Season 2 Discussion

[designing1]

 

And it's Vandal Savage! Martian Manhunter! I mean, Phil Morris!

 

Jackie Chiles!

Edited April 14, 2016 by designing1

[GHScorpiosRule]

Jackie Chiles!

 

 

That's right! And Jackie Chiles! Seinfeld's version of Johnnie Cochran!

 

Jack and Diane should be 9 years old by now.  Jack is still the more superior dancer as far as I'm concerned.

 

Wanda Sykes didn't bug me this episode.

 

I still want Charlie to come back.

[PRgal]

I don't even get into the last name thing anymore.  It's d@mned if you do, d@mned if you don't.  And if you use both without a hyphen (as I do), half the time, people think it's hyphenated.  :S

[mtlchick]

This week's "Jenifer Lewis is my mother" moment - how she says the word 'lesbians.'  (My mom is Haitian so with her accent...yup.  the same.)

 

Diane's "Does this feel right to you?!"  will never fail to make me smile.

 

 

If anything pissed me off, it was the lack of Pops. He SHOULD have been there! I would have loved to have him walk in after Ruby said she took his last name not for him, but for her.

 

This.  After her raging about it which had me in stitches, I was waiting for Earl to pop up and interject.  Was sad that he didn't.

 

I still miss Charlie, but Wanda didn't bug and Lucy has been a good replacement.  The work scenes are a TINY bit more mature.  (I say tiny because some of the things that come out of the boss' mouth have me gasp then I'm on the floor laughing.)

[DearEvette]

Ugh.  I liked parts of this -- mostly Junior's last outfit. Those pants!  That day-glo purple cravat!

 

But Dre annoyed the merciful Jesus out of me!  He was at his whiniest high.  And I just wanted to smack him.  This is the Dre I hate the most and spent most of Season one being exasperated over.  I get that the absurdity of the argument was the point since they have the same last name.  But Dre annoyed so much that whimsy got lost.

 

This wasn't as LOL for me as some others.  The office scenes still crack me up.  Poor Lucy.  I need her to have a win in these conversations one day.  I just want her to really zing Stevens just once.   Also,

I read that Charlie will come back for an episode or two. so yay

 

I may have to re-watch this one to see if I enjoy it more on re-watch. 

 

Also, i love that Mary J. Blige song like fire, but can't help giggling at the absurdity of the lyrics "Don't need no hateration, holleration in this dancery..."    It is right up there with "Oye Come Va...something...something..." LOL.

Edited April 14, 2016 by DearEvette

[GHScorpiosRule]

Oh and I loved Dre's argument that he's also a feminist--He's voting for Hillary! Pause. Maybe.

[Deanie87]

Dre's ping-pong grip and injury made me laugh a lot harder than in probably should have.  The flashbacks are great too - Dre's De La Soul hair and name and the Meshell Ndegeocello (yep, had to look that spelling up!) shout out...ah the memories, the late 80s and early 90s were a magical time LOL!

 

My one complaint about this season is that Jack and Diane (especially Diane) are veering waaayyy too close to annoying precocious sitcom kids for me lately.  Thank god for Junior and his solitary game playing!

[Boofish]

I thought this episode was hilarious. I especially laughed at the office scenes. I should note I'm an unapologetic Wanda Sykes fan. Love her

 

I don't think Jack and Diane are too old to be in the wedding. I actually prefer older children who are not afraid to walk down the aisle and stand quietly during the ceremony. Little kids and babies are cute. But someone dragging them down the aisle, or them spotting mommy in the crowd and running straight to her and generally refusing to perform the task is as annoying to me as wedding party dance choreography. It is not new or original and if I have to sit waiting on my plate of cold chicken one more day while the bride and groom cabbage patch and do the running man for ten minutes I will probably get arrested for assault (with a deadly weapon)

 

When and if my boyfriend and I get married I am NOT changing my name

 

1. We are too old for kids (48 and 60) and he has a son to carry on his family name.

B. My name is bad enough with adding his last name to make it worse (First name is Elfaye (pronounced L Faye) his last name is Turtzo. Jesus take my handbag collection if he thinks I'm getting stuck with the moniker for the rest of my days

D. I just moved and changing my address was the worst part of the entire process. Can't imagine the hassle of changing my name

[Duke2801]

Yea, I wasn't feeling this episode.  Raven Symone is not funny, nor a good actress at all. So anything that had to do with her fell flat.  And her wife-to-be, while quite beautiful, is equally dull. A Jackie Chiles sighting, on the other hand, was VERY welcome!

 

And, as it's been said. Where the F*** is Pops??

 

On the other hand, Junior rarely fails to make me laugh - and his wedding outfits and his solitary movie trivia playing were awesome! Always love Jack's dancing too--he's so good! 

[Silly Angel]

 

And if you use both without a hyphen (as I do), half the time, people think it's hyphenated.  :S

And if you do hyphenate, to make it really obvious you have a compound last name (Jane Taylor-Murphy, say), people think it's first-middle-last and your credit card reads Jane T. Murphy (or whatever), thereby reducing your maiden name to an initial. Or they run it all together and your actual checking account is under Jane Taylormurphy. Divorce was a relief in more ways than one.

 

ETA: Love the way they handled the question of feminism and privilege. The Carmichaels would have done a whole 22 minutes on race and participation in civic protest (briefly but not incorrectly, who's "got the time")--and still should; that would be awesome--but it was a side-note here amid the name-dramz, with Raven laying it out super clean and concise, and Ruby's counter argument, while, uh, Rubyesque, was pithy and valid. Such a well-written show.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Silly Angel

[tennisgurl]

I miss Pops as much as I miss Charlie. I like Ruby, but she is way funnier when she is dealing with Pops. 

 

Junior playing the movie game with himself was pretty sad. I thought Junior had some geek friends he used to hang out with, but I guess they are doubling down on the "Junior is a loser" jokes.

 

Dre and Bow can both be pretty ridiculous, but Dre is such a drama queen, Bow always comes off better. That being said, Bow said a lot of good things about how feminism, while still being the judgmental kind of feminist who makes other feminists look bad. I do wish they would chill out with Dre and Bow being so...sitcommy.

 

That all being said, I did like this episode, and I think some valid points were made. I have thought a lot about if I want to take my future husbands name, but I know that at our wedding, I will NOT let us be referred to as "Mr. and Mrs. My Future Husbands Name". I am here too damn it!  

[charmed1]

I couldn't stop my eyeballs from rolling over several times when a lecture on black feminism was delivered by none other than Raven-Symone. I couldn't see that she was playing a character at that moment. Just saw annoying ass Raven-Symone.

Gotta say I really love Zoe and Ruby together. As the oldest, she's probably Gramma's baby and Jennifer and Yara are really channeling that. She looks out for Gramma even though Gramma crazy.

[Traveller519]

I find the idea of changing the name so interesting.

 

On one hand I totally understand the argument of how submissive it is to change your name to someone else's. On the other if you're married and will be starting a family together I get the appeal of changing everyone in that family unit having the same name.

 

And hyphenating either your name, or your children's has to lead to some issue down the road, right? What's the name of your child when Thomas Smith-Walker marries Stephanie Chang-Stewart?

[stillhere1900]

Yea, I wasn't feeling this episode.  Raven Symone is not funny, nor a good actress at all. So anything that had to do with her fell flat.  And her wife-to-be, while quite beautiful, is equally dull. A Jackie Chiles sighting, on the other hand, was VERY welcome!

 

 

 

 

 

I agree and wtf is wrong with her head ? 

[peeayebee]

I loved this ep. The absurdity of Dre's argument was cracking me up. I wasn't annoyed by him. 

 

Ruby was great as usual. First "The lesbians are coming!" Then "The homosexuals are here!" I think my favorite line of hers was "I know lesbians like saltines, but how do they feel about a Trisket?"

 

Junior's many bizarre outfits were hilarious. Taking some fashion risks to stand out. Heh. 

 

Love Jack and Diane.

 

Rhonda: Look how much you guys have grown!

Jack, angrily: No we haven't!

 

Diane: How are we going to make this wedding about US?

Jack: Can it involve my food allergies? Because I've been itching to try this new epipen.

 

Diane: I refuse to be a nobody like some random cousin or Junior.

 

The work scene was good, too. Is the woman's name Lucy?

 

Lucy: When I'm getting married I'm keeping my last name.

Boss: No one is ever going to marry you.

 

Josh Oppenhol. Hee.

 

Dre's reaction to his injured hand also cracked me up. "This must be what childbirth feels like."

 

Bow: This is a bruise at best and a boo-boo at worst.

 

Mrs Duckworth: You've giving up Duckworth?

Mr Duckworth: You can't do that. How we gonna play Duck Duck Worth if you're not a Duckworth?

[DearEvette]

And hyphenating either your name, or your children's has to lead to some issue down the road, right? What's the name of your child when Thomas Smith-Walker marries Stephanie Chang-Stewart?

 

I did take my husband's name mainly because it moved me up in the Alphabet.  Alphabetical order is no joke.  Got tired of always being near the end.

 

I also have friends who hyphenated together both husband and wife took each other's name.    His last name is Van Der Zee and hers is Chaudhary so they're the Van Der Zee-Chaudhary family.  We joke that their kids should not go into sports, their names wouldn't fit on the Jersey. 

Edited April 14, 2016 by DearEvette

[Dee]

Between Ruby's "Lez-Binns", "The homosexuals are here!," "Aint Nobody Got Time For That!," a distaste for feminist (hairy legged man-haters!) and her epic rundown of famous lesbians to Sharon (Billie Jean King!); Jenifer Lewis was on absolute fire this episode.

 

I was glad that Ruby really made a earnest effort to embrace Sharon. She may have the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but she truly does love her kids.

 

Loved seeing Curtis back! I hollered at Stevens referring to him as "The Bastard Miller." I still miss Charlie but the office scenes remain pretty great.

 

I cracked up at Jack wanting to trigger his food allergy because he wanted to try out his new epipen.

 

I side-eyed Rainbow only naming white feminists as women who paved the way for her and found her insistence at shaming other women for choices she personally didn't agree with pretty gross. Dre aint the only one with issues in that relationship.

 

That said, this season is proving that Tracee Ellis Ross is more than deserving to be in contention for Best Actress in a Comedy Series at this year's Emmy Awards.

 

I liked Rhonda, who's infinitely more grounded than her mother and brother, proving to be as quirky as the rest of the Johnsons when push comes to shove.

 

I screamed at Junior & Zoey slamming Diane's '2012 Saddle Shoes,' and Jack referring to his older siblings as 'leathery old hags.' The Johnson kids are super great.

 

I loved seeing Valerie Pettiford & Phil Morris (this show has the best casting director). They look amazing to both be almost 60. Black really doesn't crack.

 

Fantastic writing aside, Pops absence was really felt this episode.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Dee

[thefreeair]

Dre was annoying. The name thing, for me, is kind of like conversations around abortion. Men don't really belong there, or if they do, it's peripheral. These are issues that mainly impact women, and therefore the most important voices in those conversations belong to women. 

 

If convention was that men changed their names too, and did so at an equal rate with equal expectations, that would be one thing. As it is, this is something that for the most part only women face and have to make a choice about so it has to be her choice and nobody else's. A partner who cares at all about equality doesn't get to force it on her or demand it of her, so I found Dre's arguments here sexist.

 

If a woman makes a decision for herself and her own reasons that she wants to change her name, great. But a decision made out of capitulation to social pressure, family pressure, or a petulant spouse is not what choice feminism is about at all. 

Edited April 15, 2016 by thefreeair

[ari333]

Jackie Chiles!

"That's totally inappropriate. It's lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous! " [/Chiles]

[Boofish]

I did take my husband's name mainly because it moved me up in the Alphabet.  Alphabetical order is no joke.  Got tired of always being near the end.

 

AMEN TO THAT! My last name starts with an E and if he thinks I'm moving to the T's he had better think again *in my Ruby voice* Aint nobody got time for that

 

Everyone knows I do not attend non-family graduations if your child's last name starts with an F or above. No exceptions.  Thank goodness my daughter's husbands last name starts with a B!

[SmithW6079]

Ruby was great as usual. First "The lesbians are coming!" Then "The homosexuals are here!" I think my favorite line of hers was "I know lesbians like saltines, but how do they feel about a Trisket?"

 

 

Between Ruby's "Lez-Binns", "The homosexuals are here!," "Aint Nobody Got Time For That!," a distaste for feminist (hairy legged man-haters!) and her epic rundown of famous lesbians to Sharon (Billie Jean King!); Jenifer Lewis was on absolute fire this episode.

I'm also glad that as conservative as Ruby is, that she really made a earnest effort to embrace Sharon. She may have the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but she truly does love her kids.

Loved seeing Curtis back! I hollered at Stevens referring to him as "The Bastard Miller." I still miss Charlie but the office scenes remain pretty great.

 

Ruby annoys me a lot of the time, but she was great this episode. I loved that she used "homosexuals" -- "because that's what they are!" (I believe she said). Despite the GLAAD-stapo's attempt to control free speech, it's the word I use when describing myself. Besides, Ruby was not using it pejoratively.

 

I also loved the daughters calling out Bow for the hypocrisy of modern feminism -- girls are empowered to do anything they want and make their own decisions, so long as they follow what social justice warriors and feminists decree they should believe. Bow's attempt to rebut was weak sauce, because she couldn't.

 

However, I was disappointed that yet another plot hinged on the usual Dre's masculinity/blackness/success is threatened, and he overreacts.

 

I laughed out loud at the boss's "the bastard Miller" to refer to Dre's assistant. Other than Josh (and Charlie), I really can't be bothered to learn the other office workers' names.

[Driad]

They could have mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt. She did not change her name when she married.

Something reminded me of the episode of "Vicious" in which the two men are planning to get married. One of them has made the arrangements. The other says, "A woman minister? That is not very traditional."

Edited April 14, 2016 by Driad

[meep.meep]

For the same reason as Bow.....

 

I did take my husband's name mainly because it moved me up in the Alphabet.  Alphabetical order is no joke.  Got tired of always being near the end.

 

Me too!  My kids got to sit at the front of the class.

[Arcadiasw]

Wasn't Lawrence Fishburne absent last time Raven Symone was on the show? Unless I missed a show I can't recall Pops reaction to Rhonda and Sharon.

I agree with everyone in regards of Jenifer Lewis. She’s overdue for a reward.

[Tiger]

In my not so humble opinion, TER and JL should easily win best lead and supporting comedic actress at this year's Emmy's. Episode after episode they both nail every line, every reaction shot, everything. And I don't think either character would really work without the respective actress in the role because Ruby and Bow can be pretty awful.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Tiger

[sinkwriter]

 

I loved the the whole Tilapia as trash fish.  That scene was great.

 

I may never be able to forget that, as I walk through my grocery store aisles. Trash fish. Heee. They were both so funny with that scene.

[janie jones]

I couldn't get past how no one seemed to care that Dre married a woman whose last name he didn't know.

[ThomasAAnderson]

Umm so that discussion of feminism was cringeworthy.

 

Jack and Diane are the best part of the show for me sometimes.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dre was annoying. The name thing, for me, is kind of like conversations around abortion. Men don't really belong there, or if they do, it's peripheral. These are issues that mainly impact women, and therefore the most important voices in those conversations belong to women. 

 

If convention was that men changed their names too, and did so at an equal rate with equal expectations, that would be one thing. As it is, this is something that for the most part only women face and have to make a choice about so it has to be her choice and nobody else's. A partner who cares at all about equality doesn't get to force it on her or demand it of her, so I found Dre's arguments here sexist.

 

If a woman makes a decision for herself and her own reasons that she wants to change her name, great. But a decision made out of capitulation to social pressure, family pressure, or a petulant spouse is not what choice feminism is about at all. 

Word! I was glad that at some point, Bow mentioned that feminism was about choice. I didn't change my last name when I got married, but I don't judge other people for doing it. The whole point is that you shouldn't HAVE to do it (but that you CAN if you want to). I know so many people who have kept or changed their last names for a wide range of reasons (heh, and as some previous posters pointed out, moving up in the alphabet is a perfectly good reason to change your last name!). Many of the women I know who kept their last names were older when they got married so they already had academic articles published under their maiden names, their degrees were in their maiden names, and they were known professionally by their maiden names. And another by product of not getting married straight out of high school is that as women (not girls), we have passports, bank accounts, cars/houses, credit cards, etc. in our names and it is a huge pain in the ass to do all the paperwork to change everything.

 

I also know women who changed their last names because they didn't like their maiden names or they liked their husband's last name better. One woman I know said that after she got married and she changed her name, it was like the opposite of the Donna Chang situation on Seinfeld. She was Asian and she married a guy with a very common American last name so people didn't expect her to be Asian. She said right after she got married, she got called for a job interview and one person blurted out, "I didn't realize you were Asian when I reviewed your resume." Her reaction was along the lines of O_o

 

Anyway, my point is that there are lots of different reasons why people do or don't change their last names and none of them bother me. But what annoys me is when someone like Dre thinks that a woman not changing her last name is an insult to her husband. If that's your logic, then why isn't it an insult to a wife when her husband doesn't change his last name to hers? Oh, that's ridiculous? I KNOW.

 

All this name change talk reminded me of when Phoebe got married on Friends and decided to change her name:

[Vickismom]

Word! I was glad that at some point, Bow mentioned that feminism was about choice. I didn't change my last name when I got married, but I don't judge other people for doing it. The whole point is that you shouldn't HAVE to do it (but that you CAN if you want to). I know so many people who have kept or changed their last names for a wide range of reasons (heh, and as some previous posters pointed out, moving up in the alphabet is a perfectly good reason to change your last name!). Many of the women I know who kept their last names were older when they got married so they already had academic articles published under their maiden names, their degrees were in their maiden names, and they were known professionally by their maiden names. And another by product of not getting married straight out of high school is that as women (not girls), we have passports, bank accounts, cars/houses, credit cards, etc. in our names and it is a huge pain in the ass to do all the paperwork to change everything.

 

I also know women who changed their last names because they didn't like their maiden names or they liked their husband's last name better. One woman I know said that after she got married and she changed her name, it was like the opposite of the Donna Chang situation on Seinfeld. She was Asian and she married a guy with a very common American last name so people didn't expect her to be Asian. She said right after she got married, she got called for a job interview and one person blurted out, "I didn't realize you were Asian when I reviewed your resume." Her reaction was along the lines of O_o

 

Anyway, my point is that there are lots of different reasons why people do or don't change their last names and none of them bother me. But what annoys me is when someone like Dre thinks that a woman not changing her last name is an insult to her husband. If that's your logic, then why isn't it an insult to a wife when her husband doesn't change his last name to hers? Oh, that's ridiculous? I KNOW.

 

All this name change talk reminded me of when Phoebe got married on Friends and decided to change her name:

Yes!!!  I did eventually change my last name after I got married, and my husband didn't care either way.  He said he wouldn't want to change his name, so he didn't care if I changed mine.  It actually took him awhile before he referred to me with his last name.  My husband sort of has the opposite problem as your friend.  His last name is Tom and he's as white as can be.  Tom can be a Chinese last name also, so when people see my name I don't think they are surprised that I'm Chinese even though my husband is white and I have his last name.  When he applied for a job, it was at a law firm that has a lot of Chinese clients, so the ad said something about "bilingual, Mandarin Chinese preferred."  Well...he applied anyways and did get the job even though he doesn't speak it at all.  After he was hired and started working, I think someone did admit that they thought he was Chinese when they reviewed his resume, but I don't anyone blurted it out when he first got there.  

 

But I was so annoyed while watching the show, if Dre wanted Rainbow to have his last name, she already does!  What's the big deal?!  Was it a surprise to him that he and Rainbow already had the same last name before he got married?  That part did not make sense to me at all.  

[ari333]

Some women  take the whole name of the man as in.. the husband is James Smith and the wife is Jane Doe. The wife becomes Mrs. James Smith.  Anyhoo.... didn't love this one.

I agree that Dre should  have known Bow's last name before they got married Sheesh.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I couldn't get past how no one seemed to care that Dre married a woman whose last name he didn't know.

 

 

 

I agree that Dre should  have known Bow's last name before they got married Sheesh.

 

 

I'm pretty sure he did know. I believe his words were something like "I knew your last name was Johnson. I just didn't know it was Johnson!"

 

As if emphasis on one or the other made them different.

 

Like I said. Ridiculous, but Anderson is just so funny, I rolled with it. What I didn't care for and still don't, is the lack of Pops. Outrageous and Unacceptable.

[Tiger]

I'm pretty sure he did know. I believe his words were something like "I knew your last name was Johnson. I just didn't know it was Johnson!"

As if emphasis on one or the other made them different.

Like I said. Ridiculous, but Anderson is just so funny, I rolled with it. What I didn't care for and still don't, is the lack of Pops. Outrageous and Unacceptable.

What made it even more of a waste of time was that Bow even asked Dre what was she supposed to do, go to the Ministry of Names and change ber last name from "Johnson" to "Johnson". They actually could have saved it by showing Bow trying to do that.

Anyway, honestly if LF's inability to be on-screen much this season is the reason we're getting so much Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, then as much I like Laurence and his character, buh-bye!

I wish they'd do an episode with Dre & Bow taking Zoe on a college tour off-screen with the entire episode being Ruby & D'Alicia taking care of Junior, Jack, and Diane.

[peeayebee]

I'm pretty sure he did know. I believe his words were something like "I knew your last name was Johnson. I just didn't know it was Johnson!"

 

As if emphasis on one or the other made them different.

 

Like I said. Ridiculous, but Anderson is just so funny, I rolled with it. What I didn't care for and still don't, is the lack of Pops. Outrageous and Unacceptable.

The bizarro silliness of it is what made it funny to me. 

 

BTW, I hated Dre's jeans shirt. It looked like there was a big stain on it. I guess it was supposed to be a fashionable bit of distress, but it looked stupid to me.

[GHScorpiosRule]

The bizarro silliness of it is what made it funny to me. 

 

 

EXACTLY!!!

[Granny58]

The bizarro silliness of it is what made it funny to me. 

 

BTW, I hated Dre's jeans shirt. It looked like there was a big stain on it. I guess it was supposed to be a fashionable bit of distress, but it looked stupid to me.

thank you.   that splotch was so distracting.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

Anyway, honestly if LF's inability to be on-screen much this season is the reason we're getting so much Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, then as much I like Laurence and his character, buh-bye!

 

 

I disagree. First off, because Fishburne isn't part of the main cast. He's a recurring cast member, and one of the executive producers. And as much as I love Jennifer Lewis, I find Pops' character, sharper and funnier.  I know he had other things going on, so I'm hoping that we'll see more of him now that the season is drawing to a close.

[janie jones]

I'm pretty sure he did know. I believe his words were something like "I knew your last name was Johnson. I just didn't know it was Johnson!"

 

As if emphasis on one or the other made them different.

Ah! Perhaps.  I took that line, though, to mean "I knew your name was (currently) Johnson.  I didn't know it was (currently) Johnson."

[attica]

I guess it depends what the meaning of 'was' was.

 

I'll show myself out...

[SmithW6079]

Ah! Perhaps. I took that line, though, to mean "I knew your name was (currently) Johnson. I didn't know it was (currently) Johnson."

I thought he meant: "I knew your (married) name was Johnson. I didn't know it was (maiden name) Johnson" because he assumed she had changed her last name. It would be typical Dre to be oblivious of the paperwork involved.

[PRgal]

Yes!!!  I did eventually change my last name after I got married, and my husband didn't care either way.  He said he wouldn't want to change his name, so he didn't care if I changed mine.  It actually took him awhile before he referred to me with his last name.  My husband sort of has the opposite problem as your friend.  His last name is Tom and he's as white as can be.  Tom can be a Chinese last name also, so when people see my name I don't think they are surprised that I'm Chinese even though my husband is white and I have his last name.  When he applied for a job, it was at a law firm that has a lot of Chinese clients, so the ad said something about "bilingual, Mandarin Chinese preferred."  Well...he applied anyways and did get the job even though he doesn't speak it at all.  After he was hired and started working, I think someone did admit that they thought he was Chinese when they reviewed his resume, but I don't anyone blurted it out when he first got there.  

 

But I was so annoyed while watching the show, if Dre wanted Rainbow to have his last name, she already does!  What's the big deal?!  Was it a surprise to him that he and Rainbow already had the same last name before he got married?  That part did not make sense to me at all.  

 

I'm also Chinese, but some (ignorant) people, after speaking with me on the phone, meet me and say "you don't look like a Mrs. GERMANJEWISHLASTNAME!"  What, never met/heard of an Asian woman married to a white, Jewish guy?  Or do they not expect me to change my name? 

 

As for Bow not changing her name, some women who are established professionally (especially in the medical field) don't bother since it's more paperwork.  Others use their maiden name at work and married name socially (many of my friends do that).

[Mabinogia]

Now I'm wondering, could Bow legally change her name? I mean, her name was Rainbow Johnson. She wanted to change it to Rainbow Johnson. So she isn't, actually changing her name. So, can that legally happen? I would think any clerk she went to to have this down would just laugh their asses off. She literally can't change her last name to his because it's the same freaking name!

 

I get that it was the sentiment behind it. Her not wanting to take his name is an affront to his very fragile manhood, but really, dude, she can't. It is not actually possible to change something to exactly what it already is. I get that that was the joke, and I did find the whole thing funny in how ridiculous it is, but seriously, it would be throwing away money for nothing.

[designing1]

My sister stopped changing her name once she got to husband #3. I guess all that romantic paperwork lost its luster.

[needschocolate]

Well, I obviously missed something because no one else has mentioned it, so somebody please set me straight ---- not long after Dre's sister and her girlfriend decided that they don't care about the name as long as they can call each other "Wife," Dre's sister says something about being tired of family and not having a wedding.  

 

I did like how the father of the sister's girlfriend said something about Johnson and Willie and Peter (I think he left Dick ot of the conversation).

 

I know a guy whose whose last name is hismothersname-hisfathersname.  When he was getting married he thought his new wife should change her name to hismothersname-hisfathersname.  She told him that there was no way she was giving up her last name to take on both of his parents' last names and pointed out that if it was fine for his mother to keep her last name, then it was certainly okay for her to do it.  The ended up being Mr. hismothersname-hisfathersname, Mrs. herfathersname-hisfathersname. Their kids all go by hisfathername only, because it was easiest to spell and it goes with everything.  

 

Now I'm wondering, could Bow legally change her name? I mean, her name was Rainbow Johnson. She wanted to change it to Rainbow Johnson. So she isn't, actually changing her name. So, can that legally happen? I would think any clerk she went to to have this down would just laugh their asses off. She literally can't change her last name to his because it's the same freaking name!

 

Well, she could do like women used to do a few decades ago - change their middle names to the maiden names - so Jane Marie Jones, married Albert Smith, and she becomes Jane Jones Smith, with the Jones being a middle name, not part of the last name. This way, Bow could be Rainbow Johnson Johnson.  

[teebax]

I'm also Chinese, but some (ignorant) people, after speaking with me on the phone, meet me and say "you don't look like a Mrs. GERMANJEWISHLASTNAME!"  What, never met/heard of an Asian woman married to a white, Jewish guy?  Or do they not expect me to change my name? 

 

As for Bow not changing her name, some women who are established professionally (especially in the medical field) don't bother since it's more paperwork.  Others use their maiden name at work and married name socially (many of my friends do that).

My name is Irish. It's about as Irish a first and last name can be. You should see the doubletakes I get when people meet me in person after only speaking to me on the phone. I am a fairly butch, black woman. It's never what they're expecting when they talk to me on the phone. I think they're expecting a lass with long red hair and green eyes.

This episode was meh for me. I think Junior saved it, and Ruby was funny too. The entire argument between Dre and Bow was ridiculous. I don't know how or why she stays married to him sometimes.

[Queena]

I commented on the Trump jokes -- Ruby sounding like Trump and then Bow actually referring to it.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Queena

[peeayebee]

I did like how the father of the sister's girlfriend said something about Johnson and Willie and Peter (I think he left Dick ot of the conversation).

I forgot about that. "You can never name a kid Peter. Or Willie." Then his wife adds, "Or Harry. Or Hugh."

 

Well, I obviously missed something because no one else has mentioned it, so somebody please set me straight ---- not long after Dre's sister and her girlfriend decided that they don't care about the name as long as they can call each other "Wife," Dre's sister says something about being tired of family and not having a wedding.

After Sharon's father says he can't wait for the wedding, Rhonda says they are "familied" out. Sharon says, "Elope?" and Rhonda agrees. Maybe the writers did this because they didn't want to devote an ep to a wedding. Fine with me.

[amaranta]

A friend of mine kept her name, and she and her husband have two children (sons). One has the father's last name; the other, hers. A while back I mentioned this to a coworker who very much liked the idea.  Her first pregnancy turned out to be twins.  The boy has her last name; the girl has his. 

 

When I married I took my maiden name as my middle.  Mostly because 1) end of alphabet with a W and I got to move up to an M, 2) high teasing and play on words factor, and 3) hard to spell.  Though not as bad as Oppenhol. 

 

I enjoyed the silliness of this one but I think I would have enjoyed all of the back and forth even more if Bow had had a different last name.  There were times it went beyond silly with Dre.  Instead he just ending up looking stupid and most definitely childish.

 

Ruby voice* Aint nobody got time for that

 

My favorite part.  That and the Trisket.  This was really kind of Ruby's episode; she was just the right amount of crazy. 

 

She looks out for Gramma even though Gramma crazy.

 

Hee.

Edited April 16, 2016 by amaranta

[Arcadiasw]

 Many of the women I know who kept their last names were older when they got married so they already had academic articles published under their maiden names, their degrees were in their maiden names, and they were known professionally by their maiden names. And another by product of not getting married straight out of high school is that as women (not girls), we have passports, bank accounts, cars/houses, credit cards, etc. in our names and it is a huge pain in the ass to do all the paperwork to change everything.

 

 

Your comments and the episode overall got me thinking of a coworker and a friend. Coworker married and didn't change her last name despite her husband wanting her to take his last name. Her argument was, "Even though we're married and this house is ours, I bought it before I met you. You moved in with me. Besides the house, I have plenty  of credit cards and a car in my name. The bills of the house is in my name and while we both work, I'm the breadwinner. Why should your name be attached to something you had no financial part of? If anything, you need to take my name." After that, her husband never brought it up anymore until she became pregnant. The child has his last name and she said, "That's his victory but everything else is still in my name."

 

My friend married for the second time. She changed her name with the first and now the second husband. Second husband moved in with my friend and while they split the bills and he put a couple in his name, she's the breadwinner. Initially my friend wasn't going to change her name since she went back to her maiden name after her divorce but she changed it because she wanted to (despite the hassle it was to get everything changed) and she appreciated that her second husband let it be her choice and never argued with her to change her name.

 

While the show was clearly going for the laugh factor, I wish it did even it out and bring to light the reasons a woman will and won't change her name because a lot of people really don't get why it's a big deal.

[shura]

Now I'm wondering, could Bow legally change her name? I mean, her name was Rainbow Johnson. She wanted to change it to Rainbow Johnson. So she isn't, actually changing her name. So, can that legally happen? I would think any clerk she went to to have this down would just laugh their asses off. She literally can't change her last name to his because it's the same freaking name!

 

I get that it was the sentiment behind it. Her not wanting to take his name is an affront to his very fragile manhood, but really, dude, she can't. It is not actually possible to change something to exactly what it already is. I get that that was the joke, and I did find the whole thing funny in how ridiculous it is, but seriously, it would be throwing away money for nothing.

 

I'm sure the State of California will happily collect the fee and issue the name change certificate though. Why wouldn't they? I am guessing the form has a line for the old name and a line for the new name. If there is a law that says you must have different names on those lines, then that's just silly on the government's part. Revenue is revenue.