Tyler Perry’s House of Payne | Season 14 Episode 4 Review: The Talk
All right, House of Payne fans, season 14. I think this is episode four. Let me know if I’m wrong because what we had one, two… I know last week was House of Outrage. I think this is episode four. I’m not looking at the schedule right now, but I believe this is called The Talk. And this man, this was so frustrating.
I think Curtis was the standout of the episode. So, I’m giving this a solid six out of ten. A very solid six. I know that might seem like a low score, but most of the points come from Curtis letting Laura know what’s what. I think — and correct me if I’m wrong — but I think for the first time Curtis addressed the house as Ella’s house, which is, wow, a big step.
I’m going to talk about the B-plot surrounding Janine and Laura’s mom, Dena. Trust and believe that this won’t be like a three to five minute tangent. It will be really quick. But before we get into the rest of the episode, make sure you take a moment to hit like and subscribe. Follow me on social media. Links are in the description below. And hit the bell icon and select “all.” That way you don’t miss out whenever I post content on the channel.
As I mentioned in my sneak peek clip of, you know, Ella’s patience being tested by Laura’s lack or victim mentality — just thank you all so much for helping the channel reach 80 million views. Onwards to 90 million!
Janine is feeling frantic. She’s pacing up and down and CJ and Malik enter the room and they’re like, “Wait, what’s going on?” And she’s mad at Malik because she thinks he knows something about what’s going on. Lisa’s mom — sorry, they really should have come up with different letter names for both Calvin and Malik’s new women — Lisa’s mom, Dena, is coming over.
Janine thinks Malik has something to do with it. But he’s like, “No, I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid that woman.” So Dena eventually does pop up and CJ, or “Daddy”, leaves to go to the gym. She hugs Malik because he’s going to pick up her daughter and grandchild. On the way out, Dena plops down on the couch and immediately gets under Janine’s skin — from her feet on the couch to wanting some non-gluten treats and alcohol.
But it turns out this has nothing to do with Malik in a negative way. She’s actually impressed, saying, “You raised a fine young man and I keep telling my daughter how lucky she is.” But here’s the thing — Dena has been going on a few dates with the councilman who is Malik’s boss, and she doesn’t want things to get weird. She’s worried her dating might jeopardize Malik’s career.
Janine tells her to keep the lines of communication open. Malik is very sensible and everything will be fine. At first, when Dena said she wanted to talk about Malik, I thought it was going to be her asking, “When is your son going to propose to my daughter?” But nope. She just wants some tips on how to score a man like that — the councilman.
Janine’s advice? Don’t act pressed. Dena asks for more tips. And that’s basically their entire storyline. Not much to it, but I did laugh when Janine rushed upstairs and Dena took a bite of the gluten-free scone and was like, “Uh-huh, I need some cookies.” I gotta admit, I’d probably react the same way.
Now, we get to the main part of the episode. Kudos for the continuity here because it’s the same day and everything. Ella is gearing up to go to the condo to talk with Laura. We get some confirmation on things from last week. Apparently, Miranda stopped Calvin before he went there to make things worse. Maybe before he even got into his car — or maybe she caught him outside the condo.
Ella refuses Miranda’s offer to go with her. “She don’t want that smoke,” Jasmine jokes. Then Jasmine and Christian come out of the kitchen and joke about how good Grandma’s cooking is. Jasmine says she’s going too — “She can’t block me when I’m in person.” Curtis enters and offers to go with Ella. Everyone’s ride-or-die for her.
Jasmine and Miranda bring up Calvin’s outrage, and Curtis has this great face like, “Ah, yes, everything is going according to plan.” He realizes Calvin acted just the way he and CJ advised — outraged enough to make the others want to handle things themselves. Curtis goes to the back, and Christian’s still in the kitchen when…
Laura shows up at the door.
Now this is when things get interesting. Ella opens the door, and Laura is standing right there. “Hey, Miss Ella… Hey Jasmine… Hey Miranda.” She hesitates, unsure if she should come in. “Are you sure?” She reminds them of how she was told not to come back last time.
Jasmine corrects her: “That’s not what Auntie Ella said.” And Ella confirms, “I told you to leave — we were all emotional and needed space.” Laura still plays the victim though, which is frustrating. I keep saying — I wish Jasmine had recorded the whole thing. Even with that, Laura would still feel like she was wronged.
Miranda excuses herself to get Christian, and Christian is excited to see Laura again. “Hey Miss Laura! Mama Laura!” A sweet moment, though a little awkward since the last time she was yelling at Miranda to get her son and leave.
He’s excited about Grandma’s cinnamon rolls — which is a funny callback because those rolls were why Ella couldn’t go to the wedding tasting before. Miranda takes Christian, and then Jasmine offers to leave too, giving Ella and Laura some privacy.
Now the real conversation begins.
Ella sits Laura down and tells her plainly: “It was never my intention to make anyone feel disrespected under our roof.” But instead of acknowledging that, Laura flips it: “You all didn’t treat me well.” Ella tries to be calm, but you can tell she’s frustrated.
Then Laura says, “I know you all don’t like me.” That’s when I wanted Ella to just come clean and say it: “You’re right. I don’t.” But before anything else can happen, Curtis walks in like, “You going to that condo too?” and then spots Laura — “Oh, hey Laura.”
And that’s where it ends. It’s a lot to unpack. Curtis being the MVP. Laura doubling down on her victim mentality. Jasmine, once again, being the voice of reason.
Six out of ten. Not a bad episode — but definitely one that tested my patience with Laura.
