When we left the Bordelons, it was clear that the stage had been set for a turning point. In “Delicate and Strangely Made” multiple truths come to a head.
Davis’s secret child is now national news and Charley’s life is in a flux. She has been dodging calls from her mother and avoiding her family. Even when Nova comes to her house to talk, Charley asks her to leave, claiming, “I don’t need a lecture.” This is a hurt that Charley wants to process on her own and with Micah — no one else. Her friend and investigator tells her, “You can’t change what Davis did, you can only find peace with it.” Speaking of the ongoing investigation, outside of her personal problems, Charley is still tracking the questionable dealings of the Landry family? Their claim that farmers’ land was being vacated due to EPA concerns is proven to be false, as expected. Instead of an environmental cleanup, the Landrys have hired a surveyor — an indication that the land will be put up for sale. The Landrys have a plan for that land, but who knows what that will mean for the farmers and St. Josephine at large.
Elsewhere, Micah is dealing with the fallout of his father’s secret in his own way. It’s clear that he and his girlfriend are slowly growing apart as he latches on to his new friend group. Micah is challenging his anger into more productive means and stepping out of his shell. At an abandoned parking lot, Micah and his friends are confronted by quotidian white supremacists in a pick-up truck. It’s a scene that seems created to show Micah’s emerging transformation. After one of the interlopers calls his friend a “black bitch,” Micah walks up to their car and rips off their Confederate flag. His confrontation with the white supremacists was brave but dangerous given what we know about white vigilantes and the dead black people. But nonetheless, it shows that Micah is coming into his own.
Blue has been acting out at school again and now Darla is on the case. Ralph Angel claims that he has handled the situation, but that is clearly not true. It takes Darla asking Blue direct questions about why he’s acting out to get an answer: Blue pushed a boy in class because he said that Darla left because she doesn’t love Blue. Ralph Angel is less than attentive. His new boarder is bringing in questionable characters to the house. He also seems preoccupied with his burgeoning relationship with Trinh. He seems attuned to everything but Blue’s needs. The blow-up between Darla and Ralph Angel that seemed destined to happen finally transpires. Darla demands equal parenting rights and Ralph Angel can’t take any personal responsibility for the current state of things. He can only use Darla’s lies to deflect from the real concerns she brings up about the environment Ralph Angel has Blue living in. “I want equal stake in my son’s life,” Darla says. Blue will stay with Darla for now. Ralph Angel seems to be holding on by a thread.
Aunt Vi’s business is booming. It looks like the future of “Vi’s Prize Pies” is to be stocked in every store freezer throughout Louisiana. This is a move that could put Violet on the map after years of sidestepping the spotlight to help others. Her time is coming, and it’s coming soon. Relatedly, Violet suspects that Nova has a new friend, but for now, her brief interaction with Remy is still Nova’s secret.
In the end, Charley makes peace with Davis’s lies by burning all of the memorabilia she owns as she and Micah watch them go up in flames in silence. Hopefully the flames will allow Charley to start anew and put Davis’s indiscretions behind her. At home, Nova tells Remy that they can’t continue, and back at the farm, Ralph Angel is left alone to think through the events of the last week.
This episode seems to operate as a turning point for the Bordelon clan. Now that Blue is with Darla, will Ralph Angel finally find time for some much needed introspection? How will Charley move forward now that she knows the truth about the Landry’s land dealings? What’s next for Nova and Remy? We are closer to finding out.
