Black-ish taking a break after that devastating episode
After airing their most devastating episode last week, Black-ish will not be airing tonight. The show is on a brief hiatus as they prepare to crush us with the current story arc.
On last week’s episode, Bow and Dre went through something that all married couples go through. They are in a funk, and this is not the first time but it is the first time it has lasted this long. After talking with a therapist, they had a date night and things seemed to go well enough. However, things fell apart again the next day. Every time it felt like things were getting better, they fell apart quickly.
This is unusual for the show, as most issues are typically resolved within the episode with a nice lesson being learned. To have the sitcom end on a heavy note was a risk that appears to be paying off. The show announced that this episode was the first in a four-part series arc. Part two will air on May 1st and there should not be another break between the episodes.
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Why would they go this route?
Black-ish is based on the life of the show’s creator, Kenya Barris. He mentioned in an interview with EW that none of the sitcoms he watched growing up addressed issues within a marriage. When he went through issues of his own he was unprepared and he wanted to do this arc to address the real issues that people face. Working through the hard times is part of any successful marriage. Things are not always going to be perfect.
Based on the reactions from fans, they are appreciating this despite how hard it is to see the Johnsons struggle. Most found scenes from this last episode entirely too familiar. 53% of American marriages end in divorce and Barris wants to do his part in shedding light on the topic.
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What’s next?
In the next episode of Black-ish, Dre and Bow are still battling with their issues. During this episode, Dre is going to be reflecting on the good times in the relationship. Based on this description, it does not appear we are going to get much closer to a solution to their current issues so it will be interesting to see it all play out. The kids seemed unaffected during the first episode but I’m sure they will start to notice at some point.
We’ll all be pulling for the Johnson’s to work things out when Black-ish returns next week at 9/8c on ABC.