The Neighborhood Season 1, Episode 10 recap: The thief

Malcolm, Calvin, and Dave all dealt with stealing in The Neighborhood Season 1, Episode 10. Elsewhere, Tina taught Gemma how to protect herself.

The Neighborhood saw theft in Season 1, Episode 10. First, a teenage kid robbed Malcom Butler (Sheaun McKinney) of his shoes. Then, that kid took one of Calvin Butler’s shoes. Finally, Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) stole that kid’s bike. Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield) of course enjoyed being in the thicket of it all.

Wanting to protect herself in the neighborhood, Gemma Johnson (Beth Behrs) sought the assistance of Tina (Tichina Arnold) in self-defense, and Marty (Marcel Spears) unhappily acted as the test dummy.

The shoes

Dave and Malcolm began The Neighborhood with a game of HORSE at the park. Unsurprisingly, Dave lost, having not made a single basket. Seriously, is he good at anything?

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Dave left, and Malcolm stayed to shoot some more. Jamaal (Amir O’Neill) showed up, and Malcolm invited him to shoot some baskets. Jamaal declined, and instead demanded Malcolms’ shoes. Malcolm laughed at the demand.

To his surprise, more teenage kids circled him, and Malcolm ran away. He returned to the Butler house, but he lost both of his shoes. Calvin became upset. The next day, he donned his fighting shirt, and he and Dave ventured back to the park.

When Calvin confronted Jamaal and the teenage kids, he ultimately lost one of his shoes. Dave did not join in the skirmish. In 2019, I hope The Neighborhood displays some of Daves’ skills, because he has spent the first ten episodes without showing any of his skills.

In response, Calvin and Dave walked over to Jamaal’s house to talk to his parents. Jamaal insulted them, neither of his parents came to the door, and Dave and Calvin realized Jamaal lacked parental supervision. Sinking to Jamaal’s level, Calvin took Jamaal’s bike, and he and Dave rode away.

That evening, Dave caught Jamaal as he planned on spray-painting graffiti on Calvin’s truck. After restraining his father, Malcolm took Jamaal outside for a talk, in exchange for his bicycle. Malcolm told Jamaal he wasn’t mad about the shoes, but those are not good decisions on the way to becoming a man.

Malcolm also revealed he let Jamaal take the shoes. By the end of his lecture, he praised Calvin for properly raising him. Malcolm again offered to shoot hoops with Jamaal, just as friends. Listening via the security cameras installed by Marty, Dave and Calvin overheard most of the conversation. Calvin returned the bike to Jamaal.

The Neighborhood ended with a friendly competition of two-on-two. Jamaal missed badly on his shot, but he joked, “Not all black people play basketball.” Dave asked if Calvin regretted not picking him, but after he attempted this shot, Calvin quickly said no.

Self-defense

After Marty installed security cameras, Gemma said she felt safe in her own home, but she still worried about walking around the neighborhood. Tina offered to teach her self-defense, and she accepted. Marty unhappily acted as the test dummy.

Tina told Gemma about the three key items needed for self-defense in her purse: a comb, seasoning salt, and a bag of coins.

After Gemma failed miserably in her attempts to harm Marty, Tina looked for inspiration. Grover (Hank Greenspan) became the inspiration. Gemma channeled her inner mother, and Marty certainly felt her rage.

https://twitter.com/BethBehrs/status/1072155261106761728

Needless to say, Gemma proved she is capable of defending herself. Marty on the other hand now knows not to mess with either of his parents or Gemma.

Ten episodes into The Neighborhood and the Johnsons could use some tough love. Grover received some tough love at his sleepover at the Butler house. Gemma learned how to act tough tonight. Dave still needs to show his talents. Talking and tagging along are more annoying than useful.

I cannot believe he didn’t become angry when Jamaal insulted him. Nobody likes being insulted. Yet Dave never showed any hurt feelings. To make matters worse, when Calvin gave the bicycle back to Jamaal, Dave cried. The Neighborhood seriously needs to help him grow up!

The fall finale of The Neighborhood airs Monday, December 17, at 8/7c on CBS.