Can I just say, why did it take BET so long to have a show like this? It is just a touch of ratchet, has good social commentary, a lovely bit of diversity, and Gabrielle Union who is able to snap from carefree black girl to ready to take her earrings off with such a beautiful easy transition. I mean really, we are three episodes in and though I'm not fond of Mary Jane's love life, since love triangles and team "" vs team "" is getting old, everything else is wonderful!
Topic 1: A Reflection on the Past
Mary Jane's family is back and there is a slight focus on her pregnant niece and her deadbeat, soon to be, baby daddy, but really the focus lies in Mary Jane's relationship with her parents, and her parent's relationship with each other. Starting with Mary Jane and her dad Paul, we see the rare doting Black father and oh it is beautiful to watch. You can see Mary Jane is such a daddy's girl and that her whole precedent on what marriage is, and perhaps how men should be, is based on her dad a bit.
But, with wife Helen being sickly, things aren't what they used to be. Paul, seemingly hasn't had the best relationship with Helen for the last 20 some odd years, but there is no doubt he still loves her. Thing is, her dying has put the type of strain on their relationship where it seems good times are memories and not active events. What doesn't help things though is when an old friend of Paul's named Catherine comes on the scene and, as Helen notes, she basically acts like a vulture who has smelled blood and is already picking at what she can get. Paul, of course, doesn't' fully see things like that, but Mary Jane does and she is not for this woman coming into this dysfunctional, but mostly happy home.
Topic 2: A Perspective on the Present
Which, of course, is kind of contradictory. Many times in the episode, people speak on adultery and we watch as Mary Jane cringes with discomfort. What doesn't help things though is Andre deciding to get Mary Jane a very pricey looking ring. With this, she seemingly knows she is in the wrong but is afraid of possibly losing her Mr. Right, who maybe just be Mr. Right Now but the diamond is seemingly confusing things. What isn't confused though is Avery who seems like she wants her family back together, but only on her terms, which seemingly is part of the reason Andre strayed in the first place. But, being that she likes control, she comes with a post-marital pre-nup which basically is a dog leash. This leads to a lot of arguing between the two and Andre voicing some of his issues with their relationship of which Avery meets his criticism with reminders of her building him up and he leaving her with nothing but two kids, stretch marks and loneliness.
But, while Andre deals with drama at home, Mary Jane does at work. For, with Kara taking on Mark's struggling show, Mary Jane feels a bit betrayed and during their conversation, she gets a little offended and thinks Kara tried to slide an "Angry Black Woman" type insult. This is handled though and despite this fight, Kara shows up at Mary Jane's house party, with a drink and apology, and things seem smoothed over for now.
Topic 3: An Uncertain Future
What doesn't seem smooth though is Mary's overall life. While her career is stable, she sees the woman who took her former job, Tamika, getting married, getting promoted and all you can see is the envy on Mary's face as she tries to eat away her feelings. But, while marriage seemingly is distant, and something she is questioning if she really wants or is trained to want, she decides, as everyone reveals their secrets, that she has some of David's sperm frozen in the freezer. Seemingly, while she may not have a husband, nor boyfriend, she will at least have part of her dream and get the kids. Now, being that Kara, Lisa, Tamika, a stripper, and an old friend are there to witness this reveal, they all give their opinion.
And then there is the final thing worth noting which is: what will Andre do? Now, he has one wife at home, two kids, and a life built over years and then there is Mary Jane who has him hot and bothered, and who he has dated, but with his family at home and Mary Jane in her house, the question becomes: is he really ready to leave his wife? As noted with Paul Sr. and Helen in the episode, marriages have bad times and with Andre certainly being in one of them, can it be assumed that his idea of "sacrifice and suffering" really comes from him not speaking up, and not necessarily because his marriage is bad? I ask this because it seems he waxed Avery down nicely and left Mary Jane hanging when she was ready to talk.
Overall
What I enjoy the most out of this show is that it feels so rare for TV. I mean, we get productions like this in Best Man Holiday, but after that hour and a half, there is nothing like it, sometimes, for years. But, with Being Mary Jane, I feel that void is being filled. We get the laughter, the drama, those rarely spoken conversations with deal with Black culture, and the type of diverse depictions of Black people so rarely seen. So, here is to Being Mary Jane which hopefully isn't the first, and last, of these types of shows. I'm in fact hoping someone rips off this formula and puts on their own spin.
Topic 1: A Reflection on the Past
Mary Jane's family is back and there is a slight focus on her pregnant niece and her deadbeat, soon to be, baby daddy, but really the focus lies in Mary Jane's relationship with her parents, and her parent's relationship with each other. Starting with Mary Jane and her dad Paul, we see the rare doting Black father and oh it is beautiful to watch. You can see Mary Jane is such a daddy's girl and that her whole precedent on what marriage is, and perhaps how men should be, is based on her dad a bit.
But, with wife Helen being sickly, things aren't what they used to be. Paul, seemingly hasn't had the best relationship with Helen for the last 20 some odd years, but there is no doubt he still loves her. Thing is, her dying has put the type of strain on their relationship where it seems good times are memories and not active events. What doesn't help things though is when an old friend of Paul's named Catherine comes on the scene and, as Helen notes, she basically acts like a vulture who has smelled blood and is already picking at what she can get. Paul, of course, doesn't' fully see things like that, but Mary Jane does and she is not for this woman coming into this dysfunctional, but mostly happy home.
Topic 2: A Perspective on the Present
Which, of course, is kind of contradictory. Many times in the episode, people speak on adultery and we watch as Mary Jane cringes with discomfort. What doesn't help things though is Andre deciding to get Mary Jane a very pricey looking ring. With this, she seemingly knows she is in the wrong but is afraid of possibly losing her Mr. Right, who maybe just be Mr. Right Now but the diamond is seemingly confusing things. What isn't confused though is Avery who seems like she wants her family back together, but only on her terms, which seemingly is part of the reason Andre strayed in the first place. But, being that she likes control, she comes with a post-marital pre-nup which basically is a dog leash. This leads to a lot of arguing between the two and Andre voicing some of his issues with their relationship of which Avery meets his criticism with reminders of her building him up and he leaving her with nothing but two kids, stretch marks and loneliness.
But, while Andre deals with drama at home, Mary Jane does at work. For, with Kara taking on Mark's struggling show, Mary Jane feels a bit betrayed and during their conversation, she gets a little offended and thinks Kara tried to slide an "Angry Black Woman" type insult. This is handled though and despite this fight, Kara shows up at Mary Jane's house party, with a drink and apology, and things seem smoothed over for now.
Topic 3: An Uncertain Future
What doesn't seem smooth though is Mary's overall life. While her career is stable, she sees the woman who took her former job, Tamika, getting married, getting promoted and all you can see is the envy on Mary's face as she tries to eat away her feelings. But, while marriage seemingly is distant, and something she is questioning if she really wants or is trained to want, she decides, as everyone reveals their secrets, that she has some of David's sperm frozen in the freezer. Seemingly, while she may not have a husband, nor boyfriend, she will at least have part of her dream and get the kids. Now, being that Kara, Lisa, Tamika, a stripper, and an old friend are there to witness this reveal, they all give their opinion.
And then there is the final thing worth noting which is: what will Andre do? Now, he has one wife at home, two kids, and a life built over years and then there is Mary Jane who has him hot and bothered, and who he has dated, but with his family at home and Mary Jane in her house, the question becomes: is he really ready to leave his wife? As noted with Paul Sr. and Helen in the episode, marriages have bad times and with Andre certainly being in one of them, can it be assumed that his idea of "sacrifice and suffering" really comes from him not speaking up, and not necessarily because his marriage is bad? I ask this because it seems he waxed Avery down nicely and left Mary Jane hanging when she was ready to talk.
Overall
What I enjoy the most out of this show is that it feels so rare for TV. I mean, we get productions like this in Best Man Holiday, but after that hour and a half, there is nothing like it, sometimes, for years. But, with Being Mary Jane, I feel that void is being filled. We get the laughter, the drama, those rarely spoken conversations with deal with Black culture, and the type of diverse depictions of Black people so rarely seen. So, here is to Being Mary Jane which hopefully isn't the first, and last, of these types of shows. I'm in fact hoping someone rips off this formula and puts on their own spin.
