'Selah and The Spades': Amazon Prime's new heroine Selah Summers is a mob boss in the making
Spoilers for Amazon Prime's 'Selah and The Spades'
Selah Summers reigns over the student body at Haldwell boarding school through the most powerful of the five factions, The Spades. With their high school student body divided into these factions (or gangs, as the school authorities have tagged them), The Spades are the most influential.
Supplying the students with the vilest of vices from potent drugs and pills to illegal alcohol, The Spades make sure that every student's drug need is met.
It is not a simple job and requires her to always be aware of her surroundings — people who are with her in this and those who are against her. Just as a queen has a right hand, Selah puts all her trust in Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome), who is also a friend. Maxxie takes care of the ledger of the trades The Spades make.
Now in her senior year, Selah is soon graduating from school. However, adamant that her graduation is not the end of The Spades, Selah is obsessed with passing on her legacy.
Everything she worked towards building over the last four years must be taken over by a successor who not only knows the amount of power the throne of The Spades brings, but also how to implement and control that power.
Paloma (Celeste O'Connor), now in her sophomore year, seems to Selah like the perfect protege. She takes over the project immediately, teaching her about the nuances of the trade, making drops across the campus and the ledger.
But there is more to Selah's job. In some instances, Selah is downright ruthless in her implementation and control of power. So much so that she expects the same from Paloma. When she finds out that there is a snitch among The Spades, she leaves no stone unturned to find out who it is, even pushing Paloma to her extremes.
As obsessed as she is to pass on her legacy and finding the perfect successor to her empire, Selah is also reluctant to lose all that power and control. She shares a troublesome relationship with her very demanding mother and is constantly made to feel inadequate.
This makes her highly insecure about passing on her name, fame and hard work. So much so that towards the end, she tries to — yet again — sabotage her protege. Paloma is not Selah's first pick.
As it turns out, she had chosen someone else in the past too — way before Paloma even made her way to Haldwell boarding school. But even then, she brutally sabotaged the candidate.
Behind the strong, powerful prowess of Selah is an insecure young girl who likes to be in control. When her power is threatened by anyone — be it her proteges or even those around her — Selah doesn't take it lightly, doing anything and everything possible to re-establish her control over those who tried snatching what she holds dear.
As Selah Summers, newcomer Lovie Simone delivers a brilliant performance. Selah captures you in her strong gaze from her very first appearance in the movie — talking directly to you.
Under the watchful direction of Tayarisha Poe, Lovie's Selah beams even at her lowest (which is when she realizes that Maxxie is indirectly responsible for the leak of information).
'Selah and The Spades' is an exploration of power, high school politics immersed with friendships. Selah's obsession with her legacy and succession is at constant loggerheads with her fear of losing that power. And there is no one better to portray this than Simone.
'Selah and The Spades' is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.