And it’s as good as you hoped it would be!
Dear White People returned Friday with a second season (or volume, as they call it). If you're familiar with the Netflix series, you know that each episode centers around one of the main characters.
Season 1 gave us episodes from the POV of Sam (Logan Browning), Lionel (DeRon Horton), Reggie (Marque Richardson), Troy (Brandon P. Bell), Coco (Antoinette Robertson), and Gabe (John Patrick Amedori) — but left out Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson), one of the series' most notable characters.
Netflix
This season, Joelle finally graduates to main character status and gets her own episode, allowing Featherson to step out of the "dark skinned best friend" character trope.
As it happens, episode 5 follows Featherson's character Joelle attempting to do the same.
Netflix
The episode tackles Joelle's struggle with colorism as a dark skinned black woman who constantly finds herself in the shadow of her light skinned best friend.
Joelle and Sam's friendship is the strongest out of all the bonds in the squad, but their dynamic is complex, with issues that often go unseen (by Sam) and unspoken (by Joelle). Colorism is at the center of their conflict: Joelle believes Sam's biracial physical traits make her more appealing to most (hi, Reggie) and has grown accustomed to shrinking herself in Sam's presence before others do it for her. Sam doesn't notice because her privilege in that arena makes it a blindspot for her.
Saeed Adyani/Netflix
To its credit, the episode doesn't paint Joelle as totally insecure. She knows she's the shit — she just wants everyone else to wake up and realize she is, too.
It also gives us a look at Joelle's backstory and current life outside of the group. We learn that she's as brilliant as she is beautiful and funny. She comes from a loving two-parent household and attended an all-black high school that helped give her a deep sense of self. Despite all this, she's still often framed as a sidekick because, as she puts it, “This world is not kind to the Kellys [Rowland] of this world."
Scott Patrick Green / Scott Patrick Green/Netflix
We also get a MUCH needed romantic storyline co-starring a very fine chocolate man.
There's a hilarious plot twist here that I refuse to spoil for you, but there's tons of A+ flirting that takes place in-between that I was all the way here for. As Joelle says in the DWP trailer, their banter is so good it's as if Shonda Rhimes wrote it.
Greg Gayne/Netflix
And yes, the new season does touch on the love triangle between Joelle, Reggie, and Sam as well. Including a surprise ending you won't see coming.
Netflix / Via giphy.com
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