Harlem Heights
what's going down uptown
2009-04-08
By Elaine Welteroth

Beef – It’s What’s For Dinner
The episode picked up where it left off with frienemies Brooke and Ashlie eye to eye in what may be their final face-off.  Did Brooke change up during her psuedo-relationship with Kanye West? Who cares.  The redundant reference to “Ye” triggered eye rolls from the crew --  as tired of hearing the star’s name tossed around as we are of this lame conflict.  Just as their beef becomes tepid, Brooke tosses Landon’s name into the hot pit. 

Landon, the show’s token “good guy” gets roasted by Ashlie for taking her Brooke-bashing back to the source. But when his character was put to the test, Landon passed with flying colors.  Unlike Christian's weak babble of an explanation for his sloppy behavior in past episodes, Landon offered the kind of apology a woman expects from a real man.  He preserved his reputation as the crew’s consummate gentleman with his sincere explanation and request for reprieve, sealed with the promise of a home-cooked meal.  Now, if only this stand-up behavior were commonplace for twenty-something dating in Harlem… again, I digress. 

In a kitchen nearby, Brooke, Bridget and Briana share girl talk  about where they each stand in the status-driven rat race that is New York City.  With her 30th birthday looming, Brooke admits to harboring a fear of failure.  Her less than progressive career at MTV appears stagnant compared to the others until they, too, admit to sharing anxiety about the future: Law student Bridget may be intimidating, but she confesses to still playing the career field to find out what she really wants to do.  Even Briana, with a big mouth to match her big-time job as a technical designer for Victoria’s Secret, comes clean about feeling overlooked for her tireless efforts at work.   This moment of honesty reveals a vulnerable side to the seemingly impenetrable cast members. 

For the first time since the series began, we see a return to premise.  Real concerns about the pressure to succeed and the quiet competition that exists among friends in the big city are explored as a true reflection of the hungry and ambitious young adults in this uptown cast.   

But it's not all peace and love in our tightly wound group; as egos are laid to rest in one kitchen, pride takes a public beat-down in another. 

Bridget calls a collective kumbaya dinner, but not before lighting a flame under Pierre. Last week’s drama re-surfaced as Pierre hit Brooke and Christian with a hot serving of dinner table cross-fire.  This week found Brooke and Pierre trading immature jabs about how they were never that into each other - right.  Sure, Brooke could have been more upfront with Pierre initially about the lack of chemistry she felt on their first date.  And Christian could have avoided back-tipping by letting his boy in on his attraction to Brooke. But the bottom line is Pierre got swooped on very early in the dating game.  He may have been better off eating his losses for dinner. 

Was Pierre justified in bringing his beef up at the dinner table?
Do you believe Pierre’s claim that Brooke was “not his type anyway”?
When does “up-and-coming” become a cover-up for being critically unaccomplished?

Elaine Welteroth is Beauty & Style reporter for Ebony magazine.