[music]
DIARRA: When this shit first started,
I was not in my right mind.
I was heartbroken.
I remember you having some big house in Grosse Point,
and a fine-ass man with money.
First of all, put your bitch-ass hands up.
Danger? Danger Johnson?
Diarra? You back on the block? What up, though?
Pride is for lions, Dee.
You need something to help you through the divorce.
I'm giving Swa the time and space to miss me.
Uh, it's time to move on, bruh.
Let's pretend that this is our third date.
CHRIS:And I might even know you biblically at this point.
DIARRA:Yeah, maybe.
Aja, I am deeply in like with this dude.
Oh, God. Jesus wept.
DIARRA: Should I call the police?
TEA: To tell them you've been ghosted?
I did not get ghosted.
If he doesn't apologize, I'm just gonna key his car
-and we can be out. -Chris?
- [screams] - Is this the nigga?
This goulash ass nigga?
- Ow! - Who are you? Where is Chris?
Where is the guy who lives here?
I'm just trying to make sure that he's okay. Hey!
WOMAN: Deonte Brooks.
Probably been dead 25-30 years by now.
DIARRA:There wasn't a doubt in my mind it was him.
[soft music playing]
[woman singing in foreign language]
Om...
Who the fuck is you? And why is you naked?
Oh, shit.
[grunting]
Ahh!
Oh, hell no!
Get the fuck off me!
Get-- no!
[grunting]
Get the fuck...
Shit ain't even fair!
[both talking, yelling]
[grunting]
[shouting indistinctly]
[glass breaking]
This is Tank. Yeah, I got him tied up.
Man, y'all niggas don't pay me enough for this shit.
A'ight, bye.
DIARRA:Hello, Chris?
[knocking] Hello? Chris?
[door creaking]
Wait, wait, wait.
Okay, I got my switchblade, my taser, and my brass knuckles.
Do you always carry those things, Moni?
Brass knuckles is just for the East Side.
- You know me. - Okay, John Wick, you stay here.
Anything pops off, I'll holler.
Yo, let's go. Let's go. [car starting]
- What the fuck, Tank? - Some chicks showed up.
DIARRA:Confession-- I can't lie,
that shit was weird.
I was convinced my missing Tinder date
was an actual missing person, and it was comforting,
'cause it meant I wasn't ghosted,
and there had to be some other reason he was missing.
And now I didn't even know what the hell to call him.
Chris? Ambien? Deonte?
Now, I'm not proud of it,
but my curiosity drove me back to his apartment
for three days straight.
I interviewed his neighbors,
and come up with nothing-- not a piece of trash,
or an airline ticket, or a single clue.
Except the keychain--
a dead end wrapped around a string.
[dog barking]
And there it was.
My first clue that I wasn't crazy.
Maybe Chris was Deonte,
and maybe he wasn't just missing.
Maybe he needed my help.
[music]
- Oh, baby. - Mm-hmm.
You remember I'm working late tonight, right?
- I'll save you a plate. - And don't forget to help RJ
- with the science homework. - Mm.
Teacher say he's getting real good.
Yeah, 'cause we getting better at it.
Unh.
Oh, shit, did you wash Bria's dance clothes?
Oh, yeah, it's in the dryer, baby.
Ooh, I'm halfway to heaven, baby, come on.
Uh-uh, slow down, slow down, wait for me.
Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Hurry up, hurry up.
[both moaning] Oh, shit.
Oh, fuck, so I unloaded the dishwasher last night,
so you ain't got to worry about it.
Oh, God, here I go. Here I go.
[both moaning simultaneously]
Oh, baby.
[both breathing heavily]
I got you something.
I thought we said we was gonna chill
on spending that extra money.
Bam.
Woman, can I treat my wife, please?
Huh?
I love it.
[sighing] Yeah.
DIARRA:I knew something was off.
No Black man leaves a Jordan on the side of the road
- unless he's under duress. - Ow!
Can I have a contemplative moment?
Fuck.
And I was possessed by this all-consuming desire to save him.
Major headline-- I found Deonte Brooks,
the missing kid from 1995.
You think you found his remains?
No. No, all of him remains.
So, where is he now?
I don't know where he is right now.
So, you came down here to tell us that Deonte Brooks is missing?
- Yes. - Ma'am, we already knew that.
No, I think he was taken... again.
Oh, Jesus wept, Dee. Girl, what are you talking about?
We need to find the Russian.
He either witnessed Chris' abduction,
or he knows something about who did it.
How does a nigga get so unlucky
to get kidnapped twice in one lifetime?
That's what we need to find out.
So that I can find my boyfriend.
But not your boyfriend-boy...
Well, not my boyfriend-boyfriend,
but you know, he's-- he's my boyfriend.
[sighs] So, last Friday, you matched
- with Chris on Tinder. - Yes.
- You went on a date. - We did.
And you had intercourse.
Which I normally wouldn't have done,
except we both agreed it was like a third date.
[clears throat]
Can you write that down?
[sighs] After he ghosted you,
you and your beefed-out homegirl broke into his apartment
and found a tied-up naked Frenchman.
Russian. Definitely a Russian.
Who also managed to escape,
but not before dropping a keychain.
Yes.
Maybe wanna log that into evidence, or...
I'm sorry, do you have, like, water or snacks?
You haven't offered me anything.
Okay. A little advice.
You wanna meet a nice guy, sign up for eHarmony
or Match.com.
Don't patronize me, okay?
That is literally why nobody likes you guys.
My wife likes me. I met her on Match.com.
I don't care, okay? We need to find the Russian.
We find the Russian, we find Chris.
We find Chris, we find out what happened
to Deonte Brooks in 1995.
Mm.
Okay, are you stupid,
or are you just pretending to be stupid?
I'm not going nowhere
until I get some motherfucking justice.
Asshole!
See, this is why we need to defund the police.
That's right, spending all your money on guns, and you can't solve shit.
Oh, hi. I'm kidding.
I'm kidding, I'm just kidding.
- MAN: I got it. - I'm kidding.
We good. I got her.
I'm gonna go look for the funds to find your Frenchman.
He was Russian.
Whatever.
DIARRA:You can't go anywhere in this city
without running into one of Swa's siblings.
Since he's the oldest, they always reported back.
This nigga had more spies than the USSR.
- [clears throat] You good, Dee? - Yes, yeah, I'm perfect.
Parking tickets just get me a little riled up.
Look, I know divorce can be rough, okay?
Pssh, not to me, okay?
I'm-- I'm actually seeing somebody already,
so you can tell your brother that I am good.
Tell him I'm splendid.
- Splendid? - Splendid.
DIARRA:I don't know why I bother with the police anyway.
If somebody was gonna save a twice-kidnapped Black man
with a perfect dick, it was probably gonna have to be me.
- MAN: Okay. - Good morning.
Morning.
Moni, that's nice.
You must be working overtime.
Professor, you paid your fare, now just go on ahead, get out the way, okay?
Or your old man trying to butter you up.
What'd he do this time?
Man, just go sit your ass down.
[Professor laughing]
Can't you run DNA on it?
I teach earth science, I'm not CSI.
It looks like some kind of tribal symbol.
I figure with all the tramp-stamp twinks
you've boned, you of all people could identify it.
Look, hetero, I ain't seen no shit like that before in my life.
Do you have a history of mental illness in your family?
Porter.
DIARRA:Mr. Porter taught world history and was himself a relic.
Porter!
White flight happened in 1967,
and his ass still didn't know to leave.
Do you know what this symbol means?
Why do you ask?
I just like to know stuff.
It looks ancient European.
Greek, probably. Pagan.
It's connected to the Hellenistic Period.
Ow!
What-- what in the fuck is wrong with you?
Well, I heard you were getting a divorce.
- Give me my charm, you pervert. - Sorry.
DIARRA:I do not understand white people,
especially old white people.
GIRL: Whose daddy is that?
He fine.
DIARRA:I hadn't seen Swa in months.
And I'd forgotten just how fine he was.
[school bell ringing] Surprise.
Swa, you got two minutes.
Aaron said that you were down at the station
going on about finding the Frenchman.
- So what? - So, Francois means Frenchman.
Oh, okay.
[laughing] Okay, so you think this is about you.
The gall. It's not.
So, you get the papers?
Hey, come here.
You're in charge. Pop quiz.
Extra credit for anyone who can tell me what this is.
Okay, go.
- So, you got the papers. - Yes. Yes.
Didn't your creepy-ass process server tell you I got the papers?
Maybe next time, you can send over the Manson family,
or, I don't know, some Jehovah's Witnesses.
You are so cute when you're deflecting.
Stop, Swa. Do not come up to my job
telling me what the fuck I'm doing.
And don't compliment me.
Okay, go ahead, go ahead, run, run.
Running, running from all the hard conversations,
- that's what you do. - Excuse me, I do not see a pass
in your hand, young lady. Let's move.
Conversations about open marriage aren't hard.
They're hurtful and offensive,
- and a logistical nightmare. - We were brainstorming, right?
We were brainstorming together, so excuse me
if I'm throwing out suggestions on how to fix our marriage.
- I apologize about that. - By adding other people to it.
- How much sense does that make? - But then just say that!
You gotta say that instead of just giving me
the silent treatment for three months.
Swa, I'm not stupid, okay?
You asked me for an open marriage
because you were already cheating.
[laughing] Oh, here we go.
Running and jumping to conclusions.
You know, you should be a track star, really.
- You really should. - Swa, I know who she is.
I saw her on Instagram, okay?
She posts way too many pictures of herself at the gym.
It's like, we get it, ho, you lift dumbbells.
Listen to me, please. I wasn't cheating.
If you're seeing somebody else, then what's the hold-up, Dee?
Hire a lawyer.
DIARRA:As I watched him go, I still couldn't believe it was real.
I was about to become a divorcee
with a lot more bills to pay.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You're not gonna pay my AmEx?
Swa!
[sighs]
AJA:Yeah, you definitely need a lawyer.
Aja, I don't have time for that right now, okay?
I need to research ancient Greek symbols.
I need to post on Nextdoor.
I mean, it really shouldn't be this hard
to find a naked Russian on the East Side, but...
[tea kettle whistling loudly]
Aja, hold on.
[whistling continues]
You remember my shampoo girl, Max?
Yo.
What the fuck?
We not doing this.
- Sit down, please. - Doing what?
The amateur detective thing.
Dee, every woman has been through this one time or the other.
My cousin Latrice, girl, she got a sham IG account,
a burner phone, and a fake passport
to keep tabs on her baby daddy.
Did she find anything good?
- What? - Remember when I broke up
with that nigga we do not name?
You mean Jonathan.
The negro we do not name.
Sorry, I wasn't sure if you meant him,
or Big Mike, or that little bitty guy.
I could have embarrassed myself chasing around
other rebound niggas to later be unnamed.
I'm not embarrassing myself.
You are. But guess what, Dee?
I focused on my business, girl, and I leveled up.
And I know that I couldn't have done any of that
without my God-- amen-- and my women's group.
No. Aja?
Aja, no. Hell, no.
Yes, I have redirected my women's group here
to throw you a divorce party and to surround you
with collective feminine wisdom.
It's an intervention, and it's happening.
- Just let it happen. - Thank you, Max.
[hip-hop music playing]
Oh, my God, Diarra!
- Oh, whoa. - It gets better.
You will learn to change your own oil.
Okay? I promise.
DIARRA:You know, it's like I prefer what I call
a Stevie Wonder style of Black person,
meaning someone you can tell is Black with your eyes closed.
Oh, my God, thank you. [chuckles]
You'll survive.
Black women, we always survive.
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
DIARRA:I wasn't sure if she thought I was getting a divorce
or working as a sharecropper in 1875.
Either way, she was depressing as hell.
[sighs]
The key is to sever his energetic ties from your pussy.
It takes three years and a lot of acupuncture,
or...
you can use a Selenite dagger.
[chuckles] Oh!
- Very nifty. Okay. - Yeah.
You know what, I should go write all that down.
- Yeah, you should. - Yes.
Oh! [laughing]
Show me ancient Greek symbols and their meanings.
Who has all this damn company on a weeknight?
Tacky ass.
[phone chimes, wooshes]
[car approaching]
Oh, I know they not parking on my side of the street.
Mm-mm.
Empower-mint julip?
No.
Can I have a shot of tequila, please?
Oh. It's that type of party?
No. But I am open to finding
- that type of party. - AJA: Excuse me, sorry.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Come on, let us...
[clears throat]
Welcome to the single girl's club.
The only rule is that we don't wallow in the fuck shit.
All right? I got you, and you got me.
Okay? Always. In Jesus name.
DIARRA:It was clear Aja might have needed this party more than I did.
Deal.
[glasses clinking]
- Mm! - Mm, strong.
Aja, can I ask you a question?
Yeah.
Was Swa cheating the whole time?
Yeah, I-- I don't really know, Dee.
Slight issue.
MONI: What in the bougie housewives is this shit?
Ma'am, this is a private party.
Oh, shit.
DIARRA:Then again, Stevie Wonder style Black people
are not always all they cracked up to be either.
You... you got people parked on both sides of the street
inches from my driveway on a school night.
And why the plates so damn small?
Oh, and why was I not invited to this private party?
Who is this?
This is childhood friend, Moni.
Oh, I see. I'm just a childhood friend.
No, this is my current friend, Moni?
- No, I'm not. - This is my neighbor,
and she is a fucking nightmare.
- Bingo. - Moni, we're having
a funeral for my marriage. Is that all right with you?
Y'all got yak?
DIARRA:Oh, come on, come on, come on.
Yes, jackpot.
The Triskelion--
associated with life, death, and rebirth.
Why did your girl just roll up in here
- like her ass was on fire? - [laughing]
[echoing] ...her ass was on fire?
It's connected with the Hellenistic Period.
Greek probably. Pagan.
I don't know what kind of weird sex shit y'all into.
[indistinct whispering]
Give me a minute.
The Triskelion and kinky sex.
- Oh, no. - I found this on the web.
5,000 matches. Article how the Triskelion
became the international symbol of BDSM.
You may like bondage, dildoes, edging,
cum swap, orgies, anal beads.
Ladies, I think we need to lay hands and pray
- over my friend. - [sighs]
DIARRA:It had been staring me in the face the whole time.
Chris and his Russian were into BDSM,
and maybe I was chasing my tail,
otherwise known as having a bad reaction to my divorce.
And I wasn't the only one.
- Niggas ain't shit, no way! - No way.
That's my thing, and Swa, he's so fucking manipulative.
- They always to that. - Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm-mm.
- Always, always. - They always do that.
And then he wants to turn his shit around on me.
And I know this nigga's lying
- about something. - Yes!
Even Mary J. got off the struggle love train.
She said, um... Go, Mary.
We need romance. Romance me.
The most romantic thing my husband ever did
- was ask me to peg him. - What the fuck?
[overlapping chatter]
It's really-- it's really nice.
- He just talks too much. - Y'all, y'all choosing
- the wrong ones. - Wow.
You won't let your men be men.
- That is so heteronormative. - Yes.
Really heteronormative.
All right, big word, big word.
Listen, right now, my husband has a little secret, right?
Mm-mm, you need to beat it out of him right now.
Okay, okay, calm down.
When he is ready, he will tell me.
[laughter]
Girl, I let my husband have a secret too, boo.
You wanna know what it was?
- Yes. - Thank you.
He would go to the hotel by the airport, smoke meth.
And fuck a bunch of dudes.
Tell me a Black man smokes meth.
- I don't know no meth. - Wow, okay.
I think I've had enough advice for one night.
- Thank you guys so much... - I thought we were sharing.
...for coming over and sharing your stories.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute, friend, hold on.
- What? - Why don't you tell the group
what you were doing?
[mouthing silently]
[mumbling] I was trying to solve a cold case.
- What? - Uh-huh.
You're mumbling. Can't hear you.
I was trying to solve a cold case.
I was trying to find Deonte Brooks.
- There, are you happy? - Who?
- Who is-- who is that? - Wait, the milk carton kid from the '90s?
That's why we went to the East Side, Dee?
You know what, I totally get it, okay?
Because I tried to solve several cold cases
when I was going through my divorce.
Thank you.
You were listening to podcasts.
My friend is running those streets looking for clues.
In my defense...
I thought it could be the beginning
of this really great...
love story.
She's gone-gone.
DIARRA:I realize the only thing that was gonna bring me peace
was knowing if me and Chris were real.
I needed answers, and a getaway driver.
I'm gonna go use the bathroom.
It's called a Domme token.
It's something a dominatrix would give a submissive.
So, if we find the Domme, we find the Russian.
Search sex shops nearby.
Oh, Lord.
My cookie's about to be in shambles.
Oh, that's the shit. Yeah, that vibrating cock ring.
It's got some power.
But that thing right there is too damn much.
I ain't trying to take nobody to urgent care again.
Did you and Swa have a toy chest?
We did not. Sex already feels good.
If you need all this, maybe you not doing it right.
Aw, you sound basic, and old, and sad.
I am not basic, or old, or sad.
I listen to Megan Thee Stallion,
I just don't know what the fuck she's talking about
all the time, but I'm listening.
Okay, so if you such a good girl,
what you doing chasing dick all over Detroit?
I am not chasing dick, I am in search of a man
with whom I had a beautiful connection.
Okay, and what happens when you find out
the vanishing negro goes both ways?
Mm-hmm. [laughing]
Breeders are so close-minded.
Please, don't call me a breeder.
I didn't breed.
It's probably why Swa cheated.
Okay, so-- so if he cheated, and he probably did,
it's because sex is fun, Dee.
And giving one person the key to your entire sexual identity
is less fun, you know what I mean?
What you think, I'm the last romantic?
Yeah. [line ringing]
Um, hello. Per your website,
you do the finest personalized Domme tags?
Yes, and I am-- I wanted to come in be...
You're closing up early for an event?
I'm sorry, what's-- what kind of event?
Them hos just mad.
[hip-hop music playing faintly]
Roman.
Hey, babe.
Hey, baby. I got you a plate.
Oh, thanks.
I'll be home soon.
I'll be home... soon.
Babe?
Okay.
I knew he'd be in Royal Oak.
All weird white people stay in Royal Oak.
[laughing] God, I hate techno.
I see why we let white people hijack it.
Uh...
One token, one entry.
Gen pop is that way.
- It's okay. - You sure?
Yeah.
All right, anything happen to her,
- I kill everybody in there. - He's kidding.
I'm not kidding.
[loud hip-hop music playing]
Nice set.
What's your name?
Reggie. Yours?
Whatever you want it to be.
You just do a fucking magic trick?
The corniest shit I ever seen.
- Mo, listen. - What am I missing?
The bank denied the loan?
How much we into the Woodward Boys for, Roman?
50 grand.
[sighs, whimpers]
Listen, listen, listen. Hey, hey.
I'm gonna fix it, okay?
[music]
DIARRA:A voice in my head was telling me to turn around
and run like hell, but I was intrigued.
Honestly, it might have turned me on
to give my ex a good spanking,
to punish his ass for the way he made me feel--
confused, and unwanted--
to turn those feelings of pain into pleasure.
Shit, maybe these weird kinky freaks were onto something.
No judgment.
[whip cracking]
And maybe I was onto something too.
Ah, you are strange woman.
- Me? - Mm-hmm.
You're the one who was tied up
inside my almost-boyfriend's house.
[laughing]
You mean abandonment play?
I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
Abandonment play, your Domme ties you up in a new location.
For me, it's exciting.
So, you weren't sleeping with Chris?
Well, I'm not gay. But maybe next lifetime, huh?
I have a question.
Why do you stalk an almost-boyfriend
who does not want to be found, hm?
I'm not stalking. I'm concerned.
Ah, concerned.
You're a romantic.
Molly? You want molly?
DIARRA:What happened next is a bit fuzzy.
But I had to keep the party going, keep him talking.
I remember thinking...
Yeah, why not?
If only I could figure out who cloned my phone.
RUSSIAN: To your health.
Let the games begin.
[techno music playing]
DIARRA:And then the strangest thing happened.
I was the one who kept talking and touching myself.
And he kept talking and touching himself.
What if my ex was right,
and I should just go crawling back to him
like a good little submissive?
Oh, my God, I feel so good.
RUSSIAN: I was always into what my ex-wives were into.
- Mm. - Wife one, cuckolding.
Wife two, group stuff.
Wife three, kayaking.
- That was me and Swa. - No identity of my own!
It was like his world, his friends, his money.
Every divorce is like that. I've had three.
Each time, I had to master the art of rebirth.
Like Tom Cruise.
Oh, my God, I love Tom Cruise.
The Scientology, huh?
- Who fucking cares! - Who fucking cares!
[echoing] You want molly?
[loud disco music playing]
This is my favorite one, huh? [whip cracking]
Hey, ain't no white man getting near me with a whip,
whether I'm high or not.
Somebody tell his ass to back up.
[whip cracking] Back up.
Yes, Mistress.
Molly?
How much drugs are you on?
A lot!
[loud dance music playing]
Two truths and a lie, go.
I do my best work naked.
- Mm. - That is 100% true.
Mm-mm, you're not supposed to tell me yet.
I am in this country illegally.
That is also true.
[laughing] Wow.
You are trash at this game. [phone ringing]
[laughing]
[ringing continues]
DIARRA:I was halfway down the rabbit hole and I didn't even know it.
I wasn't sure if we were playing two truths and a lie
or cat and mouse.
I'm wanna go check out the BDSM rooms.
I don't really know who I am anymore.
Mm.
I've had enough, and I-- I need to go home.
Ah, you are good.
[laughing]
WOMAN: So-called respectability
is a reaction to white supremacy.
It is our revolutionary duty as Black women
to decolonize our fantasies.
DIARRA: I have found the only dominatrix
with a minor in Africana studies.
Our safe word is "diaspora."
You need a safe word. [echoing] Safe word.
My safe word is, I'm not doing shit
Sojourner Truth wouldn't do.
That's a whole sentence.
[whispering] Is this okay?
Yes.
[gasps lightly]
[whip cracking]
RUSSIAN: We are like grand palace.
Like-- like the Kremlin.
But we get into relationships,
and we don't free ourselves to go in all the rooms.
- Mm. - But divorce says go in every room!
Turn on every fucking light
and figure out how to turn yourself on.
This is the best divorce party I have ever been to.
DIARRA:It was an exploration of self, really.
We were alone, together.
I had decided to let go, to submit only to the music
and let it dominate me.
♪ The house of God ♪
I went deep inside,
I opened all the doors of my house,
and I listened only to myself.
And everything in me was saying one thing.
This Russian motherfucker is completely full of shit.
[music playing loudly]
Hey.
- You're full of shit. - [laughing]
You are full of shit!
Nice shoes, nice watch, nice belt,
and a burner phone.
Who in the fuck are you talking to?
Ow...
- Oh. - Who the fuck
are you working for, huh?
And where the fuck is Deonte?
DIARRA:There it was-- Chris was Deonte,
and I wasn't the only one who knew it.
I'll fucking blow your brains out.
Who the fuck...? [loud bang, women screaming]
[high-pitch ringing]
You okay, you good?
Come on, come on, let's go.
[siren wailing in distance]
Whoo! Who wants some White Castle?
Yo, these niggas out here shooting at the Underground.
- Can't go nowhere. - Are you stupid?
Get off live.
DJ: That's Detroit, baby.
TEA: You like hood shit, huh?
Hey. Hey, you okay? You all right?
RUSSIAN: [echoing] Where the fuck is Deonte?
WOMAN: Deonte!
Deonte!
Deonte, stay close.
I'm not about to tell you again.
Don't fucking judge me.
Deonte, get your butt over here.
Can you help me?
REPORTER:Twenty-three minutes,
that's how long Vonda Brooks waited
before looking for her son.
Police in the entire city are asking why.
Deonte is a good boy, and we love him so much.
I know my baby is still out there.
If you have any information about where he is, please call the police.
And whoever has him, please bring him back home.
We miss him.