To Be Young, Gifted, And Broke – The episode opens in 2019 in Boston with Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray) interviewing as Chantal Wilson an assistant editor position. Editor-In-Chief Anna Voohries (Kim Jackson Davis) commends her writing but the position requires a college degree. Hazel claims to be a caregiver for her paralyzed mother leaving her no time for college. Assuring Anna that she is dedicated, Hazel begs to not be excluded for consideration.  Anna suggests applying for an unpaid internship.

Hazel’s mother badgers her for being dressed up. Hazel claims the outfit came from Goodwill before informing her of the interview. Her mother says she already has a good job. Hazel says the new position includes insurance and a salary that would cover a caregiver.

At Harvard, Hazel attends a celebration for the release of Diana Gordon’s (Garcelle Beauvais) book. “Burning Heart.” When people are asked if they have any questions, Hazel embarrasses herself by asking a basic question. She claims to be an English major. In the library, Diana assures Hazel that the event will be forgotten by tomorrow. Hazel admits to not being student before explaining how she feels stuck as her mother’s caregiver. Diana informs her of the sisterhood before inviting her to dinner. After giving her a signed copy of her novel, Diana says she may have come from nothing but she is lucky to have met the right people who will help her.

Diana expresses her gratitude for everyone in attendance. She assures them if they stand united, they can achieve anything. She welcomes Hazel to the sisterhood. Every girl speaks freely about what they want most in life. Diana goes around the room applying grease to each of the girl’s temples. Hazel is hesitant to express her desires because others are more deserving. Diana tells her there is not shame. Hazel admits to wanting acceptance from others and freedom.

Boston, 2021 – Hazel admits to being nervous about her first assignment. Diana reminds her that she completed a 9-month training session. Hazel asks if anyone reported memory loss or burning scalp from the grease. Diana says it may be a new side effect before urging her to use more. Hazel asks the origin of the grease. Diana claims to have developed it for a friend. Hazel’s cover ID is Eva.

Hazel returns to Cooper’s Review where Anna Voorhies swoons over her resume and hires her on the spot. Sometime later, Hazel enlists Shani’s (Karina Willis) help in uploading her presentation to Cooper’s server. After that, the two become fast friends with Shani sharing office gossip with Hazel. At a bar one night, Shani tells her that Franklin Copper is sleeping with Kayla. When Hazel thanks her for trusting her, Shani asks how she manages to let everything roll off her back. Hazel pulls out the hair grease and claims it to be “CBD for the soul”.

Although Shani smells of the grease, she chooses not to take it. Hazel grabs her hand before admitting that she used to be just like her. The feeling that she had to fix all the world’s problems complicated Hazel’s life so much. Shani jerks her hand away and says the world is supposed to be hard. Hazel attempts to physically stop her from leaving, but Shani manages to get away.

At home on the phone with Diana, Hazel apologizes for messing up Shani’s recruitment. Diana becomes even more frustrated when Hazel admits to not following involuntary protocols. She claims there was too much going on with trying to tip the waiter and pay for the check. Hazel points out that she did record the conversation and Shani said some things that can get her in trouble. Diana assures her everything will be fine, but she’ll handle it from now on.

Shani arrives at Coppers the next day to find a security guard (Charlie Parrish) boxing up her belongings. Anna calls her into the office. Seconds later, Shani is shown outside on the phone arguing with her landlord over a missed payment. Shani asks where she’s going to live now before threatening to get her lawyer cousin involved. The conversation ends when she’s attacked by a stranger in a hoodie.

At home, Hazel quickly packs her belongings while arguing with Diana about how Shani’s situation turned out. Diana claims Shani should have been an easy target, but now she’s a threat to them all. Hazel turns down Diana’s new assignment before questioning why the other girls get to stay. Diana argues it’s because their lives weren’t a lie in the first place. The life Hazel is living isn’t one she wants. Diana tells her to stop playing the victim while reminding her that the world doesn’t just happen. Instead, it’s what you decide to do. Hazel decides to leave moments  later.

Hazel visits her mother who accuses her of acting like she’s better than her. Hazel says she is better than this and reminds her mother that she is too if she would stop acting like a victim of circumstance. Her mother claims she doesn’t have a choice before saying she doesn’t recognize Hazel anymore. Hazel believes that’s a good thing.

When Hazel visits Diana, she says she doesn’t want to go back to being what she was. Diana vows that she’ll do whatever she can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Diana claims to be so hard on her because she knows how special Hazel is. She then says she needs to know how committed Hazel is because she has a very important assignment for an old friend. If Hazel completes it, she can be free. After Hazel assures her she won’t let her down, she meets Richard Wagner (Eric McCormack) who welcomes her before saying that Diana told him she was the best. She says she is and asks to know everything about Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniel).

 

The Other Black Girl Review

This was not a bad episode for an entire flashback, although the story has shaped into something entirely unbelievable. I found the workplace drama much more interesting and would love to learn more about the Diana and Kendra relationship which could be covered in the finale.

At the very least, this episode provided a lot of insight into Hazel’s behavior. It just feels like the grease thing takes away from what was a serious, compelling drama on its own. The episode was decent although not as good as some of the earlier ones. It scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Other Black Girl can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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