with dignity. And admittedly, STFU and "yes sir-ing" someone who talks down to you ain't dignified. It's just alive. For some that's enough; for others not so. I respect both.
Anyway...
A bystander recorded Niecy's assault by the cop and uploaded it online. MJ's staffers are watching when MJ walks in the room. MJ says she can't watch those videos anymore. Always pissed off girl staffer says it's their job to watch and thrusts the video in front of MJ who already recognized Niecy's voice.
MJ stares at the screen in shock and Always Pissed Off rattles on righteously and cluelessly as usual.
And scene.
Womp.
I can't figure out if I'm mad at this ending, or I'm mad the show just ended for the season. I've loved this season of BMJ. Producer Mara Brock Akil and her team really stepped into their own and found their rhythm this year. I've spent the last couple months really looking forward to Tuesday nights. And that's over. For now.
*Waving goodbye to MJ and Kara*
What did you think of the Season Finale?