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Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 8, Series Finale: Behold…

Hello World,

It.Is.Finished…My favorite church drama OWN’s Greenleaf, after five fantastic seasons, is now over…Let’s break it all down in this Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 8, Series Finale: Behold…When you want your recap to be as good as the show, you’ve come to the right place…

Now Behold the Lamb…

Saints, unfortunately what we feared is true, Bishop has gone on to his final reward and is with the Lamb of God in that pasture in the sky. After last week’s episode, when it appeared that Bishop had a stroke, I felt like I had lost a beloved family member rather than a character on a mere television show. And even the next morning, I felt melancholy. But that is what great television or any great work of art will do: illuminate real life so much that you have no choice except to contemplate what has been presented and incorporate the message in your real life. The reality is that we all have an expiration date and hopefully we will leave this sphere as Bishop did, having poured out everything in service to God and what He has called us to do for our fellow man…

This episode begins with Lady Mae laying next to Bishop’s body. She gets the ring box that he presented her with earlier and puts on the first engagement ring that he ever gave her. She caresses his head and places one last kiss on his lips. Next to Bishop is the paper where he wrote, “I do.”

In Grace’s suite, she obviously has no idea what has transpired as she is fussing with her daughter about those topless photos that she sent to Dante that have magically spread through the Internet…(Hey, whatever happened to Dante and Nikki? I guess it doesn’t matter now…)”Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Sophia says the photos are no big deal. “They’re a big enough deal that you’re considering changing schools,” Grace says.

At that moment, Grace is interrupted by a telephone call from an Anne Holiday. Apparently, Anne is running NY1, and she has heard that CBS is doing an expose on Bob Whitmore and that Grace had a lot to do with that. Now, she wants Grace on her team as she is looking for “smart women of color.” “Are you ready to get back in the game?” Anne asks her. Apparently, she runs 20/20. Remember, Grace is a journalist by trade. Anne tells her she will call her tomorrow to give Grace some time to think about her offer.

By this time, Lady Mae has appeared and Grace can tell by looking at her face that the news is not good. In the next scene, all of Bishop’s family have gathered around him in the bed. It’s a touching display depicting that Bishop was absolutely the center of the Greenleaf family.

In the next scene, the family have gathered for a small homegoing service on the property. I imagine this was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic presented itself, but this small gathering fit with the social distancing guidelines we now have to follow. Charity beautifully sings “If I Can Help Somebody” as they gaze as Bishop’s tombstone. Bishop was born in November 1954 which would make him roughly 66 years old. Did anyone see the exact dates?  He was way too young to die, but God knows best. Purple, blue and white flowers are placed on his casket, and it is so sad to see it lowered into the ground.

Percy Lee, the funeral home director, is the only one not in the family who is present. I imagine the reason he is there is twofold: his services obviously and the fact he was Bishop’s best friend I believe. After the service is over, the family plus Percy walks back to the home. Lady Mae grips the hand of her son Jacob on one side and surprisingly, she grabs hold of Kerissa’s hand on her other side as well. I liked that she did that because although Jacob and Kerissa are no longer together, Kerissa will always be an inextricable part of the Greenleafs…

After the service, the family gathers around the dining room table and reminisce about the patriarch of the family. AJ says, “How can I miss someone who I barely knew so much? No one has ever spoken to me like that before.” He then promises to build the car that Bishop gave him whether it take a year or 10 years. (I guess car parts were in that box after all. And what was up with that A.J. doppelganger?! ) Grace says, “Bishop sat me down and said, ‘Before you do anything, check your heart and make sure you’re acting with love.” She said he said that because Jesus only acted out of love. Lady Mae is there taking it all in, but her grief has mellowed her characteristic outspokenness. She is silent except when she gets a phone call. She excuses herself to another room to take it.

It’s Misty from Calvary. The deacons minus that snake Connie Sykes have met and they want Lady Mae to lead worship service on the upcoming Sunday. After all, the church has thankfully severed its ties with Harmony & Hope Ministries and Phil has slithered away as well. “We need someone to remind us of where we’ve been, what we have achieved and what a blessing it all was,” she says. Additionally, they want to honor Bishop. It’s an offer that Lady Mae can’t refuse.

Behold (Then Sings My Soul)

Although this episode begins on a bad (sad) note, not everything in the episode is bad. Noah has found a house AND he has secured a job as the director of campus security at a nearby college, Rhodes College. With Isabel not seeking alimony, he and AJ can move on with their lives with no strings attached to anyone. “I want him to have a nice place,” Grace tells Noah as he is showing the house to her. A.J. is off to the side on a phone call. Once he gets off the phone, he announces that his CD4 count is up quite a bit after only being on medication for a week. Grace asks, “Can I give you a hug?” A.J. repeats, “Can I give you a hug. You’re the one who set me up with this fancy doctor.” For whatever reason, now that Bishop is gone, A.J. is more chatty than ever. When Darius calls Grace a few minutes later, he tells his mother that he wants to meet him and check him out to determine if he has “honorable intentions.” Who dis?

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Kerissa is still there. They’re discussing how they will co-parent Winkie. Jacob asks, “Do you think he gets that his grandpa won’t be coming back?” Kerissa tells him even the adults are having trouble with that much less a child. She asks Jacob if she can leave Winkie with him for a few days while she looks for a place. She also tells him that she will be heading out a hotel for the night but Jacob says she can stay at the home although not with him obviously. Kerissa says, “I don’t want to confuse Winkie, and I don’t want to confuse you either.” Then she says something that really surprises me. “It won’t seem like one now, but this is our happy ending.” “I know, ” Jacob says.  Once Kerissa realized their marriage was truly over, she really seems ready to move on with her life. Good for her!

Speaking of being ready to move on with life. The three cousins – Sophia, Zora and A.J.- discuss what they think happens when someone dies. Zora compares it to diving in deep water. Sophia compares it to falling asleep. A.J. says he has no idea, but then adds, “I will still want to see what happens when you live.” Okay, then, A.J….

And A.J. is not the only one contemplating the rest of his life. Darius and Grace are hugged up in the next scene. Darius is encouraging Grace to at least respond to Anne’s inquiry. “Just call her back. You don’t have to move to New York tomorrow.” He also tells her that her children are no longer children. “Everyone’s an adult,” he says. Grace asks, “Are we adults too? You’re always wanting to talk about the future.” She asks about their future together. Darius tells Grace that if her future was in New York, he would accompany her there. Grace starts bawling in his arms then. “I didn’t know accompany was the magic word,” he says.

Later on, Lady Mae explains to her family that she has been asked to honor Bishop on Sunday. Grace says, “Daddy did lay himself on the altar for us.” Jacob says, “Pop had this light that he took wherever he went. I guess that light is in us now.”

Now that H&H has vacated, Lady Mae can stop by Calvary whenever she wants to and does so in anticipation of Sunday service. Karine tells her that she has restored Bishop’s office to what it was before H&H showed up and takes Lady Mae there. She also tries to express her condolences about Bishop to Lady Mae. Lady Mae says, “Do me the kindness of not mentioning his name his week. My heart is a truckload of nitroglycerin, and his name is a bump in the road.” She then asks if she can have a moment alone in his office.

Speaking of stopping by churches, Jacob stops by New Revelations Memphis Mission to see Tara James. She immediately says, “I’m so sorry about your father.” Jacob explains that Bishop suffered a cerebrovascular accident or in another word: a stroke. She tells him that she hopes that the stress of digging up the past did not contribute to his untimely demise. She tells him all of this as she is passing out bagged lunches to her small flock.

Jacob finally gets around to saying what he came to say. “Look, my mother wanted me to ask you if you could give us three months to deal with losing my father.” Tara praises Jacob for being upfront with her from the beginning and then shocks him by saying, “Can we call it even?” Close your mouth. You read that right. Tara no longer wants to take possession of the Greenleaf home. “I can’t throw you out of your home,” she says. Jacob reminds her that she said the home was her blessing from God. She replies, “Maybe the blessing is something else.” More like someone else in my opinion…But more on that later. Bishop must have orchestrated that grace from Heaven. He is up there singing with all of the souls who have made it there but he sees to it that his beloved down here will still benefit his connections in high places…

When Jacob tells his mother what Tara James said, Lady Mae replies, “She really is who she seems to be. I don’t know what to say.”

Even after discussing it with Darius, Grace still hasn’t returned Anne’s call. She discusses the matter with Aaron, who has set up trust funds for Aaron and Sophia with the inheritance that Grace received from their father. Of course, he does so at his sister’s direction. Grace says, “I want to be here for my family, but every time she calls me, I can’t take the call.” Similarly to Darius, Aaron tells her to at least take the call. (I guess we’re never going to see Kevin again, huh? And come to think of it, I guess Mavis wasn’t invited to Bishop’s burial either.)

Behold Him…

The time has come for Sunday Service. The hallways of Calvary are crowded with people who are buzzing with excitement. Calvary is back, baby! And guess who shows up?! Tara James. She heard about the service on the radio and decided to come, and she brought members of her mission with her. She encounters Jacob in a hallway. She tells him that Tasha told her that he had a heart for the homeless so hopefully he doesn’t mind that she brought along her members with her. He tells her that is true. Then he says, “What you did for my mother and family allowing us to keep the house means a lot to me.” She explains that she is “rich in blessings” even if she will not own that big ole house.  When she says, “God is good,” Winkie, who never talks it seems, replies “all the time.” Tara seems to be the opposite of Kerissa, and it’s obvious by the extra look that he gives Tara as she walks away that she is on his radar. And the look that she give him when she looks back to see if he is looking at her tells me the feeling is mutual.

The service opens with Charity belting out, “What a Mighty God We Serve,” Lady Mae, who is adorned in purple, follows. She starts out with, “I know exactly what Bishop is feeling right now. Yes, Lord. ” She takes a deep breath. “Good Morning, there is so much to say. I miss him so much.” She tells the congregation that she has talked to him more in one week than she has in 10 years.

She declares that she wants “something new” for Calvary. “Behold the prophet Isaiah who says, ‘I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?'” Obviously, Lady Mae, similarly to Bishop, can preach. In her expansive voice, she knows what words to bellow and what words to nearly whisper to move all who hear her voice into a frenzy. “Calvary, we’ve been through a lot. We’re asking God to help us love our past enough to let it go. Jesus, make me new. Say it with me, Jesus make me new. ” AJ is moved by his grandmother’s plea to God to make them new and he comes up to the altar to give his life to the Lord. Behold Him who is able to do even what is impossible.

In the midst of all of this, Sophia says to her mother, “I think your work here is done.” Wow, that’s what Grace needed to hear. After the service is over, Grace goes to her mother who is in Bishop’s office. “Mama, you got the church back.” Apparently, she overheard Misty discussing the matter. The mothers also express their gratitude that A.J. has been saved. “He needs that peace,” Lady Mae says. “Yes, we all do,” says Grace. But Lady Mae knows there’s more that Grace wants to say. “It’s time for me to go,” Grace says. “Not now,” Lady Mae says. Grace says, “It’s your time, and it’s my time.” Kneeling before her mother, she kisses her on the cheek.

Back at the estate, after the service is over, Grace, dressed in white, tells her family, who is gathered outside the house, that she will be back in a few days. She says, “It’s just an interview.” And Jacob replies, “For a job you’re going to get.” He asks her to look out for Zora in New York. Grace asks Charity to look out for Sophia. “She’s wilder than she seems.” Lady Mae tells her not to say goodbye. Instead, she tells her daughter, “Thank you for sowing discord in the fields of my peace. They needed it.” Remember, Lady Mae said that to Grace during the first episode. How far they have come. Lady Mae dreaded her daughter coming back and now she is begging her to stay. But she does finally relinquish her to the rest of her destiny. “Go on, the Lord’s going to take care of us.”

With that, Grace gets in the car that will take her to the airport. The driver, who apparently drove Grace onto the property in the first episode, says, “You’re Pastor Greenleaf.” Grace says, “It’s just Grace Greenleaf now.” And with that, the car exits the iron gates surrounding the estate as Grace looks back at the gigantic “G” affixed to them. What a ride this show has been…I will miss it…What about you?

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 8, Series Finale: Behold and my other recaps since 2016!!! If you would like to know what’s ahead in the SPINOFF (which I think will be called Delilah according to the commercial at the end of the show), click HERE. I interviewed Craig Wright, the creator of the show AND Kriss Turner Towner, executive producer!!!

If you would like to keep up with my SPINOFF recaps sometime in the hopefully not so distant future, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂! Be blessed…

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Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5 : The Fifth Day…

Hello World,

With all that’s going on in this world, I’m so glad that I have a show that that provides an enthralling escape. So let’s get into another exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5: The Fifth Day…And be clear on this…Any.Other.Recap just doesn’t compare…

The Fifth Dimension…

This episode begins with Grace opening the door to her suite and heading into Sophia’s room where Sophia is still in bed. “What are you still doing in bed?” Grace asks her daughter. “It’s eight minutes until your grandmother’s service.” It’s the last Sunday before Calvary is demolished into smithereens and Lady Mae plans to honor the occasion with a worship service at home.

Sleepily, Sophia groans and tells her mother she’s been up all night texting with “stupid girls at Hampton.” So glad texting was not available when I was in college, I imagine there would have many more sleepless nights than I experienced at the University of Georgia. Go DAWGS! Sophia is still sour on faith so she says, “I’ll do the family, not the faith.” Grace says, “I’m sorry. You’re a Greenleaf. It’s the same thing.”

Meanwhile in Jacob’s suite, as he puts on a blazer, Kerissa brings up the fact that they plan to tell Zora about their pending divorce after the service. He makes some kind of joke to which Kerissa responds with, “You make jokes while you’re planning to destroy your children’s lives.” Jacob asks her if she and Fernando were looking at pictures of their children while they had their afternoon delights. Touche, Jacob although I still think he is wrong to not forgive Kerissa for her entanglement while he was a straight philanderer. That’s how some men are though…But at the end of the day, I don’t think they make the best couple anyway, but I will move on from that for now.

On the main floor, Charity is leading the family plus Karine in a song entitled “Starting All Over.” Charity is really in her element when she sings which is why I don’t get her desire to preach. Lady Mae praises her daughter telling her, “That was beautiful.” I’m glad that Lady Mae is forgiving Charity for her lack of allegiance to the family at a critical time. I think Charity has learned her lesson. Then, Lady Mae begins. “Good Morning Family. Every day is a gift full of possibilities even a day like today.” All of the family including A.J. and Noah there.

Since the family is worshiping at home, Lady Mae points out that the first friends of Jesus met in home churches following his ascension. Her sermon is appropriately titled “New Beginnings.” Bishop wonders aloud what is going on at Calvary. He concludes that a conjuring must be happening as Phil and Judee are attempting to “breathe unholy life into a corpse.”

As all of this unfolds, Jacob and Kerissa continue to bicker and pick at each other. But when Bishop reminds Kerissa that ever since he met her, she was a woman of impeccable devotion, she calms down for a bit.

Once Lady Mae’s sermon is over, Sophia and Zora attempt to have a private conversation about the fact that Sophia’s topless photos are still circulating on the Internet. That’s why I never post anything on the Internet that I wouldn’t mind being there forever because that is typically what happens. Charity interrupts the clandestine conversation between the cousins. (I was going for a nice alliteration…How’d I do?)

Through her grandmother, Karine is getting updates about what is going on at Calvary  and tells Charity. Apparently, Judee is singing “I Believe” which causes the two to cackle.

As it is the last Sunday at Calvary, Noah reminisces about the first Sunday at Calvary, Consecration Sunday. Grace says, “I lost my virginity in that church.” And apparently, it happened on that first Sunday. Talk about consecration…(So I had my first kiss in the parking lot of my father’s former church…chalk it up to being a PK.)

Following the worship service, Lady Mae plans to pay a visit to Tara James herself. She tells Bishop that two Greenleaf men caused problems and that she hopes that, “With the help of God, one Greenleaf woman will solve the problem.”

After everything is over, Bishop and A.J. see that Jacob and Kerissa are back to squabbling. “All of this food and all of this family and they still find a way to be miserable.” A.J. says that he learned in the hospital that “some people like to take things apart and see how things work but they don’t mean anything by it.” That was insightful of A.J., right? Sometimes, he seems to be on another dimension…I’m still convinced though that we don’t know all there is to know about about him…And I wonder if Bishop knows about his grandson’s health condition…

Fifth Harmony…

So Lady Mae goes to see Tara woman to woman at New Revelations Memphis Mission. As she watches Tara conduct her ministry, you can see that Lady Mae reflect on her own ministry. She asks her how many children she is able to feed on a typical Sunday. Tara says 20-30. She also inquires about how long Tara has been in the building and Tara says two years. Apparently, she moves quite a bit due to the increasing costs of rent. Once Lady Mae has the answers to her questions, she says, “It never occurred to you to do something more. Saving 1,000 and feeding 10,000?” Lady Mae loves the Lord, and she is also about leveling up.

Tara tells her that she has a more humble approach. “Jesus never built a temple, never asked for donations. But He helped people who came to him.” “But now you want my house,” Lady Mae throws out. Tara tells her she is not after her home but if Mrs. Davis meant for her father to have the home, she can use it as a shelter or a foster home.” And then it hits Lady Mae. “I should have known better,” she says. “I asked God for a new beginning. Well God, has quite a sense of humor. You’re doing good work.” I get what Tara is thinking to a certain extent, but I just don’t think a shelter or a foster home is the best use of the estate. I know I sound bougie at best and worldly at worst, but I just don’t like the idea. What say you?

A.J.’s statement to Bishop made Bishop remember something. The two of them head to an old garage on the Greenleaf property. They stand near a humongous wooden box which apparently contains a GTO Pontiac, Bishop’s dream car. Bishop tells his grandson that when he was 16 years old, he kept asking his father for a GTO Pontiac. Rather than give him the car, his father told him to pray for the car. Six months later, Bishop’s father said that his prayers were answered. His father had bought his dream car for him. The catch was that the car was in pieces inside of the box. He tells A.J. that he was trying to teach him that faith without works is dead. At the time, Bishop never attempted to put the car together. But the time has finally come for him to exercise his faith. He says to AJ, “If you help me put this together, the car is yours.” I love that Bishop is finding a way to bond with his grandson. It was A.J.’s remark about taking things apart that reminded Bishop of this long overdue project.

It looks like Noah is trying to find a way to bond with Grace beyond the fact that they are A.J.’s parents. But first they do have discuss their son. She asks him how did it go with A.J. at his place the night before. “He’s 24. I don’t feel like his Dad.” Grace understands what he means. They discuss Bob Whitmore and Mrs. Davis potentially leaving the Greenleaf estate to Darryl James. “Why would Mrs. Davis have left the house to Darryl to begin with?” I’ve been wondering that too, but Grace doesn’t know the answer to that question.

Also, Noah sees that Grace is fatigued as she hasn’t slept much in the past few weeks. Ordinarily it’s no bueno to tell a woman she looks tired but in this case, I guess it’s okay.  He puts one of the sofa cushions on his lap and invites her to lay down. She says, “This is not Consecration Sunday!” She laughs a little but then she does take him up on his offer.

In another part of the house, Karine tells Charity that Phil and Judee are taking selfies with a wrecking ball that is already on the Calvary campus, although the demolition is scheduled for two days later. Karine’s grandmother, who attended the last service at the church, is telling her everything that is happening. After that, Karine must have gone to the bathroom or something because Charity asks her nieces to watch Nathan for a bit.

But right then, Jacob and Kerissa tell Zora that they need to speak with her. The couple takes her into their suite and breaks the bad news. Zora is hot about it. She blames her father as he was a serial cheater, but Kerissa tries to tell her that she is also at fault. “We both missed the mark,” Kerissa says. But Zora asks what did she do wrong. “Cook too many dinners while waiting for you to come home from Alexa?” Wow. And she even wonders what is going to happen to her mother after the divorce. “Who is she going to get now? Some old dude.”

Zora tries to act hard, but it’s easy to see that the news of her parents’ pending divorce is devastating to her. She storms off, leaving her parents alone. They plan to tell Winkie the next day in a child psychologist’s office. They elected to tell Zora without a child psychologist because she doesn’t like them. Kerissa is on the verge of tears, but she says “I’m still willing to drop this whole thing. But after we tell Winkie tomorrow, it’s over. I will not put him through this for nothing.” She is really, really, really trying to keep them together…

Charity has excused herself to call Marcus DeMars aka Yusef Shabazz. He says, “I told you pastor you’ve got three strikes.” But Charity tells him she is not Grace and was almost Charity DeMars. He tells her that she has two minutes. What’s his deal? Why is he so standoffish?

Bishop and A.J. return to the home. He tells his grandson that some have turned “religion into a rule book” when it isn’t. “It’s an experience. Jesus is real.” I concur. He knows how to reach his grandson. A.J. has had to live by so many rules that a rule-oriented faith wouldn’t appeal to him at all. Smart move Bishop.  As they talk, Lady Mae arrives and Bishop asks her how it went. “I think we have to give her the house.” Bishop is stunned.

An hour later, Grace wakes up from her nap on Noah, and she apologizes for sleeping so long. But that time allowed Noah to recall a journal that the caretaker kept in the cabin where Noah once lived. The journal contained plans and sketches that indicated to Noah that maybe the caretaker thought he would one day inherit the house. Also, Mrs. Davis was white and so was the caretaker. However, periodically Darryl James would stop by, and the caretaker referred to him as “That Negro” in the journal. Anywho, Noah thinks the journal could be of use to her. The two seem to be in harmony with one another for a change…

Fifth Avenue…

Since Lady Mae seems to be ready to just hand over the house, Bishop is back on the case. He approaches Grace about using her inheritance money to buy Tara off. She asks him how much does he need. He replies, “How much do you have?”

Charity has been able to keep Yusef Shabazz on the phone for more than two minutes, but she still doesn’t know how his wife was involved with Eden Vale Lending. And Yusef aine trying to share what he knows. “The river only flows one way, and it has nothing to do with the river.” Huh?

Still upset about the topless photos, Sophia discusses her options with her brother. She’s scared to go back to Hampton because she is pretty much the talk of the campus. Having been abandoned by his parents and spending time in jail, A.J. isn’t all that sympathetic about her apprehension. Exasperated, he finally asks her, “What do you want that you can have?” Sophia says that she would like to stay at the Greenleaf estate with him and Zora. But A.J. tells her that it’s weird that grown adults still live with their parents. “People this old don’t live at home.” You know what, living apart from your family even as an adult is overrated. If you have a home that’s big enough (like an estate) to accommodate extended family, what is wrong with that? You can share expenses and responsibility.

Zora, on the other hand, has returned to her cabin where she cries about her parents’ divorce as she sits on her sofa alone. Grace comes into the cabin and tries to comfort her niece but Zora has to be hard. Once Grace tells her that she came to the house to find an old journal, Zora tells her she can find all of the older stuff in a wooden box in another room.

Speaking of older stuff, Lady Mae’s old wounds are opened up again when Bishop tells her that Grace has offered to give him her inheritance money to pay off Tara. She tells Bishop that the money is evidence of her “biggest mistake” and that as a result, she lied every day for 40 years about her affair with Grace’s real father. She says that their new church will be “founded on truth and built sturdy like every well made thing.” She doesn’t want Grace’s money.

As Bishop and Lady Mae discuss whether they will be giving the house to Tara, Charity shows up and asks if they would like to go over to Calvary. At first Lady Mae is apprehensive about her request, but Charity says, “We’re not going to say good-bye. We’re going to say, ‘thank you.'”

The family minus Noah and A.J. go to Calvary and walk through various rooms until they come to the sanctuary. Bishop recalls the first baptism at the church. The woman who had just turned 92 years old danced on stage following her baptism. Bishop expected to be sad to walk through Calvary one last time, but that was not the case. It was like that “awful Friday that can be called good.” “This visit has been a balm to my soul. Let’s seal this tomb and wait for our miracle,” he says. A little while later, he whispers to Lady Mae, “give her the house if you want to.”

A short time later, Bishop and Lady Mae return to the mission and intend to do just that. Lady Mae assures him that the Lord will provide another home for them and they will truly be starting again like they did the first time. They knock on the door and within seconds of Tara answering it, Rochelle appears out of nowhere and with a sly smile says, “I told you these Greenleafs are like a bad penny. You can’t get of rid of them.” I KNEW TARA WAS STILL IN TOUCH WITH HER SISTER! As Rochelle talks, a few cars pull into the mission parking lot. Are they about to be ambushed? Is Basie really dead? See Lady Mae belongs on Fifth Avenue not in the midst of a bad neighborhood at night…

I wonder what’s in store now that Rochelle is back!!! I guess we have to keep on watching…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5: The Fifth 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 🙂!

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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?