P-Valley displayed a strained mother daughter relationship between two noteworthy characters. Mercedes and Patrice have many factors that affect their mother-daughter relationship. The audience watched as a relationship plagued by judgment, money, religion, and generational stressors played out. Very early on, it’s evident the two live in two different worlds that are ruled by the same thing. If you are unfamiliar with the show, here's a brief introduction to the characters. Mercedes is a stripper at P-Valley and a crowd favorite. Not only is she considered an “OG” with the best moves, but she is also mesmerizing and charismatic. Mercedes's ability to get men to give her their last dollar has allowed her to save $20,000 to save for her dance studio she aspires to open. Her mother, Patrice Woodbine, is a devoted member of her church, brings in money during offering with her gift of singing. However, Patrice aspires to preach and is not respected or appreciated by the men in her church. Their situation revolves around $20,000 that Mercedes lends her mother, who uses the money to get a loan for her church. Mercedes is ready to leave stripping and open her dance studio but needs her money back from Patrice.

While one may hate to admit it, Patrice's love for money is just as strong as Mercedes'. They both use their "gifts" to acquire it; they just use different methods. They both are convincing, captivating, and determined. They also both share the desire to create their own lane. Mercedes wants her dance studio, and Patrice wants her church. Unfortunately, instead of returning Mercedes $20,000 to her, Patrice steals the money to open a church. To add insult to injury, she buys the exact location Mercedes was planning to use for her dance studio.

One aspect we see between the two is Patrice's judgment about Mercedes and her occupation as a stripper. Patrice shames Mercedes for her job, but at the same time, will continuously take money from Mercedes. She’s also condescending to Mercedes and guilt trips her with religion. Patrice consistently tells her daughter how God isn't pleased with her or how she needs to "come back to God." Ironically, Patrice makes statements like this to her fellow church leader, "one thing this mouth knows how to do is bring dollars from these sinners' pockets." Money is truly the root of her evil. We see her go as far as to get on her knees in a parking lot to get money from Mercedes. It's almost like that's her way of keeping Mercedes from completely cutting ties. She speaks negatively to her and about her but puts on grand gestures to let her know she needs her. It can come off like Mercedes owes her mother something. Other researchers have noted that African American adolescent girls and their mothers reported conflicting expectations for autonomy and closeness that stems from the hope that daughters will grow up self-reliant yet retain the expected loyalty and attachment to family and community (Dixon, Graber, & Gunn, 2008). The toxicity and gaslighting are blatant. It also appears to be a cycle in their relationship.

Speaking of cycles, we see generational cycles play out in this relationship. Some details are revealed in the jail scene. Patrice states, "you called me a pimp, but I started lower than that, on my knees," alluding to prostituting or using sex for money to help raise Mercedes. While Mercedes is not a sex worker, they both have had to use their bodies to survive. This could also make one question whether Patrice's disdain for Mercedes's profession is due to her wanting her to do better or is it all rooted in religion. Also, during the this scene, Mercedes says the following: "that woman (Uncle Clifford) been a better mother to me in 7 years than you ever have" and "I was 3 with a gas bill and Dillard's card". Not only do these statements confirm the relationship has always been strained, but that Mercedes has felt little to no support from her mother. It seems Patrice has been taking from Mercedes her whole life.

Unfortunately, Mercedes also has a strained relationship with her own daughter. It is unclear why Mercedes' daughter is not in her custody, but it appears that Mercedes had her as a teenager and could not care for her. While they are in contact with one another, there also seems to be tension between the two. Terrika, Mercedes's daughter, throws a dig in a scene when Mercedes chastises the girls in the dance group for twerking online. Terrika says, "you do it!" accompanied by an eye roll. Mercedes has a fully furnished room for Terrika at her home, but for some reason, she has still not been able to obtain custody. Children who enter adolescence with more conflictual relationships have been found to be at greater risk for more severe parent-child problems (Dixon, Graber, & Gunn, 2008). Terrika is hurt by Mercedes unfulfilled promises. But we literally see the dynamics unfold in the jail scene when Patrice tells Mercedes "to leave Terrika where she at" and "Chelle (Terrika’s dad's wife) is her mother." The cycle of having a mother figure outside of their biological parent has occurred. There is a significant breakdown in trust and communication between both Patrice and Mercedes and Mercedes and Terrika.

Mercedes also carries a similar superior personality like her mother. There's a scene where she "brags" about being able to leave stripping because she's been saving and takes that as an opportunity to point out her coworkers' mistakes. In addition, Mercedes has no friends outside of Uncle Clifford, and "Gidget" another stripper, but even those friendships come with conditions. When she was locked up, the strippers barely got together to try to get her out. Gidget even admitted that if the roles were reversed, Mercedes would not have helped the other strippers. It's also important to note that of all the things she could've said when she saw Uncle Clifford in the jail scene, the first thing out of her mouth was, "you let Keyshawn dance in my place?!" She also gives the new stripper, Autumn, a hard time when she starts working at P-Valley. Mercedes is concerned with spotlight, being the best and nothing less. Many who watch the show love Mercedes but fail to acknowledge her arrogance and self-centered behaviors. It is unknown how long Patrice has been "in the church," but it can come as if Mercedes wants to be the opposite of her mother. She literally tells Patrice, "I'd never be a mama like you!" However, she embodies similarities to Patrice due to focusing on how to not be like her. But it is easy to empathize and understand Mercedes because she mirrors the reality of many who have a parent like Patrice. It takes a lot to gain Mercedes’ confidence when it's not instilled in you as a child. Despite the strain in one of the most influential relationships in her life, Mercedes has still managed to have ambition and plan a future for herself.

People often use the term narcissists to describe someone who is self-centered but being narcissistic is much deeper than that. Patrice is delusional and narcissistic. According to the DSM-V, "Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

4. Requires excessive admiration.

5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations)" (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

We see these characteristics in Patrice throughout the season. She uses her own rationale and evidence to prove that she is called to preach. It's almost as if her ability to "bring in money" through singing at her church has led her to believe that she should be a Pastor. This is evidenced by her upset when she is not picked to preach in the Pastor's place while he is gone. Despite order and the elders, she thinks she deserves to preach. She enjoys the reactions she receives from the congregation. She is also very entitled when it comes to Mercedes's money. She acts as if Mercedes owes her that. When Mercedes confronts her mother about her money in the church, Patrice states, "What you need it for?"; as if it's not Mercedes’ money. She also shows these behaviors right before the fight scene. Patrice does not respond or seem to care about her daughters' outrage of her stealing her money and space. It's bizarre and classic narcissism. Patrice's delusions have led her to see no wrong in her behavior and questions, whoever questions her decisions. Her only rebuttal to Mercedes questioning why she stole her money was, "God showed her the way." She has absolutely no remorse for literally stealing her daughter's dream to create her own. Mercedes tells Patrice in the jail scene, "they say Jesus comes like a thief in the night, they ain't met Patrice Woodbine." Powerful, but fitting. Patrice sees herself as the closest thing to God but stole from her own daughter.

Now, let's dive more into the jail scene. Initially, Mercedes is shamed because all people see is that she fought her mother, which is viewed as disrespectful. This message is crucial because it speaks to the lives of many. It has been suggested that within African American families, an extremely high value is placed on respecting, obeying, and learning from elders in the kinship network and community (Dixon, Graber, & Gunn, 2008). When an adult child is estranged from their mother, the blame often falls on the child, and it's as if the parent gets a pass no matter what they've done. Once the reason for their fight is revealed, the other detainees start to side with Mercedes. But Patrice dances, sings and prays her way into everyone's good graces by talking about the power of God’s forgiveness. Dubbing the talents of her daughter, Patrice gains the attention and sympathy of everyone. It is as if they immediately forgive her, leaving Mercedes to decide whether she should forgive her mother too. This scene is impactful because it goes back to shame and judgment. Patrice's "apology" didn't come in a private, remorseful manner. Mercedes is pressured to forgive through Patrice's theatrics. As Patrice brings the detainees "to God" through salvation and tells Mercedes, "this is God’s plan, join hands with me, " she still dismisses her feelings as she begs for forgiveness. Once again showing no regard for how she is being affected by her mother's behavior and decision. Rather than succumb to the pressure, Mercedes tells her mother, "you're dead to me."

Despite their strained relationship, there's still something in Mercedes that struggles for her mother's approval. We see this is in how she hugs her mother after telling her about her plan to leave the club. We also see this when she goes to her mother in the finale. The audience is unclear about what Mercedes is anxious about, but Patrice is not accepting of her daughter. We don't know what the future holds for these two, but their relationship is similar to many mother and daughter relationships. Through art, hopefully, there can be some realizations, accountability, and healing moments.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).

Dixon, S. V., Graber, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008). The roles of respect for parental authority and parenting practices in parent-child conflict among African American, Latino, and European American families. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 22(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.1.1

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