Category Archives: Oprah Winfrey

Posted on

Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4 : The Fourth Day…

 

Hello World,

So Charity quits her AP job and Jacob Greenleaf is a male chauvinist hypocrite, but before I break all that down, let’s get into another exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4 : The Fourth Day… For real dough, any other recap just doesn’t compare…

Four Walls…

It’s time to break out A.J. out of the four walls of his hospital room as his treatment is officially over, but the issue is where will he go afterward AND with whom…Grace wants A.J. to leave with her and Noah, but the medical personnel suggests that he be placed in a residential facility in Cordova for people living with HIV. AJ walks in on the powwow and tells the group that he has been stuck with so many needles that he feels like a voodoo doll. Once he realizes what’s being discussed, he shocks Grace and Noah. He says, “I want to go with him.” I’m not really surprised though because boys typically want to spend more time with their father as they mature. I’ve read that this happens around age 13. A.J. is beyond that, but he clearly wants to make up for lost time. By her downcast disposition, it’s clear that Grace is both shocked and saddened by A.J.’s decision.

Speaking of shocked and saddened, in the next scene, Bishop is going off on Jacob at the Greenleaf estate. “What did I ever do to make you think I was capable of murder?” he says. He cannot believe that Jacob just didn’t come to him first regarding the will situation. Jacob explains to his father that Kerissa was blackmailing him so he was trying to get to the truth before it got to be a big to-do. Lady Mae is incensed that Jacob went to speak with Tara Cross, sister of Basie Skanks and Rochelle Cross, without telling them first. Although Jacob attempted to sing her praises as the leader of a mission in a bad neighborhood, Lady Mae is none too impressed, calling her God’s Florence Nightingale handing out sandwiches and needles! Ha! Jacob says she is doing good work, but Lady Mae points out that the Greenleafs have been doing good work for 40 years.

The couple points out that Tara may think she has a claim to the house because of Jacob coming to see her. “You planted something in her head.” Just as a reminder, Loretta Davis, the original owner of the Greenleaf estate, may have left the house to Darryl James and not the Greenleafs. And you know that Lady Mae is going to blame Kerissa for this. “Her bony, wiggly hand set this whole thing in motion,” she says. She says Kerissa is conniving like “David Duke in a head wrap!” LOOOL!!!

But Lady Mae and Bishop set aside that discussion for a bit to discuss Calvary’s last Sunday in the building! Apparently, they had been discussing this before Jacob showed up, but Lady Mae had to remind him of that. Obviously, Bishop is getting to be somewhat forgetful, and I’m sure more will be revealed about that later in the season. But for now, Bishop tells Lady Mae that he doesn’t want to attend the last service. I don’t blame him. Even if I could, I don’t want to attend my own funeral. Because a funeral is what will be going on at Calvary because the spirit of that church died when Grace and her family left it. Still, Lady Mae wants to hold a Bible Study at home. “This is no time to stop praising God,” she says. She’s such a force, right?

Speaking of Calvary’s last Sunday, Charity, Phil and Judee are discussing the program for that last service. Judee wants to show a video about what the new church campus will look like once it is completed while Charity wants to show a video in which the history of Calvary will be highlighted. Judee doesn’t understand her need to recount the history of Calvary as it was the location where Bishop shot a man and Charity’s uncle touched girls’ privates. I really dislike Judee but that is a valid point. Charity warns that this new church won’t survive in that “stank-foot gym without a Greenleaf.” When Judee walks off in a huff, Charity explains to Phil that she is “just trying to protect [him] from [himself.]” She points out that the 4,000 people who made the church need to be recognized or they will just leave when the “white people show up for church.” Phil is not moved. “We’re going with Judee’s idea.” Why does Charity think that she needs to protect Phil? He’s obviously not protecting her.

Typically, the three bicker without an audience, but this time Grace shows up and sees the exchange. She hopes that Phil and Judee’s treatment of Charity will give her some leverage in what she is about to ask of her. She tells her that she knows that Phil DeMars’ mother, Gladys, will somehow enable the Greenleafs to get Calvary back. She interrogates her sister. Some kind of way she did a favor for Bob and Eden Vale Lending has something to do with it. But she needs Charity’s help to find out the identity of Phil’s father, who is also a piece of the puzzle. Grace says his name is Marcus DeMars. “Help us find his father.” Do you know that dizzy chick Charity fixes her mouth to say, “Look, I’m finally an AP (associate pastor).””At an H&H church,” Grace says. She then attempts another way to get at her. Grace knows that Charity still loves Phil, but a critical component is still missing. “Do you respect Phil?” And then Grace tells her that for all of her contempt for Judee, she will be like Judee in 10 months. “Let’s find a way to get her out.” Well, that’s all Grace has to say. Open sesame. Charity tells her sister that Marcus DeMars no longer exists because he changed his name to Yusef Shabazz and is now a Black Panther.

Four Letter Words…


You know that Lady Mae doesn’t lose an opportunity to unleash on Kerissa. Since Jacob told her that Kerissa is using the will to blackmail Jacob and by extension his parents, she has to get Kerissa told. After making sure that Winkie is not in Jacob’s suite, she tells Kerissa that she wants her out of the house (as long as she has it anyway…). “You are blackmailing this family for a few extra hundred dollars in a divorce settlement.” She also wants to know why Jacob and Kerissa are getting divorced in the first place. At first Kerissa doesn’t want to give up the goods, but she finally relents. Despite the fact that Jacob got down with various women including Malise, Lady’s Mae cook before Marisol came on board, he cannot find it in his heart to forgive Kerissa for her one indiscretion. Jacob is a male chauvinist hypocrite for that, right?

Lady Mae is stunned, particularly by the fact that Jacob got around even to the maid. But still Kerissa really doesn’t want to divorce Jacob. “If you can get him to forgive me and move on, I will let it go. But if he wants to play rough, game on.” I knew it. For better or worse judgment, she does love Jacob although she has a funny way of showing it sometimes. But still, I don’t think they should stay together anyway. They just don’t seem right together…Do you agree or is that just me?

In another part of the home, Aaron the attorney, Grace’s half-brother, discuss the will with Bishop and Jacob. The second will in which Loretta Davis gave the home to the Greenleafs supersedes the first will, but the court of public opinion may render a different decision. And it doesn’t help that Basie, Mac and Darryl James are dead and gone. But Bishop believes that he can reason with Tara and get her to see things his way. “I talked Basie out of killing me with a bullet in a chamber. It couldn’t be any harder than that,” he says. “Famous last words,” Lady Mae says once she joins the discussion.

Gigi has a hard task to complete as well. She calls Yusef Shabazz. She reaches the man, who is wearing a beanie and playing some sort of board game with other people, like at a home or something. She tells him she wants to ask him a few questions and tells him she is not a reporter although she used to be a pastor. Phil’s father says that is her first strike. When she mentions Phil’s mother and how she worked for Eden Vale Lending, Yusef points out that she is his ex-wife and has been dead for 20 years. Yusef says that’s her second strike. And when she mentions Phil, Yusef says that’s her third strike and then hangs up on her.  It looks like she will have to see him face to face in the Nola to find out what she needs to find out. And I’m sure that Darius will ride out with her when the time is right…

Well, now that Lady Mae has found out the deets on the impending divorce, she now has to confront her son. She mentions Mark 11:25, Romans 3:23 and John 8:7 which all suggest that you should forgive even if you can’t forget. She cannot believe that for all of his antics that Kerissa endured over the years, Jacob cannot forgive Kerissa for the one time she got entangled. “You bought all of us a ticket to the poor house,” she says. And furthermore, “You go and forgive that woman. This is about you and what you think about women and what you think about me. You forgive her and move on.” Obviously, Lady Mae is talking about the fact her oldest child is not Bishop’s child.  What she did was worse than what Kerissa did actually. At least Kerissa didn’t get pregnant by another man and pass that child off as her husband’s child for years…

But nobody makes more stupid decisions than Charity does. At Calvary, she approaches Connie the deaconness about her idea to highlight Calvary’s history in the final service. She tells her that Phil and Judee told her, “No.” “I’m saying, ‘No” too,” says Connie. “I can’t think of anything worse.” Welp. What a traitor Connie is.

Four Leaf Clover…

Now that Bishop is free of Calvary’s business, he has more time to roam about and that is just what he does. He finds himself in the bad neighborhood where the New Revelations Memphis Mission (I wonder if the New Revelation has to do with the will) is located. Tara James can’t believe that Bishop came to see her. “This is the second day in a row that a Greenleaf  paid me a visit,” she says. Bishop says, “I want to set things straight once and for all.”

He tells Tara that he did not make the call that led to Darryl James being in the church the night of the fire. He believes that it was most likely Mac. “Why would he have wanted Daddy dead?” she asks. Bishop points out that Mac was the one who amended the will. “Is there any way we can get past this, the both of us, once and for all?” Bishop asks. I believe in God and not luck, but some luck wouldn’t hurt in this situation, right?

Another delicate situation is unfolding at the Greenleaf estate. Noah and Grace are with A.J. to help him gather his things to move in with Noah. Grace makes Noah promise that he will see about getting Noah to a doctor and on medication. “He’s not asymptomatic.” That’s a word we’ve become more familiar with than we’d like to be, right? AJ gets mad that Grace is talking his condition. Although he is sick, I’m kinda sick of him. I want all of his truth told, and I’m just not convinced that it has been at this point. What say you?

And I’m sick of Judee too. She confronts Charity about going to Connie and fires her for trying to usurp her authority. “I’m Bob Whitmore’s daughter.” After all the ways that she disgraced herself to become an associate pastor, of course, Charity is hot about this. She confronts Phil as if he’s going to side with her. “You’re going to let her do it?” she asks. “What you did was unproductive,” Phil says. He then says something using the phrase, “truly, madly, deeply” which is Judee’s favorite movie, he reveals. Charity says her favorite movie is, “You can’t fire my black a$$, I quit.” Okay, den, Charity. Then she compares her bosom to Judee’s less than buxom bosom and says they can have their “oreo church.” “How I wish you were the man that I thought you were.” And despite the fact that she wants to hate him, she can’t because hating him would be like hating a sponge – a “passive, porous thing.” She ends with, “What a waste.” Well, I’m glad she is developing a bit of a backbone.

Back at the estate, Bishop drives on the property where he finds Grace walking alone.  I wonder how many acres they own? The property on which the show is filmed must be huge. It’s season five and we’re still seeing new vantage points on the property. Bishop picked up some Memphis barbecue on the way home because he is feeling good after his discussion with Tara apparently. He discovers that Grace is feeling some kind of way about A.J. “You’re afraid that everything you broke will never be put back together again.” He assures her that there is still hope. “Leave some room for God.” He reminds her what she did. “You came back. Don’t forget that. After 20 years, you came home. No one saw that coming.”

Speaking of seemingly impossible impasses, Jacob approaches Kerissa with the intention of telling her that he has forgiven her, but he can’t get the words out. Kerissa tries to help him by literally telling him what to say. “Here’s all you have to say. Kerissa, I’m sorry that I left you so alone in our marriage that you defiled yourself with another man to feel something.” Still, even with the words supplied for him, he cannot fix his mouth to say that. Kerissa realizes that they can’t get past this no matter what she threatens. She says, “I will lay off of the will because Mae knows I’m right.” Still, she tells him their marriage is over. Sorry not sorry.

What a dismal episode, right? But Zora and Sophia try to lighten the mood by horsing around with A.J. until they collapse on a bed with laughter. It’s really nice to laugh with your cousins. They try to convince him to stay and tell Grace that he has decided to stay when she comes in the room. She ask the girls if she can speak with her son alone. He makes sure that he tells her that he is not staying despite the girls’ audible wishful thinking. “You know you can always come back,” she says. “I’m not,” he says. But as he leaves, he kisses the top of head in her hair. That bit of affection causes the mother to dissolve into tears. (I have to wonder if this is the writers way of writing him off the show because you know that Noah tends to say gone for long periods. It took him whole season to get to Memphis from Denver. Remember? I think Denver is where he was…)

Judee aine crying about Charity leaving Calvary at all. “It’s for the best,” she tells Phil as they relax at his home. “Daddy is counting on you.” Phil, on the other hand, can’t shake it off as easily, particularly as Charity said that H&H won’t make it past Calvary by Tuesday. “It was almost like something is in the works,” he tells Judee. Judee aine trying to hear all that and wants to get affectionate with Phil but he blocks her. “Is it because I’m not legally divorced? I’m never going back to Ken,” she whines.

Although Phil is troubled about Calvary and what is ahead, Bishop is no longer thinking about Calvary. He has gathered his family in the dining room to tell him that the Spirit was present in his meeting with Tara and that their home is safe. “This is the day that I take back my joy.” Charity is feeling good too and tells her family she is no longer working at Calvary. “Free at last, free at last,” she nearly sings.

Bishop tells the family that the next morning, they will worship in church at their home and that Lady Mae will lead the service. In fact, he tells them that he wants Lady Mae to lead the church going forward. But before the episode can end on this seemingly triumphant note, Tara James calls Bishop on his cell. The family listens as he says, “I’m sorry to hear that.” Once the call is over, he says that Tara James wants to talk again about the house AND as soon as possible. Gulp…That doesn’t sound good…Now I have to wonder when Bishop meets Tara again will Rochelle show up…Because Tara did call someone after she met with Jacob… Well, I guess we will have to keep watching to find out what happens!!! Thank God for new content in these COVID-19 times!!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4: The Fourth Day… 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?

 

Posted on

Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day…

Hello World,

Long story short – what I thought about A.J. Delahaye isn’t exactly true, although he did reveal his truth in this episode…AND I still have questions…So let’s get into this exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day… Trust. Any other recap just doesn’t compare…You don’t have to testify right now, but you will after you keep reading…

Third Eye…

This episode begins with Grace relaxing on the pier on the Greenleafs’ beautiful estate. Maybe relaxing is not the right word. She is contemplating. In a jeep, Darius drives up, gets out and says, “Black coffee as requested.” He tells her that he will soon be on a flight to Vegas to investigate Eden Vale Lending. Apparently, the company was involved with refinancing loans but other than that, there is no information readily available so Darius is following his leads where they lead him. He invites Grace to come along but A.J. still in the hospital, she cannot leave town. And she has no idea about his state of mind as he still hasn’t allowed her or anyone else (other than medical personnel of course) to see him. During their discussion, Darius also reveals that he was fired the night before. His editor asked him to kill the story on Harmony & Hope Ministries and focus on state politics. But when Darius brought up that Bob Whitmore was going into state politics and as a result, H&H should be investigated, he was fired. “Bob Whitmore killed the story,” Grace tells Darius. They share a kiss before he leaves.

 

While Grace & Darius seem to be slowly finding their way back to each other, Jacob & Kerissa are on the road to Splitsville and fast. In their suite, she wakes him abruptly by opening the blinds so that the morning sun basks him in light. Kerissa says that because she will be meeting with Dante Saunders after school (remember Dante wanted to open a school I think…kind of like Lebron I guess), Jacob needs to pick up Winkie after his chess lesson. He agrees to do so but with a slight attitude. Kerissa throws out, “That’s why I want custody.” She thinks that his attitude means that he doesn’t want to spend time with his son. He responds with,”Just go and move out.” But Kerissa will not move until “me and my kids are properly taken care of,” she says.

Bishop and Lady Mae are downstairs continuing with their plans to open a new church. One of their first tasks is coming up with a name. Bishop suggests Cornerstone Community Church, but Lady Mae tells him he should stop drinking brown liquor before bed because a church with that same name is down the street! LOL. I swear this family does seem to drink more than I’ve seen a preacher’s family partake. That’s for sure. Anywho, Lady Mae reminds him that they once took Zora there and they drank cider and explored the corn maze on the property. She says, “You got lost, but I got us out.” I cannot help but think she’s also referring to the trouble that Bishop has gotten the family into and how she is responsible for getting the family out of that trouble. Bishop’s forgetfulness worries Lady Mae and she presses him to get a physical. She reminds him of his previous health challenges. “You had a heart attack in the pulpit.” At Lady Mae’s direction, Karine, Bishop’s former assistant, makes a doctor’s appointment for Bishop.

Charity shows up then and they continue to chide her for partnering with H&H. Lady Mae calls Judee a “wrinkled up, dried asparagus of a woman!” She also says it won’t be long until Charity will be “rocking cinnamon milk babies like a mammy.” Again, Lady Mae butchers with her words so I’m not surprised that Charity is not all that excited that Lady Mae slipped in a request for Charity to join them as an associate pastor no less at the new church. Lady Mae wants her to lead the music too. You cannot cuss me out while asking me to do something and expect me to comply. Sugar tastes better than vinegar. She tells her parents that she has a plan for staying at H&H, but Charity is not known for her sound judgment so…

Speaking of lacking sound judgment, Zora was able to somehow delete all of Sophia’s topless photos from Snapchat. But instead of calming her cousin down, Sophia, in a rage, starts throwing Nicki’s clothing into the trash. As if on cue, Nicki busts into Zora’s cabin, sees Sophia and starts throwing blows. Sophia says that Nicki wears “nine pounds of makeup,” and Nicki retorts with a below-the-belt comeback. “At least I can have babies.” Zora had been trying to separate the two as if she wasn’t on either side, but now, thankfully, she sides with her cousin and throws the chick out. Once the door is closed, Zora says, “I swear I didn’t say anything” and advises her that her anger has gotten out of control…Well, how else would Nicki know such personal information?…unless she told Dante and Dante told Nicki…I hope that’s not the case but with my third eye vision, I’m wondering if that is the case…

A Third Chance…

Obviously, Noah and Grace were once a couple when they were teenagers. And when Grace first came back, the two had a second dalliance. And now that he’s back again and they are now parents of A.J., Noah and Grace have a third chance at a relationship. It’s clear that’s how Lady Mae sees it anyway. When he shows up at the estate, Lady Mae says, “Oh, how we have missed you!” She also tells him that he continues to get more and more handsome and that he looks like a movie star. She even tells him that once Zora has left for college, he can get his old cabin back. They have get back together at the very least for A.J.’s sake. She says, “One of you gave him away and the other one didn’t know he existed.” Noah is flattered by Lady Mae’s attention, telling her that he is staying with his mother. He also tells her that she wants to meet her grandson, and Lady Mae praises his mother for being “open to the unfolding of life.”

Grace gets fed up with Lady Mae fawning over Noah and attempting to fuse them together as a family. She storms off and Bishop follows. “Don’t you walk away when I’m speaking to you,” he says. He understands Grace’s frustration, but he also understands Lady Mae’s efforts to join Noah and Grace together as a family. “You will be a family and you need to be to bring that boy on track.” He warns Grace that because he and Lady Mae weren’t on the same page regarding Faith, that the disunion may have been one of the factors that led to Faith’s demise.

Back at Calvary, which is soon to be demolished, Phil DeMars tells Charity that he and Judee want her to deliver the welcome on the first Sunday at the new location (a gym while the new building is constructed). She tells Phil that the First Lady she should be doing the welcome as she wants to preach. “You will preach very soon,” Phil promises after prefacing his statement that he will have to “run it by Bob.” SMH. He then proceeds to tell Charity that Judee needs help with music until Carlton is replaced. Charity agrees but only for a selfish reason. “You start messing with our music, and we’re out.” Charity wants to have a church to actually preach too after all. Based on the chemistry between Charity and Phil, I believe they at least have a second chance at their relationship…How it will happen though…I don’t know…

Speaking of second chances, Jacob shows up at Tasha Skanks’ apartment where she is wearing a little black number to get Jacob’s attention. She explains that she only wears black since Basie died, but she points out that, “I don’t have anything black and casual.” Chile please. He asks, “Does Tara know we’re coming? Does she really think that Bishop killed her Daddy?” Just before they go inside New Revelations Memphis Mission where Tara works I guess, Tasha tells Jacob that Basie died in a roadside hotel where his body was found in Laredo, Texas while Rochelle made it to Mexico. (Now in SOAP OPERA 101, you learn that if a character has not actually seen the body, the person may or may not be dead so do with that what you will.)

The mission is located in a warehouse which includes chairs and that’s about it. Jacob loves the scaled down church. “This is a ministry I understand.” But Tara ain’t trying to get into small talk. “What do you want, pastor?” Jacob hems and haws a bit before finally asking, “Did my father kill your father?” Tara responds with, “That’s accurate.” She also also explains that while Basie, her half-brother, and Rochelle, her sister, took God’s vengeance into their own hands, she had a different approach. She patiently waited for the “day that a Greenleaf would be moved by God to make it right.” Jacob continues his interrogation and asks if her father knew Loretta Davis, the name on the will that Jacob found in Mac’s tackle box. Then Tara clams up. “I’m not comfortable answering any more questions. ” Once the two leave, Tara calls somebody and says, “I had a very interesting visit from Jacob Greenleaf.” Is Tara speaking with Rochelle?

Meanwhile, at the Greenleaf estate, Karine agrees to handle the music at Bishop and Lady Mae’s new church particularly since the best of gospel music will not be expected at a bar.

Plans continue to be made for the new H&H church as well and Judee pops up to harass Charity although it’s under the guise of attempting to work together. Judee repeats Phil’s request for Charity to deliver the welcome at the new location. She then shows her new-to-her engagement ring which was once worn by Phil’s mother. She asks Charity if she thinks it’s “stodgy.” Charity says she knows that Judee is trying to get her to quit and asks her if she’s heard of the story about the tortoise and the hare. In her scenario, however, Charity is Godzilla and intends to preach and teach her way past her and Phil. She then tells Judee that while her father may have some influence, her father, her Heavenly father that is, has more. “He always wins.” Say THAT, Charity…

Judee was speechless after Charity’s speech but finally A.J. is ready to talk…but not to Grace…To Grace’s surprise, Sophia sails right into A.J.’s hospital room. “Finally a friendly face,” he says. Sophia starts to tear up, but A.J. warns her that he will kick her out if she starts crying. He tells her that he is leaving the next day. This makes the third time that he tries to find a way out. First was after his robbery. Then his attempted suicide. And now he is planning a third escape. What’s up with this kid?

Third World…

While Rochelle may have escaped to a third world country and Basie is dead, Jacob and Tasha now have an opportunity to do what they thought about doing before. As Jacob takes Tasha back to her place, she asks, “Do you want to come in?” Jacob explains that he has to pick up Winkie. Then Tasha says, “Did you really like me?” He tells her that he did and that once he and Kerissa are divorced, they can pick up where they left off. She tries to kiss him before she gets out of his vehicle, but Jacob stops her. “Let’s do it right this time.” Why did he have to do that? Tasha is in love for reals now. “You’re such a good man,” she practically sings. In actuality, I’m proud of Jacob. He has shown some character development throughout these five seasons…

You know who’s not in love? Phil. At least with Judee. While Judee tries to tell him about her encounter with Charity earlier in the day and how she referred to herself as Godzilla and more, Phil appears to be disinterested. He interrupts, “Can we pray? I’m hungry.” Then, this woman launches into a loong prayer with her eyes closed while Phil rolls his eyes. I bet he wishes he could escape to a third world country with Charity.

 

When Jacob makes it back to his suite, he overhears Kerissa discussing him with her attorney. He declares the deal is off and that he wants shared custody of Winkie. When Kerissa brings up that Bishop may be going to jail if he attempts to get shared custody, he doesn’t back down. “Either he belongs there or he doesn’t. Either way, I’m about to find out.” Good for you, Jacob. I’m sick of Kerissa and her threats.

He finds Bishop on an elliptical machine, huffing and puffing. He says, “Did you call Darryl James the night he died and tell him to come to the church?” Bishop says that he didn’t call him. Jacob also tells his father that Loretta Davis left the Greenleaf estate to Darryl James.  “What’s going on here, Jacob?” Bishop asks. Bishop says that he has a will that refutes that claim.

Meanwhile, Lady Mae seems to be softening up just a little bit when it comes to Charity. She goes to Charity’s suite where she finds her playing with her son. She tells her that she found an old hymnal in which Charity had written the words “Rev. Charity Greenleaf” when she was a little girl. (I submit that she is still a little girl…) “Maybe you were on the right track,” Lady Mae says to her daughter. “Maybe we’re all fools a little to think we can play a role in what God can do on His own.”

Charity says she never really aspired to be a worship leader and that she wanted to be a preacher all along. I’m still like whatever. Until she can get somewhat of a handle on her personal life, I aine trying to listen to what she has to say in the pulpit. No one is perfect who is in or not in the pulpit. However, your life should be at least somewhat stable and reflective of the principles about which you preach. Anwho, Charity suggests that the new church be named Eternal Faith Fellowship. That reminds me of a funeral home in my opinion, but Lady Mae takes a liking to the moniker. And she tells Charity that she can be an associate pastor at the family’s new church.

And now the moment that you’re likely waiting for…at least it was the moment I was waiting for the entire episode…Sophia finally persuades her brother to reveal his truth however devastating it may be. She knows that he wouldn’t be leaving unless there was something that he did not want to reveal. She explains to him that she, too, is dealing with a devastating loss. “I lost my ovaries for no reason. If you send me away one time, I’m through with you.”

As she leaves his room and sees Grace, we don’t see what he told her. But we can see by her facial expression that his secret is pretty bad. But apparently, Sophia was also successful in getting him to reveal his secret to Grace. Once she walks into his room, A.J. says. “I’m going to tell you something and after I say it, I don’t want to talk to you about it.” He tells his mother that while he was in prison, he was raped and as a result, he is HIV positive…WOW…right…Well, that explains why he hit up the pharmacy…but who was that dude who wandered onto the Greenleaf estate and knew Grace’s name? Saints, something is still missing from this story…Do y’all agree? I guess that’s why we have to keep watching…Ready to testify yet?!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3: The Third Day… 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?

 

Posted on

Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 2 : The Second Day…

Hello World,

If you’re looking for an exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 2: The Second Day, you’ve got the right one! So let’s get into this thang, ya’ll…

Seconds…

First of all, I’m thinking that since the first episode of Season 5 was named “The First Day” and this week’s episode is “The Second Day” and next week’s episode is entitled “The Third Day,” something is going to break next week as Jesus rose on the third day and what was thought to be dead was resurrected! Will the truth about the real A.J. be revealed next Tuesday? I’m thinking so…But back to this particular episode….

“The Second Day” begins with Jacob in his uncle’s storage locker looking for some documentation that will help him refute the will that his estranged wife Kerissa is holding over his head. But he finds nothing of interest except a fishing rod and tackle box that he takes with him as he leaves in frustration. He only seems to be there for a few seconds, but this is TV time so…

Thankfully, Grace found A.J. just in time as he seemed to be already dead from cutting his own wrists in last week’s episode. But the seconds mattered and A.J. is now in a hospital room recovering from his injuries while Grace and Sophia wait for news of the prognosis in the waiting room of the facility. A nurse or a doctor or some medical staffer tells Grace at A.J. is “stable” although “he lost a lot of blood.” She asks Grace was she cut with the razor blade that A.J. used to cut himself. It’s a standard question according to the woman, but Grace is bit disturbed by it. She says that she wasn’t. And the woman tells her that A.J. will now have to be held for 72 hours for observation, that he will have to see a psychiatrist AND that it will be up to A.J. if he wants to see Grace or not.

Since Grace convinced everyone else to go home, the next scene takes place at the Greenleaf estate. Lady Mae is still fasting! “You need to eat something,” Bishop tells her. Lady Mae replies, “I will eat when my Lord tells me to eat.” If only it were that easy for me. I try my best to eat when the Lord tells me to do so, but chile I can be so disobedient. That’s why I punish my sins with exercise! LOL…But I digress…Then Bishop pressures Lady Mae about setting a date since their City Hall wedding was sidelined with A.J.’s suicide attempt. “I can’t get married while A.J. is in the hospital,” Lady Mae tells Bishop. But Bishop is not to be deterred. Lady Mae finally tells him she will marry him on Flag Day! That’s a random day, but y’all know Lady Mae just says stuff sometimes….

Grace shows up then and passes a key to Mavis’ club to her father. Apparently, the club has been empty for a year. Bishop has plans for the club and if you keep reading, you will find out more. Charity and her self-centered self shows up then and laments that Grace isn’t really trying to communicate with her. But Lady Mae is never at a loss for words. “You almost had her son arrested and you gave away our church,” Lady Mae says to Charity. But she’s not done. She tells her daughter that she should be sitting in a “dunce’s cap in the cold swinging shadow of your favorite Bible hero, Judas.” Again, she’s got the most eloquent bless outs ever! She doesn’t need a knife to cut, that’s for sure…

In Jacob’s suite, Kerissa and Zora fold clothes together. Kerissa takes the opportunity to tell her daughter that she can always discuss her problems with her mother. In Zora fashion, she spits out, “I talk to Jesus every day.” We know that’s not true and Kerissa does too. “Don’t make jokes about Jesus, ” she says. Jacob comes in and the tension between the couple is palatable. Zora knows her parents are about to have some sort of meeting, and she correctly guesses this meeting is not about therapy. Yeah, Zora, your parents are past therapy at this point…no use in prolonging the pain for a second longer…

As Grace gets on her laptop in her suite, Darius calls. She tells him that A.J. attempted suicide. He feels bad for calling about investigating Harmony & Hope Ministries, but she tells him that she needs to be distracted anyway, particularly as A.J. will be off limits for a while. At her request, he comes to pick her up and they go over to the home of Cal Weaver, a Harmony & Hope Ministries pastor. Without even giving Grace more than a few seconds of an explanation, he sputters, “Bob told us all not to talk.” Whoa. What is that about? Especially since Cal has already told Grace that he is not going to be a part of the church merger…And none of the H&H pastors are allowed to speak to the press?… Cal shuts the door on them and shuts down the conversation.

At this point, Grace wants to get back to the hospital where she will meet Noah, A.J. father. Darius is obviously still checking for Grace because he wonders aloud if Noah and Grace plan to couple up again since they now have a son to care for. But Grace tells him that he shouldn’t be worried about that. They’re just concerned about their son. “I’m sorry I’m not more fun,” she tells Darius.

Darius is chasing Grace but unfortunately, Grace’s daughter is chasing Dante who doesn’t seem like he wants to be caught. She calls him and leaves this kind of whiny and wandering message asking about his relationship status with Nikki…Obviously, with her brother nearly dead, she is in an emotionally fragile state and it shows…

Second Chance…

Bishop and Lady Mae have moseyed over to Mavis’ blues club in another part of Memphis. Is the club on Beale Street? As they enter the abandoned club, Lady Mae doubts that this “den of iniquity” can be transformed into a new location for Calvary! That is if they intend to call the church the same name as before. Despite the fact that they own the property fee and clear (well Grace does anyway since Mavis left it to her), Lady Mae reveals, “I’m a little bit daunted by starting over.” She looks around the dusty and smoke-infused club and doesn’t see what Bishop sees. She says a either a “wrecking ball or a match” is what the club needs. “That this building can become a church is a stretch” particularly since it is probably built on “bodies and barrels of bootleg liquor.” And furthermore, Lady Mae plainly tells Bishop, “Gut it, start fresh or I’m out.” Do it Bishop! Your second chance with Lady Mae is depending on it!

Phil DeMar’s second chance relationship with Judee is giving Charity the blues. When she shows up at Calvary, she sees that her office is being painted “plantation pink” and “confederate gray.” What in the Gone With the Wind is going on?! And to add insult to injury, the reason that the office is being painted in such ghastly colors is because Charity’s office will now be Judee’s office! Charity storms Phil’s office where she confronts her ex fiance’! Phil reminds her that she is an associate pastor while Judee will be the First Lady. Charity excuses herself to the bathroom where she collapses in tears while sitting in a bathroom stall.

Jacob aine tryin’ to give Kerissa a second chance so it’s full steam ahead with their divorce. They finally meet with Kerissa’s lawyer and the lawyer promptly instructs Jacob to sign paperwork that will give Kerissa primary custody of  Jacob Jr. aka Winkie. How many times in these five seasons have we seen Winkie anyway?! I would guess like five episodes…like an episode a season…Anywho, Jacob momentarily pushes back and says he wants shared custody. Kerissa’s attorney says to Kerissa, “I thought you said this was settled.” Jacob’s memory is revived then…That’s right Jacob. You better get down or lay down because Kerissa will have your parents in the pokey if you act up! He signs those papers and that’s that.

Back at the hospital, Noah joins the mother of his only child and brings coffee to her. “So what happened with Isabel?” Grace asks. He tells her that she wants a divorce and that it’s okay because he was “holding onto something that was never really there.” And now, Noah is staying with his mother. There’s something about the way he told this news to Grace that leads me to believe he’s trying to make a little family with Grace. More on that later. They don’t get to explore my suspicion any more because the two find out that A.J. doesn’t want to see either of them. And they are told to come back the following day.

Zora and Sophia may have a second chance to restore their severed cousin relationship. Sophia stops by Zora’s home (you know the smaller home on the property where Noah used to live) to ask Zora for a play list that she can give to A.J. “I’m not entirely cool with you,” says Zora. I swear she has a perpetual attitude. I really don’t know why she is more loyal to this Nikki rather than her own flesh and blood. Still, despite the fact that Sophia is no longer saved and sanctified, she still seems to be a peacemaker. She tells her cousin to cut her some slack. “I lost my virginity to a guy who cut me off three days later.” That bomb softened Zora’s stance…at least for the time being…smh…I would not care at all if Zora were on my side…she’s tew murch…

I do think that Charity and Phil will be able to give their relationship a second chance but not right now. While Charity and Phil are discussing some sort of ramp that needs to be constructed as a part of the new church, Judee shows up and clutches Phil in such a way to stick it to Charity. Charity can’t take the heat and spews out the truth like hot water! “He’s only marrying you because your father is making him. He’s still in love with me.” Judee quotes Proverbs 12:15-16 but changes some of the words to suit the situation. She tells Charity to “move the eff on.” That’s right Judee mixed with Scripture with Satan’s Language! Then Judee flounces out of Phil’s office. “You have a good Christian woman, pastor,” Charity remarks. “You should be proud.” Well, Charity aine no Moral Mary nor Martha either so…

Speaking of names that begin with M, Bishops calls some place to speak with Mavis. While he’s waiting for her to pick up the phone, there is all this din in the background. But mysteriously, Bishop just hangs up without speaking to his sister in law…(Oprah, Oprah, where art thou?)

As I said before, Noah is trying to get with Grace and have a second chance at having a family. He says to her,”Can we talk tonight? How are we going to dealt with all of this? I want us to be a family.” Noah sounds as crazy as he looks. Can I get a witness? Grace replies, “I’ve been here for three years, and I still don’t feel like I’m a part of the family.” Noah tells Grace, “that’s how you work.” For some reason, that remark perturbs Grace. “Take it back,” she demands. Grace is a loner. That cannot be denied.

A little while after that, Lady Mae finds Grace sitting on the steps of their palatial home. Lady Mae is coming back from visiting Faith’s grave. She says to Grace, “This whole thing with A.J. has got me thinking. You get a second chance to know your child.” Ever since Grace’s paternity was revealed, and it was revealed that Grace had a secret child, the two have finally been able to fix their relationship because of their common ground. And now the two have something else in common. Both of them have children who are suicidal…(except for the fact that the young man thought to be A.J. is really not….That will be revealed next week on “The Third Day”…mark my words…) Grace reveals to her mother that not only did A.J. attempt suicide, he doesn’t want to see her. Lady Mae tells her daughter about why she goes to Faith’s grave and how she fantasizes about seeing her in Heaven…Grace still says, “All of that is different from being told that you’re not wanted.” Was she talking about herself or A.J.?

While Lady Mae and Grace are exploring this unique mother-daughter connection, another daughter walks up on them…You already know…Instead of recognizing what was happening between the heartbroken women, Charity makes the moment about her. When she approaches them and Grace walks off, Charity laments, “Is this how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives?” Lady Mae pulls no punches per usual. “I’m fresh from the grave of Faith. You don’t know what real problems are.” And then she leaves like Grace did. Will Charity get a second chance with the family? Does she deserve one?  That’s the charitable thing to do…but Charity does work the nerves, right?!

Second Heartbeat…

Unless God touches the relationship of Jacob and Kerissa, their relationship is lifeless and without a heartbeat. The two argue in front of Winkie just after Zora leaves the suite. She takes medication for her chlamydia and Jacob refers to the pills as “slut meds!” LOL And he threatens to tell Zora about her mother’s moment of indiscretion, but she reminds him that he has 20 years worth of moments of indiscretion. And she reminds him of that will once again. “I will march that will down to the police, and we will see how soon Bishop gets a phone call.”

In Grace’s suite, she is once again disturbed by Charity. Charity brings a poem to her that she wrote about her daughter Eden that she lost. Remember her son had a twin sister. Grace reads the poem out loud. Once she finishes, Charity says, “I’ve lost a child too. I know how you feel.” And then Grace blows up as she should. Grace tells Charity that she has found a way to make her “son’s” attempted suicide all about Charity. Instead of trying to see Grace’s point, Charity gets defensive. “You and Mama deserve each other.” So now she’s mad that Grace and Lady Mae have something in common. She is such a petulant child. In five seasons, Charity still manages to be childish! What is it gonna take?! Have heart girl and just leave your sister alone…

Maybe Charity gets her persistence from Bishop. He is always trying to get Lady Mae to see things his way. In another part of the house, he tells her that he’s called some contractors to get some estimates for redoing the club. “You’ve got my sister’s permission?” Lady Mae asks. “Who needs it?” Bishop says. Uh oh…I’m sure his response will lead to some trouble later in this season. Then, he presses Lady Mae to set a wedding date! Huh? While I’m watching this, I’m like, Lady Mae said that she would remarry Bishop on Flag’s Day. And Lady Mae confirms what I was thinking. “I told you earlier today.” She told him Flag’s Day on June 14. He then kinda seems to remember and says he will put the date on every calendar in the house? She’s puzzled as to why Bishop doesn’t remember. Now, I’m sure this is important. I wonder if this means that Bishop is showing symptoms of dementia…I want to be concerned, but I’m not…reason being that Bishop’s Parkinson’s Disease was supposed to slow him down seasons ago, but that hasn’t come to pass so…

Speaking of things not coming to pass…Sophia calls Dante again and Nikki answers. Then, she hangs up on Sophia…She gave up the goodies only to get got. She better go back to God and soon…

Sometime later, Marisol catches Lady Mae savoring the flavor of week-old pasta salad. “You’re eating,” she exclaims. “The Lord informed me that I need strength for the days ahead.” (Aside: I’v got some pasta salad in the fridge that I plan on enjoying tomorrow. Not that you care, but’s it’s rare that someone mentions a particular food on a television program that you have in your fridge at that very moment.)

Anywho, Jacob and his second heartbeat, aka Winkie, go fishing on the Greenleaf estate. But the fish aren’t cooperating. Jacob opens the tackle box and wouldn’t you know it, he finds a weathered envelope containing a will for a Loretta Davis. Who is she?  Whoever she is, she is certainly the key to stopping Kerissa from blackmailing Jacob.

Speaking of underhanded, Zora calls Sophia and asks Sophia if she sent a topless pic to Dante! She may have only sent it to him but now the image is everywhere. God is trying to tell you something, Sophia.

God is trying to tell something to Grace too! He delivers a message to Grace through Cal Weaver. He calls Grace and simply says, “Eden Vale Lending.” He also tells Grace to stop Darius from ever contacting him again. I can’t call it at this moment. I guess I will just have to keep watching…

And I’m glad I kept watching this episode because the shocker comes in the final moments. Jacob goes by the apartment of Tasha Skanks (remember her?). “Tasha, I need to find Basie,” Jacob says. “Jacob, Basie is dead.” What?!!! Basie was my favorite short man on TV since George Jefferson! Yes, I’m a ’70s baby. Millennial readers, Google “The Jeffersons.” What does Basie have to do Loretta Davis? Saints, do y’all know? It looks like we will just have to run on (or watch on in this case) and see what the end will be…Can I get an “Amen” on that?!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 2: The Second Day… 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?