I have been watching the new rebooted series Proud Family “louder and Prouder” with a critical yet optimistic eye. The resurrected show was always going to be met with people trying to nit pick at it as well as challenge the new design and writing. The goal for them being to determine the show should have never been brought back, and claiming the previous version was best. This is a pattern with most rebooted movies and shows. After watching every episode of the new season, especially the last episode, I personally have decided to give more reboots in the future a chance! The creator of the Proud Family, Bruce W. Smith, has maintained the integrity of the show while still improving so many different things in the process. One of the greatest triumphs so far, would be the immense character development for so many of the cast that we had nothing but questions about. Why is Lacieniga so mean to penny? Why does Suga mama treat bobby one way and Oscar another? Does Bobby have any substance besides just eating? I feel like all of this was answered within this very first season! My true elation with the show came with Suga mama’s episode, spoilers ahead for those who have not seen it! In the first few moments of the episode we find out Suga mama’s actual name is Charlette! It was presented so randomly and was such a mysterious piece of information for 20 years! I was invested for the rest of the episode after this. What else were they going to reveal? Trudy was busy at work looking up her family tree. She was a bit befuddled when she found that Oscar’s family tree only had three branches! Like many African Americans in the United States, we struggle finding our ancestral roots due to the destruction of records as well as people during the 400+ years of slavery. Many of us are left to assume we are descended from African “kings and Queens” who were stolen from their home. Trudy had to spend one thousand dollars to track down and find Suga mama’s family. We go on and figure out that Suga mama does not want to deal with her family what so ever and has to literally be tied to the roof of the car to go to Oklahoma for the family reunion that They all get invited to. Penny is intrigued by the events, but is more distraught at not getting to go on her class trip to Washington D.C. The road trip to Suga mama’s home state of Oklahoma was filled with much joy as the family reintroduced the nation to the Shibuya roll call game. When they make it to their destination they are met with a very disgruntled Great Granpa Towne and three men who we later find out are Suga mama’s younger brother’s. Her father has to be at least 90 or more as I’ve personally calculated Suga mama’s age to be around her mid seventies. The only one that seems to be appalled by their Pa’s behavior, is the youngest brother whom has never met his oldest sister before. Suga mama was reluctant to speak but expressed she was happy to see her father again. She knows he is a jerk for something we as the audience don’t know yet, but she still loves him. That is how generational trauma tends to work. Pa’s current love interest welcomes the Proud family onto the remote property and begins introducing them to their family. Penny and the twins have cousins their age who get on their nerves in their own ways. Penny cannot get any cell service to keep an eye on her boyfriend, and her country cousins aren’t making things any better by making fun of her for her electronic dependency. The twins meet their match in their country twin cousins. in the musical interlude there is even a slight joke about “kissing cousins” as the girl of the country twins kisses Bebe on the cheek. The most shocking reveal in the episode, was when we see Suga mama besting her brothers at every challenge put in front of her. sometimes she cheated, but we later find there is a reason behind her trickery at times. She has been beating her eldest younger brother at everything the entire day and all he does is complain that she thinks she is better than everyone at everything. She tells him that she will gladly beat him in the past, present and the near future in the family rodeo games. Her father interrupts their exchange to let her know that rules have not changed since she left. No girls are allowed to compete in the family rodeo, only boys. We are launched into a flashback where we see a younger version of Suga mama( who looks a lot like an adolescent Penny) and her eldest younger brother. He is crying hysterically as their father is yelling at him to ride a bucking bronco better. the poor child is unable to even stay on the animals back and cries out in sorrow. His cries are only met with yells in his face. To protect her brother as well as show her father her talent, Charlette rides the bucking bull until it gets too tired to buck any longer. Little Suga is proud of herself and tells her father that she can carry on the family tradition of winning in the rodeo. As good as she is, he refuses because though she is his eldest child, he resents her being a girl, and tells her no for what I presume is the millionth time. “Pa you NEVER change I CAN’T STAND YOU!!” quoting her granddaughter’s catch phrase we all know too well. We then switch back to present day where we find Suga mama alone, and for the first time on screen, we see her cry a genuine tear for herself. For so long she has held onto how her father treated her. She does not like anyone who exerts masculine authority over a woman, thus why she is always at odds with Oscar over the things he tries to keep Penny and Trudy from doing. It is no surprise that Oscar is fitting in perfectly with his newfound family, but it can only be because Suga Mama taught him everything she knows. This chilling cliffhanger ending is the puzzle piece we have been missing for 20 years about the Prouds. My theory is that the climax will further explain the complexity of Suga Mama’s character as well as her and Oscar’s dynamic of violence towards each other. Perhaps some sort of healing can take place for them and more playful banter between them will ensue after this. I am excited to see what season two is going to bring and who else will be fleshed out.
kianamaiart
discoholicmusic
yousharknotpass
andulkaphoto
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
gamechangershow
