What I saw: September 30th, 2016

September is coming to an end, and you know what that means. Leaves will start to fall down, Halloween decorations will be put up, costumes will be purchased, and a crapton of shows will be back by next week! The one I am looking forward to, if you couldn't tell by the background picture, is The Flash. But until such time, there are still plenty of shows which have already started or I am catching up on. Here we go!

What I watched (click on the show title to skip straight to it):

Black-ish S.3E.2 - "God"

The Getdown P1.E6 - "Raise Your Words, Not Your Voice"

Luke Cage S1.E1 - "Moment of Truth"

What I saw:

First up is Black-ish.

Black-ish goes right back into full swing in this episode. When Zoey drops a bomb on Dre that she doesn't believe in God, Dre's (hilarious) overreaction takes the audience into a discussion about not only faith, but how different cultures derive their beliefs. He even went into full on lecture mode talking about how people who suffer the most have the strongest belief in a higher power (and his coworkers fall asleep as a result). I like how the show was brave enough to put in that snapshot documentary style and then make fun of themselves immediately after. The show creators were pretty much saying "this is serious, but we know you don't want serious," but in a balanced way. And by balanced, I mean the show stopped short of saying religion is the opiate of the masses, but described it as more of a way to cope with the injustice people face in the world. Dre takes note that all the white people in his office are atheists and all the people of color are the ones that believe, and so he goes back into his mode that he has whitewashed his kids too much with almond milk and Gouda cheese. The family talks more about where they fall on the spectrum of faith, which I think even Dre was surprised that it was more of a spectrum than just two categories of believing in God or not believing. I think it reflected really well what people actually think when it comes to God or any other higher power.

The biggest moment came when the family went with Bow for the sonogram appointment. Since it is a 30 minute comedy, the unofficial rule is that whatever conflict is going on is resolved and everyone returns to normal with little to no change occurring. While the show did end up following this rule, it did it in the most suspenseful way I have ever seen. Stop reading now if you haven't seen the episode, because it was the best moment and it was such a strong performance that it must be seen. Similar to the way Dre described the his thoughts on Obama's walk to his inauguration last season, which I will include here:





Okay, you've had plenty of warning so now the scene in today's episode. The sonogram technician is unable to find the baby, there is nothing but static emanating from the machine when there should be a heartbeat. The whole family is just horrified and you can see the resignation on Bow and Dre's face, until at last the technician finds the baby and the heartbeat is strong. Zoey says "thank God" and Dre takes it as a victory that she still has some faith in her. That is something I agree with actually. I myself am not really a believer, but everyone, even "non-believers," have all experienced that moment where they feel so powerless that they just pray to God, the universe, or whatever for help. Again, faith can be described more as a spectrum rather than an absolute. Anyways, a really great episode and good discussion on faith.

Wrapping up The Getdown.

So this is the last of the available episodes for right now, with the rest of the season picking up next year. What I can say is, it was a really strong finish. The beginning of the episode brings a few things to a head, and four characters end up having to make a choice that will shape them for the rest of their lives. Ezekiel is being lectured to by the head of the city financial office, who is telling him that he needs to be able to let go of his habits and friends of the ghetto in order to be successful, with the more memorable line: "Success is more about the relationships you break rather than the relationships you make." Shao is pushed into making the choice to kill the traitor to Fat Annie, cementing his position in the crime business. Dizzee makes the choice to act on his feelings for Thor whether he should kiss him or not. The show did a good job at subtly building up Dizzee's attraction, especially at the end of the last episode where he wistfully thinks about Thor as one of the graffiti trains rolls by. Then Jackie Moreno ends up making the choice to once again accept the consequences of the bad things he has done, and does a sexual favor on someone he forced to do the same to him in the past.

Ezekiel ends up choosing to pursue the path that will lead him out of the ghetto, and emphatically agrees to do what needs to be done and attend a political rally. This is where he really shines though, because while he said he was willing to do whatever it took to get out of the ghetto, after he heard mayoral candidate Ed Koch talk trash about his home and the art that he and his friends pursue, he realizes that "young people aren't the problem; we're the solution." He gains tghe support of the younger attendees at the rally by referencing graffiti artists, to show that he is not giving up on the art or his home. A very powerful moment on staying with your community, taking the good with the bad. Shao is forced to choose between Fat Annie and the DJ battle, but talks his way into doing his work pushing drugs at the battle itself. He makes it clear that being a DJ is his true calling, and will do whatever he needs to do to pursue it. He has taken that leap of faith, and will not look back. It is actually kind of unclear if Dizzee ever did kiss Thor, but they got close enough to know that he had made his choice before they were interrupted by a change in song. It's cool that we got to see that yes, there was an LGBT(QIA) community, and that they actually had a large influence on the art and music that "normal" people enjoyed. They may be marginalized and underground, but that doesn't mean they aren't powerful. While Jackie had revenge taken out on him, he really can't fall any further so he kind of carries on like normal, with a light at the end of the tunnel with Mylene signing on with a record company.

Mylene finally sees Ezekiel in action at the DJ battle, and is blown away at what he can accomplish with his rap skills at the getdown. I'm glad that they had her become more supportive, and the last scene of them talking about the future, and whether they should abandon the Bronx or try to stay and make it better shows that they are both maturing. I think that is a struggle that most people who live in a poor neighborhood face. It is their home, their life. Getting out may change things for themselves but not for those who still have to live in the ghetto. I'm curious to see how they will resolve this dilemma next year.

Lastly, we get to Luke Cage.

This series premier did a good job at setting up the origin story for our soon to be hero. He already has his powers, but he is still wrought with guilt and sadness over the death of his wife that he simply cannot take on anyone else's problems. We are shown his reluctance to move on from his wife's death when he declines the phone number of the girl at the barbershop. However, what I thought was strange and kind of broke the character logic was when he very strongly flirted with Misty only a few short hours later. The only thing I can think of to keep the logic together is that she might look like his wife, but even then he was very much pursuing her, not observing for signs of his wife or anything. Well, the show must go on I suppose.

The real moment of truth comes when he discovers one of his wife's killers is in town, and he knows he has to do something. He then rescues his landlords from being hustled by thugs seeking "donations" for the councilwoman's new center she wants to build. He plays the reluctant hero, but now that he has a mission he is willing to fight for, he accepts his new mantle. A superhero isn't born when they get their powers. A superhero is born when they put those powers to the benefit of others. The show did a good job of reminding us of that.