Season 4 Talk

[readster]

7 minutes ago, Dee said:

Dre's cultural appropriation speech belonged in a different episode.

Most likely the one that didn't end up airing. 

[ichbin]

1 hour ago, readster said:

On one hand, Dre was being a moron and Junior is getting dumped on again. But on the other hand, you understand where everyone is coming from.

I really like this kind of episode because it shines a light on how conversation can promote understanding.  Too often opposing views and opinions are only expressed as scolding or rants, and that rarely ends constructively.  Kind of surprised that Zoey didn't make an appearance considering it was a holiday episode.

[OnceSane]

Quote

When Junior is accepted to Howard and Stanford, Dre tries to convince him to attend his alma mater. Meanwhile, Jack develops a comedy style and Ruby decides she’s going to manage his career, forcing Diane to compete for her attention.

[Dee]

22 minutes ago, ichbin said:

 Kind of surprised that Zoey didn't make an appearance considering it was a holiday episode.

Santamonica and Johan were conspicuously absent as well.

[In2You]

I'm not surprised Zoey didn't make it to Easter dinner. My sister is in college and she isn't coming home for Easter because mom  works this year.  I skipped coming home for Easter the years she worked the holiday too.

I loved that they included the great plate debate in this episode.  I always see arguing online about who makes their husband's plate but I've never heard it in real life. 

[jjj]

I loved the dinner conversation.  It didn't matter to me who was being a jerk or not -- but that no one had the right to assert complete cultural authority over  meaningful food traditions.  Everyone was using food as memory catchers and emotional support in different ways, and learning they were not the only ones to do that.  Thank goodness the dogs did not become part of a morality play!  (It was not the dogs' fault they became the obnoxious element in the episode -- they were just the tool of their owner's persnicketyness.)

Edited March 28, 2018 by jjj

[JasmineFlower]

Not my favorite episode, but enjoyed it and still had plenty of laughs for me, especially earlier on. I thought the rest of the episode flowed well, felt pretty even. And as much of an imposition as Dre's family can be, Bow's would make me an alcoholic quicker. When Leslie Grossman's character pulled those dogs out alone would've had me downing a shot before Noon.

Dre: "Okay, we saw your family at the hospital. That counts as your year."

Bow: "I almost died!"

Dre: "And I had to watch HGTV with them in the waiting room. Count it!"

[GHScorpiosRule]

That one blink and you'll miss it glimpse of Pops was NOT ENOUGH, Show!

And I must have missed something, because just WHO were those extra three family members on Bow's side? Her cousins (the males or male cousin, female cousin) and cousin in-law? Or brothers and sister-in-law? Or brother and sister, brother-in-law? ARGH!!!!

Edited March 28, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[ItCouldBeWorse]

10 hours ago, In2You said:

I'm not surprised Zoey didn't make it to Easter dinner. My sister is in college and she isn't coming home for Easter because mom  works this year.  I skipped coming home for Easter the years she worked the holiday too.

But Bow was home.  And Zoey goes to school quite close and only sees Bow's extended family every other year.  There should have been a line about her spending spring break elsewhere, perhaps volunteering in Puerto Rico with her socially conscious friend from Grownish.

8 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

Dre: "Okay, we saw your family at the hospital. That counts as your year."

Bow: "I almost died!"

Dre: "And I had to watch HGTV with them in the waiting room. Count it!"

Easter 2017 was April 16.  Are we supposed to think that Devante is two weeks shy of a year?  He doesn't look it or act it, (He was born early, but I don't remember how early.)  I'm anticipating a  first birthday extravaganza party, considering how big the baby shower was supposed to be.

[monakane]

On 3/22/2018 at 9:48 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

As ridiculous as none of the Andersons being able to think of any other Black Man over the age of 65, any episode, and I mean ANY episode with Pops/Fishburne is ALWAYS MORE AWESOME. Because Fishburne is THAT AWESOME.

Yep.  He elevates everything.  Also, any time they show Ruby blowing up Pops boat is a win.  I never get tired of that.

[joanne3482]

10 hours ago, In2You said:

I loved that they included the great plate debate in this episode.  I always see arguing online about who makes their husband's plate but I've never heard it in real life.

I really liked that part. I'm unfamiliar with the "making a plate" as a thing, so I really loved that little piece of understanding.  But I also didn't grow up with an extended family and do a lot of big meals with lots of variety so now that I'm thinking about it there was little opportunity to make a plate for a person. 

32 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

There should have been a line about her spending spring break elsewhere, perhaps volunteering in Puerto Rico with her socially conscious friend from Grownish.

Not all colleges do spring break at the same time as Easter. The one I went to years and years ago didn't. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

13 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

Not all colleges do spring break at the same time as Easter. The one I went to years and years ago didn't. 

That's true.  But she's certainly close enough (and flush enough) to make it home for the weekend if she wanted to.  No one can convince me that she's too busy studying! (I watch her show.)  I would rather they had her Skype in to say that she was sorry she couldn't be there than to have ABC show that creepy commercial for the Google Pixel with Dre mistakenly texting Zoey instead of Bow, (if I understood that correctly).  Did anyone else see the 2-part commercial?

Edited March 28, 2018 by ItCouldBeWorse

[ItCouldBeWorse]

It does feel like they've forgotten about Dre's diabetes.  It doesn't seem to affect his choice of food, and not only on Easter.

[mansonlamps]

This was one of the few episodes I couldn't even get through.  Hated it from start to whenever I turned it off.  

[tennisgurl]

Dang Dre, if Bow can put up with Ruby being awful to her 24/7, you can put up with her pleasant but boring cousins for one or two days a year. Suck it UP dude. 

That being said, I do like how the dinner conversation ended up going, where everyone actually gave some perspective and no one was really The Villain. Its funny, I was actually thinking "Wow, imagine if after one of Dres black history speeches, someone actually came back with their own cultural backstory speeches" and then it actually happened! Many people mostly look at their stuff through their own cultural lens, including Dre, so him seeing that other people have their own histories and reasons for liking stuff that he thinks are lame was actually a good moment. It was not how I expected the conversation to go, but I thought everyone actually had points, and I can see why people thought and did what they did. 

Like, I had no idea why the "making a plate" thing was a thing, but hearing that reasoning was really interesting! 

Mac and Cheese AND beets are tasty to me. It looks like a delightful meal for Easter, I would have gone back for seconds if we had the stuff. 

I am just going to count all the kids going on the Easter Egg hunt as a win for Junior!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

The silent cousin (Brian?) was the one with the beet backstory, who talked about how much he enjoyed making them for his kids, but it was his wife who actually made the fancy beets, so it was a bit inconsistent.  So, too, was the making a plate/eating from a buffet in front of the tv, and then sitting around the table with serving dishes and the sweet potato pie while having their discussion.  No wonder the cousins had fairly empty plates at the table!

[Deanie87]

Dre is the worst host ever.  For all of her rules, you would have thought that Ruby would have taught him that you never insult what a guest brings to your home. Then again, Ruby was all over Gary about his pie.

”The twins have lost their wonder.” Thank god for Junior.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Like, I had no idea why the "making a plate" thing was a thing, but hearing that reasoning was really interesting! 

Making a plate isn't that big a deal. Most people's kitchens are small and if you are still cooking at the time that someone might want a little food to tide them over until the meal is ready, the people cooking can't have everybody running in and out. If the kitchen is really hot, you are just adding to the time the cook has to spend in the heat. Because there was a huge kitchen island with lots of food spread all over, everybody fixing there own plate seemed more feasible in this situation.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

50 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Making a plate isn't that big a deal. Most people's kitchens are small and if you are still cooking at the time that someone might want a little food to tide them over until the meal is ready, the people cooking can't have everybody running in and out. If the kitchen is really hot, you are just adding to the time the cook has to spend in the heat. Because there was a huge kitchen island with lots of food spread all over, everybody fixing there own plate seemed more feasible in this situation.

I think the issue here was more that the males (Dre and Jack) were sitting on the couch, watching TV, while Bow and Diane assembled their plates. Ruby did the same for Pops, who had just dropped in for the food.  Traditionally, women shopped for, prepared and cleaned up after meals.  The men "should" at least be able to serve themselves.  One could also argue that in the example of a buffet with multiple choices, as you referenced, assembling a plate for someone else is almost infantalizing as you are choosing their food for them (which is apparently what Jack needs, or it will be all deviled eggs and Cool Whip!)

Edited March 28, 2018 by ItCouldBeWorse

[In2You]

6 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

I really liked that part. I'm unfamiliar with the "making a plate" as a thing, so I really loved that little piece of understanding.  But I also didn't grow up with an extended family and do a lot of big meals with lots of variety so now that I'm thinking about it there was little opportunity to make a plate for a person. 

Not all colleges do spring break at the same time as Easter. The one I went to years and years ago didn't. 

Mostly the religious colleges do the break around Easter in my area. 

[Mama No Life]

So they had a buffet and then a sit down meal? Do people do that?

 

Not appetizers and then a meal....a buffet.  Really?

[AlleC17]

They do still have wonder, Junior!  lol  And while it was a small gesture, Dre fixing a dessert plate fro Bow was sweet and unexpected.  He is such a petulant man-child most of the time. 

 

ETA:  Dre's disdain over Bow's white family was puzzling as the white people he works for/with are way worse.

Edited March 28, 2018 by AlleC17

[Dee]

Some, not all, of Andre's issues with Rainbow's family, mainly D'Alicia, has to do with the contempt with which they treat him.

[Deanie87]

2 minutes ago, Dee said:

Some, not all, of Andre's issues with Rainbow's family, mainly D'Alicia, has to do with the contempt with which they treat him.

I’m sure that’s true, but considering what Bow has to put up with on a daily basis from Ruby, Dre has it pretty easy. 

I wish all of the siblings had been there.

[Dee]

On 3/28/2018 at 7:57 PM, Deanie87 said:

I’m sure that’s true, but considering what Bow has to put up with on a daily basis from Ruby, Dre has it pretty easy.

Andre & Rainbow are in the same boat.

Neither usually chastises their respective mother (or father in Earl's case) about their behavior toward their significant other.

And given that Rainbow is often just as petty as her husband, and more than capable of defending herself, it's difficult to feel too bad for her.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Dee

[NUguy514]

Dre was such an asshole for 90% of this episode.  He went after Bow's annoyingly high-maintenance cousin at the dinner table in a completely unprovoked fashion, and I had a really hard time watching it.

And to me, Ruby's horribleness to Bow is wayyyyyyy greater than her parents' horribleness to Dre.

[Dee]

Ruby is no worse to Rainbow than Rainbow is to her.

[jhlipton]

A couple of things:
Soul food does tend to have a lot of salt and fat, so exactly the reason Dre said -- when you don't have much, you have to improve the taste any way you can.  And stating that you don't like it isn't racist.  (Myself, I like some soul food, but most greens are too bitter for me.)

Making a plate is definitely a thing in y wife's family.  One of the husbands expected to be waited on like that.  When we're over for a ig meal, my wife will ask me to "make a plate" or will volunteer to make one for me, mostly to keep traffic down in the kitchen when you have 7 or more people to serve.

On 3/27/2018 at 6:32 PM, readster said:

I love Beau Bridges, but most of Bow's family drive me insane and bring out the worst in Dre and Ruby. 

That's because they are cartoons; caricatures. Yes, there are people like that, but they are few and far between.  Having them be so over-the-top WHITE people made it easy to side with Dre, who would have scorned them unless they tried to pass like Gary.

Edited March 29, 2018 by jhlipton

[jhlipton]

On 3/27/2018 at 7:15 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

 

I think they continue to have Dre be mean to Junior, as a way of showing as much as Dre thinks he's different from Pops, he really isn't. Dre treats Junior just as horribly as Pops treated him.

I'm not sure the show sees that.  They don't highlight it the way they do other things.  I think it's far more that Barris and/or Anderson think it's "funny".

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, Dee said:

Ruby is no worse to Rainbow than Rainbow is to her.

OK.  We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

[Dee]

We sure will.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One thing that annoyed me is that at least Bow's cousin had a specific reason for not wanting to eat some of the food that was served (high in fat and salt). If you are trying to be healthy then that's a way more legitimate reason than Dre just turning his nose up at beets which he said he had never even tried before. The cousin had an actual reason while Dre was just being a brat.

He was also so offended that she brought a non-meat dish, despite the fact that there were other dishes (like mac and cheese) that also had no meat. I'm not a vegetarian either (in fact, the list of veggies I like I could count on one hand) but he was just being a judgmental ass.

Often when we have big family dinners, all the dishes will be set up in the kitchen or on a long table so that everyone can help themselves (rather than trying to squeeze everything onto the dining table where everyone eats). Sometimes people make plates for each other for various reasons (one aunt hurt her leg, another just had surgery, someone else was playing with the kids in the other room).

It's not a big deal because it's done out of kindness and consideration, not because the other person EXPECTS it (as in, "Woman, where's my plate?"). As long as it's a choice, not an obligation, I don't see the big deal. But when it's one person who's always doing it, then I start to give the side eye a little bit. Like if I noticed that one relative was always just sitting around waiting for a spouse to bring them a plate of food then I could see it looking a little like there's a weird power dynamic.

But in a lot of relationships, people work out who does what so what looks subservient to an outsider might just be the tradeoff in their relationship. Mr. EB knows that I LOATHE washing dishes because it was one of my chores from fifth grade until I moved out of my parents' house, so he always does the dishes. I, on the other hand, enjoy doing laundry (after a long period of living without a washer and dryer, I am still so happy to be able to do laundry in our own house!), so I'm the one who always washes our sheets. I know that if someone heard me say that I always wash the sheets, it could sound like I'm a little hausfrau who does the domestic chores in our relationship if you didn't know that Mr. EB is the one always washing the dishes.

Edited March 30, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Joimiaroxeu]

I think having so much family drama involved in serving and eating meals, and in food choices, is largely what leads to eating disorders. Count me as against the making a plate thing except for young children and people with mobility issues.

This was an odd episode. Kind of all over the place with "the message".

[AlleC17]

19 hours ago, Dee said:

Some, not all, of Andre's issues with Rainbow's family, mainly D'Alicia, has to do with the contempt with which they treat him.

I am a new comer to the show, so was unaware...that would make perfect sense.   Thanks!

[jhlipton]

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

he was just being a judgmental ass.

Hello, have you met Dre?  He's ALWAYS being a judgmental ass,

[Meedis]

So cool seeing Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman) back on TV as well as Marla Gibbs.

With that said my favorite part of the episode was the serving of plates debate and how Marla's character shut that debate down with why she made a plate for her husband.   So poignant.

[peeayebee]

22 hours ago, Meedis said:

Marla's character shut that debate down with why she made a plate for her husband.   So poignant.

The best part of the ep.

Dre was really annoying. Usually I can see his spoiled attitude as comedic. It doesn't bother me like it does others. But in this I was just irritated with him.

I liked hearing Dre explain the origins of soul food, though I've heard it before, yet the "message-y" aspect of it wasn't as seamless as it usually is. I liked the cousin-in-law suddenly speaking up to explain why beets were so important to him, but the grandma's bit about "making a plate" was actually enlightening. 

But overall, I didn't think this was very good. Also, there was no resolution to the sweet potato pie issue. I expected a taste-off or something with the two pies, but I guess there wasn't room for that in the ep.

[Kimmmmmm]

On March 14, 2018 at 12:42 PM, possibilities said:

I feel so bad for the kid who Ruby scapegoated. He and Jack were good as friends, and the kid is totally innocent, yet continually gets picked on. I really hated Ruby this week.

I hate Ruby every week...she's toxic.

[Toothbrush]

Charlie is possibly older than Pops. ;-)

Baby pirate Devante & little boy Laurence Fishbourne were too much adorableness for 1 episode. 

[OnceSane]

Quote

The family is divided over the idea of getting a dog after Dre and Bow promise Jack they can get one after he gets Straight A’s – and he does! Meanwhile, Bow’s brother Johan is in town and he doesn’t get the warm welcome he expects from Ruby.

[Toothbrush]

Bow's white dress was the best part of the episode for me. 

[Dee]

"Where's your Pelle Pelle?!?!"

LMAO. I HATE this show. HATE IT.

[Jodie Landon]

Not sure what this means, but I went to an HBCU and I'd never heard""Alison" until tonight. And I laughed when Charlie said that he and Dre should be worried when their white co-workers eat lunch together.

Bow really annoyed me this episode with her biased views against HBCU's, but I guess I'd be hesitant to send my child there to if Dre was the biggest advocate of the school. I don't remember having problems reintegrating back into the "white world," so I thought was dumb. I was surprised that they didn't really explore some of the most well-known HBCU stereotypes like most black universities being located in the hood, or issues with the financial aid office.

I haven't been able to get into Grownish, but I would love to see a spinoff centered around Junior settling into life at Howard.

I wasn't really paying attention at the beginning so Ruby's story line with Jack and Diane went over my head.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Jodie Landon

[nilyank]

I kind of expected that Junior would be won over to Howard when he visited the campus for the same reason that he chose to go to public school rather than going back to that private school once his expulsion was reversed.

[possibilities]

26 minutes ago, Jodie Landon said:

I would love to see a spinoff centered around Junior settling into life at Howard.

I love Junior. I'd love to see the character get his own show.

[incandescent]

Unfortunate that this episode was probably already in the can before they could wedge in some reference to the "Bitch Better Have My Money" protests.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Isn't Diane the smart twin?  Why didn't Ruby or Jack point that out?

Edited April 4, 2018 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Irlandesa]

I don't want Junior to leave this show. He's the only child on the show whose stories I want to watch.

[Traveller519]

I think I may have to collect my official old curmudgeon card. 

Jack and Diane's story went completely over my head (Ruby's Joe Jackson references aside) in terms of having any entertainment value.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I thought that Junior would be won over once he saw that the kids in the library at Howard weren't having any of Dre's yelling while they were trying to study.