S03.E14: Know Yourself

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Vivek has a new experience with Heidi; Aaron and Doug struggle to adjust their views on sexuality and masculinity; Nomi and her new baby, Luna, return to Cal U; Junior shows up to fight for Sky.

Promo:

Original air date: 2/25/21

Edited March 15, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[luckyroll3]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Junior shows up to fight for Sky.

 Is the show going to ignore that Junior is currently in a serious relationship on Blackish?

[nilyank]

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

 Is the show going to ignore that Junior is currently in a serious relationship on Blackish?

Just before he met his girlfriend on Black-ish (last season's finale), they mentioned that he had made a big play for Sky. So I don't Grown-ish has caught yet with that timeline. They also haven't done Covid on this show which essentially would have all the students doing remote learning and cutting all the college activities. 

[sleepysuzy]

Maybe they'll use a time jump to skip through COVID. Introduce the shutdown, do a distance learning montage, then jump ahead a year to hybrid classes.

[Racj82]

I was waiting for someone to call Nomi out. They were treating Vivek unfairly but Nomi straight up dissed a guy because he was bi....while also being bi herself. Because it's different for women! .

I missed the group convos though. They always know how to cover different sides to the conversation. 

Men really are not allowed to experiment in certain circles and those contradictions suck but they are real.

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Racj82

[gingerella]

I appreciated the group getting back to group discussions, etc. however, at this point in the series, both Nomi and Zoe just aren’t needed. Zoe is no longer the central character and Nomi, whose storyline seems a stretch at best, aren't really missed by me at this point and the rest of the ensemble have been able to  stretch their acting chops quite nicely without both of these characters, and thus I don’t miss the other two at all. Last week Zoe was an annoying mosquito buzzing around the episode, and this week Nomi just  an out of place afterthought, like they're trying to shove her back into a story that she no longer fits into, neither of them do actually.

Also, not for nothing but who was watching Nomi's baby when she went to chat with Aaron? Nobody wanted to do that for her, unless the kid was with Junior at the time, cruising around town.

Edited February 26, 2021 by gingerella

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Who would have guessed at the beginning of S1 that Vivek would end up being the most rational and open minded person in this group? I liked that his attitude about having a threesome was that he was comfortable enough to give it a try and that it confirmed that he isn't into guys. He had absolutely no shame or embarrassment or regret about the experience though, which I loved.

The double standards for men and women are still ridiculous. Same goes for just about everything pertaining to Jazz and Doug. He called her a toss for sleeping with someone else with the excuse that "no self respecting man" would take her back after that, and then Aaron countered with the fact that no self respecting man would have gone six months without sex. Just fuck right off with those attitudes!

As Jazz reminded Doug, HE was the one who said they would be allowed to sleep with other people. But somehow he slut shamed her for sleeping with someone else. And notice he apologized to her in private after he disrespected her in front of all their friends. Even though he said they can work things out, he was the one who couldn't get over his own shitty attitude of seeing her as sloppy seconds just because she slept with someone else ONE time. Somehow she's now damaged goods because a woman's sexuality is only a positive thing when she's sleeping with YOU. Once women sleep with someone else, they're dirty whores.

Junior coming in with that aggressive attitude toward Rodney and Sky was so gross. She said no several weeks ago. Accept it. Move on. Go away. Getting in her face, following her around in public aka stalking her, insulting her new boyfriend, and telling the new boyfriend about the sex you had with her - all completely inappropriate. It's not romantic. It's not "baring your soul." It's not "fighting for her." It's creepy and disrespectful.

[luckyroll3]

What the hell is "a toss"?  #ImOld

[Racj82]

25 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

What the hell is "a toss"?  #ImOld

Someone that dude's use or throw around for sex. A toss. I honestly never heard that exact phrase used before but the context of their argument made it clear what he meant.

[BluBarbi98]

On 2/19/2021 at 1:39 PM, luckyroll3 said:

 Is the show going to ignore that Junior is currently in a serious relationship on Blackish?

Thank you, I literally came here to make sure I wasn't crazy and hadn't missed an episode.

[Mr. Sparkle]

30 minutes ago, BluBarbi98 said:

Thank you, I literally came here to make sure I wasn't crazy and hadn't missed an episode.

I'm also old, and had to look it up on Urban Dictionary, although it was pretty clear what he meant. 

[Meedis]

I thought this was a pretty solid episode aside from the Junior side plot with Sky.   I loved the back and forth regarding Vivek's experiences and how mostly open-minded Aaron and Doug were in the end.   The one good use for Junior was his first appearance after the "helping Nomi with the baby" brief subplot which temporarily distracted him from the annoying stalking Sky side plot.   Welcome back Nomi.   

[AnimeMania]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Junior coming in with that aggressive attitude toward Rodney and Sky was so gross. She said no several weeks ago. Accept it. Move on. Go away. Getting in her face, following her around in public aka stalking her, insulting her new boyfriend, and telling the new boyfriend about the sex you had with her - all completely inappropriate. It's not romantic. It's not "baring your soul." It's not "fighting for her." It's creepy and disrespectful.

I thought it worked since Sky told him at the end she was still interested.

The three-way the guys approve of is one man and two women.

[DearEvette]

Ah, the toxic masculinity episode.  Team Vivek all the way!

I thought they did a good job of showing different faces of toxic masculinity.

With Vivek it showcased the whole gay panic thing and the stereotypes around what is supposedly masculine vs. what it not.

With Doug/Jazz it showcased the the doubles standard men have wrt to women having and enjoying sex.  The madonna/whore thing.

And with Junior/Sky it showcased the the supposedly nice guy not taking no for an answer under the guise of 'fighting for a woman's love'

It is fun to have the group back together and arguing over things and bringing all sides, but this was clearly a one sided argument because Doug/Aaron were dead wrong.

I agree that Zoe is pretty much expendable. Her storyline is the least interesting part of the show, imo.  I like them all best as an ensemble and Doug is a great addition. But honestly I wouldn't miss Zoe if she left.  I like the energy and perspective that Nomi  brings to the group and she was missed, but her baby mama storyline is such a bad fit for the show.  The addition of a baby is usually more a miss than a hit, imo.

[Racj82]

Did Luka die on his way back to his home planet?

[Meedis]

5 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Did Luka die on his way back to his home planet?

Hah.   I'm honestly not really missing his character.   

[Racj82]

1 hour ago, Meedis said:

Hah.   I'm honestly not really missing his character.   

Trust me, I'm not either. When I wrote my first post about the episode and how much I love the group conversations I stopped and realized that the whole group wasn't there. And dude has been gone for weeks. I hate him more than Zoey at this point so they can write him off if they like.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

14 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Did Luka die on his way back to his home planet?

I haven't missed him at all in the last few episodes, and Zoey was barely in this one, which is fine with me (although I did side eye her for congratulating Junior on the gross way he was "fighting" for Sky), so it would be great if they both got written off eventually. I don't dislike Zoey as a character but she's so extraneous now that she's no longer in college or living in the house full time. Luka, on the other hand, I actively dislike so I'd rather see him gone.

If they find a way to have Zoey styling clients in LA (which, let's be honest, shouldn't be that difficult) and still living in the house, then I'd be okay with her sticking around but it's kind of ridiculous how she just pops in every once in a while right now.

[tennisgurl]

Nomi's back! Just in time for an episode dealing with sexuality and orientation! I am glad to seed her again, she adds a distinct energy and perspective to the show, but I do not think the baby drama is needed at all. Will her baby just end up joining Devante in offscreen land? Now that Junior is going back to Black-ish who is going to take care of the baby? You know, if the show wants Zoey to still be a part of this show they should really have her decide to go back to college. Her just hanging around and not working just feels weird, she has become really unneeded in this show. 

So I guess this takes place before COVID and Junior getting a girlfriend on Black-ish, I wonder if the show will eventually catch up and everyone will have to deal with online learning? 

Its been awhile since we had a "group talks over an issue" episode so that was fun, even though its clear that Aaron and Doug were in the wrong. Vivek really had grown a lot, no way would he have been so chill about kissing a guy in season one and be so quick to call Aaron and Doug out on their toxic crap. The idea that women kissing other women can just be "fun" without them being into women while a guy kissing a guy means that they have to be gay is definitely an annoying double standard, but is very much what a lot of people think. I am disappointed no one mentioned that time a few seasons ago when Nomi dumped a guy she was dating because he was bisexual and she thought it was too weird. 

[DearEvette]

On 2/26/2021 at 5:05 PM, Racj82 said:

Did Luka die on his way back to his home planet?

I legit didn't even notice he was missing until your post.  Says a lot about how utterly useless his character was,.  He was literally only there as a Zoey love interest that they either couldn't or didn't want to write stories for after that relationship was over.  Which makes me doubly glad they are making some effort for Vivek. 

[SnarkEnthusiast]

Well, this is the first time I’ve really loved Vivek!! How refreshing to have a guy not embarrassed by experimenting with guys. I also think it’s really important to show that experimenting with the same gender doesn’t always have to be some grand revelation that you are gay or bi - and that’s ok and not something that invalidates your orientation, just as it shouldn’t be a requirement to have experience with the same gender to identify as bi. Just because Vivek kissed a dude doesn’t make him not straight because he’s confident in his heterosexuality without having to distance himself or belittle other men. Not to mention that the persistent trend of insinuating people seem or act gay when otherwise identified is inherently homophobic. Just respect how everyone identifies, it’s that simple. Who would’ve thought Vivek would be my favorite character after this episode?! But man, what an interesting time to retcon Nomi's biphobia towards men...

As much as I hate the attempt to however halfheartedly shoehorn a baby into Nomi’s plots from now on, it would be acceptable and also hilarious if various characters just carry a doll around each episode in unrelated scenes and they decide that’s sufficient baby inclusion, lol. 

On the other hand, Doug and his wounded fragile masculinity can have a stadium full of seats. He created the climate for this to happen in the first place because unlike Vivek, he allowed his friends’ opinions and his embarrassment at being emasculated to influence his actions and open the relationship to “seem manlier” when he never had intentions of sleeping with anyone else and obviously expected the same loyalty from her. Misogynistic double standard. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by SnarkEnthusiast

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Vivek Tries MDMA

The Girls Welcome Back Nomi

Jazz & Doug Argue

Vivek Calls Out Doug & Aaron

Jazz & Doug Get Intimate

Junior Says Goodbye to Sky