Season 3 Discussion

[tominboston]

As one of the millions who feel great uneasiness at the prospect of the Trump presidency, I was curious how this show would handle the issue, and even though it was in fact a little preachy at times I thought they did a fine job. It was intense, it grabbed me, and I think it captured how a lot of people (including some white guys of Pops generation, like me) feel these days. Laurence Fishburne was brilliant as always. Dre's speech at the end was a powerful plea for understanding and communication and I think the country would be a better place if more people thought that way. Maybe there weren't as many laughs as usual, but that's OK. This was an episode that I'll watch again.

[msani19]

I almost didn’t want to watch this episode because well I’m still feeling my feelings & don't need any more reminders of what's coming, but I’m happy that I did watch. Even though it was a little preachy, it was also well balanced and well done and still humorous and we all need to laugh. I genuinely enjoyed Dre's speech. I hit me really hard and while heavy, it was the truth. All the scenes with Pops and Junior were great. I felt the same way Junior did when I really read and understood the MLK speech in middle school. Some of his lines were great.  Oh, and Charlie, as always was gold! "I’m going to the library to do some research". He would NOT recommend Young Guns 2. Haha…

Hillary is the Ben Carson of White women…ouch, that's harsh!

[mtlchick]

Quote

  I don't have a problem with the content of the episode, but I am not watching network sitcoms for morality plays.  Not a Trump voter or fan, but it's so hard to find a respite from politics that I was bummed to see this show take a hard right into pedantic drama.

 

The show got an "AWESOME" shout out from the man when it started and is remaking the rounds after Tracee won the Golden Globe (highly deserved win BTW) 

 

 

Frankly, the show even trying to say "You know what? It happened, we're going to deal with it in the best way we can by working together" says plenty.  The coincidence of the tweet reappearing and the airing of the episode is fate. 

[Empress1]

I loved this episode and I loved Dre's speech. I've felt the same thing. Re: giving Trump a chance, this is how I feel about that.

I did find the white woman's comment about everything staying the same interesting. Before the election, I (black straight woman) was having lunch with one of my best friends (black gay man, married), and we were saying that under Hillary, things for people of color stay more or less the same (which, to be clear, is not good - and he and I are both privileged) and under Trump they get markedly, life-threateningly worse. We know what "we need law and order" means to communities of color. And that's dog-whistling - that doesn't even take into account the horrible things he said flat-out that he would do to people of color. So "keep everything the same" means very different things to different people.

Like Dre, I knew what was coming when the white woman was like "I'm a racist?" "Don't say it." And when she dropped "I have black friends! They're real! THEY ARE REAL" I cracked up. Wanda Sykes kicking at her also cracked me up. There were some great moments of levity in a serious episode.

[charmed1]

41 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I loved this episode and I loved Dre's speech. I've felt the same thing. Re: giving Trump a chance, this is how I feel about that.

I did find the white woman's comment about everything staying the same interesting. Before the election, I (black straight woman) was having lunch with one of my best friends (black gay man, married), and we were saying that under Hillary, things for people of color stay more or less the same (which, to be clear, is not good - and he and I are both privileged) and under Trump they get markedly, life-threateningly worse. We know what "we need law and order" means to communities of color. And that's dog-whistling - that doesn't even take into account the horrible things he said flat-out that he would do to people of color. So "keep everything the same" means very different things to different people.

Like Dre, I knew what was coming when the white woman was like "I'm a racist?" "Don't say it." And when she dropped "I have black friends! They're real! THEY ARE REAL" I cracked up. Wanda Sykes kicking at her also cracked me up. There were some great moments of levity in a serious episode.

I thought she was going to drop the remix version, "I've dated black guys," which comes in other variations like, "my nieces are half black" or "I don't care if you're blue, purple, polka dotted..."

I wasn't fond of the "My children can see Beyonce and JayZ as a Queen and King..." line. Mmm...nah.

I did appreciate the history lesson Pops gave Junior. And Junior's hilarious MC Gusto outfit in response. Interesting that the very part of the speech Pops said we've been inundated with, is the exact same portion they showed at the end of the episode. But that probably has more to do with the King children and their shenanigans than anything else. 

Interesting plot line for Zoey as Yara is the exact opposite of her character when it comes to activism. 

On a superficial note, everybody looked really good. The fake pregnancy must be doing something, because Tracee's skin was glowing. She looked much better bare faced than with the red lipstick. Larry Fishburne even looked younger, which makes the nine year age gap between he and Anderson even more obvious.

Edited January 12, 2017 by charmed1

[monakane]

Pops and Junior were golden.  I love how Pops accepts his grandson for who he is.  It was nice to see Anthony Anderson show off his dramatic acting chops.  Fans of The Shield know what I'm talking about.

[Arcadiasw]

Charlie: You just can't give us that capital B.

Charlie always shines in his scenes. LOL. Anthony Anderson was clearly speaking to the Emmy and Golden Globes, "I'll see you next year on stage."

The reaction to Lucy voting for Trump was hilarious. The conversations in Dre's workplace was very familiar to mine own and probably everyone's workplace in the country.

[BoogieBurns]

I loved it. They spoke how I speak, they even said some of the same words we said in November. My dad said "now almost half of the country knows how it feels to be black," on Thanksgiving. I am always Rainbow on this show, and I, just last weekend went shopping in my Hillary gear and gave donations to Planned Parenthood as Christmas gifts. I don't know how they do it, but they said what we are saying and they showed it through our eyes. Again. 

Edited January 12, 2017 by BoogieBurns

[TiffanyNichelle]

I thought it was a good episode. For once Dre wasn't a giant man baby and was the one who was focused at work. So shocked that Josh and the boss were actually anti-Trump and that Josh got to make good points. Thought it was weird that Charlie and Dre's assistant were both suddenly gone during Dre's speech.

The Bow and Zoey "battle" over the lemonade was pretty much how everything goes with them. Zoey isn't demonstrative enough about what things really mean to her so Bow thinks Zoey is shallow and doesn't care about anything until at the last minute Zoey breaks it down for her. She does care but in a different way than Bow does. I would like the show to change that dynamic.

[DarkRaichu]

8 minutes ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

The Bow and Zoey "battle" over the lemonade was pretty much how everything goes with them. Zoey isn't demonstrative enough about what things really mean to her so Bow thinks Zoey is shallow and doesn't care about anything until at the last minute Zoey breaks it down for her. She does care but in a different way than Bow does. I would like the show to change that dynamic.

I thought that was the best thing about this show. The characters really have different ways of looking at and approaching the same topic.  

This also gave Zoey depth and an edge over the stereotyped pretty but ditzy teenage daughter roles in other sitcoms/dramas.

[gesundheit]

I loved this episode. And the return of Lucy, who also got to clarify that white women are not sisters. I do, however, hope that things like this aren't actually Anthony Anderson's attempt at an Emmy. I hate when the Emmys give Actor/Actress in a Comedy awards to people who do dramatic speeches in comedies. They should get awards for being funny, which he is, and is what Ross just got a Golden Globe for. My one question was why, during Dre's speech, did Daphne look so chastened? She would know what he was talking about with the "now millions more people know what it feels like to wake up in this country and be black" angle. While I liked it, it was a BIT jarring to have Dre go from comical man-baby all season to "most insightful, level-headed person in the room" all of a sudden. Guess they shot it a while back, since the Trump totals were still at "more than 50 million."

[BoogieBurns]

1 hour ago, gesundheit said:

Guess they shot it a while back, since the Trump totals were still at "more than 50 million."

What are the totals now? I have avoided as much coverage as humanly possible on this exact topic. 

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Charlie: You just can't give us that capital B.

Just about my favorite line in the ep. I also loved that written on the whiteboard was "LA-TEEN-OHS."

Good ep. I thought they did a good job at presenting both sides. There was certainly further both sides could have gone re attacking, but that wasn't necessary.

Loved the little scene with Jack and his half-full empty bowl/glass.

Pops and Junior had great scenes together. Perhaps my second favorite line was the twice-said, "And when I say 'they' I do mean the white man if I wasn't clear."

I remember reading a blog online a day or two after the election that was written by a black man -- I can't remember who -- who said that now white people know how black people feel every day. I thought that bore repeating in this ep.

[jhlipton]

On 1/5/2017 at 0:00 PM, buckboard said:

It is embarrassing watching him play the buffoon episode after episode.  (Disney World.  Verbally abusing Junior.  Older daughter gets a job, etc., etc.)   Dre is a Black man trying to deal with living an upper middle class life in a white neighborhood and job and when they write about that in an amusing vein, it is gold.   

Totally agree.  His abrogating his responsibility was not funny. 

On 1/5/2017 at 1:12 PM, shura said:

Do they still make Speak & Spell? Or did it come together with the Reagan book?

I think i've seen them in the toy aisle.

On 1/6/2017 at 2:41 PM, Dagny said:

When it was revealed that Diane googled sex, I was a little disappointed becaue it was easy. I wanted it to play more on everyone's fear that she is going to be a mad power-broker when she gets older.

"Diane is the most [stable] of our children?"  "We're screwed!"
(I forgot which word they used.)

[RedHawk]

My take on Charlie and his disappearance during the episode (I thought he would come back with some zinger at the very end) was that he represented all the people who are just checked out and didn't care enough to vote at all, or perhaps those who gave up after Trump won and are just trying to get on with their lives by ignoring politics as much as possible. 

[Megan]

10 hours ago, Superpole2000 said:

I didn't like the "White women aren't sisters. We hate each other!" line. I really hope people don't think that's the case, and I hope shows/media will stop joking about it.

Ehh, it's not WOC (for the most part) fighting to take away my reproductive rights.

Overall I liked the episode, it would have been really weird if this show did not comment directly on Trump's presidency and the shock about 65 million of us felt. They way they did it felt true to the show.

It still feels unreal to me. America elected Donald Fucking Trump as President on purpose. Everyday his twitter nonsense makes it more surreal and that press conference yesterday? What the fuck? How is that man going to be our President?

Even saying all that, my life will basically be unchanged with Trump, I still have no idea how it actually feels to be black in America.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Megan

[readster]

I was going into this wondering, and I have to say it pulled things off very well. I did love things between Pops and Junior, that was just well acted and written. Something that was interesting was all the POVs at work. Even with the whole: "With Hilary, it was more of the same." which is the main argument why Trump won. He went so crazy that everyone was like: "YEAH!" "CHANGE IT!" I even had a friend who went so crazy saying Trump was going to reverse all of Obama's stuff immediately. Of course, I think being the main parties have had that out, even the successful stuff. Answers to what Obama did right people go: "Well, he didn't do it right enough on them." Even the talk of: "My dad is still out of work, ect." Yes, but maybe people who are unemployed will get a job when Trump is president and maybe, they might still be without a job because sad to say companies still age discriminate and yes, blacklist employees for you know "reasons". As I've said, it's going to be an interesting 4 years. 

[gesundheit]

6 hours ago, BoogieBurns said:

What are the totals now? I have avoided as much coverage as humanly possible on this exact topic. 

Final tally was Hillary with 65.8 million and Trump with 62.9 million.

[BoogieBurns]

32 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

Final tally was Hillary with 65.8 million and Trump with 62.9 million.

Damn. Can't win for losing. Can't lose for winning. 

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, readster said:

Even the talk of: "My dad is still out of work, ect." Yes, but maybe people who are unemployed will get a job when Trump is president and maybe, they might still be without a job because sad to say companies still age discriminate and yes, blacklist employees for you know "reasons". As I've said, it's going to be an interesting 4 years. 

And coal is not coming back, and outsourcing and automation are still going to happen. And the notion that Trump, who is on the record many times over as both using non-American labor and stiffing American workers when he does use them, is all of a sudden this champion for the working class is just bonkers to me. He doesn't give a fuck about working people. Never has, never will.

The other thing that resonated with me this episode was Pops cautioning Junior against becoming too angry, trying not to dull Junior's natural openness and compassion. That struck me because the election has really hardened my heart. It was so ugly, even before the outcome. I was raised to be compassionate and to try to help people where I can, and that's something I like about myself. But I'm really angry post-election. I've said that my anger will help me remain vigilant and fight (I am not about to sit idly by and be dragged back in time), but a friend who is a generation older than I am cautioned me against becoming too angry and letting it lead to bitterness. I liked that Pops was encouraging Junior to be his own version of woke, especially since the family teases Junior a lot because he can be naive and nerdy.

[Happytobehere]

I was actually not surprised that the white woman was revealed to be an apologist Trump voter who insists that her vote for hate-spewing PoS isn't a reflection of who she really is.  If you believe that, you can go buy that bridge that's awaiting sale in Brooklyn. Wanda Sykes got it right about her and all those like her. Of course she has black friends, I sure their names are Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, Katrina Pierson and Omorosa. I'm also sure her white savior will make her retirement age father and town that existed on a now defunct economic base great again.  Things will not doubt improve for her and her brethren bigly. Delusion thy name is white privilege.

I actually hated Dre's speech.  I wasn't impressed with his, "We's gon' solider on good white people cause we just knows y'all aren't racist, please don't blame y'all selves for the evil you have wrought, lets all jus get along" mantra.  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets him an Emmy. It was positively worthy of Lee Daniels and Tyler Perry, perhaps KB is jockeying to join their ranks.

So Junior was planning to discuss the I Have a Dream speech and he knew nothing about the actual speech, which is available for all on line and has been taught in schools for years customarily beginning in Junior High -- perhaps less time speaking Dothraki and more time living in the real world will help. 

[buckboard]

As I said earlier, "It is embarrassing watching him play the buffoon episode after episode."

Compare this with the way he acted in the post-election show.  He was an adult.  I know the show wasn't as chock full of laughs - it wasn't meant to be - but it showed an adult Dre, one that you could respect. 

[EarlGreyTea]

As much as I would have loved to have the full show bashing Trump, I grudgingly accept the show's tact in presenting the other side. The lack of productivity in the office the days after the election was so spot on - I think I spent most of the day afterward staring blankly into space and reading all the postmortem articles in the Washington Post. If all of that sounds melodramatic, I don't care. I'm glad the show gave voice to my terror.

Dre's speech was a tad heavy-handed, but "Strange Fruit" playing softly in the  background was a nice touch. I really can't fault the show for that speech, and I'm glad it isn't afraid to go there with racial issues that most shows would never touch. As a minority myself, it's refreshing.

The workplace arguments were interesting but I couldn't quite buy that Dre's boss was anti-Trump, even with the explanation why.

Edited January 13, 2017 by EarlGreyTea

[buckboard]

I understand that this episode was more serious than most, but I was still struck -- in a good way -- by the difference in Dre's behavior in most previous episodes.  Previously, I had written: "It is embarrassing watching him play the buffoon episode after episode."

In this episode, he was adult, someone I respected.  He doesn't have to deliver serious speeches for me to like this grown-up version of Dre.  As long as they don't make him act like a buffoon.

Edited January 13, 2017 by buckboard

[BoogieBurns]

22 minutes ago, Happytobehere said:

So Junior was planning to discuss the I Have a Dream speech and he knew nothing about the actual speech, which is available for all on line and has been taught in schools for years customarily beginning in Junior High -- perhaps less time speaking Dothraki and more time living in the real world will help. 

I thought he only knew the optimistic portion of the speech, and he was merely memorizing it for school. The full speech was not taught in my school, just the sound byte that Junior seemed to already know. 

[attica]

Random thoughts:

• Seeing Fishburne get to tear into some mighty oratory is good for a body.
• I like AA's longer hair.
• I want Zoey's sweater.
• Wanda's face looked kinda puffy, as if she'd actually been crying. Not that I'd know anything about that...
• What are boxables, I wonder?

  50 minutes ago, BoogieBurns said:

  The full speech was not taught in my school, just the sound byte that Junior seemed to already know. 

  It's interesting to watch the whole speech, because you can actually see the moment he stops speechifying and starts preaching, and then, whoa, nelly. 

[Court]

Never mind

Edited January 13, 2017 by Court

[jumper sage]

2 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

So Junior was planning to discuss the I Have a Dream speech and he knew nothing about the actual speech, which is available for all on line and has been taught in schools for years customarily beginning in Junior High -- perhaps less time speaking Dothraki and more time living in the real world will help.

I work with kids and region by region history is taught so differently.  The speech was 54 years ago and in some schools they don't delve that deeply.  Our local school system doesn't even teach the Vietnam War.  The horrors!  We as parents have to do our part at home.

There is a reason the common core does not cover science or history.  No one would agree.  In Texas they even gloss over slavery.

[possibilities]

I didn't know some people make lemonade with cooked lemons. We always made it 100% raw.

[OtterMommy]

1 minute ago, possibilities said:

I didn't know some people make lemonade with cooked lemons. We always made it 100% raw.

I didn't know that either....of course, we always made ours with a powdered mix....

[CaptainCranky]

Well that's 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. I'm done with this show. Too much political discourse and not enough comedy.

Hard to sympathize with a bunch of people who have the good life complaining about racial injustice. Dre driving a Benz, living a life of luxury He has no idea of the life of poor people who aren't living the good life like he is.

[teebax]

14 hours ago, Megan said:

Even saying all that, my life will basically be unchanged with Trump, I still have no idea how it actually feels to be black in America.

You just can't give us that capital b, can you? Lol

1 hour ago, CaptainCranky said:

Hard to sympathize with a bunch of people who have the good life complaining about racial injustice. Dre driving a Benz, living a life of luxury He has no idea of the life of poor people who aren't living the good life like he is.

Have you not seen previous episodes? We know from flashbacks that Dre grew up extremely poor. Just because he made his way out of poverty doesn't negate any racial injustice he's experienced.  

Also, as someone who similarly clawed my way up from nothing, the BS you deal with as a person of color doesn't magically disappear once you've achieved financial success! My nice house and sweet car won't keep anyone from calling me the n word or assuming negative things about me. I could give hundreds of examples, but I'd hate to come off as too preachy.

[CaptainCranky]

25 minutes ago, teebax said:

Have you not seen previous episodes? We know from flashbacks that Dre grew up extremely poor. Just because he made his way out of poverty doesn't negate any racial injustice he's experienced.  

Also, as someone who similarly clawed my way up from nothing, the BS you deal with as a person of color doesn't magically disappear once you've achieved financial success! My nice house and sweet car won't keep anyone from calling me the n word or assuming negative things about me. I could give hundreds of examples, but I'd hate to come off as too preachy.

Then what is he doing about it. I haven't seen any episodes where they are out in the community giving of their time and financial recourses to try and make a difference.

Typical Hollywood. Lot of hype about the lack of racial diversity but no one seems to be doing anything about it other than empty rhetoric.

[monakane]

12 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

As much as I would have loved to have the full show bashing Trump, I grudgingly accept the show's tact in presenting the other side. The lack of productivity in the office the days after the election was so spot on - I think I spent most of the day afterward staring blankly into space and reading all the postmortem articles in the Washington Post. If all of that sounds melodramatic, I don't care. I'm glad the show gave voice to my terror.

Dre's speech was a tad heavy-handed, but "Strange Fruit" playing softly in the  background was a nice touch. I really can't fault the show for that speech, and I'm glad it isn't afraid to go there with racial issues that most shows would never touch. As a minority myself, it's refreshing.

The workplace arguments were interesting but I couldn't quite buy that Dre's boss was anti-Trump, even with the explanation why.

Yep.  The work place scene was spot on.  Everyone at my office was in shock.

I liked that they gave Dre's boss some thoughtfulness.  The writing for that character seems to be all over the place to fit the plot.  One minute he's a clueless privileged rich white guy and the next he's openly racist.  Make up your mind show.

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, teebax said:

Also, as someone who similarly clawed my way up from nothing, the BS you deal with as a person of color doesn't magically disappear once you've achieved financial success! My nice house and sweet car won't keep anyone from calling me the n word or assuming negative things about me. I could give hundreds of examples, but I'd hate to come off as too preachy.

I didn't grow up poor but I agree with this. Microaggressions are constant. The last person to call me the n-word was a cop. A couple of months ago, my graduate-degree-having, retired-from-the-C-suite, suit-wearing father was escorted out of an office building by security when they couldn't find his appointment in the calendar; they refused to call the person he was scheduled to meet with (who is also Black) to confirm that he had an appointment. (Once outside, my dad called the guy and told him what had happened. The guy was mad on his behalf and came downstairs and they met offsite. Turns out the guy's assistant dropped the ball and forgot to put it in the calendar; she apparently got a severe dressing-down from her boss.) We walk around knowing that we are one encounter with the wrong cop away from becoming a hashtag. One of my best friends is an Iranian immigrant (moved here when she was five) and she's had security and cops called on her for being on the phone in public speaking Farsi. She adds time to her airport travel for "random" searches, because she always gets searched. I've flown with her a bunch of times and every time, to a one, she's pulled out of line. I think that's been a major thread in the show, that while the privilege that Dre and Bow have given their kids will shield them a bit from the harshness of racism (money can solve a lot of problems in this country), they need to be aware of what's out there, and what's out there isn't always pretty.

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I didn't know some people make lemonade with cooked lemons. We always made it 100% raw.

I didn't even know that was a thing! I guess it makes them easier to juice.

1 minute ago, monakane said:

Yep.  The work place scene was spot on.  Everyone at my office was in shock.

I liked that they gave Dre's boss some thoughtfulness.  The writing for that character seems to be all over the place to fit the plot.  One minute he's a clueless privileged rich white guy and the next he's openly racist.  Make up your mind show.

They do seem to be all over the place with him. Same with his son, who was MUCH less of a fool this episode.

[LydiaMoon1]

Powerful episode.  I LOVED it.  So much excellence. 

That is all.

[CurlyATX]

I have pulled away from watching the show because I just didn't want to see the new baby.  This popped up on Hulu and I couldn't resist.  I was so happy I did.

1. The workplace conversation was really well done.  I have friends who voted for Trump, including many white women.  Lucy (is that her name)'s statements are similar to theirs, along with the great businessman concept.  Sadly, they do talk about Muslims like tainted skittles too. 

2. I really liked the opening scene about the "ship her back" back talk from the privileged white boy at school.  It wasn't really harped on, but the effect of the Trump rhetoric on kids is really scary. 

The older kids were well used.  I love how Junior is able to have his eyes opened to things and keep his optimism.  Zoey reminds me a lot of my own child- he doesn't talk much about his feelings and worries, but it's comforting to know that he sees things and will be voting soon.

On a side note: my son goes to a magnet middle school in Texas and the social science teachers talked about how 7th grade curriculum is focused on Texas history under the lenses of equality vs. equity and how history affects that.  No glossing over here. 

[attica]

On 1/12/2017 at 10:18 AM, Empress1 said:

Wanda Sykes kicking at her also cracked me up.

Me, too! It reminded me of the late lamented Nightly Show's occasional bits on "Black React."

[Megan]

3 hours ago, teebax said:

You just can't give us that capital b, can you? Lol

 

At least I set up a joke nicely!

2 hours ago, CaptainCranky said:

Then what is he doing about it. I haven't seen any episodes where they are out in the community giving of their time and financial recourses to try and make a difference.

Typical Hollywood. Lot of hype about the lack of racial diversity but no one seems to be doing anything about it other than empty rhetoric.

Bow spent the whole episode doing just that...

[Trace]

I watch(ed) this show to be entertained, not to be preached at. It's called at Situation COMEDY for a reason.  Since they obviously don't care about the people in their audience that don't necessarily agree with their dogma, why should we continue to watch. In fact, all of Hollywood has pissed me and a huge majority of people I know the hell OFF.  They all need to get a serious grip!!!

[teebax]

Comedies can have poignant moments as well. No one is forcing anyone to watch the show, any more than the news forces me to continue watching when I want to throw up every time Trump comes on the screen. I just turn it off. Feel free to do the same. Enough people love this show, and this episode in particular, for it to continue for a long time.

I love the show Mom, and it has very serious moments and is dealing with issues surrounding alcohol and drug addiction. Dramas like This is Us have funny moments. Comedies like Blackish have serious ones.

[DearEvette]

I am one of those people who hadn't planned to watch it because I am limiting my exposure to anything pertaining to The Cheeto.  But I caught it.  I actually think this was well done.  I am glad they went a few unpredictable places, namely with Stevens NOT voting for The Cheeto because he isn't a real Republican . 

Lucy actually voting for him because Hilary wasn't the first woman she wanted to be President didn't make a lot of sense though.  When she put it in context with Barack being the right first black president and questioning whether black people would have actually voted for any black candidate that part made sense.  But her actually voting for him as protest didn't.  It would have been smarter for her to not have voted at all, which most people I know who felt the same way did.

All in all I thought they handled this the way they did any of their issue episodes, such as the gun episode, the voting episode,  and the N-word episode.  They presented all sides with some nuance.  The humor wasn;t as high but it was still there.

Dre's speech was great, especially with Nina Simone in the background.

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, CurlyATX said:

I have pulled away from watching the show because I just didn't want to see the new baby.  This popped up on Hulu and I couldn't resist.  I was so happy I did.

Ha - the one thing that irked me about this ep is that Bow appears to be showing now. I was like "Aw, we're really doing this? Ugh."

1 hour ago, Megan said:

Bow spent the whole episode doing just that...

They also joined a police brutality protest as a family in a previous episode.

[Megan]

50 minutes ago, Trace said:

I watch(ed) this show to be entertained, not to be preached at. It's called at Situation COMEDY for a reason.  Since they obviously don't care about the people in their audience that don't necessarily agree with their dogma, why should we continue to watch. In fact, all of Hollywood has pissed me and a huge majority of people I know the hell OFF.  They all need to get a serious grip!!!

But this has been the timbre of the show since the beginning, how was this episode so different to you? I don't understand being so angry and outraged that the show has continued in the voice it's always had.

[megsara]

On 1/12/2017 at 1:59 AM, Michel said:

Though speaking of Lucy, I thought she was Hispanic, not white. 

I think she is Jewish, if I am remembering correctly.

Well done episode, and still managed to have some laughs.  I liked the montage of the workplace and everyone getting distracted for 2 months straight.  Ahhh, I have been there.  Still there, really.  

[jumper sage]

On 1/12/2017 at 8:59 AM, DrivingSideways said:

Not a Trump voter or fan, but it's so hard to find a respite from politics that I was bummed to see this show take a hard right into pedantic drama.

Maybe a hard left?

6 hours ago, CaptainCranky said:

Well that's 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. I'm done with this show. Too much political discourse and not enough comedy.

Hard to sympathize with a bunch of people who have the good life complaining about racial injustice. Dre driving a Benz, living a life of luxury He has no idea of the life of poor people who aren't living the good life like he is.

Wow, just wow!

4 hours ago, monakane said:

Yep.  The work place scene was spot on.  Everyone at my office was in shock.

I liked that they gave Dre's boss some thoughtfulness.  The writing for that character seems to be all over the place to fit the plot.  One minute he's a clueless privileged rich white guy and the next he's openly racist.  Make up your mind show.

I don't know.  We all are different at work than at home.  I know I am.  You keep it light.  When something big happens at or around work like someone's spouse passing away or someone gets the cancer diagnosis, you see your colleagues react.  Something like my examples or this last election can bring out either the best or the worst in people.  How many of us know the joker on staff that jumps up and organizes dinners, food for a pantry, picking up relatives at airports etc to help when the help is needed.  It is at times like this that people reflect and their true selves come through.  It is because of this I have faith in humanity.

[BoogieBurns]

7 hours ago, CaptainCranky said:

Well that's 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. I'm done with this show. Too much political discourse and not enough comedy.

Hard to sympathize with a bunch of people who have the good life complaining about racial injustice. Dre driving a Benz, living a life of luxury He has no idea of the life of poor people who aren't living the good life like he is.

First, great choice of username, you sure are. Second, having money doesn't make Dre less black, and by merely being black--the life of luxury is a work of fiction. Ask my upper-middle class black father who got followed home and asked to see his license before they let him put his own damn key in his own damn front door. 

Are only working class black people black now? What if they are light skinned working class? Let us know what fits your allowance for struggle. Who asked the audience to sympathize either? This was their story, from their POV.

5 hours ago, CaptainCranky said:

Then what is he doing about it. I haven't seen any episodes where they are out in the community giving of their time and financial recourses to try and make a difference.

As another poster said, Rainbow was doing just that in donating money. Also, don't you remember how Junior is class president and possibly getting some pull by working from the inside of the "system" he is a part of. How about Zoe making lemonade for the rally? That was giving her time. What would you like them to do next, Cap'n? 

Have a great day! 

Edited January 13, 2017 by BoogieBurns

[possibilities]

Dre grew up poor, didn't he? I think he does know what it's like to be in financial hardship. Ditto for Pops and Ruby. But even if someone isn't living in poverty, racism is still a problem. And even if you're not targeted yourself, you can care about it for the sake of others who are and for how it distorts perceptions and experiences of people in all walks of life. Most movements succeed not only because of uprising by those most oppressed, but also because of solidarity from allies who feel a connection via empathy or a passion for justice regardless of their own hide being or not being threatened.

I think Dre has shown throughout the series that he's very conscious of how the class privilege his kids experience is very different than what he grew up with, and he's worried since the pilot about whether that is making them lose touch with the bigger picture. I had problems with a number of things in this episode, but I thought the only thing out of character about Dre was that he was actually work-focused and not being a big emotional baby.

[BoogieBurns]

10 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Dre grew up poor, didn't he?

Yep. 

11 minutes ago, possibilities said:

even if you're not targeted yourself, you can care about it for the sake of others who are and for how it distorts perceptions and experiences of people in all walks of life.

Right, I mean, Oprah is as much of an ally as anyone "living it". 

[Empress1]

And Oprah gets shit too! Remember when a clerk told her she couldn't afford a five-figure handbag?