Things are going well for everyone, but the past has a funny way of popping up when they don’t want to deal with it. Eric’s ex wife has something he needs; Jill runs into Tina but has a hard time apologizing; Valeria’s doctor gives her some untimely news, and a surprising source tells Naomi how Eric has always viewed her.
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Please note this recap contains spoilers for season 1, episode 12 “Let the Past be the Past”
Eric (Taylor Sele) and Naomi (Brandy) wake up in bed together, and he asks if her smile is for him. It’s for everything. Their co-parenting relationship is going well, Nasty Girl Records (NRG) is finding its footing, Jojo is thriving. Life is good. He wants them to be more than roommates, “you know I want you.” She asks how to know if she can trust him. “Let me show you.”
Valeria (Nadine Velazquez) and Thomas (Gaius Charles) are at the doctor's office awaiting an appointment. Meanwhile her Spanish language single is out, but where did it land on the Latin charts? “Eso lo Tengo” debuts at No. 1! She cries. “6 months ago I’d never written a song, and now I’m getting a physical for a solo tour, with my husband sitting next to me…” She can’t believe how good things are. In the exam room, the doctor tells her that her heart and vitals are okay, but her ultrasound is concerning.
Jill (Naturi Naughton) takes some time to workout and watches a news report about Darren’s (Emerson Brooks) trial. The reporter recaps the case and how Darren attempted to murder Brianna, Eric and Jill. The reminder is too much and she turns off the monitor.
In the waiting room, Valeria tells Thomas about her result but starts out by saying that as a kid she believed in the equal balance of good and bad. So since her childhood was bad, adult life would be all good. He’s confused. She says the doctor thinks she might have uterine cancer.
Eric and Lauren (Pepi Sonuga) come back from the studio, her album is coming along nicely. She ponders how her fans will react to her new songs but she’s proud of her work. Naomi says Zadie’s rehearsals are going well and Jill thinks it's smart of NGR to launch Lady Z’s tour at Coachella. As for Jill herself, she isn’t working on any music right now. Val has little to say and everyone is surprised at how calm she is considering her song charted at number 1. She says she’s fine and Naomi reminds them that Val’s tour will be their only source of income for now. Eric brings up the fact that it's been 20 years since the Nasty B*tches single “Heart of Queens” went quadruple platinum. He wants to release an anniversary album and include their new songs. The trio hesitates, but Lauren tells them to take what’s good. If the anniversary album is successful, Eric and Val will give their share of the sales back to the girls. “I owe you b*tches,” Val says. Naomi goes to call Bree for her permission and sees that the jury is done deliberating Darren’s trial.
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Local news reports that the jury decided in less than 7 hours and found him guilty on three counts of first degree attempted murder. While they don’t have visuals, there’s audio of Darren addressing the court. “This isn’t justice,” he says, talking over the judge. He says Jill is guilty of inflicting this pain and God will judge her. She’ll pay. Jill is shaken by his comments.
Val and a very supportive Thomas go to see a specialist. The doctor says it’s not cancer, but fibroids. Val has mild symptoms, and surgery is not necessary at the moment, but likely something they’ll need to revisit in the future. They might even need to give her a hysterectomy. The doctor tells them to consider if they want to have children because that might not be a possibility further down the road.
Back at the house, Jill is haunted by Darren’s words. She asks Lauren, “when will I shake the past?” Lauren is not so sure. “Do we? Or do we just learn to live with it?” “C’mon,” she grabs Jill’s hand. They need to get out of the house.
Val and Thomas discuss kids. When they met she said she didn’t want kids; he said he definitely did. Both say that settles it. She thinks a baby could be the good thing to counterbalance the bad of potential surgery. Whatever happens he wants a kid with Val. She says he’s the ultimate good thing in her life. He brings up the fact that a baby means putting the tour on hold. She knows, but she spent 40 years doing things for herself and wasn’t happy. Thomas makes her happy.
Eric tells Naomi he’s running errands, but he’s all dressed up. He’s meeting a woman for lunch. They seem very comfortable with each other and it turns out it’s his ex-wife, Robin (Robin Givens). It’s been six years since they’ve spoken and he needs her rights to the “Heart of Queens” masters. She got a portion of the masters so he could keep a house in the Hamptons that he eventually lost. She pushes back a little but ultimately says he can have them. As they’re chatting, he gets a call from Jojo and Robin asks about her. He tells her the truth and that he only found out he was her dad 6 months ago. Robin is visibly more upset as she does the math and realizes that Naomi is the mother. She quickly changes her tune and says he’s not getting the masters.
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Back at the house, Naomi learns about Val’s cancer scare. She says that all it was: a scare. Oh and she and Thomas are gonna try to have a baby so she wants to put the tour on hold. Naomi understands. “This is real life, music is just music.” Watching Jojo grow and thrive has been a joy and she hopes that Val can have the same experience. The two get very real for a moment, “are we friends?” “No,” Naomi says, “we’re sisters.” Eric comes back and they tell him the news. He tells Naomi they need to talk.
Jill and Lauren are walking in LA when they see Tina…and she looks good. Jill decides to be mature and approaches her. As they meet, another woman walks up and Tina says it’s her girlfriend, Chantel.
Eric tells Naomi that Robin won’t give up her rights to the masters. She asks when his bad personal decisions are going to stop coming back to bite them in the ass. She suddenly realizes what his “errands” were and is hurt that he lied to her. He admits that he makes lots of mistakes, but he says he loves Naomi and has been in love with her for 20 years. She doesn’t trust him and walks away.
Jill asks for a moment to talk and Lauren and Chantel give the exes some space. Jill brings up Darren and the awful things he said at his trial. Tina doesn’t say much and Jill pushes, “you’re the only one who understands me.” “It’s a shame you gave that up,” Tina replies. Jill says she’s trying to apologize, but Tina shakes her head, “I’d be a fool to believe anything you say.” She’s not angry, but sad for Jill and if she keeps doing what she’s doing she’ll end up alone. Before they part ways, Jill says she loved Tina.
Naomi goes to the studio to meet Robin. Naomi says she doesn’t want drama, but Robin is holding her album hostage. Robin is dismissive and doesn't want to hear the ‘women supporting women’ speech. She asks why Naomi kept in touch with Eric when she knew he was married. “I didn’t,” she says. Robin goes on to say she knew about Eric and Val because it was on the news, but whenever Eric would talk about Naomi, he’d light up and spoke about her with a reverence, like there was always something more. Naomi was not expecting to hear this. Robin tells her she found a note to Naomi and opened it, the last line burned in her brain: “It’s always been you. It will forever be you.” She knew then her marriage was over. “When I heard you had a kid it took me back to that place.” Naomi asks her to sit, she’s not going to request the masters, but gently tells Robin she herself has held onto so much. Eventually you have to let some things go.
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After the eventful afternoon Lauren and Jill go to the studio. Jill rambles on about the encounter and Lauren tells her to stop acting like the victim. “Don’t mock what I’ve been through.” Lauren says she’s not, but both she and Tina know Jill’s story and there is only so much empathy people can have for each other. Jill thinks about this and says she could have listened to my apology. “I didn’t hear one,” Lauren replies then suggests she try saying what she wants to in song. Jill raps her apology, owning up to her mistakes and sharing her genuine regret. She sends the audio file to Tina.
Thomas and Val are set on trying to get pregnant and start IVF treatments.
Naomi comes back to the house and tells Eric that Robin signed off on the song. She sits next to him and then leans close. She says she loves him, and he’s surprised but happy.
A few weeks later the girls are chatting at their album release party, and yes, they still miss Bree. A young fan approaches, saying her mom was a big fan back in the day; at school they listened to “All Rise (The Supreme Court)” in Civics class. The emcee of the evening—a fellow hip hop artist (Sophia Chang)—shares how important this record was, and asks if the girls will take the stage for one more performance. The crowd cheers and Jill asks if this is the last time they’re going to hear this. Naomi says it doesn’t have to be.
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An undetermined amount of time later, Val, Naomi, and Jill, all meet at the studio in the same manner as their first meeting before the BET Awards: only this time there’s no tension. Naomi gets things started, “Check it out, check it check it out. ‘Bout to show you all what this Queen is all about…”
Queens airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on ABC and streams next day on Hulu