She’s Royal – The episode begins in the summer of ’79 when the Jenkins family moves from Jamaica to the States. The much younger Veronica (Helena Pipe) doesn’t appear to be at all happy with the move and maintains regular correspondence with someone back home named Albert, who promises to work his bones to the fingers to get to her. Although ready nosey and insistent, Maggie (Santana Holness) appears to be very well-behaved for her age. In addition, there is always the reliable Irish neighbor, Geraldine (Aoife McMahon).
Despite Young Wilfred’s (Carl Spencer) best attempts, it doesn’t seem that he can please Veronica. It isn’t long after their move that baby Sylvie (Jereca Tafari) comes along and before they know it, she’s 17 years old and attracting the attention of an older man, Romero. Sylvie ignores Maggie’s (Ayesha Griffiths) warnings and before she knows it, Romero is ducking her calls and she has a child of her own, Queenie (Nyah Majaliwa).
By the time Queenie’s 11th birthday rolls around Veronica (Llewella Gideon) and Wilfred (Joseph Marcell) are now officially grandparents thanks to Maggie Jenkins (Michelle Greenidge) recently giving birth to Diana Jenkins (Cristale De’Abreu). At the time, Sylvie Jenkins (Ayesha Antonie) appears to be a nurse and according to Queenie, has a boyfriend named Roy (Harrison Daniels).
Three months in the future, Queenie’s and Sylvie’s disappearance from a Jenkins family dinner suggests that life has taken a drastic turn. Wilfred’s sudden departure from the table and Maggie and Veronica’s conversation reveal that Roy and Sylvie’s relationship has gotten more serious and the family isn’t happy about it.
The problems are all but confirmed in the next shot with Queenie sitting fully clothed in the bathtub while Roy and Sylvie argue in the background. It appears Queenie and her lack of manners are the topic of the argument and this too is later confirmed when Queenie comes out for dinner at Sylvie’s beckoning. A month later, shows that things have gotten so bad that Sylvie has begun leaving Queenie alone at the apartment while she visits Roy.
It isn’t long before it’s revealed that Queenie (Dionne Brown) has been sharing the preceding story with her new therapist, Janet (Melissa John). The abandonment ended once Maggie found out and took Queenie in. From there she transitioned to her grandparents and then later her father’s. The stay at her dad’s apparently didn’t last long thanks to his girlfriend. Janet surmises that Queenie’s problems stem from her feelings of rejection which she tries to feel with meaningless sex for affirmation. The session continues about the same way until Queenie faints from a panic attack.
Queenie later wakes with Veronica standing over her. She apologizes for her outburst before leaving Janet’s office but she waves it off and schedules another session for next week. The cab ride home is even more embarrassing for Queenie, with Veronica vilifying her for not speaking to her mother. She seems to think this will solve all her problems. Much to her surprise, when the Cab Driver (Nick Miller) drops them off at Veronica’s house, Queenie doesn’t get out and asks to be taken to Kyazike Mayagenda’s (Bellah) address. It takes some convincing but Veronica eventually lets her go.
Wilfred doesn’t appear to be any more at ease when Veronica returns without Queenie. Wilfred offers to make her a cup of tea which turns into a conversation about Queenie always being emotional, like Sylvie. Veronica suggests that Wilfred might have better luck speaking with her as he always appears to be able to get through to Sylvie. She appears to be slightly hurt when he tells her that they all would likely be in a better place if they learned to speak about their problems. He ultimately tells her that Queenie should continue therapy and they might even be able to learn something from this younger generation.
Much to Queenie’s surprise, it is Frank Ssebendeke II (Samuel Adewunmi) who answers the door at Kyazike’s flat. Although Kyazike isn’t home and Frank is in the middle of painting the apartment, he takes the time to invite her in and ask about her day. She tells him that she went to therapy but doesn’t give him the details and falls asleep on the couch while muttering how no one ever wants her. Kyazike eventually returns home and goes off on Frank. Kyazike appears to be under the impression that Frank wants to sleep with Queenie and since he has commitment issues of his own, she is highly against their hooking up.
Queenie Review
I can appreciate that this episode took an entirely different turn. It wasn’t just that it was mostly told in flashbacks, but there was something about it that felt entirely different. This was also the first time that I noticed Wilfred was Jeffrey from the original Fresh Prince sitcom. I guess it was seeing him without his cap that sparked the recognition.
All that aside, it appears Queenie’s problems with Sylvie run much deeper and stranger than I had imagined. For some reason, Sylvie appears to need to be needed, if that makes sense. Despite how revealing the episode was, it wasn’t one of my favorites. I’d only give it a 5 out of 10 but can’t say I regret watching it.
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