RECAP: "Line in the Sand"-Being Mary Jane S2, E9

Tuesday's episode of Being Mary Jane was definitely an interesting one (but then again, that's every episode!). Picking up from last week, Mary Jane does a story about human trafficking in the United States, discussing various statistics and laws, as well as conducting an interview with Leah Albright-Byrd who went through this, and created an organization dedicated to a friend called Bridget's Dream. I loved it, because it actually seemed like a natural conversation with Leah explaining her story.

That night at her home, Mary Jane has a small party to celebrate getting nominated for an Emmy for Talk Back. The next day at work, however, there's tension between MJ and Kara, who feels like MJ needs to give more direction to the writers and producers. She is going in this new direction and loving it, but the ratings are still low, in spite of the Emmy nom. Greg doesn't want them to wait until it's too late to change things. At the production meeting, later, Mary Jane wants to go back to her "ugly black woman" story, which Kara feels is dead news. The writers try to spin it, but Kara is not feeling it at all. She's uncomfortable with dealing with race completely, it seems, so I'm not surprised.


That night, Mary Jane goes to meet Valerie, thinking they were celebrating her Emmy nom, but Valerie is trying to go to bed! Valerie asks about MJ's drinking, to which Mary Jane admits that she just had a shot of tequila. However, Valerie calls her out on even that, saying that Mary Jane was always the "responsible one," and wouldn't think to drive at all after drinking anything. She also advises MJ to maybe take Xanax to help ease her stress, but Mary Jane believes she's just fine. I think she's on the road to getting better, honestly. She let go of David finally, is working on a better direction of her show that she's passionate about, and is talking to Sheldon now. She's on her way.

At home, MJ calls her cutty buddy for some fun. She tries to walk him through what goes into creating the show with Kara, but he's just so dumbfounded. Clearly, she's just in it for the sex.The next day, she asks her father if he has been watching the new shows, and he hasn't. She explains that she's branding herself, doing stories that she actually cares about it, which Paul understands. I can tell it bothers her a little bit though that he hasn't been watching.

Meanwhile, Patrick attempts to do D'Asia's hair before school, when there's a knock at the door. It's D'Asia's grandmother, who explains that Tracy has been arrested for shoplifting. She also tells him that she's a little short on rent, and that Tracy borrowed $200 from her last week, looking for him to help her out. Patrick doesn't really have it, and she asks if he can ask his family. He refuses, but pulls a little together, planning to get her the rest by the end of the week. More and more, I'm seeing that he's not a bum trying to mooch of Mary Jane, but just a man down on his luck trying to get things back together with his life. It's rough out there.

At the station, Gary approaches Kara in the lunch room about Mary Jane's new direction. He openly wonders why black people get so "sensitive over this stuff" and why MJ is so upset. He thinks she should just "do the damn job and shut up." Kara walks away, without even defending MJ. Literally tells him that the microwave is "all his" to use, and walks out! I can't deal with her! At this point, it's not even about just defending Mary Jane. It's about defending cultures and educating people. I've found, just in my short 24 years of life, that, yes, some people are racist, but many are simply uneducated. She is really disappointing. She tries to play it a little too safe all the time. You are an executive producer, so you have a little more room to speak your mind, Kara! Okay, rant over.

As he tries to get D'Asia to school, Patrick's car won't start yet again. They have to walk, and, when they arrive, D'Asia asks if her mom is picking her up. Patrick tells her that her grandfather will instead. The kid definitely knows that something is up. After D'Asia leaves, the Vice Principal wants to talk about D'Asia's tardiness and her lunch. Apparently, D'Asia hasn't had lunch technically for five months, and the school has been providing it. Of course, because nothing comes free, there is a charge that Patrick will have to pay.

At the store, Mary Jane gets into a dispute with a guy in the parking lot who calls her a "black bxtch" and then an "ugly black monkey," which tears her up. She literally stands in shock, and then goes home to cry. She gets a call from Valerie, who comes over to chill and celebrate her nomination. MJ asks about Lisa, who is doing yoga with Valerie. MJ asks if she was wrong for what she said to Lisa, and doesn't understand why she has issues with everyone. At that point, Mary Jane calmy releases everything that's on her heart. She feels like she's going through the motions when it comes to her relationships with others. She helps out all the time, but when everything is okay with everyone, no one is checking up on her at all. It's very true, and that can make a person wonder what is wrong with them to not deserve that love back from the people in her life.

That night, D'Asia sleeps over at Patrick's place. He gets a call from Tracy in jail, who asks about D'Asia. She reveals that her bail is $3,000. Patrick then texts Mary Jane, who gives him a check  to talk about it, further proving her point, but she does it with peace.

On her show, Mary Jane has a panel on black women's beauty, about a negative article that came out regarding black women's beauty. The conclusion was this: People will continually try to debunk that beauty. At the end of the day, black women have to believe themselves that they are beautiful. It was a very interesting discussion that I would have loved to see in real life. As Kara watches, she's irritated. I can tell that Kara and MJ are going to have a huge argument soon.

Meanwhile, Patrick goes to see Tracy in jail, who admits that she messed up. She looks like she's been using, and claims to want to get help as soon as she gets out. Tracy is shaking like a fiend, and Patrick lies to her, saying that he didn't get the money for her bail, but is working on it. He instead uses the money to pay off the balance for D'Asia's lunches. I don't blame him at all. Not trying to be unsympathetic to Tracy, because she DOES need help. However, making sure D'Asia is good is more important to Patrick, and it should be

Later, Mary Jane watches a documentary about black women and beauty, and gets a call from Sheldon, who takes her out on the town. They go to a chicken shack, which Mary Jane is a little taken aback by, but she obliges. Again, I LOVE them together! I hope that they are able to form a real relationship, and that she doesn't mess it up!

Images via BET