‘P-Valley’ Recap: ‘Jackson’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 207 of ‘P-Valley’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this article features some discussions revolving around mental health, suicide, domestic violence, and abortion, which may be triggering to some individuals.

When we last settled in to discuss the thoughtful STARZ series, P-Valley, we talked at length about the show’s most powerful moment to date. Since ‘Savage’ saw Big Teak do the unthinkable and take his own life after struggling with a grand battle with his mental health and life, a move that undoubtedly started all kinds of off the air conversations about mental health and suicide and this moment was so powerful and so moving… that the series took a week off to let us process the gravity of it all. A move that also put the show in a fascinating place from a storytelling perspective. Because where does a story go from a moment that important and that significant in the middle of the season? Well as it turns out, the best way for a show to handle something that big… is to offer some fascinating realism in the follow-up tale.
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For ‘Jackson’ is a story that more or less… plunged us into the next phase of what happens when we lose someone we care about in this world. Specifically, that part of the grieving process where we take a moment to really ponder upon what we’ve experienced and its meaning and the meaning of life for that matter as well. Since death makes us face so much and well, that allowed for Lil’ Murda to really ponder upon all of that and realize that there’s so much more to life than just pushing hard and making money. We need more, we need connections and grounding and that in turn, let he and Clifford begin to explore their love for one another. Since there was no denying their chemistry or their draw to each other and this was… a powerful sequence for certain. One that did a phenomenal job of touching on every point of the grieving process and it finally may have allowed for Clifford and Murda to start the long journey toward becoming a couple, something they've both wanted for ages.

But while that made for some beautiful and touching moments, the kind that should have served as the anthesis to what happened last week, the gritty realism that this series exudes was still present here. For Lil’ Murda struggled mightily with completely letting Clifford into his heart and his emotions and spoke more to his fears about being openly out, regardless of his love for Clifford. Which is an admission that reminds us of how far we need to go to be accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals since prejudice allows for that worry to persist and this is also an episode that tapped into some of our real-world fears about the Coronavirus once again. Since Grandma Earnestine struggled with the virus here. To the point where she was delirious and ready to inflict harm upon herself because of the fever, all before the ambulance finally hauled her away to the hospital. And well… her observations about how that might be the end and the fear that Clifford and Murda experienced in watching her go… was everyone's worst nightmare during the peak of the pandemic, one that some went through.

Speaking of real-world scenarios, the show didn’t stop with its slice of life presentation there. Because while all of that was going down in Chucalissa, Mercedes and her daughter were at a crossroads. For Terricka was close to the cutoff date for terminating her pregnancy and she needed to decide if she was going to do that or carry it to term and the debate over that, put Mercedes in a unique place mentally. One where she realized that her hopes for being a better mother than her own were dashed, and that she created a new cycle of abuse and isolation through her actions. So, in order to break it and finally show Terricka what a good family life was like, she had to treat her daughter like her daughter… and an adult. And in doing so, her little one made the big decision to end the pregnancy and move in with Mercedes so they could finally start anew. Which was also a powerful storyline, one that spoke to how generational trauma is easily passed down and hard to break, and it touched upon the challenges women face now when it comes to making choices for their own bodies, making this another poignant storyline for certain.

If anything, this was… just another incredible episode from an outright incredible series. One that didn’t gloss over the impact of a lost life in the slightest, since we truly felt Murda’s pain this episode, and fully understood his desire to life live differently now that he sees its value in a new light. And of course, this episode was filled to the brim with incredible commentary and follow-up on other critical plotlines. Such as Keyshawn’s never-ending nightmare, and how that situation might be evolving for the better. But while we wait to see what comes out of that, and the other plot threads introduced here, we can bask in the majesty of a flawless and moving tale. One that reminded us that this series is as deep as it gets and it will present the incredible ride that is the human experience in the raw, so that we can finally have important conversations about topics that get swept under the rug, far too often. Until next time.

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