Star – Proud Mary Keep On

By starrymag | May 7, 2019

By: Gladys Luna

 

 

In the opening scene we see a very young Star with Simone sitting on her lap while she sings for her. In the bed in front of them their mother Mary (Caroline Vreeland) seems to be sleeping. Suddenly, the woman gets out of bed before the terrified looks of a now very adult Star (Jude Demorest) and Simone (Brittany O’Grady). Mary tells Star that she is exactly like her and that she doesn’t deserve to have Davis so she’s going to take him with her. The baby appears on the woman’s arms. When Star starts to cry for her to give him back to her the baby is completely gone while Mary sings in front of them. All of this seems to have come out of Star’s imagination while she is standing next to Simone and Carlotta (Queen Latifah) as they are watching the cops gather the evidence after the explosion of Angel’s (Evan Ross) car, who fortunately is alive and safe. Detective Batista (Phillip DeVona) tells them that at some point Simone will have to go to the station to testify as well. For now, what he recommends is for her and Angel to lay low just to keep them safe. Simone replies that they have a number of ASA events to attend to so Angel gets mad to hear that since it seems that she cares more about her career than their safety. However, she tells him that she won’t hide and that she’s sure that is exactly what the terrorist wants so Carlotta tells them that she will assign security to the both of them.

 

Carlotta is at her salon while Miss Bruce (Miss Lawrence) is doing her hair they discuss her plan for the girls. She tells her that she’ll pay for two bodyguards out of her pocket for Simone and Angel since Gravity cannot afford that anymore. She expresses that she might lose everything she has and everything she was worked for but she’s going to fight for it.

 

Alex (Ryan Destiny) and Derek (Quincy Brown) are leaving their house and on their way to the Young Power Players Gala. They discuss about whether or not his grandmother will be attending their wedding since she is on a cruise with her new boyfriend. When they are walking to their car they see that it’s being towed they walk towards the man (Daniel Baldock) that’s being taking care of it and let him know they are the owners, but he alleges that the owner he recognized as on papers is Roland Crane (Lenny Kravitz) and he has requested for the car to be returned to him. Alex says that this is a punishment for everything that’s been going on between them recently so she takes a baseball bat and breaks one of the windows while saying, “Love you daddy.”

 

The night of the gala has arrived. Simone and Angel appear on a limo and on the way to the entrance they are questioned about the car explosion and Angel seems to be overwhelmed by all the cameras. Mateo (William Levy) shows up and tells them that Justice Magazine wants to make an article about social justice and immigration and they want them to be part of it and Simone accepts immediately while Angel seems to be uncomfortable. Alex is being photographed on the red carpet. Simone joins her and they talk briefly about Alex’s car incident. Star gets a call from Noah (Luke James), but decides to ignore it. Then, she joins Alex and her sister for the photographs. When she is asked about Davis she says that he is home safe and being taken care of by Cotton (Amiyah Scott).

 

Maurice (Lance Gross) informs the girls that he has booked Take 3 and Noah for a performance at the ASA nominees showcase that is more than a performance as it could serve as an audition for them and give them the chance to get the voters sympathy. Also, a billionaire named Randall Lawson (Kinyumba Mutakabbir) is in town and he could be a good help for them. Apparently, the man is looking for a headliner for a six-month residency at one of his venues and this could be an opportunity for them to stay relevant.

 

On the other side of the room Cassie (Brandy Norwood) is trying to convince Lil Dini (Marcos Palacios) to include Rashad (Major.) on his new project, but as he is a gospel singer he believes he won’t be a good fit for it. Carlotta sees them talking so she decides to approach them and scolds Cassie for trying to do business with him, but her sister assures her that she is not trying to get in her way. She just wants to make some moves for Rashad and the only thing that Carlotta should take care of is the envelope she received that proves her son is alive.

 

At the event Amber (Erika Tham) shows up by the arm of Jackson (Matthew Noszka) who is now her producer. Star hears the girl referring to Jackson as someone more than his producer and doesn’t miss the chance to go and argue with the girl. Amber moves away and she is left alone with Jackson. They are immediately called by the paparazzi for them to pose together. They also don’t let go of the opportunity to throw harsh comments at one another in the meantime. Star continues her walk to the venue entrance and then she is intercepted by Noah who asks her why she is not answering his calls. He says that, as a father, he has a right to say something about her idea of giving up Davis for adoption, but she tells him that he doesn’t have anything to say since he has addiction problem that he keeps putting first before his child. Noah retorts that she keeps saying that she wants to be better than her mother, but she is actually worse so Star slaps him in front of the cameras and then she is dragged away from there.

 

Later that day and back at Carlotta’s house the woman scolds the blond for her earlier behavior, but Star tells her that she can assure her she’s not going to be a good mother for the baby so she is giving him up. Carlotta tries to convince her that she has gone further than her mother could and she was a lot ahead of herself, but the girl is having none of it. Cotton shows up and hands the baby to Star and she walks away.

 

The next day Star pays a visit to her doctor (Jason Turner) who tells her that she is showing progress, but the girl is not content with only that. She tells him that due to the upcoming events she needs to have a “quick fix,” but the doctor refuses to do it since it may cause permanent damage to her voice and won’t heal her at all. The girl stands up and says that she will do it herself so she goes to the doctor’s cabinet and takes some medicine out of it but the man is quick to take it all away from her.

 

Derek is trying his wedding outfit when Alex walks into the room and the guy is concerned that she sees him with his suit before the wedding, but the girl tells him it only applies to the bride. Suddenly, someone knocks at her door and it’s Moses (Brian Kurklander). Alex has called him to ask him to send a message to her father that if he doesn’t admit what he did she will. The man tells her that if she dares to speak badly about him he would sue her.

 

Later that day Alex and Simone are at the studio preparing a new track. Simone seems upset that nobody cares about Star’s decision of giving up Davis. Star walks right in and says that she can tell her on her face. Simone asks her to give Davis to her since they are family already, but her sister says that given her recent incident with the explosion she is not someone who he can be safe with. Alex expresses that even though she does not completely agree with Star’s decision she understands her reasons.

 

Cousin Duke (Glenn MaGee) shows up at Carlotta’s office saying that she promised to look after Rashad and now he’s telling him about big dreams and being signed to a record label thing. The woman makes clear that she doesn’t agree with that either and that if there is someone he needs to talk to that is Cassie. Duke feels so frustrated that he ends up confessing that Rashad is not actually his son, but Calvin’s (Ben Vereen). He says that Calvin had an affair back in the day and showed up with the baby one summer. Since he and his wife had been struggling to have a child they took him. Carlotta asks about Rashad’s mother identity, but Duke knows nothing about her. She stands up and hugs her cousin saying that she understands his concerns. After he leaves she starts to cry and drinking. Then, she throws up in a bucket.

 

Star and Noah are filming a music video, but nothing seems to be working out between the two of them. Maurice asks them to be professionals and get it done once and for all. All of a sudden, Star’s nurse (Kimberly Maxwell) shows up and tells her that the doctor’s ways can be conservative but sometimes her patients make other “arrangements.” So, she agrees on giving Star the cortisone fix she needs.

 

Lil Dini and Rashad are working on a song. Cassie arrives to the studio and when the duo is about to perform Carlotta walks in asking Cassie to take Rashad out of there. Simone goes back to Angel who is staring outside the windows while holding a knife. He mentions that heard some noises and Simone tells her that he’s just been paranoid. The man takes the chance to tell her to quit doing the interview for the magazine, but she refuses. He believes that she is doing everything just out of fame as she is telling a story that is not even hers, but she says that her only intention is to help him. The discussion gets heated and then she blurts out that she thinks he is just mad because her career is taking off instead of his.

 

Carlotta is in a room sitting in front of a keyboard under the dim light. Cassie walks in and asks her what’s happening so Carlotta ends up confessing that Rashad is actually her son and she is afraid that he would reject her. Carlotta asks her sister to play a song their mother used to play for them something called “Only God Knows” so Cassie does and they sing together.

 

Jackson is working with Noah on a new track. They confess each other their lack of sympathy for one another but business is business. Noah tries to talk to Jackson about Star, but he says that he doesn’t want to be in the middle of them. However, when he sees the desperation in his face, he gives him the chance to talk. As on cue, Star walks in and sees them working together. She just wants to talk to Jackson and ask for his permission to use one for his songs. He grants it to her as he knows he is helping her and Davis. Noah cannot take it anymore, so he says that Star plans on giving their son for adoption and Jackson gets truly mad at her and ends up saying that she is just a cold-hearted bitch. He says he prays that the baby doesn’t end up like her.

 

Alex is at her house patio working on Jackson’s song but also worried about her father bad-mouthing her to the press. Derek joins her and encourages to write something about him so she can take her power back.

 

Cassie meets Rashad at a club where he is about to smoke some weed with Lil Dini. The woman gets annoyed by his attitude and says that Carlotta didn’t want him to be mixed with Lil Dini in the first place. Rashad insults Carlotta which earns him a slap from Cassie and she also informs him that she will no longer be his manager.

 

Carlotta is having some fun time with Randall who confesses her that he would like to get to know her a little better beyond their every now and then encounters and she agrees.

 

Angel and Simone are in the middle of an interview and when he is asked about what he would say to the people that almost got them killed he mentions that said people wouldn’t even get the satisfaction to be that close to them. When the question is thrown at Simone, she practically challenges them to face her. Angel cannot take it anymore, so he asks for the camera to be turned off and leaves the place.

 

Star gets her cortisone shot and manages to rock her performance before the girls and Carlotta’s surprise. After the presentation is done, Noah joins them and asks her to confess what she did so Star tells her about her nurse’s offer and as it is expected she didn’t get a good opinion about it. But she says that she doesn’t know how to live without her voice so she had to get it back.

 

Carlotta sees that Randall is at the event and walks to him to ask the reason why he is there. He says that she left her panties at the hotel and that he is also Randall Lawson and is looking for some new headliners. Carlotta asks him why she didn’t tell her that before, but he says that she was the one who wanted to keep it casual. Randall offers her a chance to work at his company and she declines; however, he says that offer is at the table in case she changes her mind.

 

Dianne (Kimberly Elise) visits Noah and congratulates him on his performance. He tells her what is been happening with Star lately and she tells him that she won’t let any bad to happen to him. Later that day Dianne visits Star and tells her that if she gives Davis away she will find her and make her pay. She also says that she almost ruins Noah’s life, but she is having a second chance with him and she won’t waste it. Star retorts that she won’t let her use her a second chance to fail again and says that she doesn’t know who she is messing with. But Dianne says that she is actually the one who must be careful.

 

Alex is questioned about the story behind her new song and she decides to say that is about her father. She challenges him by stating that if he wants to go against her she is ready for it.

 

Carlotta is at her kitchen when Rashad enters the place in a drunken state asking her why she didn’t want to help him if they are family. The woman tells her that they are more than family and confesses that she is his mother. Rashad ties the loose ends and realizes that he must be Calvin’s son as well. So, he walks away looking confused and disappointed.