S02.E03: On My Own

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Paul surprises the family by inviting one of his students to live with them, and Paul and Alicia compete to be his mentor; Rainbow has a crush on their new house guest.

Original air date: 2/9/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Which 80s "On My Own" do you think this episode is named after?

Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald (released in 1986):

Irene Cara/Fame (the movie came out in 1980 and was released on VHS in 1981 and this song was nominated for an Oscar, the tv show ran 1982-1987):

Frances Ruffelle/Les Miserables (The show opened on Broadway in 1987 and the actress who played Eponine in both the West End and Broadway productions released this song as a single):

 

[possibilities]

Rainbow talking to the kid about using deodorant? I will never stop cringing.

[Arcadiasw]

Wow. Dee Dee was completely wrong about Janet.🤣🤣🤣 I was a baby then but was there doubt about Janet's Control album? I only know Michael pushed back his Bad album so it wouldn't come out the same time. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oh, Rainbow. Wearing deodorant isn't the thing you have in common that you should try as a conversational ploy. I was also a little disturbed that she went through his bag.

I liked that Jay pointed out how boring it seemed to be a lawyer. Alicia getting excited about redacting names made me laugh though.

[MadyGirl1987]

Funny episode, even if Bow was going a bit Tina Belcher with regards to Jay. I especially loved the conversation between Paul and Alicia at the end, with them both supporting and being supported by each other. They are a great couple.

[red12]

On 2/10/2021 at 5:00 AM, Arcadiasw said:

Wow. Dee Dee was completely wrong about Janet.🤣🤣🤣 I was a baby then but was there doubt about Janet's Control album? I only know Michael pushed back his Bad album so it wouldn't come out the same time. 

The doubt was only prior to release. Janet (and the other non-Michael Jacksons) had very minor solo hits prior to Control. Once Jimmy & Terry got her in the studio and Paula Abdul harnessed Janet's natural dance talent and Jackson work ethic, it was a wrap. A star was born.

Edited February 11, 2021 by red12

[tennisgurl]

Dee really backed the wrong horse when it came to the Jacksons...

Hopefully the next time Bow has a crush on a boy, she can focus more on mixtapes and less on deodorant. That was a fun episode, I really liked the talk that Alicia and Paul had, it was very honest and supportive by both parties, and they were both allowed to be both right and wrong about both of their issues and learned from each other. 

Alicia's excitement over blacking out minors names was hilarious. I am also glad we saw Paul's high school friend again, as well as their neighbor. "I believe the correct term is Afro American." 

Edited February 10, 2021 by tennisgurl

[DearEvette]

11 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Wow. Dee Dee was completely wrong about Janet.🤣🤣🤣 I was a baby then but was there doubt about Janet's Control album? I only know Michael pushed back his Bad album so it wouldn't come out the same time. 

LOL.  This is another one of those 'wrong things about the future these characters say" that I have noticed have been sprinkled throughout this season so far.  To Dee's credit though, Janet's first two albums were forgettable and terrible.  Not even black radio liked them.  LOL.  So she was right to be skeptical. 

Another funny outing.  Like I said last week, I think the writing is an improvement over last season already. The jokes are quippier and also a little bit slyer and dryer.  They can take a minute to land but they work.

I loved Paul/Johan's exchange:

"He is the best student I've ever had"

"You've only been teaching for two weeks."

I am glad the show leaned in to the heretofore only hinted at white savior tendencies Paul exhibited in flashes before.

Also glad to see Paul's high school friend and their only black neighbor back again.   Nice to see the supporting characters expanding out some. And the show seems to be moving away from Bow-centric stories to more Paul/Alicia/Dee/Henderson and I think that is a good development.

[greekmom]

I didn't like this episode at all. Why would Paul bring a student to live with them? Unless he was a foreign exchange student.

They treat strangers better than they treat their own kids. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, greekmom said:

They treat strangers better than they treat their own kids. 

That's common among parents.

[hula-la]

19 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Wow. Dee Dee was completely wrong about Janet.🤣🤣🤣 I was a baby then but was there doubt about Janet's Control album? I only know Michael pushed back his Bad album so it wouldn't come out the same time. 

Hey, I was convinced no one would ever need the internet, so I feel her on this one. 

[red12]

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

That's common among parents.

Especially parents with covert and communal narcissism traits like Paul and Alicia

I understand that this is a sitcom and I enjoy it. That just jumped out at me based on my own background.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

16 hours ago, greekmom said:

Why would Paul bring a student to live with them? Unless he was a foreign exchange student.

Paul said that Jay's dad was out of town. It was a very temporary situation.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I like Paul doing the putting his foot up on a chair thing, because that reminds me of AC Slater on Saved by the Bell doing the sitting backwards in a chair thing.  They made fun of that on the Saved by the Bell reboot.

[txhorns79]

On 2/10/2021 at 5:34 PM, DearEvette said:

LOL.  This is another one of those 'wrong things about the future these characters say" that I have noticed have been sprinkled throughout this season so far.  To Dee's credit though, Janet's first two albums were forgettable and terrible.  Not even black radio liked them.  LOL.  So she was right to be skeptical. 

I was a little confused on the timeline.  Control was released in February 1986. 

I enjoyed the episode, and liked Paul and Alicia's goofy competing over who was the better role model.  I also thought some of Alicia's outfits are things I could totally see Bow wearing on Blackish (particularly the shirtwaist dresses), so I like to think that is a nod to the connection between mother and daughter.

[Joimiaroxeu]

How is Johan going to compare an informal foster kid to lice? Ehhhhh on that joke.

And once again I see a character on this show in an article of clothing I used to wear. Uh, kudos for historical accuracy?

Redacting. Wouldn't that be assigned to associates or legal aides? Seems to me like a rather expensively menial task for partners to be doing but admittedly I don't know much about how law firms work.

Frenching a bowl. A phrase probably never uttered before in  the history of the English language.

Lol, Jay never bothered to learn Paul and Alicia's kids' names. Not sure what that says about him, or about Bow's oblvious crush on him.

[Cotypubby]

On 2/10/2021 at 2:44 PM, tennisgurl said:

I am also glad we saw Paul's high school friend again, as well as their neighbor. "I believe the correct term is Afro American." 

*Afro’ed American 😆

[chediavolo]

On 2/12/2021 at 11:14 AM, txhorns79 said:

I was a little confused on the timeline.  Control was released in February 1986. 

I enjoyed the episode, and liked Paul and Alicia's goofy competing over who was the better role model.  I also thought some of Alicia's outfits are things I could totally see Bow wearing on Blackish (particularly the shirtwaist dresses), so I like to think that is a nod to the connection between mother and daughter.

Alicia is dresses “80’s” style. Bo has no taste in fashion.