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Finally, Miss Mississippi fans got some of the answers they have been craving.
That’s not to say that P-Valley Season 2 Episode 5 was the last word on the relationship between Keyshawn and her abusive, cracker baby daddy, Derrick.
As this episode pointed out, their union is complicated, putting it nicely.
The biggest problem for this couple is that they’re presently heading in different directions.
Derrick is one of those ex-jocks whose life peaked in high school. He blames Keyshawn for “trapping” him and ruining his future (as a cheerleader?).
Having a lover that no one will hire, Keyshawn has been able to monetize her Miss Mississippi persona even amid a pandemic.
This twisted fairy tale, narrated oh so effectively by Uncle Clifford, did go a long way toward explaining what had brought Keyshawn and Derrick to where they are now. They have history, indeed.
The flashbacks hammered home how young the two are, even though life has made them appear older. Their older child, Jayden, is 3, making them barely out of their teens. (Can that be right?)
As was evident throughout this episode, Keyshawn naively sees the good in everyone.
Combine that with a bad situation she wanted to escape (sound familiar?). Her father remarried a woman, Shannice, who had two daughters that she favored over Keyshawn, now the ugly duckling of the family.
It didn’t, and doesn’t, help that Keyshawn won’t hesitate to speak her mind, even when she might be better served by a bit of diplomacy. Calling the stepmother that she’s stuck with a “homewrecker” didn’t enamor her to Shannice.
Speaking of “shooting off her mouth,” wasn’t it great to see slightly younger Gidget, who continues to be completely oblivious of the concept of tact?
In any event, Keyshawn needed herself a Prince Charming, and she found one at cheering tryouts. Her stepsister Alisha made the team, and Keyshawn didn’t, but Keyshawn got the big prize: Derrick.
Despite the disapproval of their budding romance from both black and white, Derrick was oh so sweet to Keyshawn. She could even overlook his savaging several football players because, well, they were mean to her.
Keyshawn even failed to read between the lines when the black football players got suspended, but her monied, cheering-star white boyfriend was allowed to skate after initiating the brawl.
She even felt sorry for Derrick when she realized that his father was beating him, not understanding what that portended for her.
Even a boozy Shannice, well on her way to becoming James’s next ex, attempted to warn Keyshawn, but that instance of passion after the ball had changed life for both her and Derrick.
Derrick blamed Keyshawn for being cut off from his life of privilege even though he was a willing participant. After he nearly choked the life out of her, as Uncle Clifford explained, Miss Mississippi was born, as Keyshawn began plotting her next escape.
Flash forward to the present, where Miss Mississippi was ruling at the Legends Bowl in Atlanta, dazzling patrons and her fellow dancers.
Yet all was not right for Keyshawn as Rome, her road manager, was getting fuller and fuller of himself by the day, aggravating all the members of the Dirty Dozen Tour.
Also, fast-talking Rome was doing the bare minimum to keep Keyshawn informed about what he was doing in her name, extending the tour or changing merchandise for her to endorse without consulting with her.
Even worse, as the architect of Keyshawn’s success, he also felt entitled to her, attempting to have sex with her as his deserved payment.
Keyshawn did give a spirited speech about how strippers are always in control in their dealings with patrons.
But that talk rang hollow when she was trapped in a room with Rome, who assaulted and attempted to rape her. It would ring more hollow when she returned home to Derrick.
Rome had a significant misjudgment when he threatened to expose Murda as gay. Woddy was used to dealing with death and had no qualms when it came to dealing death as well. Rome got the end he deserved for his actions toward everyone and his hubris.
Keyshawn’s decision to run away from the tour probably will finish it since she was the headliner, not Murda.
Naturally, she missed her kids. But going home meant having to deal with her possessive nanny, Derrick, who instantly was on edge about the change of schedule.
Keyshawn was correct to be suspicious of Jayden’s constant fussiness and to take him to a doctor to be checked. Wouldn’t the doctor have to report that abuse to authorities?
It was understandable that Keyshawn was enraged that Derrick had abused Jayden. But in all their time together, hasn’t she learned to handle him at all?
Her coming in hot and emasculating Derrick was bound to set him off, and it did.
But she didn’t deserve the beating she received and the terror she felt when Derrick threatened her with an iron.
Will this be the last straw for Keyshawn?
As Uncle Clifford noted in his narration, “A bitch isn’t ready to be saved until she’s good and goddamn ready.” Is Keyshawn ready now?
To revisit Keyshawn’s turmoil, watch P-Valley online.
Do you understand Keyshawn and Derrick’s relationship better now?
Did Rome deserve the fate he received?
Will Keyshawn finally attempt to escape from Derrick?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.