Category Archives: Fathers

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 12: Day of Reckoning…

Hello World,

From the moment a “Day of Reckoning” began until the very last second, it was a non-stop thrill ride so I won’t waste another instant in beginning this Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 12: Day of Reckoning…

The Cold Light of Day…

This week’s episode begins where last week’s episode ended. Grace follows her mother, the only definite parent she can claim at this point, outside the sanctuary and continues to question her. “Is Lionel my father or not?” “I told you I don’t know,” Lady Mae screeches. Then in classic Lady Mae fashion rather than owning up to her wrongdoing, the Greenleaf matriarch gets indignant and asks her daughter if she is going to out her at some appointed time in the future. She implores Grace to reveal the secret now rather than have her wait in agony. “Scream it down the halls and save me the circus,” she says. When her daughter tells that she does not intend to out her, she then gives her a command. “I never want to speak about this again.”

Wow, it must be nice to live in Lady Mae’s head! She is incapable it seems of feeling guilt and even responsible for her misdeeds. She has just revealed that she doesn’t know the identity of the father of the daughter she has spurned since she was born it seems and now she is giving that same daughter directives!

In the next scene, we witness another troubled pair – this time it’s Jacob and Kerissa. After Jacob’s showdown with Basie last week, he is frantically trying to call him, mainly to find out if Tasha is safe and get her on their side after the FBI raid also last week. Basie is so unhinged at this point that even his wife would not be spared from his wrath. Kerissa says, “Stop calling Basie and call Tasha.” Jacob replies, “He has has her phone.” As Kerissa watches her husband fret about another woman, she is starting to lose it as well. “One thing you haven’t done since you came home is hug me.” Jacob tries to calm Kerissa down by telling her that he doesn’t care about Tasha that way. “Tasha is our only way out of this. “

The Three Musketeers, Basie, Rochelle & Tasha, are at Tasha’s home (I guess Basie’s home too…at least it used to be before he up and left) discussing what they’ve done so far and their plans now that the Greenleafs are aware of their plans. “I think he half believes he hit this,” Rochelle says with laughter. During last week’s episode, she tried to convince Bishop he slept with her when he knows that he did not. She is a gaslighter of gargantuan proportions. But Basie knows this is not the moment to play. In fact, it’s time to pack. Tasha says, “I’m not going anywhere.” He asks his sister to pack a bag for her. That would be sweet if they weren’t criminals trying to escape from the consequences of their crimes. He opens a suitcase and it’s chock full of money. “Is that the money you were supposed to invest for Bishop?” Tasha asks Rochelle. Basie says they will escape by crossing the border to Mexico. He tells his sister and Tasha to meet him later at a place by the Raceway. “We will be there,” Rochelle says.

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Lady Mae and Maxine are getting prepared for “A Day With Lady Mae” by getting in-house spa services. Clothed in terry cloth bathrobes, they discuss what happened with Grace earlier. “What is she tells Bishop?” Lady Mae says. “What is that old sinner going to do,” says Maxine before she cackles. Lady Mae laughs as well. They sure are smug about sin, right?

Speaking of Grace, she calls Aaron and asks him if he would be willing to take a paternity test. One of the things that I appreciate about Grace is that she is always seeking the truth…even when it could hurt…

Eternity and a Day…

Now that Bishop finally knows that Rochelle is as sinister as a snake, he is finally in position to fight this IRS debacle with his whits about himself or is he? Bishop, Grace and Grace’s attorney friend meet to discuss his options considering that he is up against bank fraud and wire fraud charges. The attorney says that he should claim cognitive dysfunction or in another word senility. Y’all know Bishop aine tryin’ to hear that. He gets up and says that he is about to do a service. “If you haven’t noticed, I don’t have my book of prayer with me,” he says, “because I’ve got the whole service up there.” He points to his head. I get what Bishop is saying. No one wants to claim senility at the age where it really could be a possibility. That’s kind of how I feel about the gray hair craze. It’s cute on girls younger than me. And another thing. Bishop aine tryin’ to give Lady Mae any more ammunition than she already has. “I’m keeping my church. I’m not losing it to my ex-wife.” And thirdly, Bishop does have a direct conduit to his Creator and He told him that everything will be alright in the end. “The Lord gave me a vision of my last moment of life, and it wasn’t in a prison.” When Grace asks him to tell her about the vision in more detail, he asks her does she believe in visions. When she admits that she doesn’t, he says, “I can’t tell you because you wouldn’t believe me anyway.” Do you believe in visions? I do…

Speaking of visions, Zora is finally seeing the light! She tells Isaiah about a promo video she has made for Isaiah’s tour and rather than be appreciative of her efforts, Isaiah seems disinterested. “I shouldn’t care about your tour more than you do.” Instead of addressing what she said, he asks her to pack his clothes for his tour. Since she has performed in so many roles for his profession and was prevented from going to Spelman College, she says, “I want an official title.” He says her title is “my girl.” Bwoi stop. I hope she is hatching a getaway plan like Basie and nem.

Rochelle is trying implement their getaway plan when Coralie Hunter calls her. She is ready to get her children out of foster care and doesn’t want to wait until after her court date. “They are not safe,” she says. She also tells Rochelle that she needs money. That is all Rochelle needs to hear to spring into action as she was once a poor foster child herself.

Back at Calvary, Bishop doesn’t only have to worry about nonbelievers. He has to worry about backstabbers as well. He encounters Deaconness Connie who is meeting with another bishop in charge of Harmony & Hope Ministries. “We have churches in over 100 countries,” he says. “Our next stop is North Korea.” But it’s obvious, he is checking out Calvary too. He questions Bishop’s title at Calvary. “It’s still Bishop and I don’t see that changing any time soon.” He goes on to say “I will leave you two to conspire.” When Bishop Greenleaf walks away, the Harmony & Hope bishop says, “That’s a man who knows his days are numbered.”

Across town, Grace and Jacob are staking out Coralie’s house where they hope to see Rochelle. While in the car, Jacob admits that he kissed Tasha once. “When are you going to grow up?” Grace asks her brother. She asks him if he loves Kerissa. He has to think about it and then says that he does. He describes a bone in her cheek that he feels when he kisses her “Good Morning.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be with a man who has think about if he loves me.

Finally Rochelle along with Tasha show up at Coralie’s house! When the doorbell rings and Grace and Jacob come inside, Rochelle realizes that Coralie set her up. “Grace told me what you did to her family,” Coralie says. Now that her true character has been revealed, Rochelle is no longer holding anything back. She accuses Grace of hypocrisy. “I know that I’m a sinner deserving of hell.” Then she yells, “I know what you did in Phoenix.” Wait. Hold.The.Phone. What did Grace do in Phoenix? Was Faith’s funeral the only reason she came back to Memphis or was she running away from something as well? Y’all know? If so, tell me.

At any rate, Tasha and Jacob go outside by themselves as Grace asked to speak with Coralie alone now that Rochelle has left the building. Tasha refused to go with her by the way. He tells Tasha that their extramarital exploits are over. “I’m a married man, but I hope you will still help us clear this thing up.”

Meanwhile, Zora finally realizes, like Jacob, that her heart is really with her family. “I’m going back to Memphis,” she tells Isaiah. She is tired of the “side chick crap” and all of the other grunt work that she has been doing for Isaiah without getting paid for it. Of course, he attacks her, but this time, she fights back, even knocking him to the floor! And when he gets up and comes at her again, she uses her phone to film what he is doing so he stops. Go girl! Sophia picks up her cousin at the airport. Finally, the prodigal daughter has returned…

Where the Day Takes You…

The time has almost come for a “Day With Lady Mae,” but first Bishop updates Lady Mae on what has been going on. He tells her about Deaconness Connie’s meeting with the Harmony & Hope Ministries Bishop. I think his name is Philip Demars or something like that. But at this point, Lady Mae only has a one-track mind as she is so close to the brass ring that she has been reaching for nearly all of her life. She has a perfect solution that she offers to Bishop. “Why don’t you seal the day with a public announcement that I will be co-pastor.” But Bishop knows his wife.   “I will not be weighed down by you. You are just another sinner. Tell me everything you did.” When Lady Mae acts like she doesn’t know what he is talking about, Bishop says, “Pride goeth before a fall.”

Lady Mae doesn’t have time to consider Bishop’s warning as the time for “A Day With Lady Mae” has finally come. We’ve been hearing about this coming out party I mean service almost since Episode 1 right?! This better be good. Charity and Maxine (Ms. Patti baby) start off the service with a beautiful selection “Change.” (Man, I would be sooo nervous if I had to sing with Patti The LaBelle!!!) Even Cunning Connie, our favorite deaconness, is moved. With the backdrop of photographs of Lady Mae, the duo introduce Lady Mae. “I call her Mama,” Charity says. “And starting today, I call her Pastor Greenleaf,” Maxine says. Looking like a fuchsia flower in bloom, Lady Mae swishes onto the stage. I thought she would be in a power suit to appear more like a pastor, but later on, I realize a feminine dress is most appropriate for her message.

Grace is in the room but she is standing at the back. Just then, she gets the results of the paternity test that she took with Aaron on her phone. She doesn’t look at the results though.  She leaves the service and goes to see Bishop. To make matters worse, Bishop is having a moment. I think it finally hit him that he is in deep trouble and he dug his way there. Grace had his back from the very beginning, although he is just now realizing it. “You never stopped fighting to save us all, and I thank you,” he says. “I treasure you and all you’ve done for me my precious daughter.” He tears up then. Awww, this is going to hurt if Gigi is not Bishop’s baby.

By now, Lady Mae is preaching and has no idea what is going on outside of the sanctuary. She preaches about the “dreaded day of reckoning” she heard about from preachers when she was growing up. Even though she was a little girl who had done no more than stolen a chocolate cookie at that age, she was still convinced that she deserved hell. She said that unlike a male preacher, a female preacher would have spoken about the “undying love of my Lord.” “I’m going to replace all of that fear with love.”

Speaking of love, Jacob, now back with Kerissa at home, tells his wife that he loves her. He says he truly realized it when he was with Gigi the night before. But Kerissa has finally reached her limit. “It’s too late,” she says. “I want a divorce, Jacob.” But before the conversation can continue, Zora shows up! Jacob grabs his daughter and hugs her.

A happy ending is not what Basie has in mind when he shows up in Bishop’s office and points a gun at him. “I didn’t mean to kill your daddy,” Bishop says. He tries to convince Basie to put down the gun, reminding him that he has lost his church, wife and if he kills Bishop, his soul.

And then we are back in the sanctuary with Lady Mae. “The day of reckoning is today. It’s any day that you step out on faith, say thank you Jesus and take what’s yours.”

Basie must have heard that message all the way in Bishop’s office because he is ready to take Bishop’s life. “You’re going to burn just like my daddy.”

And that cliffhanger is where the episode ends…smh…wow…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 12: Day of Reckoning and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land…

Hello World,

I know many saints don’t celebrate Halloween but clearly OWN Greenleaf writers had some tricks up their sleeve on this Halloween night that I will reveal in this Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land so keep readin’ y’all…

Promises Promises…

This episode starts with a solemn scene as Lady Mae is at her laptop at Calvary alone and late into the night. She crafts an e-mail to her children and grandchildren confirming what we have feared since Season 3 began: Bishop and Lady Mae are legally divorced. I must say I didn’t think this would actually happen and I still wonder if the all of the “t”s have been crossed and the “i”s have been dotted as far as the documentation is concerned. Despite the dismantling of the family she and Bishop have built for more than 40 years, Lady Mae tells them they are still entering the Promised Land that they must take possession of with hope. She says she is aware of their “past sins but they are ready to grow. We are no longer married but we are still your parents.” She refers to them as her angels before she ends the correspondence.

In the next scene, Jacob and Kerissa are playing detective over at Triumph as Tasha Skanks has left without a trace and reason why although we (the audience) know what’s up. Kerissa speculates that maybe Basie is back, but Jacob feels that if Basie had returned, he would have have heard something. “Memphis ain’t that big and Basie ain’t that small.” (That’s a nice line.) At any rate, now that Tasha is gone and Kerissa has turned Zora over to God, Kerissa is finally available to take on all of the duties of a First Lady. She hires a new accountant. He has an African accent I think. He promptly notices some irregularities in the accounting…

At Calvary the next day, Grace and Rochelle meet with the murderess (per Lady Mae’s description) Coralie Hunter. Coralie is seriously considering the deal the district attorney offered her although she will be in jail for 20 years. 20 years in jail is better than life in jail after all. Grace pleads with Coralie to allow the lawyer they’ve hired to advocate on her behalf as this case is expected to set a precedent. Coralie aine tryin’ to hear that legal jargon, but Rochelle gets to her with a personal plea. She tells Coralie that her mother went to jail, forcing her and her little sister to be in the system and moved around like “hot potatoes that nobody wanted. I know that you don’t believe in Jesus but you’re going to have to have faith.” That story does the trick and Coralie meets with the new attorney.

Following that meeting, Bishop happens to walk by Rochelle, who is in a conference room at Calvary by herself. She takes the opportunity to ask him about the rumors she has heard. “Are you legally divorced?” she asks. Bishop confirms the rumors are true. “Lady Mae and I are officially no longer together.” Of course that news brings a smile to Rochelle’s face. She invites Bishop to do some “daytime drinking to celebrate or console as the case may be.” Bishop says he would like that. Maybe I’m a sheltered pastor’s daughter but I don’t know any pastor who is quick to sip like that! What y’all think?

The time for “A Day With Lady Mae” is almost here as Maxine Patterson is back! Lady Mae tells Maxine that Bishop looks “lost in his own church. Maxine replies with, “It’s won’t be his for long.”

Y’all know that’s a promise that Lady Mae intends to keep…

It’s A Long Way To The Promised Land…

Zora is back. I must admit I appreciated a break from that hellion in last’s week episode but like a bad weed, she’s back. Zora and Isaiah, the boy she was willing to turn her back on her family for, are at a radio station 104. 8 FM where he is answering interview questions about his latest project. He says the project addresses the “tribulations on tribulations” he’s endured and that it is an “amalgamation of pain.” Yeah, whatever man…moving on…I don’t know about the rest of the family but Zora will not be entering into her own promised land for some time.

Charity is back in her office at Calvary and looking mighty composed actually. Maxine’s music director, a hottie I’ve seen before on some show but cannot remember exactly where I’ve seen him, stops by to discuss how they will move forward with plans for the music included in “A Day With Lady Mae.” Charity starts to discuss a few ideas, but before she goes too long, the music director Michael asks if they can pause to pray. He was already fine, but now, he’s looking irresistible and by the look in her eyes, Charity agrees with me!

The two continue to converse and Michael asks Charity to dinner. She declines because she has to care for her son on the night in question. Michael mistakenly thinks that since she has a son that she is married and apologizes for asking her out. Charity says that she is actually divorced. She also chooses to reveal that her ex-husband is gay only because Michael may see Kevin at some point while he is in town. Michael apologizes for her ex-husband’s deception and says that “sort of deception is susceptible to prayer.”

Maxine Patterson also has some ideas about how to plan “A Day With Lady Mae” but Lady Mae disagrees with Maxine’s directions. Maxine wants Grace to be a part of the program for example, but Lady Mae suggests Jacinta Butler instead. Maxine asks Lady Mae if the theme for the event is “She Changes Everything” or is it “She Puts Everyone to Sleep?” LOL.  Maxine notices that Lady Mae has some sort of block when it comes her own daughter and asks her what is the deal with that. Karine interrupts the planning session to tell Lady Mae that Lionel Jeffries is on the phone, but she aine tryin’ to hear him either.

Maxine, without Lady Mae at her hip, eventually sees Grace alone and uses the opportunity to ask her about her legal defense fund. She decides to contribute. But she also uses the time to ask Grace about her troubled relationship with her mother. “What’s that all about?” Grace responds with “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That’s right Grace. Keep family business in the family unless you’re in therapy 🙂

Speaking of troubled family relationships, Rochelle tracks down her sister-in-law Tasha at her home. “Why aren’t you at Triumph?” Rochelle asks her. “I quit,” Tasha spits out.  She adds, “The funds have already been transferred from Triumph.” In other words, Tasha wants Rochelle to just leave her alone, but Tasha has more to say first. “You’re messing with an innocent man,” she says in reference to Jacob. “He’s a good man, Rochelle.” Now Rochelle is perturbed. “Are you in love with him?” She doesn’t outright answer the question but she asks Rochelle about the whereabouts of that “no account nothing brother of yours.” She then escalates the conversation even more. “If you come back here, I will call the cops. And I might forget what story I’m supposed to tell them.” Rochelle calls Basie afterward. “We’ve got a problem,” she says. Basie and Rochelle thought they were finally on the fast track to their promised land, but there continue to be road blocks.

The Promise…

Y’all know that Grace is gangsta right? While Rochelle was talking about her childhood in foster care with Coralie, Grace was taking mental notes. Later on, she tells Darius to use his network of contacts to find out more information about a Rochelle who grew up in foster care with her sister and Darius obliges. He tells that there were three girls named Rochelle but only one could be their Rochelle and he even has a foster mother to interview! Rochelle, you ’bout to be discovered chile. That’s a promise.

But while we wait for that to unfold, Rochelle has more business with Bishop. Now that Bishop is single, she is passing time with him out in the open on Percy’s porch no less. (Percy does not make an appearance on this episode though.) Bishop complains that he is “running a church from the guest room of a house next door to a mortuary.” Rochelle promises to help him find a new place and the two drink champagne to that. They don’t kiss as far as I can tell but they do nuzzle.

Another couple that I don’t like are figuring out their way around each other as well. Now that Zora is free is a bird, she mistakenly feels that freedom will be a part of her relationship with Isaiah. But that is not the case. She tells compliments him on the presales of his album and casually mentions that she forgot she applied to Spelman College. Apparently, the couple now reside in Atlanta where the school is located. She is thinking of setting up an interview, but instead of encouraging Zora to continue her education, Isaiah criticizes her. He says “Spelman doesn’t take high school drop outs.” Ouch. She should have stayed in school. But Zora calls him out on not claiming her during the radio interview to a female fan. He says, “I’ll claim you when you start acting like someone who deserves me.” He also knocks some food out of her hand. It looks like she decides to contact Spelman anyway, secretly of course so that her behind won’t be beat. I just don’t get it. Has he made some promises to her that we are not aware of because I just don’t get the attraction…

But maybe it’s just a case of the apple not falling far from the tree. Kerissa calls Tasha about her leaving Triumph in such a hurry. Tasha, who sounds high or drunk or both, says, “Why are you you calling me all mad? It was just a kiss. Don’t hate me Kerissa.” Now Kerissa knows that Jacob is up to his old tricks again and has not kept his promise to be faithful. At Triumph, Kerissa calls Jacob “trifling” and says that he is supposed to be a “strong tower” for the family and is nothing but a “twig.” In fact, he is worse than a twig. He is a “puddle of need, desires and bad decisions.” Wow, but he deserved every bit of that rebuke and probably more. But on the other hand, Kerissa continued to stay with Jacob through all of his past philandering and maybe that was the pattern that Zora observed growing up: My man may abuse me in a myriad of ways, but I shall stay and be abused any way. And in the midst of all of us, the new accountant interrupts them to tell them that $200,000 is missing from the church’s account!

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Charity answer’s Michael phone call. Since she was busy with her son on the night he originally wanted to go out to dinner, he asks her out for another night. She agrees at first, but tells him that something he said about her ex-husband got under her skin. He says that Kevin deceived her about that “struggle with his sin” but Charity doesn’t approve of how he describes Kevin. Michael says, “Charity, you deserve better,” and Charity responds with, “Maybe that’s not you.” So this is some growth for Charity. Usually, she just accepts any positive attention she gets without being selective about the source.

Across town, Darius and Grace go to see the woman who may have been one of Rochelle’s foster mothers. At first, she doesn’t remember Rochelle particularly with the last name Cross, but she does remember a Rochelle James who had a little sister! Gigi wastes no time in telling her father what she discovers. She goes over to Percy’s house to tell him in person. He has some news to share as well, but he allows her to go first. “Rochelle Cross is Daryl James’ daughter. She is the half-sister to Basie Skanks.”

Bishop looks crushed and we never find out what was his news. Maybe we will find out in a future episode.

Speaking of hidden identities and this is THE SHOCKER of the night, Lady Mae pays a visit to Lionel Jeffries in the nursing home. “What do you want Lionel?” she says. “I want to talk about my daughter!” Y’all, we’ve been wondering why in the world does Lady Mae hates her daughter so much. Even Maxine Patterson is perplexed. But now we know!!! I don’t know if a paternity test was ever conducted to confirm it but that is one reason among others in my opinion why Lady Mae is less than fond of Grace. And Grace is the oldest child too! You mean her first child wasn’t even Bishop’s? That’s crazy! (Oh, I don’t recall Lionel ever saying Grace’s name  so it’s possible that he may be referring to another one of Lady Mae’s daughters although that is not likely to me. What y’all think?!)

Speaking of crazy, Rochelle comes back to Tasha’s house and Tasha gets a lamp. I guess she is going to attack her sister-in-law with it, but before she does that, she sees Basie at the door!!!

Yes, my favorite short man character since George Jefferson is back! Brother and sister are both dressed in black. Basie says, “I’ve heard you’ve been a bad girl!” LOL. The funny thing is that Tasha looks like she loves some Basie too even while she was pining way for Jacob for the whole episode. But who doesn’t love a bad boy with some attitude unless it’s one who hits you like Isaiah. That’s another matter altogether. Anywho, that’s it and that’s all…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 10: The Promised Land and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train…

Hello World,

It’s hard to believe that yet another week has passed by and once again it’s time for another OWN “Greenleaf” recap and in this case: Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train…Some episodes are action packed with nary a moment for me to put down my pen and other episodes are more contemplative and I have time to consider the implications of what I’m witnessing on the screen. This episode was the latter. At long last, I think Bishop is finally starting to entertain the idea that Rochelle may not be what she claims to be, but more on that later….

Water Runs Dry…

The time has finally come for Bishop’s Silver Jubilee celebrating his 25th anniversary. It looks like it’s going to be a grand affair and shades of purple, the color of royalty, will be splashed over everything from the programs to the sanctuary. Grace realizes that some of the details that make such an occasion truly a celebration like the decorations will be lacking a certain cohesiveness without Lady Mae’s direction. “Who is helping you with this?” Grace asks her father. Bishop has to admit that he has no help even from his assistant Karine, whom he shares with Lady Mae, as she has been busy with the upcoming “A Day with Lady Mae” with Maxine. But Karine does find the time to hand Bishop the divorce papers that have finally been drawn up and delivered to Calvary via a courier. Karine specifies that both the Bishop and Lady Mae have to sign the papers. Bishop muses that he will be a “free man” upon signing the papers, but when he sits his office by himself, the expression on his face shows he is not at peace with the fact that the well that was his marriage is now dry.

Back at Percy’s house, it may not be too much longer before Bishop has worn out his welcome. Bishop tells his old friend about the divorce papers and Percy asks his living arrangements. “Now that you and Mae are done and Mae has the house, what arrangements have been made?” In other words Bishop, you don’t have to go home (because you don’t have one) but you need to raise up outta here! Bishop admits the divorce papers “threw me a bit.” Percy says, “Don’t let them sit too long. You have some living to do.”

Bishop and Gigi come together again for another discussion at the Greenleaf estate and he asks about his granddaughter Sofia. Grace tells him that she is still the same – isolating in her room. Bishop decides that he will visit her. However, but before he can do that, Grace asks him about Rochelle. “Is it true that you invested a large amount of money with Rochelle?” Apparently, Lady Mae told Grace that Bishop intends to make the money needed to pay the IRS through his investments with Rochelle. “I don’t trust her,” Grace says. Bishop asks his daughter why she is working with her on the legal defense fund if she doesn’t trust Rochelle. “I’ve accepted her help because I don’t trust her. The way she swooped in and drove a wedge between you and mama. Daddy, get that money back.” That’s right, Grace. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Who said that originally? Very wise statement. Another way to say that is, “Every shut eye ain’t closed and every good-bye ain’t gone.”

On the way to see Sofia, Bishop sees Charity, Kevin and Aaron playing with Nathan. “Look at the happy family,” he says. As he continues, Aaron comes up to Bishop and says, “My father has called you a few times. He has pancreatic cancer.” Y’all know Bishop ain’t been cool with Bishop Lionel Jeffries, Aaron’s father, ever since he discovered that Lady Mae and Lionel had an affair back in the day. “Are you two on speaking terms?” Bishop asks Aaron. “Barely, but he’s sick,” Aaron says.  Will Bishop reach down into his well of forgiveness and offer the water of reconciliation to a dying man?

Run To You…

Bishop finally makes it to Sofia’s room. “You got a second for an old man?” He assures her that though he and Lady Mae have their differences, he will be around. She invites him in. “I notice that Bible I gave you is out of rotation.” Sofia says, “I should give it back to you.” “Hold on to it for a while,” he tells her. She tells him that she hates her life.

He lets her know that he knows how she feels since he has to grapple with Parkinson’s Disease. Y’all, we haven’t heard anything about his condition in over a season it seems. In fact, this is the first episode since his condition was revealed that we actually see evidence of it. Throughout this episode, he is constantly stretching his hands I guess to alleviate the pain. I think it was a mistake to not address this condition in a consistent way as the story of Bishop and Lady Mae’s unraveling unfolds. We all know when someone is chronically sick, that very much determines how you interact with the person. Anyway, he tells Sofia that he understands why she stays holed up in her room as you get to avoid everyone’s “clumsily stated ‘concerns.'” He also tells her  that it’s a fact of life that the body eventually “falls apart and everything is taken away in the end.” He invites her to come to church on Sunday for his Silver Jubilee. “God has given me a special message just for you.” I must admit, as I watched this, I was  jealous remembering my own grandfather, who was also a pastor. He’s been with God in Heaven for several years now, but I can still hear his voice – booming and clear and brimming with wisdom. Sofia is lucky to have a grandfather that she can run too and I hope she realizes that before it is too late.

Bishop returns back to Percy’s place where he sees Percy’s “friend” Theresa, standing alone,  wearing a black dress that shows all of her shape. I loved her curly Afro! I’m trying to grow one myself ever since I cut my locs off. “Is Percy around,” he asks. “He’s conked out,” she replies. She tells him she can stick around, presumably to “service” him as well but Bishop is not interested in what she’s serving…

The next morning when Percy wakes up, he encourages Bishop to mend fences with his old friend Lionel despite his affair with Lady Mae. “You only get a few people in life you can work things out with. He may be one of yours.” Percy has so much wisdom to be hanging out with whores.

This is the Bishop World Tour episode because Bishop goes to see his son Jacob and his grandson at his home next. Bishop lets his son know that he sensed something when he interrupted Jacob’s meeting with Tasha. “When I came to your church the other day, it seems to me that you two were in the middle of something.” Jacob assures his father that he’s no longer the philanderer that he once was and nothing was going on. But tonight is not about Jacob’s pending downfall (and you know it’s coming), it’s about Bishop’s divorce. Bishop admits that he is conflicted about signing the papers. “It’s not about having doubts. It’s complicated. I don’t see anyway forward that looks right. The papers are sitting in my briefcase like a bomb.” Jacob encourages his father to not sign them – at least immediately- until he’s truly ready. In the end, do you think he will run back to Lady Mae?

Runnin’ (Dying to Live)…

The time has finally come for Bishop’s Silver Jubilee, but before it goes down, he has a behind-the-scenes discussion with his baby girl. Although Charity has been feeling better lately, right now, she is feelin’ some type of way about the fact that her ex and Aaron seem to be moving right along with their lives. She tells Bishop the couple is buying a home together, and they are considering marriage. “Why does everyone get their fairy-tale ending except me?” Bishop admits he has similar feelings when he sees Lady Mae not skipping a beat as their divorce is coming at a steady pace. In fact, she’s coming into her own, he says. But he cheers himself up by opening up the newspaper and seeing what “holy ruckus” Grace is causing on any given day, listening to Charity’s CD or watching Jacob’s online sermons. In those moments, he’s grateful to Mae for giving him these three children. All I could think about was Faith. He should have mentioned her in some way in this moment too. She’s dead, but she still existed. Was he not grateful for her too?

Shortly after that conversation, though, I forgive Bishop when he sings a beautiful duet with Charity. They sing, “If I Can Help Somebody,” which kicks off the service. Grace is up next. “That was some good sangin’ Daddy. Now what I can say by way of introduction, celebration and revelation about my Daddy, My Bishop…He’s a man of faith. He doesn’t walk by sight. We all owe so much to the faith the Bishop has had in us.” She encourages the congregation to welcome him with “holy enthusiasm.” When he walks up, he whispers to Grace, “Rochelle is not what you think.”

She says, “I hope you’re right.” Because you know Rochelle is there too. Bishop delivers a rousing word so much so that Deaconess Connie says that the Silver Jubilee turned out better than anything Lady Mae and Maxine have up their sleeves. Bishop points out that this is not a competition.

Bishop is really only concerned about one person, the one whom God gave him a word for, his granddaughter Sofia. When it becomes clear that Sofia was not moved by the Spirit in the service, (‘I don’t think I have a spirit,’ she says), he invites her to his office to tell her the “meaning of life.” He compares life to a runaway train and how our parents didn’t intentionally bring us into a world in which they had no control over, a runaway train of sorts, but that is the situation. He says God, the grand conductor of this runaway train, needs our help in letting people on the train know that He loves them and he’s trying to bring this runaway train to “safe and satisfactory end.” “Happiness isn’t the absence of sadness. It’s being in the adventure of life in God’s world with others.” I feel like this, as the Bible states, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come. In this world, we will have troubles and experience things we may never understand, but God is there to help us as we go through. Nothing separates us from His love although it feels like it sometimes. Sofia keeps runnin’ from God, but where else can she run? We are all “living to die and dying to live.”

Nowhere to Run…

Following the Silver Jubilee, Bishop is again at his BFF’s house. Isn’t funny that you never see Percy at Calvary? True friends don’t have to be in agreement about everything as long as they share some commonalities. Bishop asks him where is his “company” for the night. Percy tells him that sometimes he has to curb that appetite out of self-respect. “You never forget your paying for it.” He tells Bishop that he’s lucky to have that young woman Rochelle who is willing to “rub his feet” and more. Again, Bishop is stretches his hands, obviously feeling the effects of his Parkinson’s Disease again.

The next time he sees Rochelle at Calvary, he confronts her. “What are you doing in my life?” He continues. “I’m an old man. My hands shake. My body is not what it used to be. What do you want from me?” Rochelle pretends to be incensed and tells Bishop to look at the app where he can see that his investment is yielding a return. He hugs her and apologizes for doubting her interest in him.

In the next scene, Bishop finally gets around to see his former friend Lionel at the assisted living facility where he’s staying now that he is sick. When he finally enters Lionel’s room, Lionel says, ” I just want to say I’m sorry. I don’t expect that you will forgive me.” Bishop tells him it was the betrayal by a friend that broke the heart of Jesus. “I forgive you but this is the last time we will see each other in this life.”

When he returns to Calvary, he finally decides to sign the divorce papers. The revelation of Lady Mae’s affair with Bishop was part of the reason that we got on this runaway train leading to the divorce of Bishop and Lady Mae. Now that he has made peace with what happened maybe there is nowhere else to go but down the road of inevitability. He takes the papers to Lady Mae’s office and tells her that he signed them. “Why did you sign them, James?” Lady Mae says.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that we’ve seen her speak in this episode. Her question puzzled me. I think there was a part of her that never expected him to sign them. He says in response, “Because I know that I have no right to this marriage. Perhaps I never did. Whether you sign them is up to you.” Dressed in purple, Lady Mae does sign those papers. But both of them have tears in their eyes…

But be encouraged Saints, y’all know that Bishop and Lady Mae go together like peas and carrots. LOL. There is no separating them…

When Bishop returns to his office, he discovers the Bible that he gave to Sofia is on his desk. She still hasn’t figured out that she has nowhere to run except to God, but she will understand it better by and by…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

Any thoughts?