Cissy (Michael Hyatt), the mother of the series’ protagonist Franklin (Damson Idris), is struggling at a demanding but not rewarding job, and she obviously cares deeply for her son. Hyatt’s portrayal of Cissy manifests in an emotional display of both the joys and worries of raising an adult child. While I don’t trust Franklin’s neighbor Melody (Parker McKenna Posey), on whom he obviously has a crush, I loved that it was she who demanded to know why he gave up his opportunity to go to college. He has a pretty good explanation —he doesn't want to deal with racism and micro-agressions while being trained to work for someone else — but the question still needed to be asked when his reality in Compton is so bleak, for now. Even though Melody is disappointed with this choice and would make another one if she could, she supports him.