01x02 - This Used to Be My Playground

[bunniefuu]

Previously on

Beyond Black Beauty.

This is Baltimore?

You're gonna like it. I promise.

Welcome home, sis.

There's always

an adjustment period.

Even for horses.

Beauty. Black Beauty.

So you're the horse whisperer

everyone's talking about, huh?

I'm Alvin.

Jolie.

My card declined.

I wanna come home.

$900 ticket to Belgium.

Really?

In case you haven't noticed,

I don't belong here.

Ronnie. No.

I am the bad guy?

She called us ghetto,

and her father's a criminal,

and so is she.

What are you talking about?

He made some bad decisions.

Easy. Easy, girl.

It's okay. It's okay, Beauty.

See?

Don't worry, girl, we'll

ease our way into the bridle.

See?

I know you're angry with me,

but you can't avoid me forever.

Baltimore is our new home.

This is all we have.

And the best thing that I can

give to you right

now is a routine.

So, while I go look for a job,

you're going to school today.

See you, Beauty.

Hey, I just wanted

Don't talk to me.

Don't look at me. Don't know me.

You're on your own.

Thank God, someone normal.

Jolie, come on, show and tell.

It's giving me

Save the Last Dance vibes.

Just twirl in the hallway,

steal everyone's heart.

The new girl never fits in.

I wanna come home.

Which is why I need your help.

Traumatic, but naturally I'm in.

You got my text, right? I need

to get to the bottom of this.

I know my father didn't steal

from his clients,

and since I'm not there

and he won't call me back,

can you find out

what's going on?

Consider me the

Betty to your Jughead.

I gotta go.

Bon courage. Love you.

Mean it.

Bye-bye.

New girl.

Go on, it's not that bad.

Forgot I had these.

Okay, Beauty,

let's get you settled.

Okay, girl, it's all right.

Are you okay?

Yeah, my ego will be fine.

It█s just a little defensive

aggression.

It's not her fault.

She's not responding

to human or horse.

Yeah, but I got her for you.

I know, and I love you for it.

But sometimes it's

just not a good fit.

Look, I've gotta run. I've

got job interviews lined up.

Damn! Already?

I plan to repay the

money Jolie stole.

You know that's not necessary.

Look, I love you for

your commitment.

But you got the kids who

love it here to think about.

You really wanna risk one of

them getting hurt by Beauty?

Her father did what?

Chill. You don't

know her like that.

Neither do you.

Yo, Jolie, come through. I've

got a seat over here for you.

Uh, it costs money

to sit with us.

Nine hundred

dollars, to be specific.

What was that for?

See you after school.

- What'd you find out?

- Well

What?

I went to your father's office

to see if I could

find him there,

but maintenance was removing

his name from the building.

What does this

mean? That he quit?

I asked around. They say

he's fired for damage control.

Damage control?

Relax. Maybe your mom knows.

No. I need to

find out for myself.

Well, I'll see what

else I can find.

Yo, my hand's empty.

And you've heard what happens

when you're late.

Look, man, I got a hundred.

I got a hundred right now.

- I just need time to get the

- What's going on?

Yo, this doesn't concern you.

Yeah, you better move on

before I make you.

Hey, move it along.

Happily, Officer.

Yeah, keep running.

Tax just went up.

I can't take this anymore.

Say something.

I don't trust you.

Okay, I deserve that.

But you don't get it. I'm

And I'm not trying to. The

world's bigger than you, Jolie.

I got ish going on too.

You're right, and I'm sorry.

Look, just stay clear of her.

I pay Serena to leave me alone,

and I'm not the only one.

You don't wanna owe her either.

I don't get it. You

come off as tough,

but you're handing

money over to her?

Look, I don't need

you going home

and talking about how

traumatic your first day was.

Do me a favor and

keep it to yourself.

I won't say anything.

Promise.

Von, the horse needs to go.

I know that now.

I'll make some calls tonight.

What horse?

Beauty. She bit me.

Bit you?

- What? Why?

She wasn't responding to Mom,

so I thought I'd

try and feed her.

But I spooked her.

I've been trying to tell them

it was my fault.

Lil' Man, no one blames you.

Beauty can't be trained.

A few days and

you give up on her?

Maybe she just needs

someone who understands her.

Jo, I know you and Beauty

have had some ex

I don't think she's been given

a fair shot with

the right person.

I'll train her.

You've never trained

a horse like this.

But I'm the only person

she's connected with.

I can do it.

I'm sorry. It's just not safe.

Beauty has to go.

I know you don't trust easily.

We're kind of the same that way.

Maybe

Maybe we can trust each other.

See?

It's okay, girl. It's okay.

See? See?

Nothing to be

scared of, ma douce.

The house is sold?

What's going on?

I don't know.

I went to ask my parents, but

they were arguing

about your dad.

Something's definitely off.

I'll

I'll figure it out.

Love you.

Mean it.

Sorry, Beauty.

Okay.

What's got you

smiling this early?

My husband.

Khalil hides these notes when

he's on the road

for long stretches.

Look, this one says,

"Keep warm until I'm home.

Love you, baby."

Ugh. I am so disgusted

and so jealous at the same time.

Okay, suit.

I see we're leaning in today.

How's it going on

the interview front?

That bad, huh?

I mean, no one will hire me.

That 20-year gap in my law

degree is doing me no favors.

Why didn't you

just keep practicing?

I meant to, but then I had

a baby, a husband,

and then a home.

And then, all of a sudden,

it's 20 years later.

You know who you

should reach out to?

Ester.

- Cousin Ester?

- Mm-hmm.

Party-all-the-time Esther?

I don't think

Elle, she's changed.

None of us are who we were

20 years ago.

Or keep doing it your way.

But family helps family.

As infuriating as it can be,

it wouldn't hurt to visit Ester

and just see for yourself.

So how's it feel to be back?

Familiar.

Awkward.

I was just expecting

everyone to be the same, but

Including me?

Yeah, been walking the

sober path one day at a time.

The ranch helped me.

So did this place.

We all need a safe haven,

especially during the dark days.

Yeah.

Funny you should say that.

The job search has been tough.

Hey, you can come work here.

Pride has no place here.

You can start with general

duties, go from there.

Yeah?

Of course.

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Of course.

Hey.

Rashaad.

Janelle, what are you

Hey.

- Hey, baby.

- Hey.

Mm.

Oh, you're together?

Yeah, four years now.

You didn't know?

Of course, yeah.

But you know what?

I, uh, I should go start work.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- You okay?

- I'm fine. I'm fine.

We got it. We

got it. It's okay.

Okay.

Hey, what if, what if

we skip school today?

Well, you're always

going on about

how I'm not in Belgium anymore.

So, where's the real action?

Just stop me.

These are addicting.

Best Cajun fries

in Charm City, man.

Welcome to Nomad Field.

This is the best of the best,

ride of freedom.

It changes location, so it's

everywhere and

belongs to everyone.

See if you can hang, Belgium.

Is that Alvin?

Yeah.

Thought he was all football.

Bull rides too.

So you both

skipped school today.

Ronnie, you breaking

bad or did you

come to check out

the competition, huh?

Competition?

Who's that?

Isabel Gonzalez,

the bane of my existence.

Barrel races at the rodeo,

wins every time.

Okay, not every time.

I love you, kid,

but you're delusional.

Parrish! What's good?

You gonna let loose and race me

or run away like

you normally do?

Ooh, a challenge.

You should do it.

She knows the rodeo's around the

corner. She's trying

to sabotage me.

I'm not biting.

She's in. We all are.

You've lost your mind.

No way I'm

So you've got some

cowgirl in you, huh?

You really held your own

out there, new girl.

Thanks, Alvin.

But, you know, I'm a pro.

I just need to get back in

the saddle and back to work.

You know, if you wanna train,

you should talk to Isabel.

Her family's ranch

does both Western and English.

Mm.

Ah, okay, I see you're

more uptown than downtown.

I'm an Olympian in training.

I need the best.

Bet, and good luck with that.

I guess I'll be seeing

more of you than, Jolie.

Hey.

I, um, actually had fun today.

You know, Baltimore

might be all right.

Girl, bye.

I'm sorry about the money.

I will pay you back.

Lemond! Bro, hey!

You good?

Yeah, I'm cool.

So this is Belgium Jolie.

Good to meet you, cuz.

Cuz?

I've never heard of you.

She's not housebroken.

It's all good.

Welcome to the family drama.

Guess you got competition

in your blood, huh?

I'm gonna go talk to my mom.

Catch you later?

- Sure.

- Okay.

Hey, um, don't mention

that we saw Lemond, okay?

Family drama?

My mom doesn't like

the company he keeps.

Strict rules on the ranch,

no g*ng life.

But he's still my

big brother, so

This can stay between us, huh?

For someone who

hates me so much,

you want me to keep

a lot of your secrets.

It's safe with me.

Hey, you.

What are you doing here?

I didn't wanna believe he

could do something so terrible

and leave us without even

a goodbye or an explanation.

I know how close you are

to your father, and I just

I wanted to protect you from it.

I didn't need protecting.

I needed the truth.

I'm ready to hear it.

You sure?

He committed fraud.

Look, your father,

he's a good man.

He just made a bad

business decision.

He started taking money

from one client to pay another.

And no matter what,

it just it wasn't enough.

So, I'm guessing we're here

because we don't have any money.

We had to sell everything,

including Clémentine,

just to help pay everyone back.

I know that broke your heart.

And I'm sorry for it.

Life is weird.

One minute

you're on top of the world,

and the next

your father is a criminal.

Did you know?

No.

When I found out, we agreed that

the best plan was

to bring you here.

Keep you far away as possible

from what's to come.

It's unforgivable.

I know, but he loves you.

Sure.

So, how was school

at my alma mater?

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

And you, you work here now?

Yeah.

I mean, it's not so bad.

My, uh, my boss,

he's a big deal.

Promise no more secrets?

Okay, baby.

Come here.

No more secrets.

Beauty!

Yvonne, please!

I don't have a choice. She'll

live a good life

at another ranch.

Hey!

Jolie, don't!

It's dangerous, Jolie!

Whoa, whoa.

I'm sorry. I know I've been

distracted, but I'm here now.

Hey! Whoa.

That's good, Beauty.

Thank you for trusting me.

I know, you're worried,

but Beauty's harmless.

She belongs here, with us.

You did so well, ma douce.

Yeah. So good.

You know, when it pours

after a long drought,

the world looks

a little greener.

The flowers bloom,

the trees grow,

and there's a small glimmer

of hope for humanity.

I'm nowhere near a flower.

But today was a good day.

This new life

might just be okay.

I think they call

that acceptance.

But first, time to face

the old reality and tell him

Jolie, ma bichette.

he's dead to me.

This season on

Beyond Black Beauty.

Stonepointe has trained

dozens of equestrians

who have all made

it to the Olympics.

Maybe I'll be one of them.

You are impressive for 15.

But Beauty

Isn't a champion, Jolie.

Okay, we have to up

our game or we get left behind.

I want Beauty to

know she can trust me.

If you can make Beauty

feel like you're her safe space,

she just might surprise you.

At the rodeo,

Alvin and I kissed.

You like Isabel,

but don't wanna admit it.

Relax, Parrish, it's not like

it's a date or anything.

You disappeared.

To shield you.

You're a coward.

Daddy's not here.

What's the matter with you?!

You should've been better, Papa!

Now, as we

adjust to our new normal,

we'll find the beauty around us.

We will not let

anyone steal our joy,

our pride, our respect.