This was originally posted on Monday, May 1, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
And now for a break from the usual silly drama on "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta."
Instead, we see the show's biggest villain Joseline Hernandez have a baby. VH1 figures she is ratings gold and I'm sure Joseline didn't mind the extra paycheck.
This episode doesn't really merit much of a recap. It does attempt to humanize her. We see her without makeup. We meet some of her family, including a loving mom and two siblings. She acts frightfully normal and throws no hissy fits. Is having the baby changing her for real? Will becoming a mother soften her? We shall see.
Baby daddy Stevie J, who has been estranged from her for months, shows up at the end of the episode to hold baby Bonnie Bella after she has a tough natural child birth. "I want Stevie to be in her life," she says. "We should let the past be the past. I don't want my daughter to grow up without a father."
He promises to provide for her. "We need to find a way to get along without all the fighting and arguing. It's not about me and Stevie. It's all about Bonnie." She wants him to come by any time he wants to see his daughter.
Stylistically, this hour is significantly different from a typical "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta" episode. The persistent background piano music sounds more like a serious documentary than the more upbeat hip-hop music and R&B played on the show.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
She hires two party planners for a baby shower. They offer up classy elements like classical musicians and ballerinas. She wants strippers and a cake featuring her with her "cootie cat" open. She ends up with both.
The party features none of the main cast members of "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta." Yung Joc and Momma Dee are the only regulars who show up. Young Dro performs.
Joseline tests out a "fake" baby that cries all the time to prep her for the real thing. She handles it well. She admonishes her younger brother for having a baby while still in college. She hires a doula to handle her natural water birth because she hears it's better for the child.
In the end, she goes to a natural birth center and suffers horrible labor pain. She he wants to go to the hospital at one point, but she manages to have the birth with no complications. Bonnie Bella is born on December 28, 2016.
NOTE: I will be on vacation the next two weeks so I won't be recapping against until May 22. Enjoy!
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