‘P-Valley’: Keyshawn Will Have to Call on Some Old Friends to Escape Her Abusive Relationship
P-Valley Season 2 has taken a step back from The Pynk. Instead, we are learning about the past lives of some of our favorite characters. In episode 205, “White Knights” we learned a great deal about Keyshawn’s (Shannon Thornton) life before she became Miss Mississippi. We also learned how her relationship with Derrick (Jordan M. Cox) started and how the couple became who they are now.
Now, Thornton says Keyshawn will need to call on some old friends to escape her abusive relationship.
Keyshawn’s backstory was just revealed in ‘P-Valley’
In episode 205, “White Knights” fans learned a lot more about Keyshawn’s backstory. She grew up in an upper-middle-class family with her father, stepmother, and stepsisters. However, her father traveled for work a lot and her stepmother was a colorist who pitted her against her fairer-skinned stepsisters.
We also learned that Keyshawn’s father was making advances toward her stepsister. Keyshawn met Derrick in high school and he swept her off her feet. However, her pregnancy and his violent nature changed everything for the couple, especially once their families disowned them.
“I love that the audience gets to see where Keyshawn comes from, how she got into this abusive relationship, and why it’s so difficult for her to leave,” Thornton told Entertainment Weekly. “All those questions are answered in the episode. You get to see her in her younger years too, which is a lot of fun.”
Keyshawn will need to call on old friends to escape her abusive relationship
Things with Derrick have escalated horrifically. Keyshawn returned home from the tour to learn that he had been beating their three-year-old son Jayden. When she confronted him about it, he nearly burnt her face with an iron. Hurting her child has been the last straw for Keyshawn, but she’s going to need some help to escape.
“Throughout the season you will see Keyshawn make several attempts to leave Derrick,” Thornton told Entertainment Weekly. “This instance with her child, her realizing that her son is now being abused by Derrick, really woke her up. That was absolutely the final straw for her. It gives her a sense of urgency. She was carefully planning how to leave and now she’s like, “I have to leave now.”
However, for survivors of domestic abuse, leaving is never easy or simple. Keyshawn will have to lean on some old friends for help. “Keyshawn is resourceful and she’s a go-getter, so she will figure something out,” Thornton explained. “You’ll see her do just that. Towards the end of the season, she calls on some old friends.”
Keyshawn and Woddy could strike up a romance on ‘P-Valley’
For so long, Keyshawn has been forced to save herself. However, when she told Woddy (Bertram Williams Jr.) that her manager Rome (Blue Kimble) had tried to sexually assault her, the quiet undertaker spurred into action. He made some that Keyshawn got home safely and then he eliminated Rome for good.
Woddy was honest with Keyshawn about disliking her blonde wing and he has always been a kind and watchful person. Knowing how things went left when Diamond (Tyler Lepley) tried to save her, Keyshawn could do something different with Woddy. It’s possible that the pair could strike up a romantic relationship in the future.
But first Keyshawn needs to leave Derrick and heal from her past.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
