‘Run the World’ Recap: ‘Honeymoon’s Over’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Sasha Hutchings and Amber Stevens West as Hope and Whitney in Episode 202 of ‘Run the World’ – ‘Honeymoon’s Over’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘Run the World’. To revisit the Season Two Premiere, click here.
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When sudden change comes into our lives, the kind that is intentional or unintentional, we like to think that we can bounce back from the surprise of it quickly and go on with minimal concern. Because there comes a point where we understand that change is the constant of the universe, and that sometimes we need to roll with the punches, so we can quickly stand tall when the dust settles, only to learn… bouncing back and moving forward from it… isn’t as easy as we’d like. For we often forget that emotions and consequences come forth from change and that makes the next steps difficult, to the point where now and again… we need support and perspective and strength, and a measure of control, in order to find our way forward, as evidenced by the next episode of Run the World on STARZ.
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For when we caught up with everyone in ‘Honeymoon’s Over’, it was obvious that the ladies were struggling with the changes that came into their life. Sondi for instance, while being welcoming and understanding of Naomi’s return to the fold and her rightful place as Amari’s mother… struggled with the fact that she was now in essence, hamstrung in the relationship. For she was going to be an outsider now, one that had to deal with the drive and desires of a mother and that also meant… she was going to be in the middle of everything. Something that would rob her of independence and agency and well, that was why she opted to take a prestigious TA job over the summer. To claim that and to teach us, that when change robs of us a sense of control and direction, we need something to hold onto, something healthy in that manner… to give us a little bit of peace while we figure out the bigger stuff.

As for Renee, well she came to learn that while her intentions were noble and brilliant in stepping away to start her own firm and make her own name in the marketing world, it wasn’t going to come easy. Which wasn’t an easy lesson to learn. Because was used to being at the top of her game, and landing accounts left and right and having to fire her new partner and being told no from Abby, her friend at L’Oréal, forced her to learn that lesson and more. Specifically, that she was indeed starting over from scratch and needed to use her skill set and hunger to build her client base and wow them along the way to build her new marketing empire. But more importantly, her journey here reminds us that sometimes… when change arrives and we struggle with it, we need to take a moment and look what’s different in our lives objectively, so we can see a path forward and traverse it to get where we wanted to be when we made that big change.

But with a trio of dynamic characters present in this tale, that means we received three unique lessons regarding how to handle the big changes in our lives, with the last one coming from Whitney. For while she was indeed trying to get back on track and move forward from the mistake she made and the change it brought to her life… she was stumbling and struggling. To the point where she was doing the silly stuff, we all do when we hurt, and she was also neglecting her work and not feeling herself. As though what transpired, transformed her into a lesser version of herself. But thankfully, Hope stepped up and stepped in here, and gave her objective advice and help. The kind that informed her that yes, she screwed up, and yes… her life was in a new place because of it… but also that… that didn’t have to define her. She still had a great job, a life to live and if she found a little confidence, a little win… she could build on that and start moving forward. Which she did, and that did indeed inform us that sometimes… we need that nudge and outside perspective to understand what’s happened to us so we can regroup and get back on track.

All of which made… for another incredible episode. One that managed to pack in that many incredible lessons in a half hours’ time. Which is a testament to the writing of this show, since that is no small feat, but this show makes such feats look effortless and truly… we were treated to a thoughtful and powerful tale thanks to what was presented here. One that still found a way to keep things light with perfectly timed jokes. But what matters most about this tale, is that we saw these women meet their challenges head on and never once let those challenges crush their spirits. Sure, there were stumbles along the way, but that’s life, and we’re not perfect and we do feel and falter when we struggle. But how they handled everything here was just inspiring and that’s what this show is, inspirational, and honest. And that’s what television needs more of, and thankfully, we still have plenty of more season two of this show to enjoy. Which means six more wondrous weeks of lessons about life await us, and it will be interesting to see what challenges await this trio and how they conquer and handle them in a realistic manner as they continue to work to run the world. Until next time.

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