PValley, Season 1, Episode 4: The Trap
Editor’s Note: Our train was a little late arriving to Chucalissa County, Mississippi, but we’re here now and very loyal customers of The Pynk.
There’s nothing sexier to me than a man who isn’t afraid to put another man in his place. I’m not ashamed to say that I squirmed in my seat when Andre Papi aka Diamond choked Freckles and lifted him off his feet for disrespecting Ms. Mississippi. We already know that Diamond isn’t afraid to throw dem bows and lay hands as necessary, it’s another thing to see the pure strength in those biceps. Mmm, they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
Now that Autumn’s money transfers have gone through, she’s going through the process of washing the money (literally, in a bathtub with cheap liquor) and depositing it in the bank. Autumn’s switching up her wigs faster than Lil’ Kim in the “Crush on You” video as she’s collecting money at all of the Western Unions in North Mississippi. The fact that she’s doing this in a hooptie while Boosie and Webbie’s “Independent” plays in the background is just a cherry on a hood ass sundae. We still don’t know where this money is coming from, what she’s doing with it, and why the hell she’s using the name LaKeisha Savage, but I guess that’s just one important thread in the complicated weave that is September/October. I mean, Autumn Night.
Mercedes is one step closer to opening her gym for the Chucalissa Challengers. She’s figured out her subscription model, she’s started designing the interior of the gym, and she’s ready for her last night at The Pynk. The only thing standing in her way is her mother and the fact that Patrice is dodging her phone calls regarding the money currently stashed in the church’s bank account.
Speaking of Sister Woodbine, Patrice is following the “Lord’s” orders of removing Mercedes’ money from the church bank account when she meets a homeless man who asks where she goes to church. Of course, she interprets this as a sign from God. Later, we watch as she puts too much dip on her chip and takes over Pastor Gilfead’s job of saving souls at Wednesday night revival. “Wont no weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that dare rise against you in judgment, in hypocrisy, in both hateration and holleration, will be condemned.” A word of God for the people of God!! After almost having the BA-YANG slapped off her church wig by Pastor Gilfead, Sister Woodbine contemplates the merits of becoming Pastor Woodbine.
At The Pynk, Mercedes receives a diamond encrusted necklace with her name on it from her mysterious NFL coach benefactor. Even though it’s apparent that she’s told him many times that only dollar bills are allowed in the floss (aka her g-string), Mercedes reluctantly accepts the gift from him. In the back of the club, Gidget reveals to all the other strippers that The Pynk might be closing. As much as Uncle Clifford tries to act like he has everything under control, the sentiments continue to grow as it’s revealed that Mercedes already knew about The Pynk’s financial troubles. It’s evident that the girls have always looked up to Mercedes, so when she responds in an almost aloof manner regarding the potential of the club closing, the girls can’t help but to be disappointed. Is she responding like this because the Pynk will no longer be her problem after tomorrow? Does she think that she’s too good for them know? Is she somehow better because she’s managed to achieve her dreams outside of the club? Is there something wrong with them because they haven’t?
I have no clue what Andre and Autumn are actually doing, but they reenacted some classic BET made-for-tv-movie realness by getting into an argument in the parking lot. Andre continues to stand up on his high horse of saving cities and hoes by justifying his actions of trying to sell the property on which The Pynk resides without telling anyone. He crossed the line, however, when he tells Autumn to go home and raise her kid. Cue the waterworks a la Jessie Spano and her Adderall episode. The next morning, Autumn reveals that her daughter is “gone”, which I’m not sure if we can interpret as she’s passed away or Autumn doesn’t know where she is. All we know is that Autumn was a survivor of a hurricane and that she’s afraid of someone finding her.
Mayor Ruffin is sick of Andre’s hesitance to close the property deal with the Kyle family. He has a legacy that he wants to establish in Chucalissa County, and he’ll be damned if anyone, even his own nephew, gets in his damn way. He’s given Andre a deadline of a week to close the Kyle deal.
The day of Mercedes’ “floss funeral” aka her last day as a stripper has arrived, and she still hasn’t heard from her mother. To make matters worse, her realtor lets her know that she’s received a competing offer on her gym and she has until midnight to bring in her security deposit. Inside The Pynk, we see that despite the fact that the girls are upset at Mercedes, they don’t spare any Dollar Store expenses for her last dance. They decorate her locker and make sure she’s moisturized from head to toe and dressed to impress the Stripper Gawds. This is what a family does: take care of and support each other even when you’re pissed at one another.
And Lil Murda…all he wants is DJ Neva Scared to play his damn song and he needs Mercedes to bless the track. It doesn’t seem like too much of an ask. He’s already turned the club around by introducing pan-seared wings to the menu, which goes a long way to improving customer service. The least The Pynk can do is play his damn song!!
After leaving the dressing room, Mercedes encounters her hood ass, fine ass, neighbor Mane who paid somebody a squirrel sandwich to wear his ankle monitor so he could come to the club. When Murda approaches Mercedes to ask her if she’d be willing to dance to his song, Mane and his crew stand up like they’re The Migos and Murda is Joe Budden. Mercedes swiftly diffuses a fight, and Murda completely forgets about asking her to dance to his song. He simply congratulates her on her success and returns to his seat. Murda can’t even get one moment of peace before his friend attempts to call him a punk. So, of course, Murda does what one has to do in these situations: beat the shit out of your homebody so that they know that you ain’t the one.
Sister/Pastor Woodbine finally reaches out to Mercedes about her money. With just a few minutes on the clock until midnight, Mercedes races to her gym so that she can meet her realtor and her mother, who’s coming with the check. When she arrives at the gym, the realtor tells Mercedes that she’s too late. She’s already accepted an offer from another buyer. Who is the buyer? Ya’ll ready for this? It’s Mercedes own mother, Sister Woodbine. Sigh…you know, fuck the family. Mercedes let the family into her bank account and you know what the family did? The family fucked her over. That’s right, her mother fucked her over. Her mother stole her money, and with it, stole her dream. When Mercedes started beating her down like they were at the Source Awards, I completely understood. Family or not, that was foul. At the end of the episode, we see Mercedes being hauled off to jail in a cop car.
Meanwhile at the Pynk, it’s become obvious that Mercedes is MIA. Uncle Clifford is trying to keep the crowd calm, but they’re getting restless. “Who’s going on for Beyonce?” Ms. M-I-Crooked letter-Crooked letter-I-Crooked letter-Crooked letter-Humpback-Humpback-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. As nervous as Ms. Mississippi seemed about dancing in front of all of those people, I couldn’t tell when the spotlight was on her. You remember that moment when we realized that Normani really was a student of Beyonce, and she might be the one to fill her shoes for the next generation? Yeah, it was kind of like that. She may not be as talented as or have the same reputation as the original, but she did what the fuck needed to be done. And if you give her a little bit of time, she’s going to forge her own path on the pole. The aerial acrobatics she pulled on that stage were so amazing that if I had any dollars, I would’ve thrown it at the damn television.
In the parking lot, Lil Murda is shedding thug tears over the fact that his song is being played in front of all those people in the Pynk, and he’s stuck in the parking lot. I can’t be mad at him. We’ve watched him struggle to come up with a song that’s good enough to pass Uncle Clifford’s muster since the beginning. The fact that it not only surpasses those expectations, but to find out that the song is actually about Uncle Clifford?! Baby, I would’ve given it up over the jukebox in the back office as well. You know, I was skeptical about Lil Murda’s intentions towards Uncle Clifford in the beginning. Does he really like Clifford? Is he going to publicly claim Clifford in public? Is he just playing Clifford so that he can get his music played? Now, I trust him a little more. I can tell that Murda genuinely likes Clifford, and it was nice to see Uncle Clifford let his guard down and be vulnerable with Murda. Kudos to the director and screenwriter for creating a sex scene between two black men that was just raw, sexy, and full of hood intimacy. 10/10 would like to see again!
What happens to Mercedes and her dream now? Is Ms. Mississippi going to be the star of The Pynk now? How does the introduction of sex change Lil Murda and Uncle Clifford’s relationship? Where the hell is Autumn getting this money from? Will Andre close the sale of the Kyle property? Most importantly, what the hell is a monkey drop? Hopefully, we’ll find out this and more on the next episode of PValley.
