Summary
“The Death Drop” raises the stakes of the final two episodes with some important developments, even if it doesn’t quite have the emotional power of the some recent installments.
This recap of P-Valley season 2, episode 8, “The Death Drop”, contains spoilers.
There are only two episodes left of P-Valley’s second season, and “The Death Drop” is the kind of outing that reminds you the end is near. Compared to some of the more recent hours, this isn’t a big, attention-grabbing affair, even though a couple of important things happen in it, but it’s very much the kind of table-setting storytelling that will absolutely pay dividends down the line. The show might not have had official confirmation of renewal just yet, but there’s almost no chance that all this can be wrapped up in the next two weeks.
Is there?
P-Valley season 2, episode 8 recap
What’s arguably the main plot thread here is the mayoral race, since whoever controls Chucalissa also, by extension, controls the Pynk, and virtually everyone’s fates are entwined with the club. After Andre emerged as a relatively uncontroversial candidate, a local-boy-done-good back to continue a pre-existing legacy, he seemed like the front-runner over Patrice’s particular brand of fire and brimstone religious rhetoric. But the Kyles have played a chess move against Andre by revealing, in a very public way, that his birth father is very much alive, contrary to his claims, and on death row. This is good for neither Andre’s image — a parent due to be executed by the state is never a good sign — or his reputation.
This seems to give Patrice a much more viable bid for Chucalissa’s throne. And of course, who sits in the mayor’s seat is going to determine the future of the Pynk, since Hailey refuses to accept Georgie’s lowball offer of five million since she’s still adamant about it being worth ten. They’ll have to go to the polls to see if the club is going to be a viable big-money sale. Depending on who wins the race, it might not be worth anything at all.
Hailey is also, meanwhile, helping Keyshawn to escape from Derrick’s clutches by providing her and the kids with new passports. But to buy her way out, Keyshawn needs capital, and the best way to get it is by headlining at the Pynk. People will come out in droves to see Miss Mississippi, which will help to repair both the club’s social standing and give Keyshawn the cash she needs to flee. So, Keyshawn is able to convince Derrick to allow her to return, even though she returns in the midst of some serious drama. Uncle Clifford and Hailey are still at each other’s throats, Mercedes seems to be suddenly past her sell-by date, and Whisper and Roulette are up to no good.
The specific type of no good that they’re up to leads to an odd subplot in “The Death Drop”, where we come to understand why Roulette is called that. Whisper agrees to take money from Terrance for sex, but with Roulette on hand as security. When Terrance tries to underpay because he was unhappy with the service, Roulette holds him at gunpoint, one round in the chamber of a revolver that she keeps pulling the trigger of. This kind of behavior implies that she isn’t exactly stable, but the casualness with which she goes about it — and the fact she’s literally named after it — implies she’s been dancing with the devil a fair amount. It isn’t entirely clear where this is going, or if it’s going anywhere at all, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to believe that these two won’t be in the middle of some major drama before the season is over.
It’s also Big Teak’s funeral, the stress of which is causing some issues between Lil Murda and Uncle Clifford, despite them becoming closer than ever last week. Admittedly Clifford is also worried about Ernestine, about whom we learn nothing other than that “no news is good news”, but Murda is still deeply struggling with the loss of his friend. This leads to the biggest individual moment of the episode. After attending Teak’s funeral, Murda and his team see on social media that Pico is claiming credit for his death. With emotions high, Murda guns Pico down.
“The Death Drop” also reintroduces us to one of Pico’s acquaintances, Mane, via Mercedes, and he looks like he means business, despite being electronically tagged. While he actually helps Mercedes to try and figure out what she wants from this stage of her life, it also seems very coincidental to bring back another character so close to Pico right before Lil Murda kills him. It seems very likely that this will all come together in the next couple of episodes.
You can stream P-Valley season 2, episode 8, “The Death Drop”, exclusively on Starz.
