S01.E13: The Canadians of Africa

[jewel21]

Quote

Abishola doesn't appreciate it when Bob gives her unsolicited parenting advice about her "unhappy son."

Airdate: 01/20/2020

[shapeshifter]

I'm guessing "The Canadians of Africa" refers to a particularly nice and friendly African country or group.
--sort of the way I think about people from Iowa because I live near Chicago.

[jewel21]

I liked Dele confiding in Bob about his dreams. He's a really good dancer and choreographer. And hey, at least Abishola was willing to sit down and watch his videos. I'm hoping she'll ease up on him a bit and lay off the doctor stuff but I guess only time will tell. It was just nice to see him smiling and happy in his videos. 

I also liked Olu and Tunde hiding in the kitchen from Bob and Tunde holding sticking his hand through the door to give Bob his glass of water, lol. 

Kemi climbing down the fire escape cracked me up. 

[shapeshifter]

Wow, Gina Yashere/Kemi is totally rocking the Clark-Kent/Superman level of transformation from plain Jane hospital worker to hot babe.

 

And Travis Wolfe Jr./Dele is a pretty amazing young actor. Most kid actors and many adults would've broken into at least a hint of smile when he was called upon to play the "straight man" 

[Harvey]

Abishola wouldn't have reacted so touchily to Bob's comments about Dele if she herself didn't know deep down that she is pushing him too hard.

I didn't understand why was Chukwuemeka's mother mad about finding a girl's bra in the laundry. Shouldn't she be happy he seems to have found someone? I know she doesn't approve of Kemi, but like why. She is nigerian, what more could she want.

[Winston Wolfe]

I found last night's episode to be the funniest of the series thus far - if only because I once learned the same hard lesson that Bob did; never ( and I mean never) comment on a single mother's parenting decisions.  It can only end badly, especially if there's a "baby daddy" involved. Bob clue-lessly stumbled on the landmine the same exact way I did, lol.

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Wow, Gina Yashere/Kemi is totally rocking the Clark-Kent/Superman level of transformation from plain Jane hospital worker to hot babe.

Word. I literally did not recognize her until she started speaking.

2 hours ago, Harvey said:

Abishola wouldn't have reacted so touchily to Bob's comments about Dele if she herself didn't know deep down that she is pushing him too hard.

Sadly, everything Bob said about Dele applies to Abishola as well. She's so serious all the time, as another poster noted, it makes her seem dour and tired.  But I do see where it's coming from - most immigrants come here for a better life, and that's what she wants for her son. I'm happy to see that she kept an open mind in the end.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Winston Wolfe

[Kiddvideo]

14 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

I found last night's episode to be the funniest of the series thus far

ITA. I think I started laughing when Bob’s mom said, “Stop” and wouldn’t let him finish his explanation. His brother had a good story, and it was nice to see the factory guys again, who piled on the humor. I think it balanced the discussion of Abishola’s parenting style nicely.

[joanne3482]

3 hours ago, Harvey said:

I didn't understand why was Chukwuemeka's mother mad about finding a girl's bra in the laundry. Shouldn't she be happy he seems to have found someone? I know she doesn't approve of Kemi, but like why. She is nigerian, what more could she want.

It could be because this means sex is happening under the roof she shares with her son and she doesn't approve of that? 

I liked this one a lot too. I liked how Dele seemed (to me at least) to incorporate some of the music of his culture in one of the videos. 

1 hour ago, Winston Wolfe said:

She's so serious all the time, as another poster noted, it makes her seem dour and tired.  But I do see where it's coming from - most immigrants come here for a better life, and that's what she wants for her son. I'm happy to see that she kept an open mind in the end.

It makes me wonder if she ever really allows herself some time off or vacation time. 

[possibilities]

When the dust settles, the takeaway will be: Bob is great with my kid.

That is a big draw for a single parent-- a partner who is compatible with your child!

Not only is he not put off by her having one, he's actually interested in the kid, and the kid embraces him, besides.

Major plus on any single parent's pro/con list for dating you.

[greekmom]

6 hours ago, Harvey said:

Abishola wouldn't have reacted so touchily to Bob's comments about Dele if she herself didn't know deep down that she is pushing him too hard.

I didn't understand why was Chukwuemeka's mother mad about finding a girl's bra in the laundry. Shouldn't she be happy he seems to have found someone? I know she doesn't approve of Kemi, but like why. She is nigerian, what more could she want.

Maybe it's a position thing? Kemi works in the hospital kitchen while Abishola is a nurse.

 

[jewel21]

Kemi is also quite a bit older than him I think. Plus, he is buying her expensive gifts, and the mother might worry that Kemi is using him. 

[VanillaBeanne]

I also think his mom’s dislike of Kemi might be due to the fact that she wasn’t handpicked for him by her.  The show definitely heavily paints Nigerian mothers as controlling.  

[floridamom]

I still don't see why Bob is hanging on to Abishola. Her character seems to always have a disgusted; disappointed expression on her face and yes, seldom smiles. They say that a smile is the most attractive thing about a person. She also still doesn't display any real personal interest in Bob. He could do better IMO. Her son is a good character, a well behaved kid but it's obvious to all that he does not want to pursue medicine. His mother doesn't really care what he wants to do with his life; perhaps it was her ambition. 

[Deskisamess]

Chukwuemeka is a pharmacist making good money, correct? The laundry room looked like it was in a low rent type of building.

How long have Abishola and the family been in the US? If the son has been mostly raised in the US, there is a large cultural divide between his outlook and his mother's. Pushing a kid to do well in school is one thing, deciding their career choice for them is a whole other thing.

[Gbb]

On 1/22/2020 at 4:30 AM, floridamom said:

I still don't see why Bob is hanging on to Abishola. Her character seems to always have a disgusted; disappointed expression on her face and yes, seldom smiles. They say that a smile is the most attractive thing about a person. She also still doesn't display any real personal interest in Bob. He could do better IMO. Her son is a good character, a well behaved kid but it's obvious to all that he does not want to pursue medicine. His mother doesn't really care what he wants to do with his life; perhaps it was her ambition. 

Might be interesting to see Abishola realize this at some point down the road (if the series lasts) and decide to go to medical school. Of course, it could also simply be that "doctor" is a high-paying profession and she's been raised to expect that for her son.

[tennisgurl]

Bob might be in...maybe not hot water but at least lukewarm water, with Abishola right now, but I think the more important take away here will be that Bob is really good with Dele, and that Dele likes Bob and feels comfortable enough with him already to confide in him. It might start trouble to criticize a single moms parenting (Oh Bob) but I would think that its outweighed by having a partner who takes an interest in their kid and their well being. 

Smaller bits of Bobs family go a long way for me. Like Dorothy just yelling "NO" when Bob said how he said something about Abisholas parenting, which really cracked me up. 

Olu and Tunde very obviously hiding from Bob, but Tunde still handing him some water, was hilarious.

[Marley]

I thought Dele’s dances were stupid and super basic. How old is he anyways? Everyone thinks they can just do their dream job even if they aren’t that good at it. It’s not always like that and it would probably be stupid of him wasting the rest of his life on being a dance choreographer and putting all his eggs in one basket. That sounds bitter but I’m sick and this episode annoyed me lol.

[Harvey]

8 hours ago, Marley said:

I thought Dele’s dances were stupid and super basic. How old is he anyways? Everyone thinks they can just do their dream job even if they aren’t that good at it. It’s not always like that and it would probably be stupid of him wasting the rest of his life on being a dance choreographer and putting all his eggs in one basket. That sounds bitter but I’m sick and this episode annoyed me lol.

You are not wrong. But from what I hear, there are less men than women in the dancing industry so you don't have to be some sort of extraordinary talent to make it as a dancer if you are a guy because it is less competitive than it is for women.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Marley said:

I thought Dele’s dances were stupid and super basic. How old is he anyways? Everyone thinks they can just do their dream job even if they aren’t that good at it. It’s not always like that and it would probably be stupid of him wasting the rest of his life on being a dance choreographer and putting all his eggs in one basket. That sounds bitter but I’m sick and this episode annoyed me lol.

We had to listen hard (or read captions) to catch this:

Quote

[Abishola] You will go to college and study medicine and this nonsense. And when you graduate, you and I will sit down together, and I will decide what is next.

[Dele] Thank you, Mum.

So Abishola just agrees to Dele having an extracurricular activity —which will ultimately look good on college applications (making him look well-rounded) and it’s regular exercise. I imagine there was a line about that coming out of Bob’s mouth at one point in the script, but it was cut because it didn’t work to give him the last word. But I do think it would have worked for Abishola to say something like, “and I have heard that it is good to have an extracurricular activity on your college application,” but I suppose that would have diluted the whole episode’s drama —still, I think it would have worked. 

[msrachelj]

On 1/22/2020 at 5:30 AM, floridamom said:

I still don't see why Bob is hanging on to Abishola. Her character seems to always have a disgusted; disappointed expression on her face and yes, seldom smiles. They say that a smile is the most attractive thing about a person. She also still doesn't display any real personal interest in Bob. He could do better IMO. Her son is a good character, a well behaved kid but it's obvious to all that he does not want to pursue medicine. His mother doesn't really care what he wants to do with his life; perhaps it was her ambition. 

I agree. She needs to lighten up, the way she is controlling her soon is horrible. I think Bob was perfectly right to mention her son is "sad". Has anyone not heard of depression? What if he were suffering? Abishola is going to be not easy to have a relationship with. I don't agree with all the "don't say anything about my parenting" . That's bull shit. Some people need help.