The Remarkable Journey of Darla Sutton-Bordelon

 

Darla definitely deserves to be included among Best Television Character Journeys of All Time lists. 

Almost seven years ago, Queen Sugar delivered Darla Sutton-Bordelon, one of the bravest character journeys ever depicted on television. The extremely attentive details come solely from the poignant written components of the former drug addict adapting to society and the incredibly gifted Bianca Lawson’s underappreciated efforts of rendering such a fragile turned resilient woman. 

This essay sheds light on Darla’s countless obstacles and how she faced them. 

Darla (Bianca Lawson) recites a metaphorical “fairy tale” to Blue as Ralph Angel watches from the doorway in season one, episode eight’s Where With All, written by Tina Mabry and directed by Kat Candler.

Darla (Bianca Lawson) and Blue (Ethan Hutchinson) are always so beautiful together. 

In the first season, Darla has been clean and sober for almost two years. She has a steady job and is happy to be allowed to babysit her son, Blue during Ernest’s funeral. Darla’s past often overshadows her continued efforts to be in Blue’s life. That stain comes with addiction. Even when someone comes out the program, conducting the proper steps, to regain trust is difficult. 

“These past eighteen months, I have been clean… I want to thank you. I never got the chance to say ‘thank you, Mrs. Violet.’ You saw me at my lowest, you saw me in hell. I didn’t even want to exist anymore. Not breathe. Not see. Not hear. Love couldn’t even reach me. And you picked up my baby gently… you could have yelled at me and cursed me, but I remember you covering me up and saying, ‘God bless you, girl.’”— Darla to Vi (Tina Lifford) and Hollywood.

The Bordelon family has troubles fully accepting Darla. 

Violet’s grudge is Darla’s biggest hurdle, considering that she is the primary guardian of Blue. Vi’s mind remains haunted by Darla’s darkest, shameful moment. Out of the people she has hurt and harmed the most, Vi is the impenetrable, unforgivable barrier to cross. Vi’s detrimental behavior during the hurricane—wanting Ralph Angel to kick Darla out in the middle of terror— problematic at best. However, Vi says to Charley that the cheating, lying, monstrous Davis has a right to be in Micah’s life while loudly blasting Darla for trying to be a mother to Blue. Ralph Angel calls out her hypocrisy (which is quite patriarchal). Yet heavy foreshadowing comes into play here. In addition to the cheating, Charley ended her marriage to Davis due to him paying his friends to rape a sex worker. 

Darla and Ralph Angel tell Blue that they’re getting married in season two, episode nine’s Yet Do I Marvel, written by Jason Wilborn and directed by Julie Dash.

Darla confides in Charley about trying to reach her parents in season two, episode ten’s Drums At Dusk written by Valerie Chu and directed by Julie Dash. 

Unfortunately, a big problem for Ralph Angel and Darla lies in throwing each other’s past mistakes as missiles. Although they love each other deeply, some wounds are still not fully healed. 

Ralph Angel reluctantly agrees with Darla to undergo pre-marital counseling. They both selected communication as their biggest concern in season two, episode eleven’s Fruit of the Flower written by Dana Greenblatt and directed by Cheryl Dunye.

The second season, Darla becomes more radiant and healthy; her look partly due to rekindling love with Ralph Angel and strengthening her connection with Blue. The struggle to maintain this newfound habit presents the real, authentic portrayal of life post addiction, knowing that people still cannot forgive you for your past. Darla retains no hateful spirit, always conveying her thanks despite knowing that Vi carries an unchanged resentment. Darla finds a perfect balance between motherhood and becoming engaged to the man of her dreams, and finding a job with Charley— her future sister-in-law. Darla soon finds a friend in Charley, an intimate closeness that’s needed for a woman who grew up as an only child. Hotheaded Ralph Angel— who has already shared his late father Ernest’s secret will with her— isn’t too happy about the arrangement, believing that Darla is not on his side. He has already shared his late father Ernest’s will with her. The thing is Ralph Angel expects Darla to always sacrifice for him. She lost a previous job thanks to him. 

Suddenly, the presence of Darla’s parents brings a shocking detail to light. 

The wedding is off and Ralph Angel dumps Darla. 

Darla’s mother Darlene (Michael Michele) puts out the idea that Blue should live with his maternal grandparents for a while— that of which Darla does not agree in season two, episode fourteen’s On These I Stand; written by Jason Wilborn and directed by Christina Alexandra Voros. 

Even with everything crashing around her— losing the Bordelon support including being fired by Charley— Darla manifests painful rejections into a positive activity— swimming in season two, episode sixteen’s Dream Variations written by Davita Scarlett and directed by Kat Candler. 

The third season, after recuperating with her parents back home in Washington D. C., Darla eventually returns to St. Joe to exist beside her wrongs, maintaining the path towards being forgiven. She has changed her appearance (cutting off her signature locks) and hopes to spend more time with Blue by any means necessary. Ralph Angel— hanging onto the hurt—frequently lashes out at Darla. Moreover, Darla also deals with Vi’s scorn and that of Hollywood for the first time. Ralph Angel and Darla tell Blue about their abruptly ended relationship. Darlene then encourages Darla to get the courts involved for a custody arrangement. After all, Darla has earned the right to be in Blue’s life, her smart, inspiring son gives her the heart and energy to thrive, to be clean. She needs his sustainability. 

Darla returns and Ralph Angel isn’t too pleased— having only handed off her phone calls to Blue.

Darla and Ralph Angel peacefully mend fences in season three, episode twelve’s The Horizon Leans Forward, written by Mike Flynn and directed by Kat Candler. The parents train Blue to ride a bicycle. As they watch him from the porch, Darla believes that they should split time fifty/fifty. 

“I’m more than okay. I’m healthy. I’m sober. I have my struggles, but I think of Blue, I think of his joy and I walk through it.”— Darla in season three, episode thirteen’s From on the Pulse of Morning, written by Kat Candler and Anthony Sparks and directed by Candler. 

Season four features an evolved Darla embodying a woman willingly undergoing significant life changes, even sharing similarities with new boyfriend Leo— also a former addict while also continuing a positive co-parenting arrangement with Ralph Angel. She shows no animosity towards Ralph Angel dating the beautiful Deesha, a fellow parent in Blue’s class, demonstrating a release on her earlier attachment issues. In prior seasons, Darla and Ralph Angel were definitely not ready to be married, especially with Darla’s secret looming over them and Ralph Angel’s constant mood swings— very unhealthy and dangerous for Darla. So, Darla appears invincible as she moves forward in making a clean, worthwhile break, putting Blue’s needs and her own at the top of her hierarchy.

“You’re lower than I ever was!”— Darla to Nova on Nova’s book, Blessing & Blood of season four, episode four’s Skin Transparent, written by Valerie Woods and directed by Numa Perrier. 

Darla sinks into deep depression in season four, episode five’s Face Speckled, written by Lisa Morales and directed by Heidi Saman.

Darla takes a hefty sniff of temptation, but manages to not take a single drink.

Ralph Angel explains to Blue that though he’s not his biological father, his soul is in Blue. 

Then Nova’s book Blessing & Blood comes out. Darla’s co-workers quickly figure out she is the mysterious “Star” character. It also affects Blue at school. Darla never intended Blue to find out the truth about his paternity— certainly not this soon. Nova forces Ralph Angel and Darla to have that difficult conversation with Blue, Darla beyond hurt and humiliated that her very wishes are not respected. 

Jordan Montague (Amanda Tavarez) visits St. Joe spilling awful tea whilst drinking like a sailor in season four, episode ten’s Oh Mamere, written by Felicia Pride and Chloe Hung and directed by Cheryl Dunye.

Darla is in stunned disbelief as Jordan laughs about what happened to Darla.

The combined factors push Darla’s carefully constructed world asunder like a row of falling dominos. Leo— who has read Nova’s book— hasn’t returned Darla’s calls or texts. So, she shows up to his band practice. He reacts coldly to her, convinced that she’s teetering. Sure, it would be wise to take Leo’s advice and call her sponsor, but his whole attitude towards Darla plummets her already dwindling self-esteem. The final shove across the cliff comes from Jordan Montague— the worst kind of person. Jordan still believes herself to be Darla’s friend. Heck, Darlene believes this woman is Darla’s friend. At brunch, Jordan gleefully chugs drinks away, not showcasing any empathy towards Darla’s sobriety (perhaps she doesn’t know, but still...). Yet, Jordan reminisces about their glory days of turning tricks, unknowingly filling in the missing pieces of Darla’s fateful night. The vicious savageness to this story paints Jordan in a horrific light— she witnessed Darla being taken advantage of by two men and thought it humorous; not even realizing that Darla could not possibly consent. Even remotely close to sober, a grownup Jordan should realize what her words insinuated. What kind of friend would laugh and openly mock about their friend’s violation? 

Of course, it is very heartbreaking once Darla goes to a bar and engulfs one shot after another. Damn. 

Out of all the people who could have witnessed Darla’s public display of intoxication, a sweet fate intervenes, letting Vi find her.

Vi sits at Darla’s side as Darla tells Ralph Angel about the tragic night of Blue’s conception.

Vi gifts Darla an absolute blessing— the genuine care and sympathy that the young woman needs to process a terrible crime. For a long time, Vi made it perfectly clear where she stood with the former addict, her cruel retorts often heard by Darla. Still, a patient Darla knew that the road to forgiveness was not bound to be simple, let alone quick and painless. Thus, when Darla found herself in grave danger, Vi would be the one to rescue her from herself and disclose a surprising vulnerability. Perhaps, Vi finally sees that she and Darla share common ground— surviving cruel abuse by men. 

Ralph Angel and Darla finally marry in a COVID precaution ceremony in episode May 19, 2020 written by Norman Vance Jr. and directed by Lauren Wolkstein.

By season five and six, Darla and Ralph Angel have grown individuality— so much so that they can fully be committed together without inflicting unnecessary hurt on each other. After a hard, tumultuous year, Darla deserves happiness, she deserves the fairy tale ending— which she acquires through one of the most poignant, most loving weddings ever shown on television. Although Darla’s parents cannot attend mainly due to the COVID pandemic restrictions (brilliantly integrated into the series), a prior virtual bridal shower offers Darla a humbling surprise from Darlene. 

When Darla becomes pregnant in season six, this gorgeous family embarks on this healthy journey together as a married couple, no longer their past— the hustler and the addict struggling to make ends meet. Love has always been their backbone, but wisdom and growth unites them, prepares them for a refreshing future with their son Blue along for the glorious ride. Unfortunately, Ralph Angel has some instinctual reflexes that potentially places his own maturity on the line. 

Happy endings are bumpy ways away for Darla, Ralph Angel, and their newborn daughter in season seven, episode three’s Slowly and Always Irregularly written by Francesca Butler and directed by Stacey Muhammad.

Darla is deadset against Nova’s book being turned into a film in season seven, episode five’s With A Kind Of written by Eddie Serrano and directed by Shaz Bennett. 

By the seventh season, Darla settles into marital bliss— a beacon of pure happiness. Again, fate tests her sobriety. Nova has the opportunity to turn her book into a film. Everyone is all excited about the prospect, having changed their earlier scorn into excitement— except Darla. She suffers through their uncontainable glee, her eyes watering, the tension in her body rising. First, her “no” is soft, then she repeats it louder and louder, and races out of the room. As part of the Bordelon family, her consent matters and it’s only right for Nova to go to Darla, to hear her— not exactly for the why, but for her to truly understand what Nova’s book cost Darla. 

“Don’t you dare make this about you! You ruined my life. And now you want forgiveness. I relapsed because of you and that book. Did you really think I would be okay with a movie? Are you really that selfish? Ralph Angel and I... we keep trying to let the past go. But you keep bringing it back. You think that I wanna watch my assault with actors in costumes? Do you think that I want that out there for Blue and Tru to see? More than you’ve already exposed it? All the s*** you stirred, do you think I want that rewound and streamed on people’s TVs for years?.... ARE YOU CRAZY? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”— Darla to Nova. 

After listening to Darla’s passionate monologue, Nova promises to decline the offer of turning Blessings & Blood into a film. To further enhance a pivotally emotional moment, the two sisters by marriage embrace, Darla sobbing on Nova’s shoulder, a newfound bond between them deepening. 

Once that chapter closes, Darla’s remaining hurdles include Ralph Angel’s troubles and the worthless Chase (who doesn’t deserve to be considered Blue’s biological father). Of the latter, Darla boldly confronts her attacker (with her strong, supportive family in tow) and tells him off in a way season one Darla never would. How can you not applaud her for her courage, her unflinching eye? She was a chess player mastermind beating Chase at his own pathetic game. As for Ralph Angel, Darla was right to take the kids with her to Washington D. C. He needed to put his family first: stop returning to his old shady behavior, punishing Darla, and talking to an ex about his marital problems. 

Darla closes the nail on the coffin— having the monster Chase (Eric C. Lynch) sign many documents including a contract worth three million dollars. Talk about a more positive spin on paying out a rape survivor (sorry Charley).
 

Thankfully, by the final episode, one of the best TV couples Darla and Ralph Angel repair their relationship and buy a house together in order for Vi and Hollywood to foster a child. Talk about a rewarding full circle moment for everyone, especially Darla. She fought against constant denial, constant doubt, and stole/melted hearts. 

Insert the sobs. 

Queen Sugar may not be the easiest series to binge. Almost every episode should come with a “sensitive subject matter” warning. Furthermore, an inward pause must be taken to let the heavy images, resonating stories, powerful acting settle in spirit, and tissues to wipe away endless tears. For seven heartrending seasons, viewers have watched the soft-spoken, guilt-ridden Darla transform into a remarkably resilient woman— someone growing into her own strength and agency. Bianca Lawson’s incredible performance of grace, tenderness, and grit makes you see Darla’s multifaceted humanness. She has immense regrets, battles to stay sober, desires to be a better mother and partner, and forge her own destiny. Between her defeats and losses, the blessed Darla still receives wins, joys, and pleasures. Lawson believably embodies a character she was meant to play. After roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Pretty Little Liars, Queen Sugar gave the opportunity of a lifetime— a layered, complex role requiring an emotional weight that Lawson carries well. 

Darla Sutton-Bordelon’s character arc demonstrates a significant part of why Queen Sugar will stand the test of time as one of the most unforgettable series ever rendered.