It’s been exactly one year since Faith Greenleaf took her own life and Grace returned to Memphis, her family, and Calvary. Yet, there has been no real healing during this time. All of the suffering and secrets that led to Faith’s tragic end have finally exploded, sweeping everyone in the Greenleaf family away in a tsunami of grief and pain.
As the day of Faith’s memorial approaches, Grace is having nightmares about her Uncle Mac. She’s no longer able to keep her composure, and it irks her to no end that her parents aren’t taking action against him. However, everyone grieves differently. Lady Mae and Bishop are at their wit’s end as well, not just with trying to process the loss of their youngest daughter but also with Grace who can’t seem to let it go. Like oil and water, Grace and her mother clash, with Lady Mae revealing her terrible secret about her relationship with her abusive father. Too clouded by her own anger, Grace doesn’t pick up on it, but Bishop does.
Meanwhile, Mac has resurfaced. With the time to take any action against him regarding his case running out, he’s attempting to restart his life by bribing Memphis’ Deputy Mayor for a job. He’s also trying to weasel his way back into the Greenleaf’s lives. He even has a new boo, Loraine who instead of trusting her gut about Mac, seems too thrilled to have a man. She really needs to get a clue.
With Faith’s memorial closing in on her and her opportunity to get Mac back in jail slipping through her fingers, Grace finally receives her last lifeline from the detective she reached out to earlier this season. If you recall last season while living in his old building, Mac befriended a troubled young girl named, Michaela Reese. In their report, the police noted that Mac seemed to have some sort of relationship with the girl, but they never followed up. Grace does their job for them. Though Michaela is adamant that Mac never laid a hand on her, we know their relationship was still not appropriate. Michaela reaches out to Ma to let him know about Grace’s visit. Expecting the same listening ear that she has grown accustomed to, its obvious that Mac’s brush off hurts her feelings. Michaela might just blow this whole case against Mac wide open.
Things are imploding over at Triumph as well. With the church’s financial issues and memories of Faith at the forefront of his mind, a typically even-keeled Jacob explodes. He threatens the Deputy Mayor after learning he wants to help get Mac a job. Things worsen for him and Triumph’s head pastor Basie Skanks when Skanks loses a ton of the church’s money during one of his poker games. We all knew this was coming after Basie compared revenge to a mission of God. Losing that money is the first time I’ve seen Basie come unhinged. One thing is for sure; desperate men do desperate things. Who knows what lengths Basie will go to in order to get this money back?
After some heated fighting, a now divorced Charity and Kevin seem to have come to an understanding, while Zora and Sophia’s relationship looks beyond repair. Whatever is going to happen during next week’s mid-season finale is sure to shock all of us to our core. After receiving some unwanted flowers from Mac during Faith’s memorial, an enraged Grace peels out of the driveway and sets off after him. No one is going to stop her this time, and honestly, I pity whoever might stand in her way.
What did you think of “Born To Trouble”? Do you believe Michaela? What do you think Grace is going to do when she confronts Mac? Also, Lady Mae’s revelation is clearly troubling Bishop, do you think he’ll bring it up? What will Basie’s next move be?
“Greenleaf “ airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on OWN.
Aramide A Tinubu has her Master’s in Film Studies from Columbia University. She wrote her thesis on Black Girlhood and Parental Loss in Contemporary Black American Cinema. She’s a cinephile, bookworm, blogger, and NYU + Columbia University alum. You can read her blog at: www.chocolategirlinthecity.com or tweet her @midnightrami
