The Haves and the Have Nots Season 3 Review

SPOILER ALERT: This is a review for the third season of Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots. There will be spoiler on top of spoiler so if you haven't watched it and don't want to know what happens before you get a chance to watch it, I suggest you click off (and maybe check out my reviews for If Loving You Is Wrong, wink wink)!

Tonight features the return of the show that started it all. Well, kind of. It's the show that cemented OWN as the "Tyler Perry" network. If you were to ask which of the two Perry-produced soaps on the network are more over-the-top and outrageous, I'd say it depends on the hour. One minute you're stuck in a drawn out scene with the herpes that is the D.A. Jennifer, and another where Kathryn breaks a pot over Candace's head. It all varies but I would say of the two, this one is the more psychologically exciting. Sure, this is a soap opera. There's electric chairs, pots being thrown, pots being smashed over people's heads, secret children, blood baths, fathers yanking sons down the stairs, sons yelling at mothers, arson, secret identities, trick pregnancies, car crashes, beatings, multiple stabbings, slaps and the occasional bad bitch - and that all happened just in the third season. 

The third season of The Haves and the Have Nots was notable for many reasons. First and foremost, where most shows experience decline in quality around this time (most notably Scandal, and, well...any show on The CW), HAHN hit it's stride becoming even more entertaining and ridiculous as it went on. Most notably, it allowed us to witness the rise of a star. I'm talking about Angela Robinson, AKA Veronica Harrington, AKA The Ice Queen. Tyler Perry could only do so much, and he did it amazingly. His scripts allowed her to stretch her acting chops out and she delivered on ever single beat. From her emotional beats, to her Veronica's mind games, the sheer look of her stepping onto the scene would send chills down any smart fan's spines. My personal favorite had to be either the look she gave Hanna when she caught her in bed with Benny, or the scene between her, Jeffery and Landon when she called him "girl." It was offensive, but Robinson played it subtly enough not to drive it too far into ridiculous territory. There was a moment during "A Tragic Day" where Kathryn, played by Renee Lawless (who's f-lawless acting we'll get to in another post), is on the brink of a nervous break down about to reveal everything they've covered up about Hanna's son being hit and Veronica stares deep into her eyes. Without saying a word, Kathryn is almost put into a trance. Little moments like that make for the most satisfying television. A similar scene involving the two again, when Kathryn tries to stick it in Veronica's head that she can't change who Jeffery is and that's he's plane and simply gay, plays to the strengths of both actresses - but Robinson in particular. The look in her eyes as she shuts down every single time Kathryn utters "he's gay" drags you further into her delusion. This has been an outstanding season of Robinson, in particular, and I hope there's more to come in season four!

This season has also, really, just been incredibly iconic. Almost every actor has been delivering the performance of their careers. Every scene with Candace is absolutely electrifying. Tika Sumpter continues to hit her marks with no trouble at all, playing Candace as the psychotic villain (see "In Memoriam"), the broken mother ("Enough is Enough") and just the broken woman ("Benny Does Battle"). Renee Lawless? The first half of the season ("The Press Conference", "A Tragic Day", "In Crisis", in particular) was amazing for her. The death of Amanda set a chain of events in motion and allowed Lawless to flex her acting muscles out as she ripped Wyatt, Jim and Celine new ones. Her performance in season one, as her character goes through cancer without sharing it with anyone but Hanna, was also beautiful to watch. The death of Amanda also gives John Schneider (Jim) and Aaron O'Connell (Wyatt) some excellent material. I haven't seen much of Schneider's catalog, but O'Connell is delivering the work of his career. The look in his eyes anytime he shares a scene with Jeffery, taunting him, is electrifying. He manages to taunt almost all of the characters in the show and almost tears Candace apart. His character arc is both remarkable, and painful to watch. He's a recovering alcoholic, being blackmailed into keeping a life altering secret, just as his sister commits suicide and is then sent to a "prison" where he is raped. It's all painful to watch and O'Connell hits every mark on the tee. 

The season ended with Candace and Jeffery attacked by Quincy, stabbing him (to death, I assume), Wyatt and Jeffery (hilariously) catching Benny and Veronica sleeping together in his office, and all of the parents being arrested for covering up the hit and run of Benny. This season looks to be a firey one so I look forward to reviewing it! Reviews should be out either Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings (at least for the next few weeks).

SEASON GRADE: A-