Genius: Aretha (3×03, 3×04) Do Right Woman & Unforgettable Review

For our review of the last episode of Genius: Aretha, click here.

Synopsis: Aretha juggles her music career and her commitment to the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr., in 1967 and 1968. Meanwhile. Little Re leaves behind her newborn child to return to the Gospel Circuit in 1955, meeting with music legends James Cleveland and Little Sammie Bryant; Aretha is featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1968, but she’s devastated when the article focuses on the scandalous details of her personal life. Barbara Franklin and Young C.L. Franklin struggle to establish themselves in Memphis in 1941, before Little Re is born. (TVGuide)

So far, this series has done a phenomenal job of covering the ups and downs of Aretha’s life, giving us a unique insight into what made the Queen of Soul who she is.

Do Right Woman saw Aretha takes on the civil rights movement while trying to keep her music career afloat. It’s not exactly conducive to keeping herself healthy, and it certainly catches up with her as she tries to balance both. We’re introduced to Martin Luther King Jr. (Ethan Henry) in this episode, and learn of how Aretha ultimately got involved in his efforts to maintain peace amidst the civil rights movement. At some point, to raise more awareness and funds, Aretha joins MLK on his tour across the nation doing benefit concerts. It all catches up to her as she collapses and breaks her arm right before one of her performances. It’s a reminder that she needs to slow down, but she does anything but.

Throughout the episode, we continue to see Aretha’s strained relationship with her husband, Ted. Things are always up and down, but his abusive behavior towards her seems to get more and more violent with time, pushing Aretha further away from him.

In the past, Little Re gives birth to her baby boy, Clarence, and is back on the road with the Gospel Circuit and her father, C.L. Franklin. It’s still hard to believe that Little Re has a baby at such a young age, but it ultimately shapes the woman she grows up to become, and the show does a good job highlighting how it impacts her decisions–from her relationship with her father to her relationship with Ted. She was always bond by the control these men had over her, and we certainly see a lot of that in this episode.

In Little Re’s upbringing, she met many legends while out on tour with her father including James Cleveland (Omar J. Dorsey) and Little Sammie Bryant. Growing up around such legends during her formative years played a huge role in Aretha’s musical career, and made her the confident woman she was always meant to be. Despite her inner demons, she was always able to do what was important to her, and we see a lot of that when she stands up to Ted time and time again.

Unfortunately, with Aretha’s growing commitment to the civil rights movement came a devastating blow when MLK Jr. was assassinated in April 1968. It was a turning point for Aretha in more ways than one, but with her musical career taking off, she had no direction to go but up.

With the demise of MLK Jr., Aretha had a lot to process in 1968, but right around the corner was a life-changing moment for the Queen of Soul. After rising to the heights of fame, she was asked to be featured on the famous cover of Time Magazine. It was quite a feat to accomplish for the time, but her notoriety gave her that opportunity, and she took it with all it had to offer.

Unfortunately, the Time Reporter (Jason Burkey) isn’t very interested in Aretha’s career, but rather the drama of her entire life. Whether it was learning more about her estranged mother, her turbulent upbringing, or her questionable relationship with her husband, the reporter was the least intrigued by Aretha’s budding career. It’s sad to see the disinterest given all the men in her life seem to share a similar notion. They don’t see Aretha as an individual, but rather as a commodity that needs to be looked over and taken care of. And the reporter treats her a very similar way, which breaks my heart.

This interest in Aretha’s life unfolds with a series of flashbacks of a young C.L. Franklin and Aretha’s mother, Barbara (Antonique Smith). As we come to learn, Barbara was a devoted and loving wife, who only saw the best of C.L., regardless of her doubts. But one fine day, while pregnant with Aretha, Barbara accidentally finds out that C.L. got a 12-year old pregnant, and doesn’t even have the intention of coming clean about it. It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back and what ultimately pulls her away from C.L and the life that follows.

Learning all these details about Aretha’s life is rather heartbreaking, and to learn that her life was difficult before she even came into the world is even more difficult to process. But as mentioned, Genius: Aretha has done such a great job of helping us understand who Franklin truly was. Not just her in her prime, but her in her most difficult, horrendous of times. Life wasn’t always easy for Aretha, and while many of us know of her as the Queen of Soul, there is a lot more underneath that title.

Many sacrifices, a lot of pain and hurt, and a whirlwind journey–and to think, we still have four more episodes of the four-night event left. Who knows what else we will learn?

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