Review: This 'black-ish' episode was hidden for years. Here's why it still works
Family patriarch Dre feels the pressure to calm his restless brood, starting with fussy baby Devante. Dre can’t help but pepper the innocent bedtime story he reads his son with his own fears about all that’s gone wrong in America over the past year. No wonder the infant can’t sleep.
Trump’s been in office 12 months, and everything’s a mess. Dre’s just calling it like it is, much to the chagrin of his sleep-deprived wife, Bow , who points out that their son has the rest of his life to be terrified by the world outside their door. Home is the one safe place they have, so please try to keep it that way. Both parents struggle with how to explain away, or downplay, the dangers of a nation on the brink.while challenging viewers to take a look in the mirror.
“Please, Baby, Please” offers a wide sweep over the anger, racism and fear that underpinned the rise of Donald Trump, who Dre refers to as “The Shady King” throughout the episode. It’s also a greatest hits of that year’s tragedies — floods, mass shootings, hatred toward immigrants, Russian election-meddling, gay bashing — in a combination of animated explainers, news clips and chats between Johnson family members.
“Black-ish” masterfully deconstructs something that most network comedies wouldn’t dare go near: the idea that Trump, the rise ofand the deep divisions among many Americans are a form of backlash — against the fact that a Black man won the presidency for two terms — led by enraged citizens whose political zeal is in fact an attempt to turn back the clock.
The episode resonates today because 2020 looks a lot like 2018. The Johnson family is sequestered in the house, riding out the storm, waiting for things to clear up. They’re learning how to cope with a torrent of bad news, and lean on each other for support.
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