Queenie – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

The Prodigal Granddaughter Returns 

Episode 1 of Queenie introduces us to our protagonist, Queenie Jenkins. She is at the gynaecologist and receives some bad news. She is currently having a miscarriage, and she didn’t even know she was pregnant. Queenie is also offended by the too-personal questions that her doctor keeps bombarding her with. On top of that, she is running late for work, and her aunt Maggie is waiting outside the doctor’s hospital.

Queenie lies to her aunt that the doctors only said her cervix is shallow, but Aunt Maggi thinks talking about their cervix in public is taboo. Aunty Maggie insinuates that  Queenie dating a Whit boy has been a bad influence. She is triggered when Queenie says she won’t be stopping by her grandparent’s place because she has a dinner date with Tommy’s family. Tommy’s mom is celebrating her birthday, and he expects her to show up looking proper with a suitable gift.

Aunt Maggie is surprised Queenie has time for Tommy’s mom when she doesn’t speak to her own mother. As the conversation gets intense,  Queenie opts to take a bus to work.

On her way to work, she runs into a married guy trying to get into her good graces, but she pushes him away. At work, Queenie is not only late but her story pitch is rejected. Her boss thinks Queenie should focus on being a good social media manager and maybe get to work on time. Queenie is disappointed but Darcy, a co-worker and friend, tries to encourage her. 

As the day carries on, Queenie tries to get the perfect time to tell Darcy and other close friends about her miscarriage. However, the timing feels off. Even at dinner with Tommy’s family, she is unable to bring it up. Matters turn from bad to worse when she is unable to take the usual racist comments from Tommy’s grandmom. 

Tommy sits there like a mannequin, never defending Queenie from the racist comments the grandmom makes about how Black her grandkids will be. Queenie lashes out, runs out, and accidentally destroys the cake. Tommy follows her soon after and blames her for being too much when she calls him out for not handling the situation better. He says that he can’t always be angry and that he can’t always be on her side.

According to Tommy, Queenie is too much. After their fight,  Queenie returns to their shared apartment and tries to give Tommy space and understanding. However, he never comes home.

The following day, Queenie visits her best friend, Jessica and coincidentally meets their other mutual friend, Frank. The girls make their hair as  Queenie talks to Jessica about Tommy. Queenie still has hopes for the relationship, so Jessica advises her to step up her sex game.

Later, Queenie stops by her grandparent’s place and starts feeling overwhelmed when her grandmother and aunt bring up her mom. She leaves and returns to her apartment. She is still grieving the miscarriage and thinks it is a sign from the universe that she is not ready to be a mom yet.

She is happy when Tommy returns but heartbroken when he packs his things and asks for a break. He says she is too much and unable to open up to him. He doesn’t say how long he needs, but he will stay at his parent’s house and give her time to move out. As he shuts the door behind him,  Queenie remembers her younger self watching her mom walk out of her life. 

The Episode Review

Straight off the bat, we can tell Queenie is battling with abandonment issues; seeing Tommy walk out brought up old memories of being abandoned by her mom. This explains why she is not talking to her biological mom and avoiding anything to do with her. The first episode does a great job of introducing the protagonist and allows her to know some of her deep trauma. 

Tommy did some A-class gaslighting. Blaming Queenie for not sitting back and taking racist comments is wild. He didn’t handle that situation. It feels like he was looking for any simple excuse to justify his “break.”