S04.E13: Happy People Are Lazy

[jewel21]

Quote

Abishola decides to postpone taking the Medical College Admission Test, surprising everyone (including herself). Also, Christina grapples with taking a job opportunity that could mean the end for Kofo and MaxDot.

Airdate: 02/13/2023

[AnimeMania]

Next New Episode: February 27, 2023

[DanaK]

Abishola’s stern inability to just enjoy being happy is kind of annoying but at least she got back to studying for her exams. The initial meeting between a young Tunde and Ole at the end was a joy to watch. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top between Christina and Kofo in their upcoming presentations. I appreciated that she didn’t want to do the pitch behind Kofo’s back

Edited February 14, 2023 by DanaK

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, DanaK said:

The initial meeting between a young Tunde and Ole at the end was a joy to watch.

Yes. Tunde and Olu managed to erase from my mind the trauma of Christina’s whiteboard drawings being erased
——although that is ultimately the fate of all whiteboard content   
——so kudos to Maribeth Monroe for making me feel her humiliation and disappointment. 
 

 

2 hours ago, DanaK said:

It will be interesting to see who comes out on top between Christina and Kofo in their upcoming presentations.

It looked like Christina and Kofo were going to hook up again. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It looked like Christina and Kofo were going to hook up again. 

She thinks his little fingers are cute!

4 hours ago, DanaK said:

Abishola’s stern inability to just enjoy being happy is kind of annoying but at least she got back to studying for her exams.

I suppose, but med school is likely to cost $60,000 a year for 4 years, and she'll have to leave her job to attend.  Then Dele will be starting college, and who knows if his father will be able to pay for the whole thing.  Unless the factory does really well, their finances are going to be very strained for a long time, not even considering the fact that they are also feeding the 2 mothers.

4 hours ago, DanaK said:

The initial meeting between a young Tunde and Ole at the end was a joy to watch.

 They were great, and the young actor really resembled Tunde-his nose was very similar.

[Yeah No]

I love this show but I would watch a show just about Olu and Tunde, I love them so much!  The scene with them meeting in the library was indeed a joy to watch as I was in college back in 1979 and I was LOL at their outfits, which were close to accurate in a humorous way.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

the young actor really resembled Tunde-his nose was very similar.

The actor who played college-age Tunde so perfectly nailed the speech cadence and mannerisms of Barry Shabaka Henley (Uncle Tunde) that I wondered if it was Barry in a wig, but Darone Okolie played Young Uncle Tunde.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I love this show but I would watch a show just about Olu and Tunde, I love them so much!  The scene with them meeting in the library was indeed a joy to watch as I was in college back in 1979 and I was LOL at their outfits, which were close to accurate in a humorous way.

It seemed too much like what people think it was like in America in the 1970's, I believe that was supposed to be Nigeria and it might have been better if that had been a little more obvious through clothing.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

It seemed too much like what people think it was like in America in the 1970's, I believe that was supposed to be Nigeria and it might have been better if that had been a little more obvious through clothing.

I thought they were in the U.S. because, as you pointed out, @AnimeMania, it did look like a library in 1970s America!
Based on the library scene in this episode, I just assumed Tunde and Olu came the US as college students. 
But then Ebun would not have been there too?
Or maybe Ebun was a college student before she married? Maybe they will reveal the reason Ebun is so emphatic about Abishola becoming a doctor is because, like Gloria, Ebun did not have that opportunity?

In this episode there was a line about how we need more doctors and more Black doctors. Merenike could become both of those as well as an LGBTQ doctor (if she wants to study for 7 years and if she gets a $cholar$hip).

But there was also a line from Bob about how Abishola’s favorite activity is “studying.”

Edited February 14, 2023 by shapeshifter

[AnimeMania]

Just now, shapeshifter said:

I thought they were in the U.S.!

I am not sure, I would have thought that as well, but I think the story goes that Olu and Tunde, decided to go there (Detroit) after they met. And I don't know why Ebunoluwa would be in America.

[shapeshifter]

There was a lot packed into this 20 minute episode.

2 other things of note:

1. Bob says: "I put it in my calendar. "Abi MCAT."
   I realize it may just be an abbreviation for his calendar, but it seemed significant to me that this was the first time Bob has referred to Abishola as "Abi."
    
2. The opening scene about the pancakes, sugar, and diabetes was almost a PSA, ending with Bob dumping the luscious looking pancakes (I'm partial to whipped cream) into the garbage. Before Billy Gardell's dramatic weight reduction, I'm pretty sure they would have shown Bob eating the pancakes. 
   It was probably mostly an acknowledgement of Billy's/Bob's weight loss, but it might have also been an intended PSA dressed up in the comedy of the "Sugar reduces production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor" line, which is stated by Ebun, Dele, and Abishola 2 full times and 2 half times (if I counted correctly) which hits the mark of the comedic "rule of three."

[DanaK]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes. Tunde and Olu managed to erase from my mind the trauma of Christina’s whiteboard drawings being erased
——although that is ultimately the fate of all whiteboard content   
——so kudos to Maribeth Monroe for making me feel her humiliation and disappointment. 
 

 

It looked like Christina and Kofo were going to hook up again. 

I totally forgot they did

[EtheltoTillie]

yes, we need a prequel, "Young Tunde and Olu."

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

It seemed too much like what people think it was like in America in the 1970's, I believe that was supposed to be Nigeria and it might have been better if that had been a little more obvious through clothing.

I assumed they were in the US too because it did look like a college library in the US.  It could have been mine.  And here's a little secret - During and after college in the late '70s and early '80s I worked in my school's Undergrad. Admissions office.  This was in NYC at a big well known university.  It was a magnet for foreign students, especially Nigerians and part of my job was to give them information on how to apply for admission.  Let me just say that while they didn't dress like this (they mostly wore plain dress shirts and slacks) they were 100% male.  So right away I am aware that there are liberties with the realism here, but if Olu and Tunde did meet in the US as foreign students it's somewhat plausible with qualifications.  However, the presence of Olu's mother in the scene would not suggest that they were in the US.  

When I said their outfits were "humorously accurate" I meant that I felt there was a tongue-in-cheek aspect to them, which makes them forgivable in my view.  Not like other shows that put forth a younger person's mistaken idea of what the '70s were like in a completely serious way.

[EtheltoTillie]

I thought the college was supposed to be in Nigeria, but there was no reason to think the library would look different from an American one. 

[AnimeMania]

18 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

However, the presence of Olu's mother in the scene would not suggest that they were in the US.  

I think that was Olu's sister, Abishola's mum.

[EtheltoTillie]

I love your hair!  That was funny!

[DanaK]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I think that was Olu's sister, Abishola's mum.

That was the impression I had too

[Harvey]

The show previously stated that Olu and Tunde met at a funeral. It's so stupid when random viewers like me know the series better than the people actually making it. Shameful.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

The opening scene about the pancakes, sugar, and diabetes was almost a PSA, ending with Bob dumping the luscious looking pancakes (I'm partial to whipped cream) into the garbage. Before Billy Gardell's dramatic weight reduction, I'm pretty sure they would have shown Bob eating the pancakes. 
It was probably mostly an acknowledgement of Billy's/Bob's weight loss, but it might have also been an intended PSA dressed up in the comedy of the "Sugar reduces production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor" line, which is stated by Ebun, Dele, and Abishola 2 full times and 2 half times (if I counted correctly) which hits the mark of the comedic "rule of three."

It made me wonder why they even had whipped cream in the house. But then I realized that Bob probably bought it for Abishola's special breakfast.

 

[possibilities]

It looked to me like Ebun was eating pancakes in the background, which I thought was really funny, given the rest of the scene.

[Ms Lark]

I too loved the Tunde/Olu meeting, even if it was off-canon. I also liked them tracking Abi down in the laundromat. They clearly know her better than her mother does. I want more adorable Tunde/Olu, less toxic Ebun!