It’s common to see people form relationships with one another to level-up and reap the benefits of what comes with dating a certain type of person.
You see it with celebrities looking to change their image or friends who are tired of a certain lifestyle. You see, these sometime off-balance beneficial relationships form on Instagram, reality television and even in our personal friend circles.
This week’s Being Mary Jane was a perfect example of the level-up, but instead of MJ (Gabrielle Union) looking to upgrade her life with her producer, Justin Talbot (Michael Ealy), on her arm, it’s the light-eyed smooth talking brother trying to play his cards right and use their relationship to elevate his own career.
Of course MJ can benefit as well, but it looks like she has really fallen for her producer and she’s digging him a little more than he’s into her. Since the beginning of season four, it’s been unclear what Justin’s motives have been in regard to his relationship with MJ. Is he her arch nemesis that secretly loves his target or is he really a snake in the grass trying to work his way up the corporate ladder?
Now he and Mary Jane are committed to an exclusive relationship, but it still seems like he is playing a game of chess with her and trying to make all of the right moves, say the right things and love on her in just the right way so that he can win the top prize. Only, that top prize isn’t Mary Jane. Pauletta is the golden ticket to get Justin where he wants to be. Justin played Ronda and Kara in order to move himself to the senior producer seat and win MJ’s trust now that she’s Great Day USA‘s co-host.
But will Mary Jane be his next victim once again?
There are three ways this new relationship can go:
- Justin may really love Mary Jane.
- He’s using the relationship for career advancement.
- Justin wants to control Mary Jane and make her his project and be her man — AKA have his cake and eat it too.
Either way this goes, we don’t want MJ to be the victim of an untrusting relationship once again. Kara and the rest of the world would just hate to tell her that we told her so.