TheLotusFlower

Yes, yes, and yes again! I posted my response at the same time that you were posting yours. The whole issue is how Dottie's behavior is addressed (or not addressed) in the show, not that racist, anti-semetic, etc. behavior is included in the show. It's either completely ignored/dismissed or treated like a lighthearted joke. It will be 2020 in a couple of weeks. They need to do better when tackling these issues.

Who's pretending it isn't real? Many of us who have complained about Dottie's ignorance are people who have actually been the recipient of this kind behavior first hand in real life. So believe me, we aren't the ones sticking our heads in the sand. The main complaint we had was the rather unrealistic way that Abishola quickly forgave Dottie, and that the topic was never even addressed again. Abishola didn't even mention it to Bob, and I just don't see that as plausible. At least with the Jewish comments, Bob was actually there to tell her it's wrong. But those comments were presented in a much more light-hearted manner than her tirade towards Abishola. I don't see the "growth" that you see in Dottie. Just because she's no longer talking to Abishola like she's sub-human, that doesn't mean she's suddenly enlightened. She just decided to treat her caregiver/her son's love interest (and by extension, her family) like human beings. I've already addressed this topic in an earlier episode discussion. Bigoted people often make exceptions for specific individuals of a given race, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. that they generally view negatively. But that doesn't mean they're no longer racist, homophobic, or xenophobic.

This may sound harsh, but I wouldn't be sad if Dottie shuffled off this mortal coil sooner rather than later. With her Jewish comments in this episode, I think they're trying to make her look like an equal opportunity bigot. So it's not that she's racist against Black people (or immigrants since some folks refuse to believe Abishola's race had anything to do with it). She just makes fun of all non-WASP ethnics, so it's no big deal and she doesn't mean any harm because look, the Jew lawyer even makes fun of himself! Plus, she's an adorable lady who had a stroke, so just cut her some slack. I'm done with Dottie and her nonsense. I really wish we could have gotten subtitles when Abishola and Kemi were arguing in Yoruba. It would be nice to know what they were saying. I felt like Gloria, sitting there clueless about what was being said but still wanting to be included. I adored how Abishola took up for Bob during Kemi's game. I like when she said, "I choose Bob." It would be nice if she actually said that to Bob himself. I know she kissed him, but that was really just to distract him. I still thought it was an adorable moment between them, no matter how cheesy it was.

Exactly. Even though Annie's father had already left her mother, Rita clearly knew that Annie was a disturbed child who was struggling with all of the turmoil going on in her family. There was absolutely no excuse for her to get involved with Annie's dad. They knew their relationship was wrong, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to hide it from Annie. They were both so selfish. Then they're going to just move on and live happily ever after after the pain and damage they caused Annie and her mother. Nope, not one bit of sympathy from me either.

I couldn't agree more. She doesn't deserve any contempt for suspecting that scumbag. He wasn't some random innocent guy that she was trying to trap. He was a piece of shit with a file that showed he routinely abused women. He should have been in jail long ago anyway, and he certainly shouldn't still be a cop. The fact that he never faced any consequences for his behavior is appalling. Grace is a much better person than I am, because had he spat on me I would have been the one going to jail for trying to break his neck. Spitting in someone's face is disgusting and demeaning beyond words.

I'm very late to this thread, as I just watched the series. I just have to say that I think this is a very unfair comment about Karen. Some women are so harsh on other women who work outside of the home. And being a detective is not a simple 9 to 5 job. Part of the reason Karen works so hard and stays so late at work is because she's haunted by the woman she didn't go back and check on early in her career. She explained to Grace about a woman who had been abused by her husband but refused to go to the hospital. Karen made a mental note to go by after her shift and check on the woman, but her colleagues convinced her to go out for drinks instead. While she was out with them, the husband made bail, went home, and beat the crap out of his wife yet again, this time leaving her with permanent brain damage. That had a profound effect on Karen, and that's why she works so hard. Her children are obviously well loved and well taken care of. I see nothing wrong with Karen trying to help girls and women who are in more vulnerable and less fortunate positions than her daughters.

I agree with this. There's only so much they can do with the core group considering they've all been sober for a while now. Plus Christy and Bonnie's relationship has pretty much healed now, so they can't keep going back to that well for material either. They seem to cycle new characters in and out pretty regularly, so who knows how long Patty will be around. Regina was there for the first 3 seasons, went to jail, got out of jail, lived with Jill, moved out on her own, started drinking again, and then disappeared. So that's another important character whose story wasn't wrapped up but we never hear anything about. I know Octavia Spencer has been busy making movies, but a quick "Hey, Regina moved away" or something would have sufficed. Then we have Jodi, who was there for a few episodes and then died. Nora was Christy's new sponsor for a while, then moved out of state. Then there's Tammy. I'm surprised she has lasted this long, but I guess the viewers really like her. I didn't care for her when she first came on the show but I love her now. I think she provides balance, and her comedic timing is great. So maybe Patty is just there to serve as a catalyst for growth for Bonnie. So far, I don't have strong feelings about the character either way. I certainly don't hate her like some viewers do. That could be because I like Kate Micucci in general. I think she's quirky and cute.

I don't see anybody saying that the kids need to actually be shown on the show. But they can at least be mentioned more than once a year. Especially Roscoe, considering he's still a minor. Characters can be referred to without actually being on screen. It happens all the time. So I don't really get your "I am not really sure what people expect the show to do about Christy’s kids" comment. Perhaps just acknowledge their existence like they did in this episode. It's not a difficult concept for the show to address.

Wow, Christy actually acknowledged the existence of her two kids. It's a Christmas miracle! So she doesn't even see Roscoe on the holidays? What a strange situation. Just because he lives with his dad that doesn't mean she can never see him again. I wasn't aware that he hated her like Violet does. I really liked seeing Bonnie actually acknowledge what a horrible person she used to be and realizing the kind of pain she caused. I used to hate when Christy would try to tell Bonnie how painful her childhood was, and Bonnie would basically act like it was no big deal because it was in the past. I know people who really do that, and some of them never fully acknowledge the damage they caused their loved ones. Most importantly, I absolutely adore Tammy! She's quickly becoming my favorite character on the show.

I loved it as well! I was disappointed that they didn't show where Nadia, Abdi, and Chance went after the explosion. I loved seeing the Henry Deavers missing poster at the gas station. Didn't that picture look like an older version of the Henry we saw in Season 1? I could've sworn the Henry on the poster had a receding hairline, while Henry in Season 1 wasn't balding at all. Makes me wonder how much time is supposed to have passed between the two seasons. They have to give us a Season 3 to tie together some of these loose ends.

I certainly respect your opinion, but we will have to agree to disagree on the bolded. I don't believe that real growth happens as quickly as Dottie's supposed miraculous change of heart. Especially not for someone her age. Bob is 50, so that would likely make Dottie in her 70s. Which means she has been harboring those thoughts for a very long time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do not believe that the stroke made Dottie suddenly say disgusting racist things. Being angry and cranky because you're in pain due to a medical issue may make you short tempered and mean with your caregivers, but it doesn't suddenly make a person start spewing racist garbage if those views weren't already inside you, stroke or no stroke. Lastly, I don't believe that dismissing or removing toxic people from my life is the equivalent of whatever toxic behavior they exhibited. In this particular case, I don't tolerate racist people in my personal space. As soon as Dottie spewed her vitriol at me, I would have been done with her right then and there. If she decided to become a decent human being after that, then good for her. But I certainly wouldn't be around to see it, nor would I care anything about her supposed growth. I know this is just a sitcom, but things like this happen more often than some people realize. It might not be as blatant as what Dottie said, but little acts of demeaning and dehumanizing Black and Brown people happens in this country everyday. Mind you, Dottie threw something on the floor and told Abishola to "fetch." That is literally treating a human being like she's a dog. So no, I don't view dismissing Dottie to be as bad or worse as the things she said to Abishola. My parents taught my siblings and I to always know our worth and never tolerate anyone treating us as if we are less than them. So there's no way in the world I would ever continue to deal with someone like Dottie.

You have every right to your views about Dottie, and I completely agree with you. Honestly, some of the comments on here that essentially say, "She apologized, so get over it" are not far off from the way some people treat these issues in real life. They think we're just supposed to be grateful if some ignorant bigot issues a tired apology and starts to tolerate the presence of a couple of Black people. I don't think so. I adore Bob and Abishola together, but quite frankly I'm sick of seeing Dottie. They refuse to address what she did, and they're trying to push the narrative that they're now all one big happy family. If they didn't want to fully address the issue, then they never should have kept her tirade in the show. At this point, the way they've handled it (or lack thereof) is insulting.

Racism and anti-immigrant bigotry are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they often go hand in hand.

Annie (in both "Misery" and "Castle Rock") goes into rages when she doesn't get what she wants. In this case, what she wants more than anything is to get Joy back. So she isn't really going "psycho for no reason." In her mind, she's killing the people she views as impeding her mission to be with Joy.

Oh my goodness, you wrote everything I was thinking! Before I read your post I was wondering am I the only one who thinks Abishola felt rejected when Bob turned her down for tea and that's why she told Bob to fight if her cares about her? She may have felt that his interest in her was waning, and his own mother had just told her not to wait for Bob (or any man). Of course, Bob was actually busy when she asking him out, but he had made time for her before even when he was busy. So I agree with you that she's probably thinking maybe he just wants her as a nurse now, or at least slow down on the romantic stuff for the time being because there's so much going on. I thought it would be sweet if he offered for them to have tea or dinner at his house at some point after work, that way they wouldn't have to worry about his mother and neither he nor Abishola would have to worry about rushing to meet somewhere else. But that simple thought never seemed to cross either of their minds. Anyway, if someone tells me I should date someone else, that would give me the impression that they don't really want to pursue a relationship with me at that time. I think both Bob and Abishola need to communicate better with each other. Abishola needs to stop pretending she's not as into Bob as she clearly is, and Bob needs to show that he's still interested. They haven't really gone on a date or spent any time alone together since Dottie had her stroke. It's like everybody just dropped the ball in the midst of all the chaos. I do hope Uncle Tunde tells Abishola the truth about Chukwuemeka and his chauvinistic nonsense. As much as I don't like his character, I do wish people would stop making fun of his name. It's not Chewbacca or chupacabra or any of that foolishness. It's Chukwuemeka (Choo-kway-may-ka).