Season 2 Discussion

[monakane]

 For me it's all about Junior.

 

I'm also all about Junior, but I like all the kids.  I love that Junior is a Game of Thrones nerd.  My favorite line was Dre threatening to "red wedding" his ass.

[SmithW6079]

I LOVE Jenifer Lewis, but sometimes Ruby's a jerk.

 

Ruby's always a jerk, especially with Bow.

[charmed1]

I work with teenagers and part of my job is taking our students on college tours. In theory it gets them away from picking what they know (HU) and shows them small, medium, large, city and rural campuses. Our kids are low income so odds are their parents can't afford to take them. We've never made it cross country, but we have gone as far west as Chicago, and from Boston to Orlando.

I remember those HBCU bus tours very well. There's a show idea for you, Kenya!

[jhlipton]

Anyway, I have a question -- I didn't think about this the first time I watched, but Dre went to Howard University. That's in D.C., but don't he and Bow talk about it like it's in California?

 

Zoey didn't seem to be considering Howard, so Dre was pushing for one of the UC's (UCLA or UCSD) as cheaper and, more importantly, closer.  (There's also a lot of CS's -- CSULB, CSUDM, SDSU, but these are not as prestigious as the UC's.) 

[peeayebee]

Oh, ok. Dre went to Howard, but he hoped Zoey would go to a Calif college?

[nicepebbles]

This was a good episode. Dre's hairlines was hilarious.

 

Good to see Dre's assistant back. I do think Charlie would've been much better in this instance though.

 

Why is Ruby there so much? Too much. Too, too much.

 

I knew Ruby's idea of elegance would be something that wasn't elegant. I was kinda hoping she would do a good job thereby reinforcing Bow's idea of themed Christmas cards. For once I thought she would do something nice.

 

Junior just keeps proving me that I'm right to have him as my favorite.
 

 

Dre's barbershop was a burial ground of UPN sitcom sidekicks.

 

Best description of a show's guests stars ever!

 

Who was the dude that played Smoke? I've seen him before but can't place him.

 

I get the loyalty for a barber. Prior to moving too far to get to his barber, my husband had the same barber his whole life. Whenever we go to his hometown, he has to go to his barber no matter what. With our son, we realized at some point he needed his first haircut. What did we do? Waited until we had gone back to my hubby's hometown so his barber could give the boy his first haircut.

 

I grew up going to salons waiting all damn day to get my hair done or for my older female relatives to get their hair done. It was a pain but also great. Great because as a kid, the adult conversations we got to hear. My hair always turned out great so it was worth the wait. Now that I'm older, I'm not for waiting for all damn day and have managed to find stylists who are pretty good at sticking as close to my appointment times as possible.

[grawlix]

Out of curiosity, is Pop's barber shop the same as Dre's?  You would think the way Dre was talking about loyalty that he would share the same barber as Pop.

[fishcakes]

All this talk about no appointments or waiting hours for your stylist reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend years ago. We made plans to have lunch and I said I was getting my hair cut at noon so I'd meet him at the restaurant.

 

Him: ... oh. So ... we're having dinner then?

 

Me: Uh, no, I'll meet you at one.

 

Him: Doesn't a hair cut take a few hours?

 

Me: What? No! It takes 45 minutes.

 

Him [dubiously]: Ooookay ...

 

Later, I'm in the salon telling my stylist about my friend who thinks getting a haircut takes all day and she said, "is he Black?" and when I said yes, she said, "oh, that's why then." And I didn't know if she was being kinda racist or what so I didn't pursue that conversation any further. It wasn't until reading this thread that I understand what that was about.

[charmed1]

I DVR Blackish so I'm always 1-3 weeks behind. This is hands down my favorite episode. Especially because every boyfriend, friend, classmate, male relative or co-worker I've had has at least one time complained that they were going to start cutting their own hair after their barber "made them look like they had a receding hairline." Only one followed through on that promise but he really was going bald so it really made no difference.

Dre's asymmetric line-up killed me! Omg that joint looked like the bangs everybody was wearing in 96, achieved with a scarf and that icky brown pro-styl gel.

[nicepebbles]

Omg that joint looked like the bangs everybody was wearing in 96, achieved with a scarf and that icky brown pro-styl gel.

 

OMG! That's a perfect description. Now I'm having flashbacks.

[topanga]

I was surprised that Zoey was so gung-ho about wearing the gingerbread man costume. She sat around the house wearing it and never said, "This will mess up my hair." or "This picture might end up on Instagram, and my reputation will be shot." I think Zoey actually likes her kooky family, even though she'd never admit it. 

[spaceytraci1208]

Dre's asymmetric line-up killed me! Omg that joint looked like the bangs everybody was wearing in 96, achieved with a scarf and that icky brown pro-styl gel.

The "Swoop Bang"! YESSSSS!

[Raja]

Out of curiosity, is Pop's barber shop the same as Dre's?  You would think the way Dre was talking about loyalty that he would share the same barber as Pop.

I would assume it is, unless at some point Dre choose T as his man, as a rite of passage like Junior choosing Smoke.

[Miss Dee]

In my part of the world, evaporated milk is the choice for tea and coffee. Also used a lot in baking and cooking. My parents' generation could get canned more readily than freah; my mom still has cereal with half evaporated milk and half water. And Carnation is the beverage of choice; everything else is a poor imitation!

[OnceSane]

Dre worries that Christmas has become too commercialized; Pops makes a plan for less presents and more family time; and the kids act nice in hopes of getting more presents. Meanwhile, Daphne Lido invites herself to spend the holiday with the Johnsons.

[kat165]

I teared up when Charlie left. Is the actor leaving the show? When he was first introduced he really annoyed me but I've gotten

quite fond of him throughout the course of the series.

[Dee]

"We're off the hamster wheel man!"

 

Bow: "Give me the carton, little girl!"

Diane: "I'll kill it for the family!"

 

Diane is the absolute best.

 

I'm sorry to see Charlie go, given how much Deon Cole really came into his own this season. He will be missed.

 

Faizon Love is really, really gross but I'm glad that Sha was a genuine friend to Dre instead of just a straight up mooch.

 

Jack dreaming of starring in a LeBron James hip hopera was awesome.

 

I love Wanda Sykes but she was an unnecessary cameo.

 

The paying it forward motif was surprisingly powerful in this episode.

 

Great use of Otis Redding's 'I've Got Dreams To Remember' as a thematic thorough-line too.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Dee

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Don't leave me, Charlie! I really hope that he isn't gone for good. He always made Dre's work discussions hilarious. I don't know how those conversations are going to sound with just Stevens and Josh being ignorant with Dre and his female coworker (whose name I keep forgetting).

 

I loved the montage of some of the crazy and inappropriate things Charlie has done at work though. When you line them all up back to back like that, it's a lot of Charlie to take in.

 

I was glad that Dre's friend was really an artist, not just freeloading leech. And I loved that Bow shut down the kids trying to follow in his footsteps by telling them that they were missing his key ingredient: talent. It's one thing if you have a creative process. It's another when you are just sitting around the house doing nothing and hoping that your dreams come true.

[Rinaldo]

One throwaway that I loved: Charlie introducing himself to Daphne as "Backup black guy."

[readster]

Don't leave me, Charlie! I really hope that he isn't gone for good. He always made Dre's work discussions hilarious. I don't know how those conversations are going to sound with just Stevens and Josh being ignorant with Dre and his female coworker (whose name I keep forgetting).

 

I loved the montage of some of the crazy and inappropriate things Charlie has done at work though. When you line them all up back to back like that, it's a lot of Charlie to take in.

 

I was glad that Dre's friend was really an artist, not just freeloading leech. And I loved that Bow shut down the kids trying to follow in his footsteps by telling them that they were missing his key ingredient: talent. It's one thing if you have a creative process. It's another when you are just sitting around the house doing nothing and hoping that your dreams come true.

That's exactly it. Bow make good arguments before Dre's friend got his pay off. She was extremely right with the kids, they just figure: "It worked for him, so I'll just do the same thing and I'll be set." However, as she pointed out, they didn't have the talent and were basically just copying all of his bad habits and that's another thing. How many times does Junior have to do extremely stupid things before he realizes maybe he should stop doing that. This isn't My Wife and Kids where that junior got stupider and stupider each season to the point it was surprising he knew how to walk. I'm afraid this Junior is heading down that path too, luckily the writing is staying away from that edge and the actor playing him is pulling it off very well.

[attica]

Man, I was having a not-good day, and was hoping Black-ish would cheer me up. Which it did, and then CHARLIE LEFT. Not great, Bob!

 

"Hi, I'm a woman, so..." [hairflip] made me laugh.

[mstar1125]

Sorry to see Charlie go! According to IMDB, the actor is on that new show Angie Tribeca, so maybe he just couldn't do both. Hopefully, he will still guest star once in a while. 

[ari333]

Boo! Hiss! I enjoyed Charlie!

Boo! Hiss! I enjoyed Charlie! It figures. I loved the character, so he's toast.

 

 

[Komljeno]

No way, I didn't think in a million years I would be sad to see Charlie go. I kinda hated his ass,he was really anoying sometimes in begining but he got to me through the show.CHARILE DON'T GO.

[DearEvette]

Awww..   this episode made me sad.   I wonder if the 'Charlie in Charge' episode was a gift to the Charlie fans because they knew the actor was leaving?  I am glad that this episode actually answered the question we all had about Charlie's job performance.  Glad to know he was busy earnin' for real! 

 

I loved Bow's quick rundown of all the stuff she did as a "helpful" child growing up with hippies right above "the bum line."

 

"We were all  about helping people.  On the commune everybody had to weave the hammocks.  On the kibbutz everybody picked figs.  And in the cult, everybody slept with King Daddy Reginald.  Well not me, no.  I aged out."

 

I hate to say it but Wanda Sykes was a bit of a clunker for me in this ep.  I get why she was necessary... as the catalyst to remove Charlie, bit I thought she played it too broad.  I hope she's not a recurring

 

Of all the eps this season, this is probably my least favorite.  It didn't have all the clicks that the rest have had.

 

 

ETA after I posted this I watched the show again -- the extended cut.

On Hulu and the ABC website there is an extended cut of the episode, nine extra minutes that did not make it to the broadcast, and imo, those nine minutes made the show a lot more cohesive.  There is a series of flashbacks that show Sha coming to stay with Bow and Dre over the years.  Also there is an extended scene of them at the table right after we first meet Sha which has some funny beats esp. for Diane.  And boardroom scene at the beginning where we first meet Wanda Sykes' character is extended as well.  I think that scene explains quite a bit about her attitude toward Charlie and about her as well. 

 

With the extra nine minutes I can see why the original cut didn't feel that great to me, the additional scenes did make the show flow a lot better.

Edited December 3, 2015 by DearEvette

[TiffanyNichelle]

I watched this morning on the app so it's interesting to find out that the online version was different than the aired one.

 

I can't believe how much I'm going to miss Charlie. He was seriously annoying at first but he grew on me. Especially his beef with Diane. Are we really getting rid of him to add in Wanda Sykes? Can't we swap out Ruby instead? Or better yet why not just add another black person to the work scenes. Speaking of, where is Dre's assistant? I didn't like that Dre have to do research on Charlie to prove that he does work hard for the company. Wanda (what is her character's name again?) should have done that first instead of just looking at him and going "fire him." It did not warm me up to her.

 

Sha not just being a bum was good but Dre really needed to set some boundaries up with his friends. Just because he was good to you as a kid doesn't mean he came come in, take over your house and pee in your bushes. Come on! You can do right by someone without giving up everything to them.

[pivot]

Wanda isn't joining the show permanently is she? I like her but don't think she really fits on this show.

I am going to miss Charlie and his feud with Diane.

[ari333]

Awww I flove Wanda. However, she seemed kind of restrained here.. to me.

[Writing Wrongs]

I laughed at Charlie's line about being the unwitting victim of a homonym.

[Granny58]

NOOOOO.   I don't want Charlie to go.  I think he's so handsome!  And I love his delivery.  

Boo! Hiss! I enjoyed Charlie!

Boo! Hiss! I enjoyed Charlie! It figures. I loved the character, so he's toast.

A ha!!!!   I blame you.  (joke).

[peeayebee]

I thought for sure that Charlie was going to simply move into another office, Daphne having promoted him. But no. He added so much to the show. He was much more than Backup Black Guy.

 

Like others here, I was very glad how Sha's story turned out. He was pretty gross though. "OK, gotta drain." EEEyuck. I cracked up when he said the couch was so soft it was like sleeping on Precious.

 

Junior: He's been sleeping in my gaming spot… destroying my butt groove.

 

What was the last thing that Junior said, some body part of his being filthy?

 

I looked up Angie Tribeca. That might be a good show. It was created by Steve Carell and his wife, starring Rashida Jones. Sounds like it's in the realm of Police Squad with Leslie Nielsen.

[mansonlamps]

OK, I don't want to, but I gotta ask - what are the 5 areas?  I must be a complete imbecile because I can only think of 4.

[peeayebee]

I'm not sure. Maybe armpits, butt, crotch, feet... back of neck?

 

I loved Bow's speech to the kids about them not having the talent to do what Sha does, and the consequences if they try. It was excellent.

 

I usually like Wanda Sykes, but something didn't work with her. For instance, when she suddenly took grabbed the binder from Dre and repeated everything he said about Charlie as if she discovered it first... What was the point? I just don't have a good grasp on the character.

[kat165]

Another area: your teeth/mouth

[Rinaldo]

I figured that the whole point was to invent a concept ("five areas") that hadn't existed before, so that viewers could occupy their time wondering what they were, when in fact the writers had nothing specific in mind except to mess with viewers. Maybe I'm just ill-informed.

[A.Ham]

No, not Charlie! He was one of my favorites, along with the kids. I will miss his cheshire cat grin. Hope he will be able to be back every once in a while.

[After7Only]

Loved Diane's face lighting up when dre said Sha took a bullet for him....then when he said 'ok it was a bb.'..she immediately lost interest and turned back to what she was doing before.

Hadn't seen Faizon Love in awhile. He's put on some weight.

So sad to see Charlie go.

[Good Queen Jane]

Charlie did say he would drop in once in a while to see how Dre was doing, so let's hope that happens. I like Charlie, but he's better in small doses.

[ari333]

That Sha dude is not going to be a regular is he?

[fishcakes]

Charlie was the best part of the show for me. I'll still watch, but this is a huge loss.

[jhlipton]

Angie Tribeca sounds awesome -- good for Deon.  I'm 50-50 on Sykes, but I'll give her a chance.

[SmithW6079]

Maybe she's different in her stand-up shows, but I've never liked Wanda Sykes in sitcoms. Her voice is so grating; I can't stand to listen to her. I really hope she's not joining the show.

When the boss kept talking about his buddy but Wanda shows up, I thought they were going to go for a transgender story.

I'm sorry to see Charlie go. Even though I find Dre's insecurities tiresome, I always got a kick out of the way Charlie joined the craziness. And I'll miss his feud with the "girl twin." (I find it hilarious when adults have children nemeses -- like Charlie here or Topanga Matthews and Ava on "Girl Meets World.")

"Fresh Off the Boat" did the same story line of the husband's freeloading friend and the wife's dislike of him, so for most of the show, I was annoyed at the repetition but I did like how the friend was an actual artist and used new media in his artwork.

[shura]

I am glad that this episode actually answered the question we all had about Charlie's job performance.  Glad to know he was busy earnin' for real!

 

You know, until Dre came to Wanda Sykes with that folder, I was thinking that "backup black guy" explains perfectly what Charlie was doing there. If he was convinced that that was his function, he would be behaving exactly like what we've been seeing - not much work, just being there, not necessarily quite sure what the job requires. I mean, come on, even with the pita-PETA confusion, 30 lb of non-refrigerated lamb in the copy room is not what a valuable professional would probably go for. So it didn't feel true to me when it turned out Charlie's the best employee there.

 

I laughed at Charlie's line about being the unwitting victim of a homonym.

 

I missed that one. When did he say that and what was that about?

[SanDiegoInExile]

When the boss kept talking about his buddy but Wanda shows up, I thought they were going to go for a transgender story.

 

I haven't watched the extra 9 minutes online, so maybe this part of the story was expanded.  The whole "partner" storyline seemed way odd and bizarre.  The CEO has always been an odd, awkward character, but the frequent cutaway shots of him mooning over photos, his (really fake looking) beard inexplicably growing overnight, and wandering the office in a delusional, disheveled state seemed really strange. Were they implying that his relationship with the business partner was more than business?  If they were so close, why wouldn't he know about the divorce?  He clearly knew the Wanda Sykes character, but his interactions in the office with Dre from Day One of the series led me to think Dre was the first non-white person he has ever had in his life.

 

Are they setting up another office departure if the CEO leaves to "recover"?  

 

If they really had 9 extra minutes of cut content, that would explain why this episode seemed to meander.  Do they really have so many storylines to tell that they couldn't have made this a two-parter, or even two separate episodes?

 

ETA:  I did love the CEO comment about how he and his business partner had built the business from nothing, with that $5M seed money from the fathers. So funny.

Edited December 5, 2015 by SanDiegoInExile

[luckyroll3]

OK, I don't want to, but I gotta ask - what are the 5 areas?  I must be a complete imbecile because I can only think of 4.

 

I'm not sure. Maybe armpits, butt, crotch, feet... back of neck?

I was thinking maybe under the neck??  Unless armpits count as 2, not 1?

[designing1]

I will miss Charlie's special brand of crazy and his feud with "girl twin". I hope Wanda won't be a regular guest; I always find her line readings stilted, like she can't get past the typical standup delivery of "say something, wait for laugh, say something, wait for laugh."

 

I did love the CEO comment about how he and his business partner had built the business from nothing, with that $5M seed money from the fathers. So funny.

 

 

Paging Donald Trump....

[mtlchick]

I only caught up last night and all I can say is "NONONONO!!!" 

 

Going to miss the character but happy the actor is getting other roles.  I guess that's why his feud with Diane had some sort of truce to it.  

 

Get that money as you ride away on your scooter, Deon.  

[needschocolate]

I missed that one. When did he say that and what was that about?

 

Charlie was a victim of a homonym because he misunderstood PETA as pita.

[RedHawk]

I was thinking maybe under the neck??  Unless armpits count as 2, not 1?

I'm thinking armpits and feet count as 2 each. 

I still laugh when I remember Charlie saying to Dre in an earlier episode, "Is the girl twin still stayin' with y'all?" When Dre said "yes", Charlie said, "Um. Not a fan," with the best facial expression. Oh, Charlie, I'm gonna miss you! The montage was priceless.

 

I knew he was serious about leaving when I saw him pack up his gun.

Edited December 7, 2015 by RedHawk

[xander874]

 

He clearly knew the Wanda Sykes character, but his interactions in the office with Dre from Day One of the series led me to think Dre was the first non-white person he has ever had in his life.

I think that's a bit of retconning. Maybe he knew Wanda but hadn't really interacted with her much. I guess Boss' world just got turned upside down because he was used to the status quo. He seems like a guy who hates and fears change.

 

I like Wanda Sykes in small doses and hope she's here only for an arc or just pops up sporadically because I do felt she threw the balance of the show off. Dre's workplace is totally unrealistic and exaggerated but the balance there worked.