The Chi S5

the biggest question mark heading into the new season was: how would the show handle Imani’s departure? Back in April, Jasmine Davis announced that she wouldn’t be a part of the show’s fifth season so, in lieu of a recast, the show needed a way to squirrel away her character. The show’s solution is, admittedly, not great: while in St. Louis, tending to her sick mother, Imani discovers a video of Trig online, assaulting a local kid. She doesn’t give Trig a chance to explain, she just uses the fight as a pretext for her not returning to Chicago…where, ironically, Trig was down on one knee, waiting to propose. The choice makes very little sense, given the nature of Imani and Trig’s relationship — which had always been rooted in honest, candid communication — and their past together, which included her being the Bonnie to Trig’s Clyde. That being said, as is often the case for instances when a character has to be abruptly written off, there were really no good options here…and, certainly, the nonsensical is preferable to some other options.