Rebel season 1 episode 6: Partners
At the club where Rebel recites her spoken work poetry, a fellow poetess, Nikki Skyes approaches Rebel and asks her to look into the murder of her nephew Marshall Jr., by the owner of a convenience store during an apparent attempted robbery. Nikki says she just wants to know why her nephew did it, as it was completely out of character. As the conversation is ending, Nikki makes the observation that Rebel has been off lately and says whatever is going on with her, Rebel needs to write about it, because ‘writers bleed on paper’.
Following this, we get a scene that I found to be completely out of left field. Apparently Rebel’s father, Renee has a girlfriend named Jackie (Tamala Jones who is proof that black don’t crack, it bends). Where did this relationship come from? We’ve never even had a hint Renee was romantically involved with someone. Anyhoo, after convincing him they don’t need alcohol to have fun, they take it to the bedroom for sexy time. Do you, boos.
Rebel meets with Cheena at her house, where they make up after their fight from a couple episodes ago. And I’m so happy this was resolved. I missed seeing Cheena, her dynamic with Rebel is one of my favourite parts of the show.
Our next scene finds us at the home of Marshall Jr., where Rebel and Cheena proceed to have a very awkward conversation with his father, who, as it is made clear, has a major problem with men and young boys showing emotion. While going through Marshall’s computer, Cheena finds evidence in his online history of visits to gay porn sites, and a letter where he expresses his inability to cope with a particular situation in his life. Rebel comes to the conclusion that Marshall intended to have himself be killed, it was essentially a suicide. Rebel and Cheena seek out one of Marshall’s online contacts, a young guy named Jackson, to find out what he knows. As they’re talking, Jackson’s new boyfriend starts to overdose, and is taken to the hospital.
At the church where Marshall and his family are members, a young man is singing “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, and Rebel cries as she holds a letter “M” pendant. This scene was quick but still important, as it gave us another moment to see Rebel’s vulnerability. Cheena sits with the young man, whose name is Carlton, he tells her that Marshall had made peace with being gay, but the only person who was unaware was his father. As they are talking Deacon Silver (Carlton’s father) interrupts them, Cheena tries some light flirting to get information, but the Deacon wasn’t having it and excuses himself and his son.
Jackie tries to help Renee prepare for his deposition by asking him prepared questions the prosecutor might ask. But he quickly becomes agitated and defensive. It is clear Renee is having increased difficulty managing his emotions, and his constant drinking is the main cause of this. Now see this had me feeling a bit testy myself, because if I was Jackie, I would’ve told him where to take his attitude and walk out the door. Don’t nobody need his cussing and belligerence. Arriving home from the deposition Renee’s lawyer gets a call from the opposing side for various offers of five million dollars to settle, providing he keeps quiet about the case. Jackie urges him to accept the deal because Malik would want him to do something good with it.
An unexpected boon to Rebel’s investigation into to Malik’s death has lead her to make a connection between the drug used to roofie her and to what Malik was up to the night he died. Mack makes Rebel promise to be careful and to tell immediately when she finds something and before she acts on it. It turns out that before Marshall died, a blackmail threat was sent to him from a number assigned to the church.
Lawd, I just knew the ish was about to hit the fan when this was mentioned, smh. Rebel, Cheena and Mack go to the church would talk the Deacon’s wife, the confront her about her husband being gay and my girl says they have a son, and the pastor cured her husband. Have mercy, the scandal that’s about to explode, no one saw coming. After talking to the Pastor, screaming could be heard coming from inside the sanctuary. The trio runs in to find holding his father Deacon Silver, hostage with a gun to his head. This poor child is distraught because he felt that he was being ignored by his father, because the Deacon loved Marshall more than him. Oh, what a tangled web. Mack ends up shooting Carlton, as he was about to pull the trigger.
Rebel receives a call from Jackie letting her know that Renee has been involved in a motorcycle accident. She and Cheena arrive at the hospital to find him unconscious and handcuffed to a bed, under arrest for drunk driving. Jackie walks in and Rebel goes on her, blaming her for the accident and Renee’s drinking. Then, Captain Hart turns up and informs Rebel they are willing to drop the charges if Renee drops the lawsuit against the department, but the offer won’t last for long.
Rebel goes to her father’s house and lets him know she decided to drop the suit, as it was the only way to stop him from going to jail. Renee loses his temper and accuses her of not supporting her. Jackie comforts Rebel and it’s the first time we see Rebel not be antagonistic with her. Rebel and Cheena are speaking with Marshall Sr., and Nikki, and reveals to them that Marshall Jr.’s death was a suicide, and he did it because he was being blackmailed with his father finding out the truth. But sadly Marshall Sr. tearfully says that he knew his son was gay, and wasn’t ashamed of him. Marshall’s death could have been prevented if only he and his father had communicated better, and that is truly sad.
Rebel and Mack are having a heart to heart where, in my opinion, he delivers some truth: he tells her the way she is going after Texas and his men, she’ll end up dead, if she doesn’t deal with her grief and forgive God.
In the final scene, Rebel and Cheena are sitting in the car, and watch as Yvonne Bryant (she supplied the drugs to Jackson’s boyfriend) drives up, after her the gray van Rebel was looking for arrives and Texas gets out. Hmm, the plot gets thicker.
My Musing on this episode.
- I am so happy Cheena is back, she brings some much-needed lightness to the show with her humor and interaction with Rebel.
- I think Rebel is in some serious denial of just how bad Renee’s drinking is. She keeps cleaning up behind him, while not really forcing him to confront his alcoholism.
- I like seeing the friendship between Rebel and Mack being repaired. Mack and Cheena are the only two people that are truly there for Rebel, which allows her to set aside her tough-girl/ Rebel persona and just be Rebecca.
- Now I don’t know who would’ve been shocked to find out it was Texas that roofied Rebel, I mean come on, he’s the only viable villain that has been introduced so far in the show.
Rebel season 1 episode 7: Nickel and Dimed
The show opens with Cheena taking a more active role as Rebel’s sidekick, as she’s no longer relegated to the car. Now my girl is placing tracking devices on cars, and taking photos of drug dealers from behind walls.
Charles walks into his new office and finds Rebel there, asks why she has graced him with her presence, and she calls the man Chucky, really Rebel? You need a favour from the man, and before you ask him for it, you antagonise him straight out the gate? Smh. Taking umbrage with her attitude, Charles tells her to refer to him as Lieutenant Gold (well excuse me). Rebel surprises Charles by letting him know that it’s her who can do something for him. She shows him a picture of Jimmy (the undercover agent who was at the bar when she was drugged) and Texas meeting together. Rebel reveals that Texas was arrested by April and Officer Vaughn Bryant, he filed an excessive force charge against them, Rebel believes that April and Vaughn agreed to work for Texas in exchange for him dropping the charges. Charles wants to play dumb and say it was Texas who was a C.I., but Rebel states that it would be a big coincidence that Malik saw April and Vaughn at the club Texas frequents, and he ends up killed by those same cops that same night.
Charles reminds Rebel that as a former cop, she should know that he needs hard evidence before he does anything, in response to this she reveals to him that she was roofied, at the same club, and it was to get her to stop her investigation.
After being rebuffed by Charles, Rebel leaves the office and bumps into Traylynn (You remember her right? Cause I sure didn’t), after a brief conversation with Mack, Rebel arrives home to find T.J. waiting for her, now I just rolled my eyes, he just irks me, maybe it’s because he’s a cheating jealous, thieving jerk, who knows. T.J. shows his jealous streak by asking about Mack, and to distract him Rebel does what she always does, initiate sex (insert eye roll to the right). In their post-coitus bliss, Rebel and T.J. discuss him moving back in, and eventually, she gives him a key (eye roll to the left).
As he’s discussing loyalty and decisions with two rookie cops (oh the irony), Charles sees Vaughn pushing a handcuffed suspect around. He takes the flash with the body-cam footage from its hiding place and plugs it into his computer. As the tape begins we see Vaughn go up to April and say “you know what we have to do.” Now as soon as he said this I got super peeved at Charles, cause this sellout has had the definitive evidence that Malik’s death was murder. Anyway, April responds to Vaughn saying, that she never signed up to kill anyone, Vaughn says they will say Malik had a gun and that the story they’re sticking to. Really, Charles? You had the bloody audacity to try and persuade Renee to drop the lawsuit, because it would make everything easier, yeah easier on him.
Cheena reports to Rebel that Jimmy (Mack’s brother) met with his new girlfriend Ashley, who works as at a bikini bar slash gentleman’s club. To find out what Ashley knows, Rebel decides that she’s going to go undercover at the club to speak with his girlfriend,
Traylynn and Charles seem to have a pretty easy relationship, after discussing the issues she had with the cops at her former precinct after she filed a complaint against her former training officer (for sexual harassment maybe?), Traylynn advises Charles, that if he’s going to make a move that will bring trouble down on his head, he will need a strong ally. And as his ally who does Charles choose? Why Elsa Forster of course, the compliance monitor who was overseeing the committee investigating the precinct’s investigation of Malik’s death.
What is it with men acting all jealous over a woman, when they themselves are shady as heck? T.J. for some reason got it in his head that he had the right to step to Chenna, asking about Rebel and Mack have been up to, but she put him in his place, and told him to take matters up with his wife. He got some nerve.
Rebel goes to the club pretending to be a new dancer but is kicked out before she could get any information. Charles and Elsa are sitting on the couch after having intimate relations (hehe), she says she will back Charles up with what he needs, but only to a certain point, as she has to protect herself in order to receive a promotion so she can leave and be transferred to another “hell hole city.” Hearing this, Charles basically shuts her down and says he’s proud of his city — even if it’s a hell hole, it’s his hell hole. Darn Skippy it’s yours, that why you need to protect the people, not the corrupt cops Charles.
As she’s waiting for Ashley outside the club, Jimmy drives up to Ashley and forces her into his car, Rebel follows them and it appears that they’re fighting. Rebel receives a call from the bank, per her request, and informs her a loan was made in her and T.J.’s names. Welp, he done gone and did it now. a loud pop is heard and Jimmy’s car swerves off the road and crashes. Rebel goes to the car and finds Jimmy seriously hurt and Ashley goes to get help. Rebel forces Jimmy to tell her what’s up with him and Ashley, and look and behold, Jimmy was actually trying to turn her into his C.I., because she’s connected to a drug dealer who is responsible for bringing in a new and more potent form of cocaine. And wouldn’t you know, that dealer is the one and only Texas. The plot thickens.
Anyhoo, Rebel arrives home to once again find T.J. waiting for her. He confronts her about what she’s been up to with Mack and after an argument where Rebel says he’s someone the can trust, they call it quits. And I give a little cheer. The next day, Charles arrives at Rebel’s door, they talk for a bit and he gives her an envelope — the envelope with the flash drive. Rebel goes to the precinct and finds Charles’s office empty and no one knows where he’s gone. The last shot is Rebel and Vaughn eyeing each other.
Can I just say how happy I am that this investigation into Malik’s death is winding down? Yes it’s an integral part of the plot, but for me the last few episodes have even a bit stagnated, but alas we have some forward movement, that I hope leads to a satisfactory conclusion.
My Musing on this episode.
- It was nice seeing LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Traylynn) since we haven’t had any scenes with her since she was first introduced in episode 3. I hope she continues to be a regular in the following episodes.
- Finally Rebel is beginning to make some serious headway into resolving Malik’s murder, and frankly, I’m glad, because it was getting a bit tedious as a viewer to see her stumbling around, when we’ve already made the connections since episode two.
- Rebel realised that T.J. is up to something when she finds out his loan was approved, despite having no credit.
Carolyn Hinds: “I’m a Barbadian living in Toronto, Canada, I’m a nerd who spends time coming up with plot theories for TV shows, and avid fan of Jane Austin, my favourite shows are The Walking Dead, The Expanse and blackish. I’m an avid reader and will do karaoke anytime anywhere.”
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