I missed last week's episode and have just finished watching the rerun before tonight's new episode.
And I'm done. Between this episode's treatment of Tasha Mack and the news that the show's stars, Tia Mowry Hardrict and Pooch Hall, will not be returning next season, I just can't.
I had hoped that Tasha and Pookie getting together would provide the writers an opportunity to resurrect the Tasha Mack that was so compelling on the CW's version.
But no. Now she is a sex addict. It wasn't that she had distrust and anger issues with Coach T. It wasn't whatever broke her and Rick Fox up that has never been explained. Nope, now she's a ho. Now we are supposed to believe that she's always been motivated to pick men solely because of sex.
Except nothing that the show has really done to date suggests this is anywhere near the case.
This is a manipulative, insulting and downright abusive and sexist treatment of the character of Tasha Mack. There is no reason for this to occur other than to create artificial conflict in the new relationship. But it would just be nice if the show would root these conflicts in the characters we know, rather than just try to be over the top and soapy.
I get that The Game is a different show from Girlfriends – which I believe to be the best black television show of the last decade – and I even somewhat kinda understand the desire to soap it up thinking that it would appeal to a broader audience even though it was a flagrant misread of the show's core audience, but the treatment of Tasha Mack (and, to a lesser extent, Malik and Melanie) in the BET version is appalling and offensive in the extreme.
I didn't even watch tonight's episode. I'm done.
I'm sure folks have thoughts. Share them with me in the comments.
