Fake Smile – As the sixth episode of The Other Black Girl begins, Owen (Hunter Parrish) and Malaika (Brittany Adebumola) complain about Nella being out so late. They suspect she met with that stalker woman. Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniel) says she didn’t even show up. She goes on to admit that she doesn’t know any more about Hazel or Eva. Nella isn’t sure if she trusts Hazel, but she is still her coworker. She needs to be stressing out about her responsibility at work and not Hazel. Later that night, Nella tries to find out more about Eva. Then, she turns her attention to being a successful editor.

At work, Maisy (Alyshia Ochse) tells Nella to take whatever she wants and leave the rest. Nella speaks to Richard Wagner (Eric McCormack) about signing her clients. Richard asks about Jesse Watson. After she says she is a big fan, Richard tells her to go get him. Nella isn’t sure that is going to happen because Jesse has been all over the news canceling Wagner. Richard says they need someone to call them on their BS like she always has. He explains that the board is ready to put all of Wagner’s resources behind Diana’s imprint so Jesse can basically write his own check. Nella asks if she can do something else because she doesn’t think Jesse can be bought. Richard questions whether she really believes in what they’re doing there.

Once she says yes, Richard admits that’s why he knows she can convince Jesse. Nella eventually agrees to try. Diana Gordon (Garcelle Beauvais) looks at potential covers for the book but doesn’t find one that aligns with what she is envisioning. While Hazel (Ashleigh Murray) works with her, Nella tries to come up with a message to send to Lena Jordon. Since Nella is busy and distracted, Hazel and Diana make the decision without her. In private, Hazel tells Nella that she deserves this. Hazel visits Owen at his workplace to ask for his help. She tells him about Young, Black, and Lit which is a charity that tutors kids. Hazel thought his school might like to partner with them. Owen says that sounds great.

She asks if he has noticed Nella acting weird. Hazel thinks he should check on her and make sure she is feeling okay. Jerrod asks Owen if that was his girlfriend before Owen tells him to go home. At home, Owen tells Nella about Hazel’s visit. He questions why she isn’t singing anymore. A knock at the door interrupts their conversation. A man gives her a package, but can’t tell her who sent it. Nella is shocked that it is an original manuscript of Burning Heart. She suspects Diana sent it to her. Nella spends the night reading through the manuscripts and the notes from Diana and Kendra. When she wakes up on the subway, she receives a message from Lena Jordan saying Jesse is willing to meet.

Malaika tries to prove to Owen that Hazel is a liar. She shows him their website and explains that Hazel isn’t on it. Malaika also finds it odd that Hazel’s Instagram only goes back one year. Hazel keeps tagging this guy so Malaika wants to go to the guys’ barbershop. At work, Nella thanks Diana for trusting her. Diana thought the manuscript might give her inspiration. Nella goes over the book’s ending and says the original in the manuscript was tragic because Evie was murdered by her abusive lover. It speaks to the misogyny within the Black Panther party. Nella argues they should use the original ending because it’ll pull in a whole new audience.

Plus, it’ll surprise her loyal readers. Diana wants some time to think about it. At the barbershop, Malaika and Owen confront Manny Juarez (Angelo Diaz). They agree to wait as long as it takes to get a haircut from Manny. Nella meets Jesse Watson (Langston Kerman) and tells him about the upcoming rerelease of Burning Heart. She wants to help Jesse spread his message everywhere. Jesse says he isn’t just chasing checks. He thinks she should get out of there because she has so much ambition. Jesse says they have openings at the show. Jesse argues that she was willing to embarrass herself for them.

He questions whether they’d do the same for her. Jesse tells Nella to call him when she has climbed out of it and has grown a spine. Manny tells Owen that he is ready for him. He tells them that he has a lady in his life and they’ve been together for about a year. Malaika says he must’ve known her when she was in Boston. Manny says he never lived in his Boston and his girl didn’t either. He asks Malaika if she is that Shani chick. Manny wants them to get out even though he hasn’t finished cutting Owen’s hair. Nella shows Diana something and asks if it is about the ending of Burning Heart. Diana says she wrote that ending before she knew Burning Heart would get published.

Diana and Kenny spent hours talking it through. They thought they had landed it, but Richard thought otherwise. He thought it was too much for white people. Diana convinced herself she was changing the ending for all the black writers coming after her. Kenny hated Richard for it and Diana is still mad at him. After she saw what Burning Heart became, she didn’t fully regret it. Nella argues they should change the ending because they should stop compromising. She goes on to tell Diana what the book did for her when she read it. Nella keeps saying she believes in Wagner, but she really believes in this. Diana finally says they should do it.

She tells Richard it is time and she should’ve never listened to him. Diana says they’re going to do things her way from now on. During lunch, Nella learns about Owen and Malaika visiting the barber. They believe something happened in Boston based on the way Manny reacted. Malaika recommends calling out Hazel because she’ll flee to another city. Nella confronts Hazel to ask if she has ever gone by the name Eva. Hazel worries she has been talking to the girl with the scar. She says it is Shani. Hazel would’ve come to her if it was the other way around. She wonders what she is going to do if Shani followed her there.

Hazel gets upset and leaves. Later, Hazel approaches Shani (Karina Willis) to tell her she should’ve left her alone. Shani is chained up.

 

The Other Black Girl Review

The premise of The Other Black Girl remains very interesting, the cinematography is consistent, and the performances are good. However, it is starting to feel like the story has overstayed its welcome to the point that any believability the series had has been diminished. Truthfully, the series might’ve been too ambitious considering it is trying to juggle so much simultaneously.

Some of those things are more interesting even if they often receive less focus than others. The pacing can be a little sluggish at times with scenes that sometimes stray too far from the path. In other words, the story doesn’t have enough focus. With everything going on, it is hard to know exactly what the purpose of the show really is.

If The Other Black Girl had been more precise, several episodes probably could’ve been cut off and the series would’ve been more impactful. Overall, the core story is interesting even if it is muddled and overshadowed by everything else. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Other Black Girl are available on Reel Mockery here.

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