Black-ish: God

"God" is the second episode of season three of the situation comedy series Black-ish and the fiftieth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Anton Cropper with a script written by Laura Gutin Peterson. It first aired on ABC on Wednesday, September 28th, 2016 at 9:00 pm.

Synopsis
Bow's little brother Johan comes to visit, having just spent two-years abroad living in France. Dre inwardly admits that the only thing that matches his love for his family is his hatred for his wife's family. Dinner time becomes even more tense when Zoey refuses to partake in the saying of Grace, declaring that she no longer believes in God. This blows Dre's mind, and any hopes of having a pleasant family dinner is ruined.

Dre becomes obsessed with this, as he does with all things. He tries to convince Zoey of the existence of God, and when that fails, he tries to bully her into accepting his faith, even to the point of physically forcing her to kneel in prayer.

The following day, he goes to the office to vent his frustration among his co-workers. He is a little surprised to discover that both Mister Stevens and Josh are atheists. A random black worker walks by, and Mister Stevens asks him if he's a "Goddie". The man passionately asserts his faith by showing off his numerous Christian tattoos. It is at this point that Dre begins to realize that all of the white people he knows are atheists while all of the black people he knows are of the faith - except for Zoey. His daughter is broken.

Meanwhile, Jack and Diane get scolded for leaving the bathroom a mess. Bow admonishes them while showing them how they should be cleaning up, effectively doing their work for them. They continue to employ this tactic with Junior, whom they also manipulate into doing chores for them.

Later, Bow is scheduled to go to the hospital for her ultrasound and the family goes with her. The nurse cannot pick up the baby's heart beat and there is a tense silence among the family members as they continue to watch. A minute passes and the heart beat is detected, and it is strong. They are all relieved and Zoey even thanks God.

Notes & Trivia

 * Black-ish was created by Kenya Barris. It is produced by Khalabo Ink Society and Cinema Gypsy Productions.


 * Co-executive producer Jenifer Rice-Genzuk is credited as Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry in this episode.


 * Writer and executive producer Laura Gutin is credited as Laura Gutin Peterson in this episode.


 * Actress Jenifer Lewis receives a "with" credit qualifier in the main cast line-up.


 * Ruby Johnson distinguishes between actual prayer and Genie prayer, which is prayer by "wishing" for things that are unimportant. Despite this, she has "genie prayed" her way into getting a designer purse.

Allusions

 * Reference is made to Black Nanny in this episode. "Black Nanny"'s actual name is Vivian, and she is the Johnson's babysitter and housekeeper.


 * Reference is made to Daphne Lido in this episode. Daphne Lido owns 51% of S&L and is Dre's boss.


 * Some of the famous bald white men included in the beginning of the episode are Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, Billy Zane, and Paul Shaffer.