Original subtitles

["Ever Since U Left Me"

Dorothy Dandridge Davenport

has faithfully served this campus longer than y'all been alive.

Put some respect on her name. And suddenly she resigns?

'Cause some freshman is out here smearing her?

Debra Wayne is an obnoxious, entitled bi...

Debra Wayne deserves a medal for ending Dictator Davenport's reign.

Our Hillman legacy is bigger than the sins of one messy-boots person.

Hillman lost a grip in federal funding.

But that money wasn't even for scholarships.

Mm-mm, the math ain't mathing.

LeDebra Wayne is a plant.

Yo, who name they child Debra anyway?

How hard is it to pronounce Deborah?

Once again, I'm being thrown under the bus.

Well, you didn't have to call out Davenport in front of everybody.

I mean, I wouldn't have, but some of us were just raised different.

I was trying to help you, Rashida.

Look, I know you were trying to be on the lookout,

but your help isn't very helpful, sis.

Now you got everybody all up in my financials.

["Ever Since U Left Me"

I didn't think about it that way.

I'm sorry.

Okay, all right. So, done. Now what?

See how helpful that was.

So... So I don't need these, or...

♪ It's a different world ♪

♪ Than where you come from ♪

♪ It's a different world ♪

♪ Than where you come from ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ It's a different world ♪

♪ Than where you come from ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ We not fazed, they don't wanna... ♪

Five Star finally showed up.

Coach, man, let me know somethin'.

Tomorrow, first game. I'm starting or what?

Okay, like I told your pops every time he called this week,

if you hadn't missed camp, there'd be no question.

But it's gonna be a game-time decision between you and Andre.

'Cause just like they used to say in the league, "100%..."

"Ain't enough."

Let me ask, how long you plan on being here

before you jump in the transfer portal?

Coach, we've talked about this already.

I told you, this is where I wanna be. I'm here at Hillman to stay.

-That's good to know. -Yeah.

'Cause that portal and them NIL checks

got y'all thinking the game ain't the game.

Hear me once, son.

No man is above the team, all right?

-Yeah. -Good job out there. Let's go.

In five generations of Gilbert legacies,

you are the only one to ever make our school look bad.

Ma.

Since our institutions are held to a higher standard,

this damn story won't die, and you're the face of it.

Sit. We've got big news.

Okay.

Oh God, I've prepped for this scenario with Dr. Basler, but this is all my fault.

Rip the bandage off. You're getting a divorce.

-What? -You're getting a divorce.

No, listen to me. Listen to me.

This thing between your mother and I, it's not your fault.

-Oh. -It's kind of her fault.

-Whitley. -Anyhoo, back to our news.

Yes, please. Um...

Welcome to my new office.

Because the board has named me

interim president.

And I'm first lady.

Who would have thunk it? Uh, Debo, you good?

Yeah. Half of Hillman

and all the Black people left on Twitter are already coming for me,

and now, okay, uh, yeah, they're really gonna hate me.

Thanks.

Deborah, this is bigger than your 15 minutes of infamy.

This is about the longevity of this great institution.

This is your final warning.

I need you to put your head down

and focus on why you are actually at Hillman,

or else you will be back in Connecticut on house arrest.

-What y'all got going on, man? -You good, freshman?

Andre, I ain't with all these goofy-ass pranks.

Where my clothes at, man? Andre.

Can I at least get my drawers?

♪ Protect my energy ♪

♪ Energy, energy, energy, energy ♪

♪ I protect my energy ♪

Hey, pretty eyes. Can I borrow your towel?

Just let me hold it for a minute.

So the question is,

in a world lacking love,

who have we become?

Sociopaths.

Ooh. Oh.

Well, Mr. Rodale is not wrong.

Love is the heartbeat of liberation.

Love is what keeps us human in the face of domination.

-Mm. -That's why everything,

from your dating apps to your TikTok algorithms,

are designed to keep us empathetically disconnected.

So it's not just oppressive systems that damage our capacity to love?

No. No, no, no, not at all.

And hooks takes us even further.

Uh...

-You'll get it back. Chill. -No, she didn't.

She even says,

"Boys are trained into patriarchy so young,

it severs them from love completely."

Yeah, well, I'm severed indeed.

Okay. Okay.

Uh, what stands opposite patriarchy?

-Deborah? -Hm?

Uh, the... The patriarchy...

Beyoncé?

Yeah?

Feminism.

Hooks frames it as a way to free everybody from patriarchy's prison.

A prison?

My father led our home,

just like the Bible teaches, and our house was full of love.

This girl quotes scripture in her sleep, I swear.

I think she touched by an angel.

I'm compelled to agree with my sister in Christ here.

Men are not always to blame,

despite what third-wave feminists would have us believe.

Okay.

See, hooks doesn't blame men, but the system of patriarchy as a whole.

It is our job to write a new script.

But this is exactly the tension that hooks lives in.

So for your oral presentations, it is your job to answer the question,

"If we don't learn to love each other, can we still make a difference today?"

Sayonara, my little earthlings.

Come here, my little moonbeam.

Uh-oh.

Talk to me.

This convocation stuff throwing you off?

Yes.

If I don't get my academia on, Warden Whitley...

is going to come for me.

I just don't understand how I'm supposed to focus on school

while the entire world is dragging me.

Oh, baby. Some extra study time with my student assistant might help.

Ellington?

Yeah.

Damn.

-Uh, I... I mean, sounds good. -Mm-hm.

Ellington, this is my moonbeam and a very promising student.

I'm familiar. Calling out President Davenport was tough.

Pleasure, Deborah.

Pleasure.

Oh, excuse me, you two. The work never ends.

So, uh, I need all the help I can get.

Say less.

My office hours are tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow af... During the football game?

Best time to study.

The library is actually quiet.

Got it, got it. But, uh, it's my friend's first game.

And I... I really can't miss it, so maybe we can find another time.

Okay. It's your grade, not mine.

Rashida.

-Bye. -Bye.

As much as I believe in a cooperative society,

you can't keep snatching your classmates' texts.

I know, but the grant money I lost was partly for books.

-Ah. -But I'll figure it out though. It's fine.

Honor that frequency, sister.

And I will look into this grant situation with the provost, okay?

Okay. Thanks.

♪ I'm a big stepper ♪

What it do, Nellie? How you doing?

Well, butter my behind and call me a biscuit,

if it isn't Mr. Five Star.

Got something there for team captain Andre?

I sure do.

-All right, baby. That'll be $345.86. -All right, thank you.

-They ain't pay? -You think I like quoting numbers?

Now don't play with my money. Come on, baby.

-Yes, ma'am. You... You got tap? -Uh-huh.

-Look who showed up. -What's she doing here?

-No, is that her? -Girl, bye.

-Mm-mm-mm. -Oh, just the girl I wanted to see.

As promised, two tickets.

You sure you want me there right now though?

I'm kinda, uh, public enemy number one.

Nah, you my good luck charm.

I need you there.

-Yeah, come on. -I'll be there. Promise.

I'll see you later, all right?

-Bye. -Bye.

-Baby Wayne! -Nellie.

You want your usual order today?

Yes, please.

Oh Lord.

I'll get your order right to you.

I'm gonna pull you down, so gimme a minute.

-Yeah. For sure. -All right.

-Sis. -Mm?

Think you could put in a good word for me with Nellie

so I could start slinging hush puppies part-time?

Slinging hush puppies?

I basically ran my parents' corner store, okay? I got this.

Wait, so you'd rather work at The...

The Pit than take me up on my offer to float you?

I mean...

Honey...

if I needed a sugar daddy, it wouldn't be you.

Damn. Y'all really did y'all big one in here.

Kind of offensive considering I'm still unhoused, but go off.

Look, we've been ordering so much,

I'm pretty sure Amazon's about to make me a brand ambassador.

-You? -Yeah.

Nah.

Maybe Shaquille, considering he spent all his NIL money out on this room.

Look, that's all about to change because

I'm about to be laughing to the bank...

-Oh. -selling these at the game tomorrow.

-Oh! -Introducing...

-Shoot. -Chop Lyfe's limited edition drop,

the Five Star tee.

-Okay. -Mm-hm.

Does Shaquille know about this?

Mm, yeah, don't tell me. I don't need to know.

-'Cause it's giving cease and desist. -Okay.

Hillman College, make some noise for your Falcons!

Five Star! Five Star! Five Star!

Five Star!

Five Star! Five Star! Five Star! Five Star!

Five Star! Five Star!

Pretty cool, huh?

-Come on now, you hear 'em. -Yeah, yeah.

-Awesome. I made my decision. -I know you did.

Mm-hm.

-Shaquille? -Yeah?

Sit your heartthrob ass down.

-Tisdale! -Coach.

-You're up. -Word.

Hey. On me. Let's go.

On me. One, two, three.

Three.

Hut!

-Yeah? -Out of my face.

Tisdale is out there struggling.

I don't know what Coach is thinking, not starting our boy Shaquille.

Boy? He's a whole man.

He's all we came here for.

And hike!

-Go, go, go! -Hold on, hold on. Andre just lofted one.

Oh, that's a dime.

Boom! Touchdown! Let's go!

I love my H! In front of my I, I, L. In front of my M.

In front of my A.

Hillman!

Hear ye, hear ye.

Ladies and gentlemen, listen, we've got these top-of-the-line

Five Star by Chop Lyfe T-shirts.

-Uh-huh. -Get them before they're gone.

Limited edition, 20 a pop.

Yeah, that's American dollars, no pounds up in here.

-Cash App, Zelle, Venmo, figure it out. -We also take pounds.

-We do take pounds, thank you. -No, we don't. No, we don't.

Don't listen to him.

Since when does Nellie have employees that are this fine?

-I just got hired. -Hm.

Plus, I need some extra green for my textbooks.

I low-key got caught out in Social Movements.

On your grind?

-Mm-hm. -That's wifey material.

-How many kids do you want? -Uh, boy, stop. I smell like fish grease.

-Oh, fish and chips are my favorite. -That's nasty.

Nah, but for real, I am proper proud of you.

Thank you. But I better go.

Can't get fired on my first day.

Wow.

Yo, listen, I don't got no money, but I got some weed.

-Oh my God. -Uh-uh, durag.

-Just take... -What do you think this is?

-I'm not running a non-profit. -It's a... It's good.

-Oh, stop it. -Absolutely not.

-Hey. Hey! -How much you got on you?

-I know y'all ain't bootlegging. -Oh.

Oh, hell nah.

Oh, nah. Nah, nah. That's 12. I cannot catch a case.

-No, I only see two. -I'm out! I'm out!

What, we're running? Where we running?

Three. Thirty-eight. Hut.

Put Shaquille in, cowards.

-What are they doing? -Yeah!

What she said!

-Excuse me. -Put him in.

-Sorry. -Rashida!

-Oh. Oh. -Excuse me, sorry.

I'm sorry.

These drunk alumni, they getting real loose with they wallets.

I mean, the tips are giving.

Oh, and Nellie asked me to cover her breakfast shift tomorrow.

'Cause naturally, I'm already her star employee.

I know that's right.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

I mean, it's a good thing that I finished my Social Movements assignment last night.

Ugh, same.

As triggering as that assignment was, bell hooks made me realize

that I want to inspire other girls like me to let their love flags fly.

No, no, no, no. Hold on. Hold on.

You both finished Professor Brooks' assignment already?

Girl, duh, it's due Monday.

You haven't? What are... What are you even doing here?

Not... It's not even second quarter yet. I haven't seen Shaquille play.

Okay.

What's more important, your GPA or your situations hip?

Right. Mm.

Whoo. Oh.

You don't think Boo Boo saw us run over here?

Nah, man.

-Don't think they got security cameras? -For selling T-shirts?

-What if they got facial recognition, man? -That don't work on Black people.

Bruv.

Are you good?

Um...

Look, I told y'all I deferred my acceptance a year.

Yeah.

That's why my housing fell through, with the shortage.

I... I spent a year in juvie.

Sorry, what?

Look, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,

and now if I get in any serious trouble, it gets reported to my probation officer.

But I had to transfer my supervision to come down here,

and this new PO is already on my ass.

Damn.

I'm sorry. That is...

-It's heavy. -Yeah.

Hey!

Come on, y'all. What we doing?

Come on, baby, what we doing? Everybody need to lock in.

Can't get no passes off without no protection.

-Tap in. Let's go! -He do not get it.

A team is only as good as its quarterback. Ours is playing like ass.

Trash.

Hey, you got something to say? Huh?

No, I'm saying if I was the one out there playing,

that scoreboard would look a whole lot different.

You know, you throw one more pick to that Dominion DB,

I swear y'all go together real bad.

Talking about holding hands, skipping and everythin'.

You said, "If you was playing" though. Remember, you on the bench, freshman.

You know, that's your problem, bruh. You always worried about where I'm at.

You need to be worried about where your receivers at.

That's why Coach Coles brought me in, 'cause you ain't handling business.

Here's the thing, superstar. You know what the problem is?

You just sad 'cause Mommy and Daddy can't see you play. Huh? Huh?

-Ooh! -Yo, chill. Chill!

Ooh!

Whoa, what's going on in here?

Huh?

Tension in here thicker than Fantasia,

who I had a thing with back in the day.

What?

Dre. What's wrong, son?

-Dre, you okay? -Yeah. I'm good, Coach.

What happened?

Somebody better talk to me.

Nobody got nothin' to say?

Don't nobody know nothin'?

Oh. Foosball game over already?

Nope.

Just realized I need to get my priorities straight.

I hear that. So, what are you struggling with?

What I'm not struggling with might be the easier one to answer.

I haven't taken a single note

in my aunt's class.

And it's... it... it's not... it's not that I don't care, okay?

I... I take my laptop out to take notes, and my mind just wanders.

And I wish I could blame Davenport gate, but the truth is,

I've been like this since high school.

I barely graduated.

And if it wasn't for my creative portfolio,

I probably wouldn't have gotten into Tisch.

I mean, honestly, I'm shocked that I even got into Hillman.

I just feel...

Broken.

Uh...

Sorry, whoa, that was a lot.

When I was in high school, my grades were trash.

It was like my brain didn't work the way it was supposed to.

Everybody was ready to give up on me, but my uncle,

he recognized what was really going on, and, uh, long story short,

I got diagnosed with dyslexia.

Damn.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, um,

you know, I had to figure out some tricks to deal with it.

Do you know the parking-lot technique?

You mean like...

Like sex in public? 'Cause...

-No. No. -No...

Um...

Uh, look, when you... when you're studying,

okay, write down every distracting thought that comes into your head,

and come back to it later.

Oh, the Pomodoro method's also great.

-Pomodoro? -And my favorite, color coding.

-Color coding. -Whoo!

-Love that one. -I write all my notes in different colors.

Thank you. That's... Thank you, Ellington. Uh...

Um...

-Should we get into it? -Absolutely.

What's up, baby? How you doing?

Wha... What? You good?

What are you doing here? It's way past curfew.

Oh, like, I took a selfie with the girl at the front desk.

She making me a key card right now as we speak.

Customer service here is immaculate.

-Nah, I came to see you. -Mm.

Did you see that second half?

247 passing yards, 60 rushing, four touchdowns, overtime win.

-I was on fire. Yeah. -Boy, that's crazy.

Come here. That's crazy!

Wait. No, no, wait.

I... I have a confession.

I may have bailed at halftime.

I had to meet up with my tutor.

We're trying to pull this assignment together in time.

I'm sorry.

-Nah, it's cool. -Mm.

All good. Um...

If I'm being honest, I'm kind of glad you missed it.

I mean, it's not exactly how I imagined starting my college career.

-Oh, okay, come... -Yeah. It's...

Come here.

Today felt like being back at home at the family store.

I mean, weekends were always busy, but...

we got through it together.

My granddaddy treated all his employees like they were family. You hear me?

And you're a part of that now too.

Now, could you please grab that mop and wax them floors?

-Okay. -Thank you.

-Oh God. -Guess what.

I sold out my entire drop,

and I got you a little surprise.

Mm-hm.

My Social Movements book?

No.

I'm not a charity, Kojo.

Listen, this ain't got nuttin' to do with charity, yeah?

-I'm trying to hit. -Boy, shut it up!

"If men were socialized to desire love as much as they were taught to desire sex,

we'd see a cultural revolution."

Bell hooks.

So in other words, if you think that I'm that easy...

Guess again.

I just wanna do well here.

I saw the trolls trolling.

Look, but they wrong though.

You gotta show them who you are, all right?

And use your words...

-Mm. -not your fist like me.

-I can't... -No, you can't.

-Put 'em up? -Nah, you're better when you're not...

Uh... Uh...

Uh...

Can I stay?

Like old times?

♪ All my fault ♪

♪ All, all my fault ♪

♪ All, all my fault ♪

♪ All, all my fault ♪

♪ All my fault ♪

♪ All, all my fault... ♪

Oh, I think the hell not!

Not up in here you don't. Abort mission! Abort mission!

Stranger danger!

You so damn big. What? What?

That's my good wig.

Who banging on the door like that?

Yo...

What's up? What up, Coach?

What's up?

Damn, son.

Dirty as hell in here. It don't matter.

If you keep playing the way you did in the second half on Saturday,

you gonna be the league's next...

Well, me.

Well, I'll take it. Appreciate... Appreciate that, Coach.

Yeah, yeah. Uh, listen, Andre is, uh... He gonna be out several weeks.

-Fractured wrist. -Weeks?

Yeah. Anything I need to know here, Shaquille?

Nah.

Well, then, congrats.

You're our new starting quarterback. I'll see you tomorrow, right?

A'ight, yeah, I'm there.

And, uh, crack a window.

Smell like underachievement and shame in here.

-My book, as promised. -Hey!

And as I promised, I looked into the grant situation.

Unfortunately, the school isn't in a position to restore the balances.

However,

I pulled some strings in my department,

and we are awarding you with a stipend scholarship

to cover the grant you lost.

Oh!

-Professor, thank you. -Yes.

-Oh! -You are welcome.

Hey, hey, hey.

Okay, earthlings.

We have a lot of presentations to get through, so let's dive right in.

Deborah, you kick us off.

Okay.

All right.

So, according to bell hooks,

lovelessness is a symptom of a culture of denomination,

and so I guess the question is, as... as Ashanti once pondered...

"What's love got to do with it?"

-Bruh, isn't that Tina Turner? -Right?

-Hey. -I love that song.

-Yeah. -Okay, okay.

Hooks did not excavate the truths of our time

to hear them mumbled.

Put those cards down.

Take your time, and speak from your soul.

Okay.

Look, I'll be real.

When I first got this assignment, it felt...

inaccessible.

But then I'm scrolling last night, and I see this video of this kid

getting jumped on the Metro.

And I watched all of it,

then just... kept scrolling.

And I realized, um,

for the first time just how numb

I've been...

My whole life.

So... So I guess that's the point, right, of this assignment?

When we can't feel, we stop resisting, we become complicit.

Or... Or on the other end of things completely, we...

attack...

and pile on.

But hooks says love

is action.

And I know a lot of folks have a lot of opinions

about my choice to call out President Davenport at convocation.

-Mm. -Say what you will.

At least I felt something.

And I had to act on it.

So call me whatever you want.

Plant...

Nepo baby, entitled.

Just don't call me Debra.

Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang.

All right.

-I always believed in you. -Yes!

I'm proud of you, girl.

I'm proud of you, homie.

Okay, I'm not saying I was wrong,

but I may have spoken too soon about Debra Wayne.

If these rumors are true about President Davenport,

it's giving six-part true crime docu-series.

It's like Debra said, "Where's the money?"

Okay, y'all.

LeDebbie was right.

My home girl work in financial aid,

and what Jaquetta...

What my home girl had told me is this is bigger than government cuts.

The streets is saying Davenport was low-key embezzling.

Is this true?

Well, it's not exactly embezzling per se,

but it has become clear that Davenport was... mismanaging funds.

Yeah.

And with the federal cuts,

Hillman is in the red to the tune of 100 million dollars.

-What? -Yeah.

If we don't get major donors to fill the gaps,

I don't know how Hillman's gonna survive.

-This is crazy. This is crazy. -I know.

Mm. Mm.

♪ Player, give me some brew And I might just chill ♪

♪ But I'm the type that like to light Another joint like Cypress Hill ♪

♪ I steal doobies, spit loogies When I puff on it ♪

♪ I got some bucks on it But it ain't enough on it ♪

♪ Go get the S, the T-I-D-E-S ♪

♪ Nevertheless, I'm hell a fresh Rolling joints like the cigarette ♪

♪ So pass it 'cross the table Like ping-pong ♪

♪ I'm gone Beating my chest like King Kong ♪

♪ It's on, wrap my lips around a 40 ♪

♪ And when it comes To getting another stogie ♪

♪ Fools all kick in like Shinobi ♪

♪ No, he ain't my homie to begin with ♪

♪ It's too many heads to be popping To let my friend hit bit ♪

♪ Unless you pull out The fat, crispy 5 dollar bill ♪

♪ On the real before it's history ♪

♪ 'Cause fools be having Them vacuum lungs ♪

♪ And if you let 'em hit it for free You hell a dumb-da-dumb-dumb ♪

♪ I come to school With a Taylor on my earlobe ♪

♪ Avoidin' all the thick teasers Skeezers and weirdos ♪

♪ That be blowin' off the land Like, "Where the bomb at?" ♪

♪ Give me two bucks, you take a puff And pass my bomb back ♪

♪ Suck up that dank like a Slurpee ♪

♪ The serious bomb will make a niggy Go delirious like Eddie Murphy ♪

♪ I got more Growing Pains than Maggie ♪

♪ 'Cause homies nag me To take the dank out of the baggie ♪

-♪ I got 5 on it ♪ -♪ Got it good ♪

♪ Grab your 4 and let's get keyed ♪

♪ I got 5 on it ♪

♪ Messin' with that Indo weed ♪

-♪ I got 5 on it ♪ -♪ Got it good ♪

♪ It's got me stuck and I'm tore back ♪

♪ I got 5 on it ♪

♪ Partner, let's go... ♪