'Black-ish' Season 2, episode 5 Recap: 'Churched'

In this week’s episode of “Black-ish,”Andre (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow Johnson (Trcee EllisRoss) learn how to say “yes” more often, to make their life a lot more enjoyable. In the process, the whole Johnson family is forced to re-evaluate their involvement in their community Church.

The youngest Johnson children, Jack (Miles Brown) and Diane (Marsai Martin), complain that they were not invited to a classmate’s birthday party because of their parents. Andre and Rainbow ask why they are at fault and all the kids point out that they always have a tendency to say no to any invitation.

Because of this, their children are missing out since other parents skipped inviting them. The couple contemplates what the kids said and decide to say yes more often.

They get their first opportunity when the Coopers ask them and the children to attend their child’s birthday party. At the event, the Johnsons unexpectedly enjoy themselves. They see their children having fun and they agree that it was a good idea to start saying yes.

When the Coppers invite them to come to a Presbyterian Church service, Andre and Rainbow say yes even if it’s against their better judgement. They consider themselves “CEO churchgoers” (Christmas and Easter only), but they think positive and give it a try.

They enjoy the service and decide that they have definitely made the right decision. They return the following week, but things quickly go downhill. When they find the service repetitive, they realise that the novelty has worn off. They try to make an excuse by saying that they want to return to their own Church the following week. They cite “cultural” reasons based on their race.

Everything backfires when the Coopers offer to attend service with them at their Church. With the help of Andre’s mom, they pretend to be regular churchgoers and invite the Coopers to the African-American Church service.

The service drags on for nearly four hours and the Coopers are clearly uncomfortable. They pretend to enjoy the service and compliment the Johnsons. In the end, everyone makes excuses and decides that it’s better to stick to one’s own culture.

The Coppers and the Johnsons agree to continue their friendship as co-parents but they leave the Church out of it. In the end, despite all the issues, Andre and Rainbow agree that it’s probably a good idea to think about taking their mixed-race children to Church more often, so that they can stay in touch with their African-American roots.

“Black-ish” airs every Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC, right after “Modern Family.”

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