(The two-episode premiere begins at 10 p.m. and continues tomorrow in the regular Wednesday-at-10 timeslot.)
Their father dies but leaves behind a profound inheritance: a sugarcane farm.
And not just growing sugar, butprocessingsugar, achieving what Marx called ownership of the means of production.
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The show suggests theyre opposites with a clever visual palette.
Theres a different sort of power when the show turns to Charley, especially when she gets an office.
drove a wedge between the man and his sisters.
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And now the land is his life, just like the Queen Sugar Mill has become his sisters life.
Theres much more toQueen Sugarthan these two characters, more recognizably modern controls than Farm and Factory.
DuVernay directed the first two episodes, and her authorial fascinations run throughout the show.
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Theres some cleverness in this moment, though, and it speaks to the shows deeper resonance.
In his marriage to Charley, she had helped brand-build him into a beloved figure nicknamed The Gentleman.
With professional ease, he offers platitudes that sound honorable and then suddenly trend double entendre-ish.
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Together we are stronger.
There are a lot of moments like this inQueen Sugar, the personal and the political clashing wildly.
The third Bordelon sibling, Nova (Rutina Wesley), is a journalist and an activist.
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Early in season 2, shes invited to Atlanta to speak at a symposium on mass incarceration.
Onstage, she talks about necropolitics, and she explicitly calls mass incarceration a kind of genocide.
But this feast of ideas is also rooted in its own clever meet-cute.
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Theres an epidemiologist on the panel, Dr. Robert Dubois (played by the insanely endearing Alimi Ballard).
Later, they meet again at the Habitat for Humanity event!
Young liberals, this is your politically awakened romantic drama!
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Queen Sugartackles big ideas, sometimes head-on and with a bracing lack of delicacy.
The most fascinating character on the show is Charley, a weekly master class in acting by Gardner.
Its a slippery construction, maybe.
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When she makes the cover of the magazine, the headline advertises her as The New Real and Authentic.
OnQueen Sugar, its all a big deal.
And with great control, Gardner shows us the supernova burning behind Charleys practiced reserve.
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In season 2, Charleys arc has carried the most power.
The show has wandered a bit, meandering generously through story lines (Aunt Vis pies!)
that broaden the world but also occasionally seem to be marking time.
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Theres an early moment I keep returning to, though.
But thus far, hes depended on Charley for funding.
Remy (Dondre Whitfield), a friend of the family, offers him a suggestion.
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Why dont you make a run at get a micro-loan from the Farm Service Agency?
that means youre eligible.
ButQueen Sugaris animated by a sincere political passion and a belief.
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