The Chi Recap: Vengeance For Q's Death Comes From An Unlikely Place
Rob takes out a loan with a very high — read: deadly — interest rate in this week's The Chi. Will he be able to pay it back?
Allow me to back up a little. Tiffany shows up at Dante's house and is irked that he's got another supplier there, showing off some very smooth, very good weed. The new guy's name is Cairo, and even Tiff eventually agrees that his product is superior to hers. She brings some home and has Rob sample it; "I ain't coughing," he observes, impressed. He worries, though, that Cairo will put them out of business. Tiff sees it differently: If they make him their new supplier, "then we can finally get away from Douda's crazy ass." Oh yeah, about that? Rob fills her in on the new deal with Otis, but she maintains that they should see if Cairo is interested in doing business with them, and Rob reluctantly agrees to an informational meeting.
Cairo offers to teach them how to grow his "organic" weed the right way, provided they find an investor who'll fund the process. Tiff and Rob are blown away to learn that Cairo doesn't care much about the money, either — "F–k getting rich. I'm trying to start a revolution," he says. Still, Rob is hesitant. "Why take 15 percent when we can have it all?" she wonders, impatiently tasking him with cutting ties with Douda, coming up with the money and getting their new venture underway.
So Rob visits his mom, Alicia (played by Lynn Whifield, Greenleaf), who lives in a lovely home and appears to be well-off, though they don't seem like they have a close relationship. He asks for $50,000 and she quickly agrees... on one condition. Ready for some major exposition? "Q was my brother," she says. "He's the reason I could raise you in a house like this and send you to a private school on the north side. He was more a father to me than an older brother. I want to know who killed him. Who dumped him in the river like he was a piece of trash, like he wasn't a man who still had more life to live."
She continues that whoever was responsible for offing Rob's uncle "shouldn't be alive much longer." He asks her to up the money to $100K, and he'll ask around. "For a hundred racks, you'll have to do more than that," she replies. "Do we understand each other?" Rob nods. Watch out, Douda!
Elsewhere in the episode:
* Lynnae's brother, Jamal, is out of jail and has found God. Though wary, Victor helps arrange a meeting between the siblings, and it goes pretty well. Jamal later stops by ROCK and tells Tracy he wants to volunteer.
* Kiesha tells Emmett never to leave like he did at the end of the previous episode without telling her where he was going; if he does, she's gone. Later, Emmett tours a house on the West Side with Douda and his realtor and really likes the property, but isn't sure he can fully cover the down payment. Douda volunteers to make up the difference — the exact opposite of what Kiesha wants — but she eventually relents... provided they consider the money a loan and that her name is on the mortgage alongside Emmett's.
* Maisha opens a concert for Sasha Go Hard, and she kills it. Kevin visits her in her dressing room after and they get cozy until Jemma interrupts.
* Bakari offers Shaad less-than-legal work to help him make enough money to open the vintage store he's been dreaming about. Shaad says no, but he's clearly tempted.
* Otis visits Papa's father's church and hands over a "donation," which the pastor tries to turn down, especially given what happened last time. Otis is very unhappy that Stanley declined the "gift" and screams at Bakari afterward for staying outside during the interaction. "I live with him, dude," the teen says. "But you f—king work for me!" Otis shouts back.
Now it's your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!