Family can be the source of our salvation and our pain. In Season 4 of Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed series Queen Sugar, the Bordelon siblings return. Though we’ve watched, Nova (Rutina Wesley), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe) grapple with their present issues in previously, this season, we’re going to take a journey into the past. Nova’s memoir, Blessings & Blood is garnering traction and attention, but her desire to speak her truth has unforeseen ramifications for her family. Long-buried family secrets get dragged into the light–with unforeseen circumstances.
The siblings have grown accustomed to fighting the outside world. They’ve taken on the Landrys who have continued to harass them for their 800-acre sugarcane farm, and the law enforcement officers who keep their feet on the necks of the Black people in the county. However, this season, the Bordelons are going to have to take a hard look at themselves examining their own fault, failures, and past traumas.
Ahead of the Season 4 premiere, STYLECASTER chatted with Wesley, Gardner, and Siriboe about how their characters have shifted and changed since the series premiere, and how Nova’s novel and the “truths” revealed in it will crack the foundation of their family.
“I’ve always thought that the truth can sometimes be healing for people,” Wesley explained. “Whether or not they’re ready to face the truth–or be healed is the question. It’s a fine line in telling someone’s truth and forcing them into that process at a time when they’re not ready for it. For Nova, I think in her heart, her intentions are good. She really thinks her book will reach the community and help others. But, I don’t know if she totally thinks through the reactions that her family may have. It’s a lesson for her because your truth is not somebody else’s truth, especially without permission. It gets really interesting, but the beauty of it is that I hope people will also see how complicated it is.”
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