(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent The Chi episode will be found below.)
Mental health is the main focus of this week’s The Chi season six episode. Victor has made this the main agenda for his term on city council and he starts by giving space to the brothers in his community to open up and be transparent. In a group discussion with Shaad, Emmett, Darnell, Marcus, Quincy, and Jamal, Victor opens up about the struggles of trying to keep everyone happy in his new role. Shaad speaks about the difficulties of post-jail life, Marcus discusses the relationship between his new girlfriend Tierra and his daughter Jemma and how it affects him, Jamal opens up about not wanting to disappoint his sister Lynae while also making improvements in his life, and Emmett speaks about the new suffocating pressures that he’s dealing with. It was a nice moment to see unfold between the guys and it helped build a stronger and tighter community between them.
Elsewhere, Papa makes progress with Kenya as they finally go on a date together, and though he scores a win in their growing relationship, he also stumbles a bit along the way. Douda’s past catches up to him and it puts Victor at risk as he was involved. Tiffany and Rob find out some new requirements about their plans to open a marijuana-growing business. Jemma and Maisha’s partnership isn’t off to the smoothest start and it’s starting to create cracks in their partnership and friendship. Lastly, Shaad’s past returns to his present and he also goes back to his old ways to make some money for himself, but it’s the start of what may become a slippery and dangerous slope for him.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s fourth episode, “ReUp”:
Victor Can’t Save Everyone
Victor is feeling the pressure in his term as city councilman. As someone who did a lot of volunteer work for the city, Victor is someone people in the community call on when they need help. Now, as a city councilman, that responsibility has grown, and as he revealed in this week’s episode, Victor realizes that it’s a thankless job. He also realizes that everyone will not be happy with his decisions and that he won’t be able to save everyone. This comes alive later in the episode when Tiffany and Rob request a permit to start growing marijuana, something Victor says could take six months if approved. Tiffany and Rob storm out frustrated, once again leaving Victor with that feeling of not being a good help.
Victor has been Superman to many in his world, but as the size of the community he is responsible for expands, the likelihood of satisfying everyone decreases. It’s a tough pill to swallow, and though he’s learning how to do that, Victor will have to speed up the process to serve his community appropriately. Because, as we see with Rob and Roselyn, there are people who could ruin his goals and put him at risk with his job.
Papa, Don’t Scare Her Away
This week, Papa gets his long-awaited date with Kenya. The two go out bowling and it’s a perfect night. He helps her bowl a strike, they dance to Anita Baker, and most importantly, they share a kiss. Papa has seemingly taken this as a sign that the two “go together,” as Yung Miami infamously said, but Kenya wants him to pump the brake. When Papa calls her “my girl” during a game night with the crew, Kenya shuts it down quickly which makes for an awkward situation. Papa wants nothing more than to make things official with Kenya, but he can’t do that by rushing things because he’ll simply scare her away. He still has to turn 18 and they still have to go on a few more dates and get to know each other more. Take things slow Papa, remember what we said about patience? Looking at things from a glass-half-full perspective rather than half-empty will serve Papa well in this situation.
Shaad Can’t Better His Future By Returning To His Past
The men in this week’s episode all feel some pressure to make things shake in their respective lives, but no one feels it more than Shaad. After a stint in jail, Shaad has struggled to find a job and begin the journey toward fulfilling his post-incarceration dreams. For the time being, he has a circle of people willing to help him, and his girlfriend Deja has been a rock for him. It’s still a difficult situation as he wants to be a man of his own to support himself and his lady. That’s why it’s no surprise that we see him turn to Bakari and Douda for some quick cash. Truthfully, this isn’t the answer and it’s a slippery slope that will land him right back in jail. He can’t better his future by returning to his past. That’s what landed him in jail in the first place.
We can see that Shaad is aware of this, as he alludes to during the mental health discussion with the guys, but we find him slipping up a bit. He turns down Douda’s latest offer, but what happens when the money runs out? Good things come to those who wait and stay diligent, and surely if Shaad can do that, his own will come.
Douda Is About To Tear This Community Apart
Remember that person Douda shot because he was chewing his gum too loud? Yeah, turns out they were an FBI informant, so there’s a lot of trouble coming Douda’s way. But it’s not just him. He roped in Victor to help get rid of the body, so that makes him an accomplice. The informant also had a stash of guns that Douda now has to figure out how to hide until the coast is clear. He seemingly also has plans for Papa’s dad after he spoke out against him and refused to hold his large sum of money. With Victor’s job at risk and the chance of injury to Papa’s dad, Douda’s next moves could very well tear the community apart that he has done little to help.
He’s put kids in danger (Bakari), stressed out the potential love interests he’s had (Tiffany), invested in a business with a hidden agenda (Emmett), and hurt the good men in the community or at least put them in harm’s way (Victor). There’s a quick solution to getting rid of Douda, but it doesn’t seem like anyone will go to that extreme. Unfortunately, the worst part of it all is it seems like keeping Douda happy is the one way to keep the peace. But as we see so far in season six, it seems like those two things, and the happiness of others, won’t coexist for much longer.
New episodes of ‘The Chi’ are available through the Paramount Plus With Showtime plan on Fridays at 3am EST/ 12 pm PST. Weekly episodes also air Sundays on Showtime at 9pm EST/PST.