DearEvette

OMG. The Tyler Perry shade. Ha! Also, having Chris Brown be the face of a commercial that is the lowest form of black hood stereotyping and had Ruby and Bow in solidarity and comparing it to Steppin Fetchit is almost as shady. I loved how real the conversation got between Bow, Dre and Ruby about that commercial. Charlie of course is totally comedy gold. Every day. Stevens feels like he is almost back to his Season 1 self for the entire back half of the season. Good course correction there. I barely paid any attention to him because I got immersed in the message of that first advertisement. Honestly I have to say those articles did more to amplify his presence than the show itself did. I mean, when TVline and other tv sites that barely ever cover Blackish on day good day churn out these pearl clutching quick think pieces that are the equivalent of wagging their fingers at the writers and producers I get more aggravated with them than the show itself. How about instead of raising the profile of the show when you are pissed off cover it when it is doing its regular comedy thing?

That was fun! What a a palate cleanser from the mopey Flash episode. I love how everyone loved Nate's mom's sandwiches. The meat to condiments ratio is important! Man, I hope Amaya gets restored when they bring back the real reality! I will be depressed if she is really dead.

The idea of them swinging for the fences to land Big Name actors of color but then when they don't get them, turning around and giving it to ..... Poppy Montgomery and David Giuntoli? Makes me giggle-cry. If that is the case ... not saying it is because who knows.... but really the old adage of "have to be twice as good to get half as much" strikes again.

I think under-utilizing a large cast is a big problem with the show. But it is kind of a different issue than what the original poster pointed ut which is the overwhelming whiteness of the recurring cast. To be fair, the show is diverse and has been for a long time. And yes, I do think the show has short shrifted all but a few characters over the last few years especially. Stephanie is probably the worse served character right now and she only wins out over DeLuca because she has been there longer and the opportunities to give her a rich back story and a real present life have basically disappeared now that she is leaving. Cristina, Callie and Richard were probably the POC characters whom I would argue have had the best character development, were able to drive story, and had rich inner lives that mattered on the show. Maggie is close but I think her character suffers from the pacing and lack of focus that seems to have characterized the show these past three-four seasons. She has screen time but she is not being given the room to develop so it makes her charcter feel very ephemeral. And honestly, I have always felt that Bailey was the quintessential HBIC character that often goes to WOC on tv who are put in a position of authority and allowed to come out and make authoritatiran pronouncements but got no real character development for themselves. Luckily that changed in later seasons, but unfortunately I see the pendulum swinging back that way for Bailey. Which brings me to the recurring character issue. Over the years we've had a lot of long story arc doctors who have come on the show: Gina Davis' Dr. Herman, Peter MacNicol's Dr. Stark, Teddy, Erica Hahn, Penny and recent hires like Riggs and DeLuca , bringing back Murphy and now Minnick and whomever Morrison's character is going to be and you know if Riggs' wife ain't dead she'll probably come and stay awhile cuz she's a doctor too. So yeah, the people who do come on board lately to stay and have longer arcs that are being used to drive story have not been as diverse as they could have been. It is rather depressing when you think of it that way.

But...but... but... what does this even mean? It sounds so passive like "we kinda sorta said maybe 'hey do you wanna, like, maybe do this?' to a that one black actor." They are so trifling.

Yeah, I read this somewhere before, but the characters don't have to know that. Even if there is no cure ever, the characters can still quest and even follow false leads and get their hopes up then dashed like with the CDC plotline and move on to the next thing, follow the next rumor, meet up with people who can give them some dribs or drabs of information of how it started. How about even crossing paths with a pathologist or an epidemiologist? And even so... the tv show can still diverge from the comic. Comic books can have a forever shelf life, just look at the various iterations of Marvel & DC super heroes over time. But a tv show doesn't. The two media are different and the expectations are different.

I know right? I wish the overall narrative was them still trying to find the cause and the cure of the epidemic. The little side excursions with Alexandria, Terminus, Negan etc. could just be that -- side excursions that make their journey treacherous, but they still stay on their journey. What would really be nice, when it comes to character turnover, rather than always have people dying as a character exit have Rick & Co. stumble upon these settlements, take a breather (or fight) and move on continuing on their quest. When a character needs to go, somebody could just decide they want to stay in whatever settlement rather than keep on searching. Right now, there is no story except fight, fight, fight. There is no growth or forward momentum instead Rick & Co. always come across some group, introduce or are the catalyst for conflict, and then leave devastation in their wake. It becomes nothing but character study with not plot.

My favorite too. I love how they managed to get all the different people for HR to Legal, the guy on the cruise boat all to agree they needed a fourth box. But Jonah doing the the 'girl-fight windmill' got the biggest laugh from me.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Being a bully actually requires some element of contact. Amelia hasn't been around long enough for Owen to have said anything to her. Added to that, there was the episode when she was going all over the hospital telling everybody and her sister she was pregnant even before she took a test. If she got his hopes up then that was all on her. She knows he wanted kids why dangle the possibility? And then after she told him she didn't want kids she ran off. He hasn't had time to even talk to her much less bully her about anything. Gack, I can't believe I am defending Owen of all people....

Amelia has officially become the absolute worst. What was even coming out of her mouth? I hate that the old couple was supposed to be some contrast to her and Owen because they had a good story all on its own without being paired with the mess that is Omeila. And I can't even blame him for it. This is all on her. What a horrible person. I liked the scene were Maggie found out her mom had cancer. The absolute silence made me think it was her mind simply blanking everything out -- just not able to process what she was being told. Frankly I don't blame her that she had to leave and take a moment. She just found out her mom had advanced stage cancer and had been willfully hiding it from her for months and letting her think it was something as frivolous as a cosmetic boob job. She was in shock. The problem is Grey's doesn't do build up to stuff like that well. They pour it on so thick with the jokes about the boobs and the harping on stuff (on Maggie's side) and the irrational 'No I can;t tell her I have cancer" on the mother's side that the payoff scene when it happens doesn't do either one of them justice. Don't even get me started on Meredith and Riggs. They are not bringing any heat or chemistry. His little speech selling himself on why he liked her so much was just trite and unconvincing. Their terrible bantering and DeLuca's pronouncement of being in love with Jo, Bailey's joking with Arizona over Richard all felt out out of sync with the other parts of the show. The tonal shift from the serious stuff to the romance stuff was jarring. TBH, I found this ep rather boring.

Maya was fantastic on her two episode guest arc on Brooklyn 99. I would have loved for her to stay longer. She seems to fit in with that bent bunch. I love how no whether they went with Rashida or Maya both their IRL backgrounds resembles Tracee's: One white Jewish parent and one black musical icon parent. LOL. But how many siblings does Bow have... there is still a chance for Maya maybe.

Community did one that was actually one long snark at Glee. But the songs were great. Grey's Anatomy did one that I watched kinda cringing.

I think my UO is that I rank Jessica Jones lower than Luke Cage. I just couldn't with the dark, gritty and depressing trauma & sexual torture. I liked Luke Cage mainly because of its absolute grounding in black culture and Harlem. So many great references! If they had just lopped off the second half of the series (which was weak sauce compared to the stellar first half) LC would have been damned near perfect for me.

Oh, it's not just me then? I really, really want to like this show because it has that rare unicorn, an Asian male is the lead and he has a great character arc. But somehow even with all the imagery and ideas that invoke non-western cultures it still somehow manages to center whiteness. It is a fantasy show why does the ruling class have to be white? But I like Sunny and I am interested in his journey. But I dunno sometimes.... Anyway, I watched Deidra and Laney Rob A Train on Netflix and it was cute. It stars Ashleigh Murray (who plays Josie on Riverdale) as Diedra and Rachel Crow who plays her sister Laney who are left a bit destitute when their mother had a mother of all breakdowns and ends in jail. It is a comedy and it is very cute, I get the impression the creators like the Coen brothers because it has a bit of a whiff of them to it. Also started Season 2 of Hap & Leonard. Season one was great and it looks like Season 2 will play with racial themes a bit more.

It was a hoot to see him as the police sheriff in Rihanna's Bitch Betta Have My Money video though.

From what I can recall of the episode with Grandfather Avery, he LOVED Catherine, though. So I don't think it was a case of a coup. I honestly think it is like a couple of other people have already head wanked: Catherine was a pretty damned brilliant surgeon on her own, attracted Robert's attention, he was a surgeon at the time so she probably thought he was just as committed and ambitious as she was, she threw herself into being a Avery for real, her nature and go-getter attitude probably drew a lot of approval from Grandfather Avery and when Robert left her she probably felt she had to work even harder to secure Jackson's place in the family. So I don't think she is some nefarious schemer who took over the Avery corp through shady dealings. She is always talking to April about having to work hard for what she has accomplished and not being born to it. So I took it that she actually worked hard for what she had.

Interesting article "Black" shows are popular with non-black audiences and it cites Black-ish and Insecure in particular. While I found this tidbit to be unsurprising, I did find the percentages to be:

Fair enough. But I don't remember, has it been established in show that she makes a normal habit of working extra long shifts and not eating well? I can only recall the issue coming up because she was called in the one time to do one extra shift. And IIRC, that was after the ultrasound that said the baby was now developing normally and the meds weren't affecting the health of the baby at that point. I think you can guess I am Team April. LOL. But the concern around her working extra came from him, not from a medical professional. I would be more inclined to agree that she was endangering the baby if we had even gotten one scene of her OB saying "April you need to slow down or cut back" and then seeing her willfully ignoring that. Absent such a scene it doesn't seem like the show is trying to establish that the pregnancy itself is so high risk that is merits her not being able to work. The only person who seems to object to her working is Tate. And coming from him , a guy who already seemed like he wanted her to quit working in the first place (...did I imagine a scene like that or did he actually float her quitting after they got married?) .. then it feels like the objection to her taking the extra shift is just another way of him trying to signal his objection to her working and using her pregnancy as the means to do so. I think you can guess I an Team Not Tate. LOL. He's a good looking guy (sigh) but I always got the whiff of "she's my little lady" vibe from him in his interactions with April and I was not sold on their relationship from the jump. So I am 100% ok with the break up.

I totally agree with this. Even though I am no April fan, I do agree that April was the right person at the right time. Just because someone has a similar issue doesn't mean they'd be the best person to give you perspective. Don't a lot of kids whose parents leave think they are somehow a fault? Meredith may have unwittingly enforced this idea in Jackson if she herself had also internalized something like that. So someone who grew up in a happy family with a present father is the right person to say 'I know what a good dad is and he isn't it.' Which April did and probably tipped the scale from Jackson feeling rejected and trying to overcome that by trying to create a relationship where there wasn't one. Added to that, they do have an intimate bond. Sure it is stretched and hidden under some animosity but she is his ex-wife, roommate and mother of his children. I can't even recall the last time Meredith had a personal conversation with Jackson and let's face it, these days I Meredith doesn't seem to care about anyone but Alex and Richard.

Thanks for explaining but I still don't get it. Isn't she in her first trimester? Most women in their first trimester or even far into the second can still go on like they normally do. As long as she isn't drinking or smoking or eating things like sushi, Pregnant women can still work regular or even extra shifts or jog or even participate in a triathlon. If the baby wasn't developing on schedule there was nothing working a second shift would have affected. As it was the whole second shift thing was clearly a contrived plot to create more conflict between her and Tate. It just feels like she is being harshly judged for working while pregnant. I'd feel differently if there had been a scene where she had been told 'you need to be careful about working' or 'you need to stay off your feet' but we didn't see any such scene. But she worked one extra shift and because he made a stink about it suddenly she's not taking care of her baby? I also don't understand why he gets such a pass on everything. Just because he is rich and doesn't have a regular 9-to-5 he seems like he sees her job as unnecessary to them. How is that not selfish? What should she just sit around with her feet up just because he has all the time in the world Is it really entitlement though if you get to busy at work to forget you were gonna have lunch with someone? It is very inconsiderate, yes but it doesn't mean you think you are too important it just signals you forgot. And she has a right to blame him for wanting her to be something she isn't. You shouldn't have to become someone you aren't and you shouldn't have to be made to feel bad for not contorting yourself into a person to satisfy some one else's need for you to be someone else. I guess I'll have to continue to disagree on your assessment of April. I just am not seeing this major selfishness.

This is so true. Which is why i can't even get worked over their break up. Their relationship was doomed out the gate because 1) he isn't a hospital regular and 2) he is a recurring character and 3) this show at its bones is a procedural and where relationships take a back seat. I mean, Sharon's husband conveniently left (we never even saw his face), Choi's girlfriend disappeared, Robin only appears sporadically, Manning and Jeff imploded over the worst writing, Halstead's girlfriend seems nice but she'll probably be gone soon and poor Maggie doesn't even get to date.

What does that mean? When she endanger her baby by choosing something that benefited her?

I don't know how much f a retcon it really is though. I don't recall them ever saying outright his father was dead. But I do remember the episode that Harper Avery came in for a bowel something or other and it was claer that he held Catherine in very high regard. And last season they mentioned that Jackson's father ran off and tried to take Jackson with him and that Catherine thought he was childish. I just figure with Catherine it was a case of being "more Avery than the real Avery's" and maybe that is why Harper was happy to turn everything over to her.

I liked this episode and I can't stand Japril. But I enjoyed the father/son drama. Regards the great breakthrough operation, haven't we seen them come up with a take something from some other organ and create a tube something-or-other to fix this problem before? I feel like we have. That said, the operation confused me. The moms (yay GA for every week normalizing LGBTQ and POC relationships) were so desperate for her to have her vocal chords. Now, I'd hate to have my child not be able to talk, but eventually wasn't it coming down to her being alive at all? At one point Jackson said she could choke on the tumor? I just thought they were being so insistent on saving the voice that they seemed to be oblivious to risk of them not be able to save her life. Dad Avery is a piece of work. I love how he ran off to the wilds of Montana, just a few miles away from the medical center that bears his name. LOL. He really ran far, huh? But absent any other information, at present he is just an irresponsible deadbeat who left his kid behind. And since Jackson knew where to find hi, I don't think it was out of the realm of reality for him to be able to find Jackson if he was so inclined. even if he didn't know how to approach Jackson after so many years, the fact that he didn't recognize his son argues that he never even tried to keep tabs form afar. It isn't hard to do. They are Averys and I assume their pictures get put in magazines and paper etc. I am glad Jackson shot him down when he tried to speak about Catherine. It is interesting, because again without any more backstory we don't know if the Catherine we see is the original recipe Catherine or that she is what she became because he abandoned them?

I just realized I can't stand Fred Armisen. I find him catatonically unfunny. To me he is like the Anti-Kate Mckinnon. For Kate, all she literally needs to do is appear on screen and I start to laugh. I find her immediately hysterical. But with Fred, he could do the best bits of every A-list comedian in the history of comedy as if it were his own material and I was hearing it for the first time and I would not even crack a smirk.