Issa, Molly, Kelli, and Tiffany are back together for a much needed girls night. They’re drinking, smoking, laughing, and dancing, giving all the feels. In between the laughter are moments of vulnerability. Episode 7, titled ”Chillin’, Okay?!” shows us exactly what sisterhood looks like with genuine love and support.
Sisterhood. That’s not only the theme of this episode but has been for the entire series. We’ve seen these women go through ups and downs together (especially Molly and Issa, iykyk) but, no matter what happens they’re always there helping each other pick up the broken pieces. That’s why executive producer and director of this episode, Amy Aniobe talked to the writers about adding a scene in the sleepover montage paying homage to the classic film starring Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon, Waiting to Exhale. “When they dance on the balcony, it’s an homage. It’s a modern and young-girl version, as is the entire sleepover montage. When I was directing, I thought, ‘Where have we seen four Black women hanging out like this before in pop culture?’ And immediately, I thought of Waiting to Exhale”, Aniobe tells TVLine.
Season 5, episode 7 recap:
Issa rolls up the weed just in time for the ladies arrival. They have plans for a relaxing spa day and then dinner but things don’t go as planned, the spa’s pipes burst and their appointments are cancelled. But, it’s all good because they decide to pregame before its time to get ready for their dinner reservations. Issa suggests while they drink that they play a game called ”questions in a hat”. Kelli gives a warning to the girls about the power this game holds.
We find out that Kelli wasn’t lying. The questions in the hat get deep, they cause Issa to open up about feeling confused about her and Nathan’s relationship since she dropped the ”I love you” bomb and the argument that came after Nathan called Issa ”inconsistent”. By the look on the ladies faces it’s obvious that they agree with Nathan.
A brief pause on the game happens when Molly gets a work call and steps away for some privacy. They hear that Molly’s voice sounds different, a bit higher pitched and flirtatious so, they go ear hustle on her conversation. On the other end of the phone was Taurean, Molly’s co-worker that she has recently felt a spark with. Molly filled the girls in on how she’s interested in getting to know him on a different level but isn’t sure she should pursue him since they work together. Then, something spooky happens. Issa’s smart speaker starts playing “Green Light” by John Legend which Molly takes as a sign she should go for it.
Now, here comes the blasts from the past. Out of the hat comes a question about which of each other’s exes they’d fuck and Kelli makes it very clear that she wants Daniel. She then makes a joke about the Issa cheating on Lawrence with Daniel situation which everyone including Issa laughs at. This leads to Issa getting real vulnerable and revealing to them that she saw Lawrence and Condola at the hospital with their baby. Issa assumes that Lawrence and Condola are back together and wishes that she would’ve gotten closure with him. Kelli lets Issa know about the tension Lawrence and Condola had at Simone’s birthday party and that she dodged a bullet but, Issa says that she loved him and she feels guilty for not reaching out after the baby was born.
Molly tries comforting Issa, reassuring her that she made a smart decision. Tiffany gives some food for thought saying it doesn’t have to be the smart choice for it to be the right choice. Kelli adds that it was the smart and right choice. But, it seems what Tiffany said had Issa’s wheels turning.
It’s almost time for their dinner reservation so, the ladies start getting ready. But, they end up not making it to the dinner. Molly brings up the fact that it’s been three months since they’ve all hung out together and this gets them all emotional. They group hug and that’s when Tiffany drops a bomb. She and Derrick are moving to Denver because he got a job offer. She didn’t tell anyone because she was too afraid to face that it was really happening.
The Waiting to Exhale moment on the balcony happens as the ladies continue smoking, drinking, dancing, and having a good ol’ time. You know what happens when you’re with your friends and the drinks start hitting you, you get courage and start typing that message to your crush and/or that ex you aren’t over. Well, that’s what Molly and Issa start to do. The girls start helping Molly craft the perfect message to Taurean, but before she can hit send Dro calls. DRO?! IKR. Kelli reminds them of the warning she gave about the game. Molly doesn’t pick up but, this will most likely be revisited (hopefully in episode 8).
Issa gets the urge to call Lawrence, but Molly stops her and lets her know that this may be why Nathan thinks she’s inconsistent. Molly continues with giving Issa good advice, if she still wants to call him when she’s sober then she should.
The next day, Nathan calls to tell Issa he loves her, yes he said those three words and that he’s going to stay in LA so they can make it work.
As for what happened with Condola and Lawrence throughout the episode, they are in a much better place. Lawrence dropped their son Elijah off at Condola’s and offered to stay to help Condola put up some shelves. After he’s finished, Condola struggles to get the baby to eat his food and Lawrence steps in to show his ”chop-choo train” method which works. Condola tells Lawrence that he’s a good dad. The energy between the two are good and even gives off a vibe that they could possibly try to rebuild their relationship as more than just co-parents.
But, Lawrence and Issa getting back together isn’t off the table. After Issa’s phone conversation with Nathan, Lawrence calls Issa! Unfortunately, it seems sober Issa isn’t ready to talk, she let it ring and Lawrence was left with the sound of her voicemail.
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