The best TV episodes of 2017
By Sarah Baye
Dear White People — 1×05: “Chapter V”
Dear White People is a satirical comedy-drama, based on the 2014 movie, that follows of a group of black students in a predominantly white University. Each episode focuses on a character and sees life in school from their eyes following the controversial blackface party.
The tone is incisive and treats social inequalities between black and white people with a sharp and insightful eye. The show is also a coming-of-age story in which characters endeavor to embrace (or deny) their identity.
I picked episode 5 as the best episode because it was a turning point in the plot, and in my viewing perception of it.
In this episode centered on Reggie, one of the most intelligent students on the campus, the characters go to a party in an attempt to smooth out the tension between the two communities. But an argument breaks out between Reggie and a white student after the latter utters the n-word whilst singing along to a song. Eventually, as a debate rises about the use of the word, campus police intervenes but, with the growing tension between the two students, the officer holds Reggie at gunpoint and asks for to see his ID.
The tone of the scene —and of the series— flips completely as the viewer witnesses the unfair treatment of Reggie held a gunpoint for completely arbitrary reasons, and is anxiously hoping for a nonviolent outcome. The whole room is in shock, and when all is sorted out, nothing is the same anymore. For the characters, and for the audience.
The characters leave the party in silence, and the viewer is left stunned and appalled in a cleverly written turning point for the show that tackles modern social issues.
Season 2 of Dear White People is set for 2018 on Netflix.