Queens Review: Who You Calling a Bitch? (Season 1 Episode 3)

The group tries to reinvent itself for a modern audience on Queens Season 1 Episode 4, “Who You Calling a Bitch?”

With a gut punch of revelations, “Who You Calling a Bitch?” is an emotional roller coaster that finds each member of the group on a journey of self discovery. Though it’s early in the series, this is Queens’ best outing.

Giving each woman a solo chance to shine truly showcases how relatable and captivating their stories are.

Naomi has always considered herself the creative genius behind the group. While that may have been true when they were younger, now these women with full life experience want a say in the music. Something Naomi isn’t ready for.

The rift results in an extremely personal rap battle between Naomi and Brianna. Seriously, nothing is off limits. Though we want to suspend reality and believe this is a close contest, there’s no alternate universe or timeline where we can pretend Brandy hangs with Eve in a rap battle.

When Brianna wins, schooling Naomi in the process, ego kicks in and Naomi storms out. It’s only Episode 3, so the series is still establishing characters and relationships.

However, just when we think we’re only going to get narcissism and immaturity from Naomi, she helps Jojo deal with nerves before a major audition, showing that she can be a good mom when she puts in the effort.

Unfortunately, she’s hiding a big secret about Jojo’s paternity. The show led us to believe it was Cam’ron, but this episode hints that it could be Eric. We assume it will drag out the actual reveal.

Brandy is using all her charm and likeability to keep Naomi interesting, but there’s only so much she can do to counter personality whiplash.

Brianna is fighting on two fronts, as she also tries to figure out where her marriage stands, and whether she can forgive Jeff. Eve delivers a spectacular, layered performance, with Brianna desperate to find herself underneath the sacrifices she’s made for others.

Sadly, Brianna’s forgiveness comes too late, as Jeff succumbs to his brain tumor.

Queens is meant to be an ensemble, but Eve has very quickly become the standout star. We can’t wait to see what emotional roller coaster she will take us on in each episode.

After finally coming out, Jill becomes the quintessential small town girl in the big city. A reporter introduces her to a group of lesbian friends, and openly hits on her, leading Jill to cheat on Tina.

If we’re being honest, we saw this storyline coming, but we still held out hope that Queens would take Jill’s coming out arc in a new, less traveled direction.

We finally get to know Valeria, and it turns out she’s fascinating. Nadine Velazquez commands the scene as she declares she has no regrets about any decisions she’s made in her past, including not becoming a mother. Though not explicitly said, it’s heavily implied that she ended a pregnancy when she and Eric were dating.

Valeria is fun when she’s on the hustle, but seeing her drop the mask and show her authentic self makes her a character we want to spend more time with.

Queens hit its best notes with “Who You Calling a Bitch?,” finally highlighting its talented cast, and intimately drawing viewers into the characters’ lives. It’s the show we’ve been waiting for, and we’re thrilled we didn’t have to wait too long.

What did you think of this episode of Queens? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Queens airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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