Queenie Episode 3: From Virgin to Vixen
Episode three opens up with a montage of Queenie’s hookups and sexscapades that on more than one occasion make her late for work, and have her sporting a hickey that her co-worker Ted calls “very retro” in the elevator on their way to the office. Queenie is clearly in the throws of entertaining a litany of white men in an effort to remain distracted, though one of her partners clearly kills the mood after doing the deed by asking her what her name is again.
We find out while chatting with Kyazike at the nail salon that sis is being reckless with protection after lying to her, and letting her believe she’s always careful and making sure it’s wrapped up. Not long after, she heads to Grandma Veronica’s house to take a bath because of a broken boiler at her apartment, and Grandma Veronica barges into the bathroom while Queenie is naked in the bathtub, having what appears to be a flashback to childhood in a similar space. Grandma Veronica assumes Queenie and he ex-boyfriend Tom have rekindled considering the hickey on her neck. Queenie sets the record straight, after which Grandma Veronica responds, “we all know heartache. But life goes on Queenie, and you will be just fine.” Better to bury it all the way down, Queenie thinks to herself after her grandmother suggests she talk to her mom. Whatever grudge she’s still holding against her, it’s clear she’s not ready to let go of it.
Queenie stuns in a sexy black bunny leotard costume and fishnets on her way to a Halloween party, after nearly giving her grandparents a heart attack with her costume, and meets, or rather bumps into a stranger turned potential one-night-stand named Guy. After Darcy passive aggressively tells Queenie to have fun after coming later than planned, Queenie turns her sights onto Guy and invites him to her place. Queenie is second guessing her decision from the front door to the bedroom, until her focus is drawn to his aggressive nature of initiating sex, and throughout the endeavor is unsure if she is enjoying herself. She later texts her group chat, just had the wildest sex of my life, almost as if to seek validation that what just happened wasn’t abnormal. I think that was fun. Yea, that was fun she tries to convince herself.
Queenie is recounting her marathon sex session with Darcy, and fantasizing about making her ex, Tom, jealous when her boss comes over and tries to give her a word of advice. Clearly she’s noticed Queenie’s behavior change since her break-up, and suggests she take time off for herself and process whatever she’s avoiding. Queenie politely declines the offer, saying she’s better off at work where she is busy, because if she has too much time to think, that’s when the demons come knocking. Her boss lets her know the offer still stands, and adds that sooner or later, she’ll have to confront whatever she’s avoiding, whether she likes it or not.
Later on, we see that Queenie has clearly had too much to drink considering she’s still at work, and Darcy elicits Ted’s help to keep an eye on her for a moment, but goes one step further, ends up taking her home, and leaves a note of what to take to soothe the hangover when she wakes up. Queenie wakes up to knocks on the door, and her cousin Diana, who she completely forgets she is looking after is waiting at the door. Later on Diana forces a moment when Queenie must be honest with herself, and she acknowledges the current “messiness” of her life. Queenie decides as a result to set some new ground rules:
No more dating apps.
No more alcohol, especially on an empty stomach.
No more vaping.
No more thinking about Tom men, and prioritizing more quality time with her friends.
“This is quickly becoming the Queenie Show.”
Queenie holds to her promise to spend more time with her friends by going with them to a rooftop to watch fireworks. She learns of Cassandra’s new boyfriend, and that she’s taking it slow with him by not having sex right away. The conversation turns to Queenie’s sex life, and gets a little too real for her, as her friends bring up her using it as a distraction, and it not making her feel as good as Queenie might let on. This spending time with real-life friends is really backfiring, she thinks. She tells them that she’s happy, though it sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than anyone else, and admits internally that she’s not there, but hopes to be “one of these days.”
Queenie retreats back to where she’s most comfortable, keeping her true feelings buried while continuing on with her semi-situationship with Guy and inviting him over. Her expectations of him staying after sex are dashed after he offers a stark reminder that they aren’t a couple, and there’s no reason to stay. She quickly agrees despite her mild disappointment, and endures a harsh slap from him on her butt and winces in pain. We next see Queenie struggle to sit on her toilet with bruises on her thighs from the rough sex, intimating that he enjoyed it much more than she did. She is at the clinic the next day for a check-up appointment, where the nurse appears extremely concerned and asks her if she’s been a victim of sexual assault because of the vaginal tears. Queenie responds defensively she would never be that person, while seemingly comparing herself to her mom, and swearing she would “never be like her.” We end the episode with Queenie in bed, having a flashback to a time when Sylvie’s partner Roy got angry at Sylvie, and we hear glass shatter before Queenie shoots up in her bed, trying to catch her breath saying, “Mom?”
An interesting theme playing out in the show so far is Queenie’s deliberate choice of sexual partners. Kyazike even brings it up while on the rooftop watching the fireworks. “Why don’t you start dating Black guys Queenie? Like, throw some melanin in the mix.” She doesn’t respond outwardly, but thinks, it’s not as easy as that. With what we know about Queenie’s behavior and relationship with her mother to this point, I wonder if later on in the season, will we find out about an unfortunate encounter with a Black man that violated Queenie? Could Roy have taken advantage of her? Did her mom come to her rescue? Could her preference in men and decisions since her breakup be rooted in trauma from a situation like this? As messy as things are now, they could get worse for Queenie the longer she decides to keep running from her truth.
