In the season finale of Boomerang, the audiences were treated to one of the oldest and best tropes in television, the dreaded return of an ex. However this time there was a bit of a twist, instead of the ex pushing their way back into our protagonist’s life; they were invited. And that by itself gives the episode a fresh new feeling that we haven’t really seen before.
Last night, while celebrating Ari’s birthday, it was brought to Simone’s attention that her ex Camden proposed to his newest girlfriend. Upset but unable or unwilling to say why Simone focuses on nothing else. Even going as far as to tell Bryson about the fact her ex is getting married. Which leads to them getting into a fight, going to bed with attitudes and Simone going through Camden’s Instagram page. She likes the picture of him announcing his engage, whether out of impulse or to be messy, and Camden sends her a message almost instantly. They talk and he asks her to have dinner with him. Simone doesn’t reply and in the morning Bryson apologizes for getting upset about Simone brining up Camden’s engagement. Cool, everything’s okay now.
Until minutes later when Simone asks Bryson if he’d be okay with her having dinner with her ex. He isn’t okay with it but not wanting to start another fight and hoping to prove he trusts her, Bryson tells Simone to go.
While Simone heads to dinner with Camden, Bryson goes out with Ari and David. Who both proceed to tell him he might have made a mistake in pretending to be okay with the situation. However Bryson is stuck between a rock and a hard place; had he told Simone he didn’t want her going it would have resulted in another fight, but two exes having dinner together rarely if ever leads to anything good. It’s too late now though, the dinner is already happening.
And it’s going better than any of the dates or moments we’ve seen between Simone and Bryson. Camden seems to be the exact kind of guy that Simone would go for. The conversation between them is easy, the comfort between them high, and the chemistry can be seen from miles away. The two exes go from meeting at a fancy restaurant for a nice dinner as friends, to chowing down on BBQ and skating together in an empty rink. What started out as a dinner for closure turned into a date that was cuter than it had any right to be.
As Simone and Camden get close they lose themselves in what they used to have and end up sharing a kiss. It shocks Simone back to the present and she suddenly remembers she has a boyfriend. Who calls her not even minutes after, asking her where she’s at and if she’s okay. Simone lies to Bryson, telling him she’s fine and at home in bed. They say I love you to each other and hang up. Simone thinking she’s avoided confrontation for now. While unknowing to her, Bryson sits outside Simone’s empty house; knowing that she lied to him.
To start, I’m really happy that Boomerang was renewed for a second season. Congrats to Lena Waithe and her amazing team, along with the amazing cast. But most importantly, I’m very pleased that we won’t be left with this cliffhanger for forever and will get to what happens next.
Last nights episode once again proved why Boomerang is one of the best shows to come out in 2019. Each week we’ve been given deep dive into a subject that doesn’t get the best representation it could be given. From the flashback episode where we got to a full HBCU experience to the let out after the club episode where a small but extremely relatable part of Black Culture was put in the spotlight. In the finale, it was no different. Instead of a simple storyline of an ex coming back when things are just getting good, we get to witness the reality of how relationships with exes usually are. They aren’t black and white, feelings don’t just magically fade away. We all think we want closure.
I really appreciate the way Camden is written as a character. He may be the ex but he isn’t barreling back into Simone’s life, he isn’t purposely causing problems between her and Bryson. I’m not even sure he knows about Simone’s new boyfriend. He still has feelings for Simone obviously and they’re strong but he isn’t overbearing about it at all. He’s not the typical ex I expected him to be. The gender flips that we’ve been seeing throughout the entire season continue to be breath of fresh air as much as they are surprising.
And for the first time since the show started, I find myself on Bryson’s side. At this moment, Simone doesn’t deserve him and perhaps she never really did. Bryson may be full of himself and act real light skinned but he does care for Simone in a way she hasn’t been cared for before. He’s giving his all to her and it seemed she was giving her all to him. The fallout, and Bryson’s spiral after it (if there is one) promises to be something interesting to see in S2.
As Boomerang goes into hiatus, I’m sure that I’ll be rewatching the entire series again a few times. It’s been the highlight of my week since February and I’m anxiously waiting to see where season two takes us. I have all the confidence that it’s not going to disappoint.
-Danyi
