P-Valley 2×10 Review: “Mississippi Rule”

P-Valley season 2 came to a close with an intense finale, titled ‘Mississippi Rule’, as the writers developed certain storylines in an unpredictable manner.

One of the biggest narrative arcs for the second season of P-Valley was Hailey/Autumn’s insistence on selling the Pynk for millions of dollars to people who wanted to build a casino. She didn’t care about what would happen to Uncle Clifford or the women who worked at the Pynk. Autumn’s all about starting a new life for herself somewhere far away from Chucalissa. I think Autumn, as a character, just refuses to settle even if she’s surrounded by people like Uncle Clifford who want to support her and province her with a sense of family.

It was clear from the beginning that the Pynk would survive by the end of season two. However, what I wasn’t expecting was how everything worked out. I don’t know about you, but I smiled when I got to learn about the creation of the Corbin Kyle Canal and how it related back to what Uncle Clifford told Corbin a couple of episodes ago. If there’s one thing Uncle Clifford’s going to do, it’s to use every option available to save the Pynk, even if it meant striking a deal with someone like Corbin or agreeing to Big L’s dangerous suggestion near the end of the episode (which I’ll get to in a bit).

Realizing she lost her home in Chucalissa, I think it made sense for Hailey to leave. She got back the money she used to save the Pynk during the first season and she stole even more from Uncle Clifford before leaving. And with Hailey being pregnant with Andre’s twins, I think we will see her again down the line if this show continues for a bunch more seasons (and I hope it does!). Until then, from what I could gather, the fandom’s okay with Hailey being written off in such a manner. She wasn’t regarded as the most interesting character in the ensemble.

Coming back to the money she stole, I felt bad for Uncle Clifford saying yes to Big L selling drugs to make money for the Pynk. Uncle Clifford’s been very vocal about staying away from drugs, but I guess she had no other choice in the matter. Here’s hoping Uncle Clifford’s approval doesn’t come back to haunt her. But then again, who am I kidding? This is P-Valley after all, of course, she will get to experience the ramifications of her decision soon enough.

As for Uncle Clifford’s love life, ‘Mississippi Rule’ spent a good amount of time exploring her relationship with Lil Murda. It made sense for Uncle Clifford to want to break up with Lil Murda because she didn’t want to come between him and his rap career. Also, I’m here for Uncle Clifford putting her foot down and making it clear to Lil Murda that she needed something real in her life. There’s no way someone like Uncle Clifford was going to be pushed back into the closet just so the public wouldn’t suspect that Lil Murda was in love with her. The scene where Uncle Clifford talked to her dead mother did a lot to explain why Uncle Clifford’s so afraid of allowing love into her life.

I have to say that Lil Murda making his queerness and love for Uncle Clifford public did surprise me. I get that the writing team wanted to do something good for both characters, but considering the circumstances they’re in, Lil Murda coming out in such a manner didn’t feel realistic (even in the context of P-Valley). But oh well, I don’t really want to complain. Such a narrative decision does open doors to some interesting drama if this show returns for a season 3. I’m looking forward to seeing how Lil Murda will navigate his professional life as a queer rapper.

Mercedes also got a good ending to her arc. With her mother now the Mayor of Chucalissa, I liked how she allowed Mercedes to reconnect with Terricka. Mercedes and Patrice have a long way to go to mend their relationship, but at least this was a start. And with Farrah sending royalties to Mercedes for selling her pictures, I’m here for things to continue to work out well for Mercedes. She deserves all the happiness in her life.

I also wanted things to go right for Keyshawn for once, but I had a feeling the writers had other plans. Seeing her lose everything while being so close to freedom was devastating. Derrick really played dirty when he called in the people from CPS. I think having Keyshawn go berserk and attack him wasn’t part of his plan, though. He was just trying to find a way to have her stay put in Chucalissa. With Keyshawn now in jail, I’m really worried about her kids. Ugh! Let Keyshawn be happy, P-Valley writers!

As for the big cliffhanger in the finale, I think everyone knew that Big Bone was up to no good. However, I would have never suspected that she was linked to Montavius somehow. With Diamond being kidnapped by Big Bone and the boss of her group, I hope he’s able to survive what they will put him through. Torturing Diamond might lead him to name-drop Big L, Mercedes, and Uncle Clifford. Again, I hope P-Valley returns for a third season because things can’t end like this!

The only storyline I found boring was the stuff between Andre and his wife. I really don’t care about Andre. The fact that he decided to stay in Chucalissa made me roll my eyes. Couldn’t he be written off like Hailey? Sigh!

Now, to be fair, I did like what Andre told his wife about how he had to change himself to fit into society as a “good” Black man and how he’s not sure if she’s in love with the “real” Andre or the mask he’s been wearing. The writers did a good job of allowing Andre as well as Lil Murda to rethink their lives and whether or not the masks they wore were worth it.

You can watch my coverage of the previous episodes of P-Valley season 2 over on The Geekiary’s YouTube channel.

What did you think of the season two finale of P-Valley?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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