As Desna tries to escape from Roller, through flashbacks, we learn how Desna and her crew ended up in Uncle Daddy’s clutches. Full recap of this week’s Claws by @luvthispayne.
You don’t kill the one you love…
Hey Everybody, welcome back. Last time we were here, Roller had just kidnapped Desna after she informed him that she knew he had been working for the Russians. In the grand scheme of things that wasn’t one of her better ideas. Maybe she forgot she actually tried to kill him! Anyway let’s get into all the nonsense that happened this week.
The episode opens with a flashback and we actually get to see how Desna and Roller met. He conveniently comes Rolling (see what I did there) in after Desna has just finished complaining about how she needs to make more money. Nail Artisans is emptier than a tr**p inauguration ceremony. Throwback Polly offers to cut Desna in on the scam she’s been running on the seniors. You know which one, the one that landed her ass in prison. Issa no for me dawg.
Desna politely declines and in walks lover boy. Jenn goes to hug him and introduces him as Bryce’s brother. I have a theory that Jenn might’ve been the one to suggest that they use the nail shop to clean the money. I mean, what are the chances that he just happened to “come by” their shop for a manicure….. Shady boots.
Back in real time and Desna is driving while Roller holds a gun to her. Roller is obviously experiencing a little PTSD because he does the worst impression of his Lunatic Lover ever. I mean it was about as bad Will Smith’s accent in Concussion. TURRIBLE. Desna is all kinds of confused. Me too girl. Me too. Roller forces Desna to call the girls at the shop and pretend everything is all good in the neighborhood. Sadly, Ding Dong aka Virginia answers the phone. Desna explains that their plan worked and Roller isn’t going to kill them after all. Desna then suggests they go out and celebrate. She strangely and with great detail mentions that she’s going to do the same by meeting up with the Love Doctor. She says they’ll go eat lamb chops, ambrosia salad, and then she’s going to fall on his cock. Excuse me? This is oddly specific and quite frankly an overshare.
But Virginia’s lights don’t come all the way on, ever. So of course her one track mind is all, oooh you nasty. Girl read between …. Never mind she probably never had hooked on phonics. Just outside the shop and Ken clearly ain’t too proud to beg! He begs more the ASPCA in them commercials with Sarah McLachlan singing in the Arms of An Angel about malnourished dogs. Kendra. HAVE SOME DIGNITY!!!! Polly has said no, repeatedly. Dr. Ken really wants her to be his one true love and Little Polly Pocket just trying to not have to run her batteries out.
Once Little Polly Pocket is inside, Virginia happily tells her that she’s talked to Desna and Roller is going to let them slide. This doesn’t seem right to Polly so she asks for FULL details. She doesn’t get them. Virginia only mentions that Desna said it’s all good and she’s going to fall on the Love Doctor’s c*ck. This info is enough to make Polly and Jenn side eye. Desna ain’t one to usually say c*ck. Lord. Help. It still isn’t enough for Polly to launch a full scale investigation though.
Back inside the murder whip, Desna is pleading for her life by asking Roller to just call Uncle Daddy and they can explain everything. Yeah, no. Roller ain’t the least bit interested. Desna is about to die today.
We get another flashback and Jenn is tryna convince Desna that she should give Roller a shot. So basically this is all Jenn fault. I am good with blaming this all on Jenn. Desna is clearly NOT interested and I don’t blame her because “Back in the Day When I was Young” Roller has two gold teeth and a wave cap. He’s also wearing leopard print jeggings. He trying so hard. Make it stop. During this same flashback in comes 5-0 and Little Pocket is arrested. Nooooooooooooooooo! I mean technically we knew she went to prison but still nooooooooooooo. Don’t take our Lil Polly Pocket. Watching her get dragged out while crying kinda tore me up a little.
We snap out of the flashback and have returned to the Desna/Roller dilemma. Roller still desperately needs that 150K he owes the Russians so he is forcing Desna to clean out the Nail Salon accounts. This. Will. Not. Play. Well. when Uncle Daddy finds out. Roller clearly doesn’t care because he’s counting on Uncle Daddy killing her; I mean if he doesn’t kill Desna first. At the bank, Desna tries to signal for help, and EL. OH. EL. it is the most tragic and pathetic cry for help ever. Poor girl behind the counter can’t eeeeeven be blamed for not catching on. I hollered laughing.
Over at Detective Branch’s place and her and Miss Ann are being super frisky before they head to work. Branch is insisting she don’t have time for this, and Miss Ann The Punnanny Whisperer is convincing her to make time. Y’all know Miss Ann got skills for days, so Branch tells Ann to grab the toys and meet her in the shower.
Ann is fumbling and drops a toy on the floor and when she bends down to pick it up, dun dun dunnnnnn she discovers a secret file under Branch’s bed. The file seems to indicate that Desna is the link to the Coombs’ murder. Seriously, Desna don’t need this today. Did she walk under a ladder or break a mirror? Because her luck is awful right now. She stay losing, she like a little Meek Mill. Just Ls for days. Miss Ann takes this information to Polly because we all know Polly is the ONLY criminal mastermind of this group and Polly is adamant that Branch gotta go. But Miss Ann is in LOVE. What’s love got to do with it, if it means that your lover is about to arrest your best friend for murder. Its gets pretty damn ugly and Ann is even crying and YELLING. For the first time Ann has opened her heart to a woman and can truly be herself but damn Ann you had to open your heart to the PO-LEASE? Polly reminds Ann that is was Desna that nursed her back to health, gave a her a job and a place to stay when no one else looked out for her. Damn Desna the hood hero. Ann, through a breaking heart mentions that Branch was once arrested for a DUI, and this just may have saved her life. Polly devises a plan yet again to save Desna’s life.
Over at the strip club and Bryce has had a change of heart, he wants them to actually retaliate against the Russians. Listen, it’s so much going on that I almost forgot they are mad at the Russians for no reason. It’s all lies. Lies. Bryce wore his big girl panties today and manages to convince Uncle Daddy to retaliate. First time for everything I suppose. Look at Bryce tryna grow some balls. Ballsy Bryce. Uncle Daddy can’t make this call alone though because of the impending expansion so he decides to set up a meeting with their bossman, Ted, to clear it. Bryce loses his shit because Ted ain’t hearing him or Uncle Daddy about retaliating against the Russians. This is even funnier because we know the Russians didn’t even shoot Roller. But coked up Bryce loses his temper and accidentally kills Ted. Y’all already know what that dummy did next, he cried. I mean he sobbed like his puppy had just gotten run over. Bryce you just killed another person. Jenn gone flip her shit when she find out. #BryceWithTheBodyCount
Meanwhile back in the hostage standoff between Desna and Roller, Roller gets a text that the Russian twins have changed the meeting place and he’s convinced it’s because they are going to kill him. Somebody needs to. It had to be said. Welp. We also see in another flashback that Desna decided to go in with Roller because in addition to everything else she was already paying for in her life, like Dean’s medical care, their home, the shop; there is now a new expense of $300 a week for protection of Polly in prison.
Back in modern day, we see Quiet Ann looking absolutely devastated at a coffee shop with Detective Branch. As Ann is getting their coffees, she hesitantly drops a pill in Branch’s drink. Poor Ann, I cannot imagine how difficult that was. She was seriously between a rock and a hard place. Once they leave, Branch is seen by an officer swerving through traffic and eventually hitting a curb and coming to a stop. She’ll likely be arrested for another DUI. Looks like their plan will work. I don’t think Ann will be able to continue their relationship with this cloud of what she did over her head. My heart is breaking because Ann really is such a lover. Even though she acts as the enforcer, all season we’ve constantly seen her be the lover to everyone when they needed cheering up.
Back at the strip club and Uncle Daddy and Bryce are tryna hide Ted’s body when Jenn calls him. Bryce mentions he’s busy at work and can’t really talk and Jenn is really feeling the distance his new gig is causing. Plus she’s worried that he’s using again and NEWSFLASH, you right girl. But who accepted that house from Uncle Daddy though ….. That’s none of my business.
Jenn goes to see her secret lover in the stripmall and just what I expected: in between venting her frustrations, the sexual tensions boil over and Jenny the Fool kisses Hank. I mean they are full on spit swapping in public. Bryce gone murder everybody. I knew this was going to happen girl. Why are you going to this man telling him about the problems in your marriage. She wants to die. I am convinced that no one on this show enjoys living. It just doesn’t appeal to them.
Desna is running out of options as she and Roller are getting closer to their meeting location with the Russians. Desna has tried almost everything she can think of to try and convince Roller not to kill her. Nothing has worked, so she tries her last hail mary, Dean. Desna begs Roller to at least let her call Dean and say goodbye. Good thing she did because Dean was about to call her because he needs her blessing to ask for Virginia’s hand in marriage. I can’t even lie, the way Dean described Virginia’s love for him socked me right in the feels; he even said he thinks she’s on the autism spectrum. Dean so shady and I love it. Desna tearfully gives Dean her blessing and tells him where to find the money to go buy Virginia a nice ring. It really seems like our girl has lost hope. Its really about to be over for help. I need a minute.
Dean is overjoyed and so he goes to the salon to start putting his plan to propose in motion. He tells Polly to start putting out all the wedding magazines because he’s going to propose. Polly asks if he’s told Desna and to her surprise he says that he has and Desna gave him the go ahead. Now the alarms are really going off in Polly’s head. She grabs China Doll and demands that she repeat, this time verbatim, what Desna said on the phone. This time Virginia does a little better because she adds that Desna said that she was going to get some kind of euphoria salad. GOTDAMNITDUMDUM. That ain’t what she said.
Luckily for Desna, Little Polly Pocket is one smart cookie because the wheels in her head start turning and she remembers ambrosia salad was the safe word that Desna gave her when she went to prison.
Unfortunately, she may have figured it out too late because Roller and Desna have made it to the meeting place and when they get there all hell breaks loose. As Roller expected, one of the twins goes to pull a gun to kill him but quick draw McGraw Roller shoots him first and kills him, then he kills the other twin too. At this point I am screaming RUN DESNA RUN in my best Jenny from Forrest Gump voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But she’s not fast enough and Roller catches her and drags her to the end of the pier to finish her off.
Fortunately, for Desna somebody else is there and Roller turns to focus his attention on them. We don’t quite get to see who it was or know if Desna is going to make a full escape. Guess we have to wait until next week. Le sigh.
What y’all think, let me know! See you next week.
Ashley is a lawyer by day and a television, social media enthusiast by night. Catch her on twitter spreading black girl magic.
Twitter: @luvthispayne
