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Entertainment July 18, 2017
Yes. You read that right. It's the second half of season 4, not season 5... just yet.
Photo by @/celebsupernova via TwitterNow that “Being Mary Jane” season four returns on the 18th, we want to speculate what’s in store for the new anchor. She finally got her coveted seat at the table but at the cost of her best friend’s job and relatively simple love life.
Now that she’s in the position she wants to be in professionally, what does that spell for her next moves in regard to keeping her positions and who she wants to share it with? The second half of “Being Mary Jane” season four promises a wild ride for the upcoming episodes.
Will Mary Jane keep her position? Will Ronda come back and snatch it from her? Who will she choose? Justin or Lee?
Here are our comments and predictions for what her position means now, and how it will inform the rest of the season.
The audience had to watch “Being Mary Jane” season four episode one to explore the fractured nature of Mary Jane’s life as she first got to New York. We got to watch her build herself back up and grow emotionally, with the help of Lee, and professionally, with the latent help of Justin. Her growth this season helped her land her coveted position as lead anchor, and this new job matters because it shifts Mary Jane’s focus.
In season 4a, she was worried about having children and starting her own family. She had begun to grow in her career and her life, and she wanted to begin a new one with a family of her own. However, there’s no time for a baby when you’re fresh meat on the anchor chair. Now she’ll have to dedicate more time and resources to not only doing her job well but also keeping the show interesting to keep the ratings high.
Ronda had an audience based off of loyalty that grew up with her. Mary Jane’s only leg-up on Ronda comes from her youthfulness and the fact that she offers a fresh outlook. Starting a family is a full-time job on its own, and in a competitive and time-consuming profession, it’d run any sane person crazy. Mary Jane is already a little crazy.
The upcoming “Being Mary Jane” episodes must broach the trials of that juggling act regarding working women who are trying to start and raise a family, especially when they made it the reason Mary Jane stopped seeing a future for herself and Lee.
Mary Jane started broken and Lee was there to help her build the pieces. He gave her the emotional support she needed to get through her stressful job. He also gave her new and fresh perspectives. For example, he sparked her idea to interview the swimsuit lingerie woman from “Being Mary Jane” season four episode three. Additionally, he gave her a different perspective on what makes a man a “man,” contrasting the traditional me-man, you-woman tropes that come with appearances from season four episode four.
Not that Lee was the perfect man. He has a weirdly close relationship with his ex, his son is a creeper and he might be a little too metro for MJ. This is in large part why Justin attracts Mary Jane so much. She’s so used to having to work for a man’s love and respect. She’s so used to the me-man, you-woman relationship that her situation with Lee scares her. Mary Jane and Justin’s complicated attraction to one another is comfortable for MJ because she loves complicated.
These developments left us at “Being Mary Jane” season four episode 10, where she was at a crossroads with Lee after he revealed he doesn’t want children. And on top of that, MJ is attracted to but distrustful of Justin after Kara lost her job. Which, come on, turned out pretty convenient, especially considering how Ronda leaving would mean that Kara could start working with MJ again and Justin would be left in the cold from the rising star.
Throughout these latest “Being Mary Jane” episodes, we’ve seen MJ grow and flourish in L.A., but now it all seems like it’s on the line.
Life is hard. Just ask MJ who’s been working on getting her life together only to have life clap back and be like, “You thought!” However, we’ve gotten the opportunity to see Mary Jane grow and finally come into herself professionally and personally. Her next decisions will either cement her growth or make her take three steps backward.
Now that MJ sits in the lead anchor chair, the position she’s been vying for since “Being Mary Jane” season four episode one, the fight has just begun. As it was established in season four episode seven, everyone loves Ronda. No one will understand that Ronda left because she didn’t properly vet a story. That’s not interesting enough.
They will, instead, lean toward the gossip they heard about Mary Jane being a vicious backstabbing newbie trying to unseat the reigning queen. Because of this, ratings will fall. So, MJ will have to do something extra to bring them back up.
Additionally, MJ will have to choose who she will go forward with in her love life. Knowing Mary Jane and her self-sabotaging ways, she’ll choose Justin. This decision will most likely lead to work problems, seeing as he’s her direct producer. What if they disagree on a story? How will that affect their personal life? What if they disagree on something in their personal lives? How will that affect the story?
A future with Lee would be less complicated for her professional life, but most likely mean a more complicated personal life. MJ gets along with Lee’s ex and his children. But what about Lee’s attitude about children?
It isn’t fair for Mary Jane to compromise on something she’s wanted for so long. She deserves her own family. So, how would Lee treat their child? Would Mary Jane and Lee have time for a child now that both their careers are picking up? What would the next chapter be for them? Would they get married?
What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments section below or tweet us at @entity_mag.
