We open this week, on a strange sight. Gizelle Bryant in a do-nothing face shield, maskless, on her way to a photoshoot for her new podcast with Robyn Dixon. I say strange because, if we’ve learned nothing over these unusual months, it’s that being maskless, no matter the plastic material you place in front of your face, is still being maskless. Moreover, Gizelle does her best COVID Safety Protocol Performance by giving booty bumps and hug-adjacent greetings to her photographer and hairstylist.

Gizelle and Robyn are starting a podcast called “Reasonably Shady,” because people just loved their lives on Instagram during the height of the pandemic. Which, hmm. Now, I love a good podcast as much as the next American citizen, but do we really need this one? What we really need is more insight on Jamal Bryant, which Gizelle so kindly gives us by saying for the third time this season that she needs a man exactly 8 minutes down the road. She’s said this so much, I’m starting to think there is a man 8 minutes down the road and she can’t get him off her mind.

Once Robyn arrives, 32 minutes late, the women engage in their photoshoot. The images turn out cute, even though both Gizelle and Robyn were dressed for different occasions and in different color palettes.

Elsewhere, a very pregnant Ashley Darby goes to dinner with her husband Michael Darby and her hospital bag. Since Episode 1, Ashley has been full term and on the cusp of labor, making each appearance of hers on the show especially heinous. I love seeing her on my screen, shockingly, but there’s something cruel and unusual about a mother about to pop still feeling obligated to film this little TV show. I know she’s not infirm, it’s just that she looks uncomfortable, and she dives deeper into that discomfort when Michael tells her of his new business plan at dinner.