To Make Amends and Be Free in Queen Sugar’s Heartbreaking “Heritage”
(Episode 2.13)
Photo: Skip Bolen/OWN
Tonight’s “Heritage,” written by Monica Macer and Davita Scarlett and directed by Liesl Tommy, may go down as one of the most heartbreaking episodes of Queen Sugar. After much speculation over Aunt Vi’s (Tina Lifford) condition—which she believed to be fibromyalgia—she receives a devastating diagnosis: lupus. Quietly enduring this news, she calls Darla (Bianca Lawson) to tell her that she cannot host her parents’ dinner party due to a large pie order, both of them silently disappointed. With three episodes left, it’s only so much longer she can hide this from everyone, especially Hollywood (Omar J. Dorsey), who has continuously voiced his concern.
The Bordelons have come to terms with their pasts, starting with Nova (Rutina Wesley), fresh off her break-up with Dr. Robert DuBois (Alimi Ballard). While having drinks with her friend Sierra (Deja Dee) and discussing him molding her into someone she’s not, she notices Calvin (Greg Vaughan), the white cop she was having an affair with in Season One. The intensity of their chemistry is strong, so strong Sierra tries to excuse herself. Since the season premiere, we’ve seen Nova’s ill attempts to move on, and she and Calvin later talk about their separation. Many Queen Sugar fans online believe that Calvin is truly the love of her life and her reunion with him is inevitable. As they kiss and say their I love yous, he pours his heart out to her, declaring her his choice, one far removed from a life of living to please others. In an unpredictable (yet so Nova) moment, she says to him, “For you, I’m freedom. For me, you’re a person.”
In an instant, she finds closure, acknowledging that they’re not meant to be despite their love for each other. The complications between them outweigh that.
“I can’t be all of myself when I’m with you. I can’t fight for my people every day and come home and have to explain it. I can’t cry over a brother slain by cops in the streets, and no one ever pays… and then come home to a cop.” —Nova
Just like that, an old chapter is closed.
The core of the episode revolves around Darla, bringing clarity to her past in her post-addiction evolution, though there are still parts of her that are a mystery. It also features her reunion with her estranged parents, Quincy (Roger Guenveur Smith) and Darlene Mitchell (Michael Michele), after six years of silence (and pain) due to her drug use. When they arrive at Ralph Angel’s (Kofi Siriboe) home for dinner, the energy is incredibly heavy and emotional. Didn’t Quincy fighting back tears when Blue (Ethan Hutchinson) hugged him pull at your heartstrings?