Black-ish Season 5 premiere recap: Junior wants a gap year and the twins want their own rooms

In the Black-ish season 5 premiere, Junior decides that he wants to take a gap year, while the twins revisit their decision to continue sharing a room.

Black-ish left off on a heavy note with the Johnsons. Dre and Bow had contemplated divorce and were only brought back together when Bow’s father died. We wondered if there would be lingering effects from that period and, as of the premiere, there don’t appear to be any.

Black-ish got back to being the hilarious family comedy that we’d come to know and love before that dark turn at the end of season 4. The main issue in the episode was Junior’s decision to return home after being dropped off at college so let’s start there.

The drop-off

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The entire family made the trip to D.C. to drop Junior off at college. This wasn’t just a drop-off though; the family planned to make the most of their time and do some sightseeing. As they head out to visit the African-American history museum Dre tells Junior he can’t go because he’s a local now.

They return home from their trip and when they walk into the kitchen, Junior is sitting at the table eating. He booked a flight and left because he wasn’t ready and wants a gap year. Both parents are upset but Bow convinces Dre to wait to talk to him because yelling won’t help. She says she’ll handle it.

The work talk

Dre, of course, tells the guys at the office about Junior. His boss then does his best Dre impression. He talks about how a gap year would be great for them (the white employees) but could be devastating for Junior. He brings out statistics telling how black kids that come from good households are more likely to end up living in poverty than their white counterparts at the same economic level.

He mentions many factors of institutional racism and says that Junior does not want to create a gap in his resume. He then is mad at himself because he sees how this ties back to slavery and he was trying to avoid that. “It’s almost like we should keep talking about it.”

Rainbow’s talk

When Rainbow goes to talk to Junior she finds out that his roommate freaked him out. He started talking about aspects of college that Junior was unprepared for like internships and making sure to get the right professors. When she asks what his plan is, he tells her he doesn’t have one.

Dre’s talk

After taking in the info Bow passed along to him and listing to Zoey’s point about Junior being a man now, Dre decides to approach him as a man. He walks into Junior’s room and hands him a beer (that he can’t open) and hands him a sheet listing how much money they’ve invested in him. He then tells Junior he needs to go back to keep his scholarship but Junior has already done the paperwork to keep his scholarship safe.

With his options exhausted, Dre decides that Junior is a kid again and demands him to go back. When he says no, Dre tells him to find another place to live and Junior calls his bluff and says he will.

Final result

After this talk, Pops decides to give his two cents. He explains to Dre that his son had a different experience growing up than he did and has a better foundation. They know Junior is responsible and he thinks that Junior should have earned their trust. He thinks they should allow him to see it through.

As Junior comes down with his bags, Dre and Bow tell him he can stay. Dre hurt his feelings though so he wants him to beg but Dre is too prideful. He eventually, reluctantly, tells him he’s begging him and earns a big Junior hug.

Diane and Jack

The side story involved Diane and Jack. Ruby watches them go into their room and doesn’t like how it looks. She tells Diane that she needs her own room before they become the weird one nobody invites around. Diane initially blows her off but then starts to see what she means.

Later, Jack has a friend over who notices Diane’s bra and gets excited. He “reveals” to Jack that his sister is a girl, and now Jack notices their living situation is weird.

Conclusion

At the end of the episode, Diane moves into Junior’s old room and Junior moves in with Jack. The final scene of the episode is Jack walking into see Junior in a tank top sharpening a toothbrush. Junior tells him they get up at 8 and then head to the yard to lift at 9.

It was a great episode all around and fans of Black-ish had to be pleased that the dark times from last season appear to be behind us. The show will undoubtedly refer back to this period at some point but so far it was all about keeping things fun.

Black-ish returns next Tuesday at 9/8 Central on ABC.