S01.E02: The Warrior

[OnceSane]

Quote

For Rainbow and Alicia, fitting in at school and standing out at work are hard enough; but with the added pressure from stay-at-home-dad Paul to make the world a little better every day, it might just be impossible.

Airs October 1, 2019.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Oh come on, Bo's brother didn't know better than to pee in a sink?

White broccoli.

Why is Santamonica so gangsta? Whatever, she comes across like "whatchutalkinabout, Willis?" to me, as if everything that comes out of her mouth is a potential catchphrase.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Why is Santamonica so gangsta? Whatever, she comes across like "whatchutalkinabout, Willis?" to me, as if everything that comes out of her mouth is a potential catchphrase.

That is exactly the vibe I got, I was wondering if she found her new persona after watching a Diff'rent Strokes marathon.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Oh come on, Bo's brother didn't know better than to pee in a sink?

Apparently no one at the commune taught him the difference between a sink and a high toilet.

Broccoli = white cauliflower was the best thing out of Santamonica in this episode. They have her turned up to sassy kid a little too high. I wish they would tone it down.

[UNOSEZ]

Oh... Microaggresions.... Few things clench my jaw or make my skin crawl more than those... I did lol at Alicia and the fight fantasy 

[greekmom]

Dislike the character of Santamonica more than I dislike the character of Bo's brother. 

They really need to tone her down. 

I like the characters of Bow, her mom and her grandfather.  MPG just doesn't strike me as the hippy dad and I cannot stand the aunt.

I'm thinking this won't last past 1 or 2 seasons at best.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

That is exactly the vibe I got, I was wondering if she found her new persona after watching a Diff'rent Strokes marathon.

Hmm, I forgot that the two younger kids had binged on old TV shows. I guess that could explain Santamonica's behavior but why did it affect her that way but not her brother? Anyhoo, I think the show needs to make it more clear why she acts and talks the way she does because right now it makes no sense to me within the established backstory at the commune. IMO, it's making the show seem hammy in a way that Black-ish generally isn't.

[tennisgurl]

You would think that "this is a sink, and this is a toilet" would be the first lesson you teach a kid fresh off of the commune. 

I dont think that little Bow looks much like adult Bow, but they share some mannerisms and I can see how little Bow becomes adult Bow. This show seems a bit more cartoon-y than either Black-ish or Grown-ish, and some of it is already annoying, but I kind of like Bow going into little "here is some kind of historical context for the thing happening" that looks like an old computer, or her pausing the episode like a VHS. And her imagine spot of choosing black or white with Ronald Reagan and Jessie Jackson announcing her new race. 

The story with the mom dealing with microaggressions before people really even had a word for that and people acting like Affirmative Action is some devious plot to flood the work place with unqualified black people stealing jobs from super qualified white people is still a thing now that stupid people whine about, I cant imagine how it was in the 80s. 

Gary Cole is probably the highlight so far, the man can deliver a punch line. 

[bybrandy]

I know they are fresh off the commune so all of this stuff is new to them, but I really struggle with how out there everybody thinks all of this is.   This might work better if it was set in the midwest.  But I was 7 in 85.  I went to various private schools and knew Asian kids and Hispanic kids and black kids and mixed kids.  I don't pretend for a second that they weren't going through things but it is just the unicorn aspect of it that II'm unable to relate to.   Where I lived in 1985 the world wasn't black and white.   I get Bow needing to navigate a world where race is a new concept to her but the part where adult rainbow tells me that everything was so black and white as opposed to it seemed that way to her, just takes me out of the narrative.

Also I will love Zach Morris until I die and I have seen and loved MPG in things since then but he seems so, so, so out of place here.   

[MissLucas]

Maybe this is just until the show has settled into its narrative but as has been already mentioned here a lot seems forced so far. How weird were those 80s! I had to roll my eyes a bit about how everyone was treating the stay-at-home-Dad concept like it came from outer space. They were rare but if annoying aunt had stayed long enough to watch tv she might have caught an episode of 'Who's the Boss'. And the montage of all the housewives standing in the driveway waving goodbye to their husbands who drove off to work? The writers were off about two decades.

[qtpye]

41 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Maybe this is just until the show has settled into its narrative but as has been already mentioned here a lot seems forced so far. How weird were those 80s! I had to roll my eyes a bit about how everyone was treating the stay-at-home-Dad concept like it came from outer space. They were rare but if annoying aunt had stayed long enough to watch tv she might have caught an episode of 'Who's the Boss'. And the montage of all the housewives standing in the driveway waving goodbye to their husbands who drove off to work? The writers were off about two decades.

Didn’t Michael Keaton play a stay at home dad in Mr. Mom?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

21 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

On 10/1/2019 at 11:37 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

Oh come on, Bo's brother didn't know better than to pee in a sink?

Apparently no one at the commune taught him the difference between a sink and a high toilet.

For some reason, I though he was talking about a urinal and I didn't get what the big deal was.

I assume Bow's new friend with the rice and beans was the only Latina in the school?  Or the only Latina who brought beans for lunch?

I doubt I could ever be hungry enough to eat in a toilet stall.  I'd find a hidden hallway.

[joanne3482]

15 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And the montage of all the housewives standing in the driveway waving goodbye to their husbands who drove off to work? The writers were off about two decades.

So I was 11 in 1985, basically Bow's age, and both my parents worked. Of all of my friends most (that had 2 parents) both worked. So I definitely agree about that. Although maybe because this was an affluent neighborhood?

9 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I assume Bow's new friend with the rice and beans was the only Latina in the school?  Or the only Latina who brought beans for lunch

Aren't they in LA? How is it possible that a - this child is the only Latina or b - this child is the only Latina who brings beans and rice for lunch? (This is a rhetorical question for the creators of the show)

I'm not loving this show. It may be the first one dropped from my DVR. I'll try a couple more times, but something is just not working for me. (Although I do agree that currently I like it when Bow pauses the VCR to explain things to the audience)

Edited October 3, 2019 by joanne3482

[Kroliosis]

I was 9 in '85, but was "working from home" a thing?  Gary Cole asked MPG that during the breakfast scene & I was super confused.

[qtpye]

32 minutes ago, Kroliosis said:

I was 9 in '85, but was "working from home" a thing?  Gary Cole asked MPG that during the breakfast scene & I was super confused.

It feels like the writers have no understanding what the real 80’s were like beyond a quick Google search.

[seaELare]

20 hours ago, qtpye said:

It feels like the writers have no understanding what the real 80’s were like beyond a quick Google search.

And that in a nutshell is my big problem with this show.  With each episode I ask myself if any of the writers in that writer's room are older than 30.  I was already a young working adult in 1985 and I knew a lot of men who were stay at home dads and most families, including my own parents, had two working parents. None of this show rings true to the times.  I'm really saddened TER didn't fight harder for authenticity being that she's the EP of the show.  

[qtpye]

2 minutes ago, seaELare said:

And that in a nutshell is my big problem with this show.  With each episode I ask myself if any of the writers in that writer's room are older than 30.  I was already a young working adult in 1985 and I knew a lot of men who were stay at home dads and most families, including my own parents, had two working parents. None of this show rings true to the times.  I'm really saddened TER didn't fight harder for authenticity being that she's the EP of the show.  

They are acting like the 1980’s are the 1950’s.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, qtpye said:

They are acting like the 1980’s are the 1950’s.

Maybe Rainbow lied about her age?

[meatball77]

If they'd put the show in Kansas City I could have bought the racial situations, but California?  California was pretty diverse even in the 80's.

[xander874]

On 10/2/2019 at 3:37 PM, bybrandy said:

Also I will love Zach Morris until I die and I have seen and loved MPG in things since then but he seems so, so, so out of place here. 

Yes I will follow MPG anywhere and was excited when I heard he was on this. But I agree he is miscast. I really think Anders Holm would've been so much better in this role.

On 10/2/2019 at 6:43 PM, qtpye said:

Didn’t Michael Keaton play a stay at home dad in Mr. Mom?

I kept screaming that the whole episode. Sure it was probably rare for a dad to stay at home, but it wasn't unheard of. If they make a movie about it, then it's enough of a thing to not be that weird. The whole plot made me annoyed at the aunt. They need to give her some layers because she is so one-note right now. Reminds me of Ruby on black-ish only Jennifer Lewis is a much better actress and has made that character work.

And I really wanted some payoff for the mom at the job. Maybe it'll be more of a slow burn leading to some huge smack down.

[In2You]

I agree Anders would've been so much better in this role

[In2You]

On 10/2/2019 at 12:07 PM, tennisgurl said:

I dont think that little Bow looks much like adult Bow, but they share some mannerisms and I can see how little Bow becomes adult Bow. This show seems a bit more cartoon-y than either Black-ish or Grown-ish, and some of it is already annoying, but I kind of like Bow going into little "here is some kind of historical context for the thing happening" that looks like an old computer, or her pausing the episode like a VHS. And her imagine spot of choosing black or white with Ronald Reagan and Jessie Jackson announcing her new race. 

Little Bow looks just like Big Bow.  Like they could play mother and daughter. Everyone else looks nothing like their older counterparts

[possibilities]

I think MPG is very convincing as a hippie trust fund dad. I'm not seeing how he's miscast at all. He is a dead ringer for numerous such dudes I've met IRL.

[geauxaway]

I really just wanted to know which stories Auntie watched, so I’m glad I got that payoff at the end of the ep.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Obligatory music video: