Dear White People season 2 recently upped in the ante with further character development and additional timely social commentary.

The bold and upfront truths are consistently riveting, but the friendships and alliances between the Armstrong Parker House students are equally fascinating. Sam and Joelle’s have one of the most nuanced friendships and speaks to the intraracial issue of colorism.

To most people, Sam is undoubtedly the “IT girl.” She’s intelligent, outspoken, accomplished, stylish, and has the charisma to be an effective leader. Black Student Union members hang on the media student and activist’s every word, value her opinion, and view her as their official voice via the Dear White People radio show.

And, almost every heterosexual man who encounters her becomes enamored with her undeniable beauty and influence. Sam’s charismatic personality also drew in Joelle, who is the kind of friend most people want in their corner.

Joelle is the sounding board for Sam’s ideas, a cheerleader, a listening ear, and a source of support in the midst of the vitriol hurled Sam’s way by people who balk at her activism. Joelle has the same personality traits as Sam — ambitious, attractive, intelligent, witty, and vocal — but she is often relegated to being Sam’s sidekick.

There has always been an undercurrent of Joelle shrinking in Sam’s presence because Sam represents a beauty ideal that is generally held in a higher regard in the Black community. Sam is light skinned biracial woman with curly, long hair and light eyes – all privileges that afford people who look like her preferential treatment in the Black community.

Joelle knows she has the same inner qualities as Sam, but she is well-aware of Sam’s light skinned privilege and how others view her in comparison because of colorism.

Colorism is not solely a Black problem but it has been a pervasive issue dating back to slavery days where lighter skinned and White passing slaves were allowed to live in the “big house” while darker slaves worked in the fields.

This social conditioning has affected generations of people who were excluded from certain spaces or mistreated because of their skin tone. Black social circles and employers once used paper bag tests to determine if other Black people were light enough to receive certain opportunities.

The further a person was from the White ideal, the worse treatment they received from others both inside and outside of the Black community.

This has been passed down through several generations and, as Joelle’s storyline in Dear White People‘s Season 2 shows, is still a problem. Many Black people have been conditioned to believe that a light skinned partner on their arms is a symbol of success.

At Winchester, Reggie and other Armstrong men saw a woman like Sam as the ultimate prize – someone who fit the beauty standard upheld in the community and shared their views about the world.

Dear White People season 2 starts out with more of the same from their friendship. Joelle comforts Sam and gives great advice. But, when Sam invites Joelle on Dear White People to have a conversation, she consistently talks over her and denies Joelle the space to address her thoughts.

Joelle is also still in love with Reggie, even after Sam slept with him in a test to see if she really loved Gabe. She was undoubtedly still the “dark-skinned best friend,” a trope that has been seen in many shows where the light skinned woman is the love interest and her sidekick is envious or the fodder for jokes.

She’s the Pam to Sam’s Gina (Martin), the Lisa to her Patrice (Coming to America), and, in Joelle’s words, the Kelly to her Beyoncé.

As always, Sam is so absorbed in her mission to call out social ills and trying to fix her love life that she often doesn’t truly SEE Joelle or recognize Joelle’s complicated place as her friend. Sam has had prior issues accepting her privilege as a biracial, attractive woman, which is ironic because of her constant battle against White privilege in an effort to “confirm” her Blackness.

Joelle never vocalizes her feelings to Sam, perhaps because she thinks Sam won’t listen to or will dismiss her valid concerns. It’s an unbalanced companionship with Joelle bearing all the emotional labor and it makes you wonder why Joelle really wants to be friends with Sam anyway.

Episode 5 finally dives into Joelle’s background and what her life is like when she’s not around the core group. It turns out she was the IT girl in high school who was her class valedictorian.

She hit the inevitable social reset button as a college freshman but has remained a formidable academic force. Joelle still knows she is smart and pretty, but it has become harder to tiptoe in Sam’s shadow.

It looks like she has finally met her romantic match when she encounters a smart, handsome guy in her class. He doesn’t live in the AP Hall, which makes him an outsider by her standards, but she is so paranoid about him falling for Sam that she initially keeps the romance a secret. Joelle should feel comfortable sharing this info with her bestie, but her insecurity gets in the way.

Joelle’s episode is a part of the Black experience that cannot be explored through Sam’s eyes. Sam knows what it is like to be seen as “not Black enough” but she doesn’t understand the pain of seeing men fawn over her “redbone” friend or tell her she’s “pretty for a dark skin girl.”

Joelle’s story belongs to so many women who connects with someone simply because they have things in common but also have to deal with the complications of coming from two different worlds. Their friendship explores how two people navigate through those issues for better or worse.

Interestingly, its Sam’s old bestie turned frenemy Coco (one of the most honest people on the show, btw) who calls Joelle out for her complacency and enabling of Sam’s self-centered behavior. Coco’s issues with colorism were explored last season and gave viewers so much insight into why she tries to assimilate with White students to effect change.

As they sat in Sam’s bedroom the night before her father’s funeral, Coco says no one expects to finish sentences around Sam and tells Joelle to stop constantly co-signing with Sam. She believes that blindly supporting and never challenging Sam will keep Sam from growing as a woman. Coco’s timing is always ill and delivery is scathing, but it is THE truth.

Only time will tell if Joelle receives it, but it looks like Sam is having a change of heart. Sam finally get brought down to size by conservative pundit Rikki, who said Sam’s following will eventually turn her current persona into a caricature for profit and branding purposes.

For the first time, Sam is rendered speechless and sees what her future could possibly be, causing her to rethink Dear White People’s future.

A major problem with Joelle and Sam’s journey is the issue of Reggie. Joelle finally gets Reggie’s attention after he sees with the aforementioned new guy, who turns out to be a homophobic sexist.

He disrespected Joelle and said she takes orders from Sam, calling her racial slurs after she jumps in their conversation. Of course, Reggie jumps in and punches him after defending Joelle.

It’s a bold move that leads to a sort-of relationship, but it leaves us wondering why it took another man verbally dragging Joelle AND Sam to get him to finally notice her in a romantic way.

He had to sleep with her best friend and several other women to come to this conclusion. Joelle admitted to Reggie that she fell for Trevor because he made her feel seen.

And, she said she knew she was the next best choice to Sam. He says that he discovered it was Joelle whom he really loved but he didn’t want to complicate things in the friendship after sleeping with Sam.

It’s plausible that he fell for Joelle this season but it still makes her seem like she is accepting Sam’s sloppy seconds. Truthfully, Reggie didn’t seem remotely interested until after Sam made it clear she still loved Gabe.

They even got Sam’s “blessing” when she walked in on them rounding third base, as if she asks for permission before she does anything. It was the first time Sam seemed to even realize that Joelle had a thing for Reggie – something that should have been obvious because of their friendship.

Why couldn’t the writers allow Joelle to find someone outside of this coveted circle where Sam reigns supreme? It seems like Joelle’s desire to be chosen got the best of her and she deserves better.

So, where does Sam and Joelle’s friendship go from here? Honestly, it may continue to idle until a situation causes the pair to have a “coming to Jesus” moment like Sam and Gabe’s verbal sparring match. Joelle may have gotten the guy she wants, but its not going to erase the feelings of inadequacy and the complacency she experiences from following Sam.

Perhaps the end of Dear White People (or at least a lengthy hiatus) and Sam’s preoccupation with the Order of X will give Joelle a chance to build more of a life outside of Sam and come to terms with the unhealthy aspects of their friendship.

Sam can’t control or apologize for her aesthetics, but she can apologize for being so centered on her passion for activism that she forgot to be a solid friend. Can Joelle and Sam’s friendship find the balance it needs to be a healthy pairing? Only time (and another season) will tell.