Black-ish season 4, episode 23 recap: Dream Home

On the season 4 finale of Black-ish we finally found out if the Johnsons were going to stay together, or if they were destined for divorce…

We made it Black-ish fans! The past five weeks (remember the gap) have been difficult but we survived. Having to endure four episodes where the family you’ve come to love is falling apart was a lot to ask. Some fans checked out along the way and said that they would return when it was over. However, for those of us who stuck through it, this finale made it all worth it.

The episode started after another slight jump in time from the previous episode and the Johnsons had only grown further apart since we last saw them.

Bow and Dre are separated

In the episode’s first scene, Bow and Dre seem resigned to the fact that they aren’t going to be together. Dre is telling Bow that he is finally going to lease his dream house. Bow is against it, but not to the point that she would normally be. She has concerns that the house is not kid-friendly and these concerns are valid.

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Zoey hates that the house is glass, Jack gets stuck in the stairs that are lined with wire, and there is an uncovered (illegal) infinity fireplace in the living room. Devante is walking towards the fireplace when Junior turns it on by mistake. The house is clearly all about Dre and it’s clear that Bow is right on this one.

Dre’s coworkers

At work, Dre takes a call from Bow and steps outside the meeting room. His coworkers can see him through the glass and watch his argument with Bow. When he comes back he’s complaining about Bow blaming him for everything that goes wrong with the kids. He also mentions how she doesn’t want him to get his dream house.

That’s when his boss chimes in and tells him to stop thinking like a married man and think like a single one. Dre accepts this and, of course, gets the house.

Bow adjusting

Back at the Johnson home, Bow has to adjust to not having a man in the house for the first time. She struggles with taking out the trash and dealing with the dog. Late at night when their alarm system goes off she panics and ends up just telling everyone to spread out so the intruder has to chase them all individually. (The alarm went off because a door wasn’t fully closed.)

Zoey calls her out for how poorly she handled the situation.

Dre has his house

Back at Dre’s dream home, the bachelor pad is set up. He has all white floors and all white furniture. When the kids visit, he spends a lot of energy telling them not to wear shoes or eat on the furniture. Diane is having too much fun turning the infinity fireplace on and off. He has no silverware, so at dinner Jack and Diane have to share a fork.

Junior calls Bow to tell her how bad it is and is surprised when Dre can hear him. When Diane asks if she can go back home Dre finally accepts that his house is not inviting to his kids.

Pops advice

Seeing Dre come to this realization, Pops tells him that he made a mistake. He tells him that he now has two options. He can either go back to Bow, or try to turn this house into a home. At the same time, he tells him that he’ll never be able to compete with the house the kids grew up in.

Bow and Ruby

Back at the house, Bow is sitting in the twins’ room looking sad. Ruby notices and comes in to speak with her. Bow says that she thought that the time alone would be good for her but she hates it. Ruby takes this time to reassure her. She tells her that this isn’t going to break her, because she’s been trying to break her for 20 years. She tells her she’s the toughest biracial woman she knows. Given their contentious relationship this was a big moment for the show as well. It was great to see the woman to woman connection there and the genuine care Ruby showed.

Adjusting

After the initial rough starts, Bow and Dre make the necessary adjustments. Dre returns his all-white furnishings and gets more kid-friendly colors. He starts buying healthier food as well. This time when the kids come over to his place they love his meal and they’re happier at the house.

Back at their original home, Bow is doing the manual labor with a smile. The next time a crisis arises she handles it well and this time Zoey commends her.

As of this scene it looks like this is what the Johnsons are going to be. I personally started picturing them co-parenting in the upcoming fifth season. While not ideal, I started to feel how it could work.

Then things changed.

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The call

Dre is laying in his bed late at night when he receives a call from Bow. When he answers the phone she is crying. Sobbing actually. When he asks her what’s wrong she tells him: “he’s gone.” The kids are with Dre so we know she’s not talking about them. That’s when she tells Dre that her father passed away.

Dre runs over to the house where Bow is there to meet him. She is distraught and Dre holds her. We remember what their love previously looked like.

The decision

After the repass, Dre is helping Bow clean up as she lets out the last of the visitors. She comes up to him and tells him that he doesn’t have to stay. She says this in a way that feels like a question and Dre says that he wants to stay. He’s apparently been staying at the house for the past few days. Bow then tells Dre that she wants him to stay and they hug each other again.

The counselor

Coming full circle, we arrive back in the counselors office. Bow and Dre are telling their counselor about their journey back to each other and how they ended up where they are now. The counselor is obviously glad to see that they’ve decided to make it work and then compares their marriage to Thanksgiving dinner.

She says that the turkey is at the core of the meal, but once it’s in the oven you move on to the sides (kids, jobs, etc.). After a while, you realize that you haven’t checked back in on that turkey. She tells them that they have to make sure they work hard on making more time for each other. To make sure they remember what brought them together in the first place.

Our new marriage

Bow and Dre express that they’ve accepted that their old marriage is over and this is a new marriage now. We see a montage of them going on dates and just enjoying each other.

At the end of the episode, Bow has gotten Dre a gift. It’s a watch and he seems overwhelmed by how great it is. He then reveals that her gift is a large bouquet of flowers. You’ll recall at the beginning of things falling apart, Dre brought up a story where she made fun of him for getting her a flower. He is worried when he reveals them but she tells him that they’re perfect.

With tears welling up in her eyes she hugs him and wishes him a happy 20th anniversary.

Conclusion

Wow. When we first started on this journey I wasn’t sure what to expect. After the first episode I was concerned. After the second, I was extremely concerned. By the third, I began to truly appreciate the writing and now I see the full picture. What the creators were able to do here was risky but well worth it. Surely, Black-ish will get back to its roots in season 5 but with that season not being guaranteed Barris and his team took a huge risk. Based on the reactions on Twitter, this arc was well received. Of course people were relieved that they are staying together, but they also appreciated the acting, the writing and the directing during this stretch. Even those who weren’t fans of the dramatic arc had to acknowledge that this was executed well.

Next: Black-ish recap: Collateral Damage

We may not get to see this level of drama on the show again, but these four episodes will likely go down as one of the best sitcom runs in television history.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this season of Black-ish as much as we have and we’ll be back in the fall!